Nuts, seeds and grains
Pistachios on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 20 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), shelled, roasted, for around 560 calories. A small handful, shelled, about 30 g (1.1 oz), gives roughly 6 g of protein for 168 calories.
To reach 30 g of protein from pistachios alone you would need about 150 g (5.3 oz). On a small appetite that is often more than one sitting allows, which is why we pair it rather than chase the whole target from one food.
How pistachios sits on a GLP-1
Pistachios are about 20 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz) and one of the few nuts with a complete set of essential amino acids. What sets them apart on a GLP-1 is the shell. Opening each one slows you down, and slow eating is the single most useful habit for a small stomach; it also stops a bag of nuts disappearing in ten minutes. A handful of shelled kernels is about 6 g of protein, so they are a snack with a purpose rather than a stop.
When your appetite is small
Buy them in the shell and eat them from a small bowl with a second bowl for the shells. Thirty grams (1 oz) of kernels takes ten minutes that way and gives 6 g of protein and 170 calories, which is the right pace for an afternoon when nothing else appeals. Pair the bowl with a glass of milk for a 15 g stop.
Three ways to prepare it
In the shell, from a small bowl
The shell is the portion control and the pacing. Salted ones taste of more when your palate is flat.
Crushed over yoghurt or a protein pudding
A tablespoon of crushed pistachios on a protein pot. Colour, crunch and 3 g, and the pot feels like dessert.
Blended into a green pesto for chicken or fish
Pistachios, basil, parmesan, lemon and olive oil blitzed to a paste. A spoon of it makes a plain chicken breast into something you want to eat.
What to eat it with
Yoghurt, dark chocolate, dried fruit, or a milk drink. Pistachio pesto belongs with chicken, fish or halloumi, which bring the protein the pesto only starts.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pistachios | about 20 g | 560 kcal | this page |
| Almonds | about 21 g | 580 kcal | See the page |
| Peanuts | about 25 g | 570 kcal | See the page |
| Pumpkin seeds | about 30 g | 560 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, shelled, roasted, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Pistachios in all three countries, sold roasted and salted in the shell or as shelled kernels. Iranian, Californian and Australian pistachios all carry about the same protein. Shelled kernels cost more per gram and are easier to overeat.
Questions people ask
Are pistachios a complete protein?
Pistachios carry all nine essential amino acids, which is unusual for a nut, but a handful is still only about 6 g of protein for around 170 calories. Treat them as a well paced snack next to a real protein rather than as a source in their own right.
Your number comes first
Knowing what is in a food only helps once you know how much you are aiming for. The target is 1.2 to 1.6 g of protein per kg of your goal weight, not your current weight, which for most people is 90 to 140 g a day.
Work out your protein targetMore on eating well when your appetite is small: high protein foods for a small appetite, how much protein on a GLP-1, and every food we have written up. The whole system in five documents is the Keep Muscle Kit, A$47 / US$29 / £23.
EverStrong provides nutrition and strength coaching and education. It is not medical advice and does not replace your prescribing doctor.