• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Eating With Food Allergies
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Start here
  • Recipes
  • Substitutes
  • Nutrition
  • Subscribe
  • Opt-out preferences
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Start here
  • Recipes
  • Substitutes
  • Nutrition
  • Subscribe
  • Opt-out preferences
×
Home » Types of food allergies

Tree Nut Allergy

Published: Jan 21, 2018 · Updated: Nov 20, 2020 by Kristi Winkels, RDN, LD · This post may contain affiliate links ·

Tree nuts are one of the most common food allergens and can be difficult to manage. From label reading to a list of foods commonly containing tree nuts, this is a guide on how to eat well with a tree nut allergy.

tree nut allergy
Jump to:
  • List of tree nuts
  • Ingredients containing tree nuts
  • Foods commonly containing tree nuts
  • Is coconut a tree nut?
  • Nut-free recipes and substitutes

Tree nut allergy is in its own category in the top 9 most common food allergens. It is not grouped with a peanut allergy because peanuts are legumes, not nuts.

Because they are not in the same family of foods, they have different proteins that cause allergic reactions. Therefore, if you have a tree nut allergy, you might tolerate peanuts and vice versa.

Also, you may only be allergic to one type of tree nut and be able to tolerate other tree nuts.

What makes managing peanut and tree nut allergies tricky? Well, a couple of things.

  1. Peanuts and tree nuts are often produced and packaged in the same facilities and production lines. This means that the risk of cross-contact is high.
  2. Peanut and tree nut allergies are usually not mild. Most people with these allergies have more serious reactions.

In my experience, the most difficult part of managing these allergies, in particular, is preventing cross-contact.

From avoiding foods produced near peanuts and tree nuts to family gatherings where nuts are present, managing a nut allergy can be challenging. However, it is possible thhrough careful label reading and knowing which foods commonly contain nuts.

Following are some resources to help you avoid tree nuts.

List of tree nuts

The following chart is from the US Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. It includes all tree nuts that must be listed on food labels.

The FDA updated this list in January 2025, reducing the number of tree nut types from 23 to 12.

Ingredients containing tree nuts

Following is a list of tree nuts and some ingredients that contain tree nuts:

  • Almond - butter, paste (marzipan), flavoring, extract
  • Brazil nut
  • Cashews - butter, flavoring, extract
  • Hazelnuts or filberts
  • Macadamia nuts, Queensland nuts
  • Pecans
  • Pine nuts, pinon, pignoli
  • Pistachios
  • Walnuts
  • Gianduja (chopped nuts mixed with chocolate)
  • Nu-Nuts artificial nuts
  • Nut Meal
  • Mashuga nuts (pecans)
  • Nougat
  • Nut paste
  • Nutella

Foods commonly containing tree nuts

  • Baked Goods - breads, muffins, cakes, cookies, bars, pastries, doughnuts, frostings
  • Snack Foods - granola, granola bars, rice cakes, snack mixes, crackers, caramel corn
  • Asian Foods
  • Pesto
  • Salads
  • Candy - candy bars, brittle candies, chocolate, fudge, pralines, turtles, clusters

Is coconut a tree nut?

The Food and Drug Administration has historically included coconut on the list of tree nuts consider major food allergens. However, in Janaury 2025, coconut was removed from this list. You might still see coconut listed as a tree nut on food labels for foods with longer shelf lives.

Botanically speaking, coconut is not a tree nut. According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, many people with a tree nut allergy can safely eat coconut and coconut products.

If you are unsure if coconut is safe for you, ask your allergist.

Nut-free recipes and substitutes

Almost all of the recipes here are free of the top 9 allergens, including tree nuts, except for coconut. However, when coconut-based products are used, alternative suggestions are made for those of you who do need to avoid it.

  • Nut Free Foods
    Peanut and Tree Nut Free Foods
  • Allergy Free Recipes
    Allergy Free Recipes {Free of the Top 9 Allergens!}

Here are a few of our favorite nut free recipes...

  • Nut free granola bars
    Nut Free Granola Bars
  • sunflower butter blossoms
    Peanut Free Sunflower Butter Blossoms
  • Allergy Free Chocolate Candy on a plate
    Allergy Free Chocolate Candy
  • Allergy Friendly No Bake
    Allergy Friendly No Bake Snack Bites

Learn more about common food allergens.

  • How to Eat Well with a Dairy Allergy
  • How to Eat Well With an Egg Allergy
  • How To Eat Well With a Soy Allergy
  • How to Eat Well With a Wheat Allergy
  • Peanut Allergy
  • tree nut allergy
  • Fish and Shellfish Allergies
  • How to Manage a Sesame Allergy
  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Kristi Winkels, RDN, LD
Kristi Winkels, RDN, LD
Kristi Winkels is a Registered Dietitian and food allergy mom who helps people navigate dietary restrictions due to food allergies and intolerances. Read more about Kristi and get in touch here.
Kristi Winkels, RDN, LD
Latest posts by Kristi Winkels, RDN, LD (see all)
  • Gluten Free Swedish Meatballs Recipe (Top 9 Allergen-Free) - February 2, 2025
  • Cranberry Apple Sauce {Gluten Free, Top 9 Allergen Free} - November 9, 2024
  • Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free) - February 17, 2024

More Types of Food Allergies

  • Common food allergens including dairy, egg, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, and soy
    Common Food Allergies
  • Managing a Corn Allergy
    Corn Allergy
  • Common food allergens including dairy, egg, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, and soy
    Common Food Allergies

About Kristi Winkels, RDN, LD

Kristi Winkels is a Registered Dietitian and food allergy mom who helps people navigate dietary restrictions due to food allergies and intolerances. Read more about Kristi and get in touch here.

Primary Sidebar

Hi, I'm Kristi! I'm a Registered Dietitian and food allergy mom with a mission to help you eat well with food allergies!

More about me →

Trending

  • Dairy free butter cream frosting on top of a cupcake
    Dairy Free Buttercream Frosting
  • A jar of nut free chocolate spread
    Nut Free Chocolate Spread
  • Eggless meatloaf on a plate with green beans and mashed potatoes
    Easy Eggless Meatloaf {Instant Pot or Oven}
  • oat milk chocolate pudding in a single serving jar
    Easy Oat Milk Chocolate Pudding {Dairy and Gluten Free}

Seasonal

  • An overhead view of gluten free sweet potato casserole
    Gluten Free Sweet Potato Casserole
  • A bowl of dairy free mashed potatoes.
    Dairy Free Mashed Potatoes {Stovetop OR Instant Pot}
  • Broccoli crunch salad on a plate
    Broccoli Crunch Salad {Vegan + Gluten Free}
  • A gluten free pumpkin bar with white frosting.
    Gluten Free Pumpkin Bars {Dairy and Egg Free}

Footer

^ Back to top

About

  • About Kristi
  • Privacy Policy
  • Ad Disclosure
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Get in Touch

  • Contact

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2007- 2025 Eating With Food Allergies

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}