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The Healthiest Nuts, Graded A to F. One of the Best Snacks You Can Grab.

The healthiest nuts are simply the unsalted ones, and past that you can hardly go wrong. Nuts are one of the better snacks you can grab off a shelf: protein, fiber, and heart-healthy fats in a handful, no label-reading degree required. We ran every popular nut and seed through the same 6-dimension Labelgrade, and the whole category grades well, exactly as you’d hope. The order comes down to one thing, salt. The no-salt, in-shell Wonderful Pistachios took the top, while the salted Planters tubs graded a touch lower on sodium. The fat in nuts isn’t the problem, it’s the good kind. Watch the portion and the salt, and you’re reaching for one of the better snacks in the store.

The verdict

We graded 6 nuts A–F: the category averages 77/100 (B), from 85 (A-) at the top down to 72 (B-) at the bottom.

Nuts are one of the best grab-and-go snacks there is, and the spread (72 to 85) is almost all about salt: no-salt in-shell Wonderful Pistachios won at A- (85), while the salted Planters Deluxe Whole Cashews came last at B- (72), dinged on sodium rather than the fat.

Top of the class A- Wonderful Pistachios (No Salt / In-Shell) 85/100
Bottom of the class B- Planters Deluxe Whole Cashews 72/100

The top picks, with the receipts

#1 Wonderful Pistachios (No Salt / In-Shell) A- 85/100

Pros

  • No sodium
  • 3 g fiber per serving
  • No added sugar

Cons

No dimension scored poorly.

#2 Planters Mixed Nuts (Salted) B 79/100

Pros

  • 3 g fiber per serving
  • No added sugar
  • 6 g protein per serving

Cons

No dimension scored poorly.

#3 Planters Cocktail Peanuts B 78/100

Pros

  • 7 g protein per serving
  • Clean, short ingredient list

Cons

  • 2 g saturated fat per serving

#4 Planters Deluxe Mixed Nuts B 75/100

Pros

No dimension scored high enough to call out.

Cons

  • 2 g saturated fat per serving

#5 Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts B- 73/100

Pros

  • Just 1 g added sugar
  • 7 g protein per serving

Cons

  • 2 g saturated fat per serving

Pros and cons come straight from each product’s own label. A dimension is listed only when its sub-score is decisive (78 or above for a pro, 62 or below for a con), so a merely-average number never gets sold as a strength. Every figure is per labeled serving — full panels on each product page.

The full report card — all 6 nuts, ranked

#NutGradeScoreWeakest link
1 Wonderful — Pistachios (No Salt / In-Shell) A- 85 saturated fat (70/100)
2 Planters — Mixed Nuts (Salted) B 79 sodium (66/100)
3 Planters — Cocktail Peanuts B 78 saturated fat (59/100)
4 Planters — Deluxe Mixed Nuts B 75 saturated fat (59/100)
5 Planters — Dry Roasted Peanuts B- 73 sodium (45/100)
6 Planters — Deluxe Whole Cashews B- 72 saturated fat (52/100)

Worth a closer look

The two ends of the list tell the story. Wonderful Pistachios (No Salt / In-Shell) tops the class at 85/100 (A-); Planters Deluxe Whole Cashews anchors the bottom at 72/100 (B-). Click any product for its full fact sheet — the six dimension sub-scores, the per-serving label, and what would move its grade. Prefer to slice it yourself? Filter every graded product by the dimension you care about.

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How we graded these

Each product is scored on six dimensions — protein density, ingredient quality, added sugar, sodium, fiber, and saturated fat — combined into a 0–100 score and a letter grade. Every number comes from the product’s own label, verified against USDA FoodData Central. The grade is absolute (relative to all packaged foods), which is why a whole category can land in the same band. See the full methodology. Last graded 2026-06-04.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which nut scored best?

The no-salt, in-shell Wonderful Pistachios took the top at A- — no added sodium, plus the built-in portion control of shelling them yourself. The salted Planters mixes followed. See the ranked table above for the full order and each one’s weakest dimension.

Why did the Planters Deluxe Cashews score lowest?

It still earned a B-, so "lowest" here is a good snack, not a bad one. It’s edged out mainly on sodium — one of our six dimensions — because the salted tubs carry more of it than the no-salt pistachios up top. The nuts themselves are great; the salt is what moves the grade.

Are nuts healthy?

Yes — nuts are one of the better snacks you can grab, full of protein, fiber, and heart-healthy fats, which is why the whole category grades well. The two things to watch are portion size (the calories add up fast) and added salt, not the fat — the fat is the good kind. The report card sorts them mostly on sodium.

How is the grade calculated?

Six dimensions — protein density, ingredient quality, added sugar, sodium, fiber, and saturated fat — into a 0–100 score and a letter grade, from each product’s own label, verified against USDA data. See our methodology page.

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