Tree Nut Allergy

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.

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.

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

Learn more about common food allergens.