Are you looking for high calorie nuts for weight gain? Nuts are an excellent food for weight gain due to their high calorie content. This article will review the calorie content of nuts as well as the nutrition benefits.
Jump to the key learning content in this article:
Nutrition Benefits of Nuts
Nuts are a nutrient dense food meaning they are jam packet with nutrients! They are high in calories, heart healthy fats, fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
Calories in Nuts
Nuts are a good source of calories. They are high in fat which means they are high in calories. Fat has more than twice the number of calories than carbs or protein.
Calories from nutrient type:
- Fat: 9 calories per gram
- Carbohydrate: 4 calories per gram
- Protein: 4 calories per gram
The calorie content for nuts varies by type, but later in this article we have a breakdown of the calorie content in 10 different types of nuts.
Fat in Nuts
As mentioned above nuts are high in fats. Which makes them high in calories. The type and combination of fats in nuts varies by nut type.
But many nuts contain heart healthy fats. For example, walnuts are high in omega-3 fatty acids which are excellent for the heart.
There are 4 main types of fat:
- Monounsaturated fats
- Polyunsaturated fats
- Saturated fats
- Trans fats
Unsaturated fat (including monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats) are generally considered “heart healthy” fats. This is because they can help to improve cholesterol levels and do all kinds of good things for the body.
Omega-3 fats are a polyunsaturated fats.
Saturated fats and trans fats should generally be limited in the diet. However, if the need for a high calorie diet is urgent (ie. Someone is losing weight/muscle quickly, high risk of malnutrition/death) any type of calories is generally OK to prevent significant health risks of malnutrition.
See our article on Stopping Weight Loss in the Elderly for more information.
Fiber in Nuts
Nuts are also a great source of fiber. Fiber is the “roughage” our bodies don’t digest. Fiber helps with healthy bowel movements, heart health, and feeling satiated.
You can find fiber in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds.
The fiber content in nuts varies by type of nut. A half cup of mixed nuts contains approximately 4.5 grams of fiber.
Vitamin and Minerals
And finally, nuts are full of vitamins and minerals. The vitamin and mineral profile varies by type of nut. However, many nuts are high in vitamin E, selenium, phosphorus, magnesium, etc.
The take home message is that nuts are a healthy plant-based food. Research has shown that nuts can help improve heart health, diabetes, gallstones, hypertension, cancer, and inflammation.
Be mindful of allergies and do not eat nuts if you are allergic to them.
Types of Nuts
There are many types of nuts including:
- Peanuts
- Walnuts
- Pecans
- Hazelnuts
- Cashews
- Brazil nuts
- Almonds
- Macadamia nuts
- Pine nuts
- Pistachios
Technically peanuts are a legume, but for the purpose of this article and the nutrition profile, we consider them a nut. Seeds are also closely related to nuts and have many nutrition benefits.
You can purchase nuts:
- Raw
- Roasted
- Toasted
- Flavored
- Salted
- Unsalted
- Mixed
Buying nuts in bulk is a good way to save money. You can also purchase nuts on Amazon and have them delivered directly to your front door.
The following are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn on qualifying purchases.
10 High Calorie Nuts for Weight Gain
If you are looking for high calorie nuts for weight gain, you’re in luck. All nuts are high in calories. Here are our 10 high calorie nuts for weight gain.
- Macadamia nuts
- Pine nuts
- Brazil nuts
- Peanuts
- Almonds
- Walnuts
- Pecans
- Hazelnuts
- Cashews
- Pistachios
High Calorie Nuts Infographic
These 10 high calorie nuts are listed in order of calorie content. The nuts on the top are highest in calories. The calorie content in nuts are listed in the next section.
Calorie Content in Nuts
Here is the calorie breakdown for nuts to help you gain weight. This table is listing the number of calories in 1 cup. Keep in mind a serving size is likely smaller, so do the math for much you eat.
Note, calorie content may vary based on how to nuts are manufactured and processed. Read nutrition labels of the nuts you purchase for exact calorie content.
| Type of Nut | Amount | Calories |
| Macadamia nuts | 1 cup | 962 |
| Pine nuts | 1 cup | 909 |
| Brazil nuts | 1 cup, whole | 872 |
| Peanuts | 1 cup | 828 |
| Almonds | 1 cup | 828 |
| Walnuts | 1 cup, chopped | 766 |
| Pecans | 1 cup, chopped | 753 |
| Hazelnuts | 1 cup, chopped | 722 |
| Cashews | 1 cup | 719 |
| Pistachios | 1 cup | 691 |
High Calorie Nut Butters
Nut butters are made by grinding nuts into a creamy butter. Some nut butters are completely creamy and some are left a little crunchy.
Like nuts, nut butters are also a high calorie food. Because they are basically the same foods, just in different formats. Additionally, nut butters are helpful for those who have difficulty chewing.
High calorie nut butters:
- Peanut butter
- Almond butter
- Walnut butter
- Cashew butter
Nut butters are slightly higher in calories as there are more nuts per volume (they’re all ground up with less open space). Additionally, some nut butters have oil or sugar added which adds even more calories.
Read the nutrition labels for the exact calorie count in the nut butters you are purchasing.
How to Gain Weight
High calorie nuts can help you to gain weight. But let’s briefly cover how to gain weight.
To gain weight you need to eat more calories than your body uses. You can get more calories in your day by eating more times per day (more meals and/or snacks).
But also, by eating more “calorie dense foods”. This means high calorie foods with more calories per volume than other foods.
An easy example would be to have 1 pound of celery and 1 pound of nuts. Celery is very low calorie. Nuts are high calorie. For the same weight, nuts have way more calories.
Calorie dense foods are helpful when you have a poor appetite. You may not be able to just “eat more” food. So the key is to get the most calories out of the foods you are able to eat.
You can learn more about how to gain weight with these articles:
- Tips on How to Gain Weight Fast and Healthfully
- 21 Best Real Foods to Gain Weight Fast
- Higher Calorie Foods for Weight Gain [Simple Swaps]
Tips to Eat More High Calorie Nuts
How can you use high calorie nuts to gain weight? Here are some tips to eat more high calorie nuts to gain weight.
- Stir nut butters into hot cereals
- Mix nuts or nut butters into high calorie smoothies/shakes
- Add nuts to salads with olive oil
- Eat a handful of nuts for a snack
- Mix nuts, dried fruits, and chocolate for a trail mix
- Add nuts to entrée dishes
- Roast nuts with butter and brown sugar for a tasty dessert
High Calorie Nut Recipes
Our sister website, High Calorie Recipes, has lots of high calorie recipes to help you gain weight. Here are some of our recipes which include high calorie nuts.
High Calorie Date and Walnut Loaf
This high calorie recipe includes dates and walnuts. Any type of nut can be substituted in place of the walnuts if desired. This loaf makes a tasty snack or can be paired with tea/coffee for breakfast.
One serving of this recipe (1/6th of the loaf) contains 650 calories.
Delicious High Calorie Walnut Butter
Did you know you can make your own homemade nut butters? You will need a strong blender or food processor, but it’s pretty easy peasy to make.
In fact, you can spread some of this walnut butter on the date and walnut loaf above and get a ton of calories for weight gain!
One quarter cup of this walnut butter provides 418 calories.
Almond Butter Weight Gain Shake
A high calorie shake is an easy way to sneak in extra calories. I’ve found even if someone is full and can’t eat another bite of food, they can still sip on a high calorie drink.
This recipe provides a whopping 1,021 calories.
You can swap the almond butter for any other type of nut butter including peanut butter! Add some chocolate for even more calories and extra flavor.
Conclusion: High Calorie Nuts
We’ve covered a lot of ground in this article on high calorie nuts. Nuts are jam packed with calories and lots of other great nutrients. High calorie nuts can help you to gain weight. Or to stop unintended weight loss. Best of luck!
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