The short answer
100 g of pistachios (raw) has 23.4 g of protein and 539 kcal.1 That's about 47% of the 50 g of protein ICMR-NIN suggests a day for a 60 kg adult.2
Nutrition in 100 g of pistachios
| Per 100 g | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 539 kcal (2257 kJ) |
| Protein | 23.4 g ± 0.4 |
| Fat | 42.5 g |
| Carbohydrate | 15.8 g |
| Fibre | 10.6 g |
| Water | 4.7 g |
These figures are for raw, shelled pistachios.
How much pistachios for your protein?
The amounts below are worked out from IFCT's figure of 23.4 g per 100 g. To see how pistachios fits into a whole day, add it in the day builder.
| To get | Eat about | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 10 g of protein | 43 g (raw weight) | 232 kcal |
| 20 g of protein | 86 g (raw weight) | 464 kcal |
| 30 g of protein | 128 g (raw weight) | 690 kcal |
How pistachios compares
Pistachios has more protein per 100 g than 97% of the 542 foods in IFCT 2017. Here it is beside the other nuts and seeds we cover:
| Nuts and seeds | Protein / 100 g | kcal | From protein |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peanuts | 23.7 g | 520 | 18% |
| Sunflower seeds | 23.5 g | 586 | 16% |
| Halim seeds | 23.4 g | 445 | 21% |
| Pistachios | 23.4 g | 539 | 18% |
| Sesame seeds | 21.7 g | 520 | 17% |
| Cashews | 18.8 g | 583 | 13% |
| Flaxseeds | 18.6 g | 444 | 17% |
| Almonds | 18.4 g | 609 | 12% |
| Walnuts | 14.9 g | 671 | 9% |
| Dry coconut | 7.3 g | 624 | 5% |
Other vegetarian foods with similar protein: masoor dal (24.4 g), moong dal (23.9 g), urad dal (23.1 g), whole moong (22.5 g), whole masoor (22.5 g). For more protein per 100 g, try soybean (37.8 g), masoor dal (24.4 g), moong dal (23.9 g). See every food on one protein chart.
Protein quality
Nuts and seeds add useful protein, but most of their calories come from fat. Per calorie they give less protein than dal, paneer or eggs, so they work best as an addition rather than the main source.
Pistachios in Indian languages
Names as listed in IFCT 2017, which records what the food is called in each region it was sampled from.1
- Assamese
- Pista
- Bengali
- Pesta
- Gujarati
- Pista
- Hindi
- Pista
- Kannada
- Pista
- Malayalam
- Pista
- Marathi
- Pista
- Odia
- Pista
- Punjabi
- Pista
- Tamil
- Pista
- Telugu
- Pista
- Urdu
- Pista
Common questions
How much protein is in 100 g of pistachios?
23.4 g, according to the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 from ICMR-NIN. That's for raw pistachios, per 100 g of the edible part. 100 g also gives 539 kcal.
How much pistachios gives 20 g of protein?
About 86 g (raw weight). That's roughly 40% of the 50 g a day ICMR-NIN suggests for a 60 kg adult.
Is pistachios a good source of protein?
18% of its calories come from protein, and it has more protein per 100 g than 97% of the 542 foods in IFCT 2017. Nuts and seeds add useful protein, but most of their calories come from fat.
References
- Longvah T, Ananthan R, Bhaskarachary K, Venkaiah K. Indian Food Composition Tables 2017. National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR), Hyderabad. nin.res.in. Read through the open-data copy by Subhajit Sahu (ifct2017, MIT licence).
- ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition. Nutrient Requirements for Indians: Recommended Dietary Allowances and Estimated Average Requirements. 2020. nin.res.in