This article has been Fact-Checked by Kendall Kennedy MS, RD, RYT
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Not all plant-based foods are equally helpful when losing weight. Find out whether hazelnuts aka filberts are good for weight loss or not.
Hazelnuts are relatively high in calories but also high in fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals.
This combination makes them relatively filling but likely not enough to be considered good for weight loss.
If eating more hazelnut helps you eat less of foods that are worse for losing weight, you could see positive results by eating more of them.
That being said, this will often not be the case which makes hazelnuts slightly fattening.
Even so, it can still be worth implementing more hazelnuts in your weight loss diet for their nutrients. In turn, you will have to pay a bit more attention to other areas of your health.
I will also go over the exact nutrition details of hazelnuts, how to eat them while losing weight, and how they compare to other nuts for weight loss.
Calories in hazelnuts
The number of calories in hazelnuts does not tell you everything but it is a helpful piece of information when trying to lose weight.
100 grams of hazelnuts contain around 628 calories (1).
Something to note about this is that the calories in nuts like hazelnuts tend to be hard to absorb for the human body (2, 3).
Some of these will pass through your body without actually adding to your daily energy intake.
Exactly to what extent this is the case will likely vary from situation to situation. That being said, some studies conclude that around 5%-20% of the fat from nuts may not be absorbed (4, 5, 6, 7).
That being said, even with these things in mind, it is fair to say that hazelnuts/filberts contain very high amounts of calories.
67.6 of the calories come from carbohydrates (16.7 g per 100 grams of which 9.7 g fiber).
While they are not the nuts lowest in carbs, you should be able to fit in some hazelnuts on keto and other low-carb diets.
So while you definitely want to find out what sources these calories come from, hazelnuts contain high amounts of energy. This is generally not helpful when trying to lose weight.
Micronutrients in hazelnuts
The first thing to look at is the amount of micronutrients in hazelnuts.
Micronutrients are a group of nutrients your body absolutely needs to survive and thrive. Micronutrients include vitamins and minerals. These are involved in basically every aspect of your health, including weight loss.
100 grams of hazelnuts provides you with approximately (1):
- Manganese: 309% of the DV (Daily Value)
- Copper: 86% of the DV
- Vitamin E: 75% of the DV
- Thiamin: 43% of the DV
- Magnesium: 41% of the DV
- Phosphorus: 29% of the DV
- Vitamin B6: 28% of the DV
- Folate: 28% of the DV
- Iron: 26% of the DV
- Potassium: 19% of the DV
- Vitamin K: 18% of the DV
- Zinc: 16% of the DV
- Vitamin C: 11% of the DV
- Calcium: 11% of the DV
And a few others in smaller amounts. These are extremely good amounts of vitamins and minerals per 100 grams. Hazelnuts can get you well on your way to hitting your daily vitamin and mineral goals. If you combine them with a healthy diet and you should be able to hit most of your vitamin and mineral goals.
Hazelnuts also contain anti-oxidants. These are substances that help your body deal with oxidative stress, damage that occurs from day to day.
Fiber in hazelnuts for weight loss
Another very important factor for weight loss is the amount of fiber in your food.
Hazelnuts contain around 9.7 grams of fiber per 100 grams (1).
This is a good amount compared to most other foods. For most people more fiber is a good thing for weight loss.
Fiber has multiple benefits for weight loss. First of all, it feeds your microbiome, the microbes that live in your intestines.
The health of your microbiome influences your body’s health and weight. Feeding it well is usually not a bad idea.
Fiber also helps you feel less hungry without adding a lot of calories to your diet. Hunger and cravings can be a big pitfall for people trying to lose weight, so avoiding this is a big plus.
With the amount of fiber in hazelnuts you can reduce the time you spend craving for food a good amount.
Protein in hazelnuts for weight loss
Another thing in food that can help you on your weight loss journey is the amount of protein in it.
Hazelnuts contain about 15 grams of protein per 100 grams. To compare, there are about 25.4 grams per 100 grams in salmon (8). Hazelnuts are a good source of plant-based protein but also a decent source of protein in general.
Protein is considered to be the most filling of the 3 macronutrients. Eating enough protein will also help you prevent muscle loss.
Muscle helps you burn extra calories throughout the day which is very good for weight loss. Protein calories also take your body more calories to process than calories from carbs and fats.
Even though hazelnuts are a bit lower on the list of the nuts highest in protein, the amount of protein in them is generally good for a plant-based source of protein.
You will most likely also need protein from other foods but some hazelnuts can get you started towards your daily goals.
Do keep in mind that overdoing it with protein isn’t good either.
Are hazelnuts good for losing weight?
By now, you understand that hazelnuts are high in calories but that they contain large amounts of fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals.
On the one hand, these things make hazelnuts very filling. On the other hand, that is still a lot of extra energy in your diet.
If eating more hazelnuts helps you eat smaller portions of other foods that are less helpful for weight loss, they could actually help you get positive results in this area.
That being said, it will likely often be the case that the filling aspect of hazelnuts is not enough to compensate for all the extra calories. Even though many of these come from helpful sources.
In simpler words, hazelnuts will likely generally be slightly fattening.
At the same time, it is worth noting that it could still be worth implementing small amounts of hazelnuts in your diet for their nutrients.
If you pay enough attention to your portion sizes, other foods you eat, and other lifestyle habits, you should still be able to lose weight with hazelnuts in your diet.
Who should not eat hazelnuts
While hazelnuts can be a great addition to the diet of most people, some people are allergic to them.
How many hazelnuts should you eat a day to lose weight?
Nutrition is always a bit of a puzzle in terms of what the perfect diet looks like. It’s a pretty individual thing.
A typical serving of 1 ounce hazelnuts is about 12 hazelnuts.
Some people use this 1 oz serving size as a daily recommendation but in reality, it isn’t as simple as that. There is for example no way that a 200-pound man and 140-pound woman should eat the same amount of hazelnuts a day to lose weight.
You need to determine for yourself how many hazelnuts fit in your daily calories. The amount will be different from individual to individual from day to day, it can be 0 too.
Different ways to eat hazelnuts
Like a lot of whole foods there are many different ways to eat and recipes with hazelnuts. Find out how good they are and what important points you need to keep in mind.
Hazelnut flour
When trying to lose weight you often want to stay away from flour. In the processing process from grain to flour a lot of the weight loss friendly parts get removed. What is often left is a lot of calories that don’t really fill you up.
Luckily this is not the case with hazelnut flour. In essence hazelnut “flour” is basically just crushed hazelnuts which means that, if nothing is added, the nutritional value is about the same as regular hazelnuts.
Hazelnut syrup
The word “hazelnut” in front of the word syrup might make it sound healthier but unfortunately syrup is still syrup.
That means almost the same as pure sugar. Like all foods you can have hazelnut syrup sometimes and still lose weight but in general you want to avoid hazelnut syrup.
Hazelnut butter
The same as hazelnut flour goes for hazelnut butter. In essence, hazelnut butter is just hazelnuts crushed until they become a cream.
You do have to keep in mind that many brands add oils, sugar, and other sweeteners to this mix. All ingredients you preferably want to avoid when trying to lose weight.
If you decide to eat hazelnut butter make sure that the brand you are buying doesn’t add (too much) oils, sugars, and other sweeteners.
Shop hazelnut butter on amazon
Hazelnut chocolate spread
Next there are all kinds of chocolate products with hazelnuts. These include just hazelnuts coated in chocolate or the infamous hazelnut chocolate spread.
These are again not recommended when trying to lose weight but at least usually better than the same amount of hazelnut syrup.
The best way to eat hazelnuts for weight loss
If you buy the right kinds of hazelnut flour and butter they have similar effects on weight loss as regular hazelnuts.
That means that it is more a matter of personal preference in what way you will eat your hazelnuts. If you try out recipes with hazelnuts make sure the other ingredients are weight loss friendly and you are good to go.
Hazelnuts vs other popular nuts for weight loss
You now know how good hazelnuts are for weight loss but how do they compare to certain other popular nuts? Find out how good hazelnuts are for weight loss vs almonds, walnuts, peanuts, and macadamia nuts.
First of all there is the hazelnuts vs almonds comparison. Almonds are lower in calories than hazelnuts, 575 calories per 100 grams vs the 628 calories per 100 grams of hazelnuts (9).
Almonds contain around 12.2 grams of fiber per 100 grams. A good amount higher than the 9.7 grams of fiber per 100 grams in hazelnuts. Almonds contain about 21.2 grams of protein per 100 grams. These 2 foods are about the same when it comes to the amounts of vitamins and minerals.
Almonds are basically better than hazelnuts in the most important weight loss nutrition aspects.
Hazelnuts vs walnuts
The next comparison is between hazelnuts and walnuts. Walnuts are slightly higher in calories, 654 calories per 100 grams (10).
Walnuts contain 6.7 grams of fiber so a decent amount lower than hazelnuts. In terms of protein walnuts contain about the same amount as hazelnuts, 15.2 grams per 100 grams. Walnuts have slightly lower amounts of vitamins and minerals.
One benefit walnuts do have is that they are higher in omega 3 fats than hazelnuts. It’s not yet clear exactly how much of a difference that makes when it comes to weight loss.
Overall, hazelnuts will likely be better for weight loss than walnuts.
Hazelnuts vs peanuts
Peanuts are another popular comparison. Peanuts are lower in calories, 567 calories per 100 grams (11).
Hazelnuts have about 9.7 grams of fiber per 100 grams vs the 8.5 grams of peanuts. Peanuts contain about 25.8 grams of protein per 100 grams, so a relatively big amount higher than hazelnuts. In terms of the amount of vitamins and minerals, hazelnuts and peanuts are very similar.
Peanuts will likely be better for weight loss than hazelnuts.
Hazelnuts vs macadamia nuts
Lastly the comparison between hazelnuts and macadamia nuts. Macadamia nuts contain more calories than hazelnuts, 718 calories per 100 grams (12).
Macadamia nuts have less fiber per 100 grams than hazelnuts, 8.6 grams. Macadamia nuts are also a lot lower in protein per 100 grams, 7.9 grams vs the 15 grams in hazelnuts. Both of these nuts are very high in vitamins and minerals.
The difference in fiber, protein, and calories make hazelnuts likely better for weight loss than macadamia nuts.
Chart of hazelnuts vs other popular nuts
There are some interesting differences in nutritional content that will most likely matter when it comes to weight loss. As you can see, there are a few nuts better for weight loss than hazelnuts.
The amount of vitamins and minerals in the foods does matter for weight loss and health but you can’t simplify that in one number. You can check out the numbers for hazelnuts (1), almonds (9), walnuts (10), peanuts (11), and macadamia nuts (12) to compare.
| Values Per 100g | Hazelnuts | Almonds | Walnuts | Peanuts | Macadamia Nuts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 628 calories | 575 calories | 654 calories | 567 calories | 718 calories |
| Fiber | 9.7 g | 12.2 g | 6.7 g | 8.5 g | 8.6 g |
| Protein | 15 g | 21.2 g | 15.2 g | 25.8 g | 7.9 g |
