Nuts and Seeds for a Healthy Vegan Diet | How to Eat More as a Vegan

Nuts and seeds are one of the staple food groups for a healthy plant-based diet. They’re an excellent source of nutrition for vegans and omnivores alike and are linked to positive health outcomes, especially for heart disease, weight management, certain types of cancer and mortality. Overall, most people would benefit from including more nuts and seeds into their daily routine.

This page details:

What are Nuts? What are Seeds?
Health Benefits of Nuts and Seeds
Nutrition Content of Nuts and Seeds
Why It’s Important to Eat Nuts and Seeds as a Vegan
List of Nuts and Seeds to Include in a Vegan Diet
How to Include More Nuts and Seeds into Your Diet
Recipes with Nuts and Seeds from Lettuce Veg Out

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health benefits of nuts and seeds for vegans

What are Nuts? What are Seeds?

Technically speaking, nuts are the fruit of a plant that is surrounded by a hard shell. The botanical definition of a nut implies that this hard shell doesn’t open to release the seed.

In the culinary and nutrition world, we define foods by their application in recipes and by nutrient content. That’s why we never use the botanical definition of a fruit because that would include nuts, whole grains and many vegetables.

Seeds are a bit more self-explanatory. They are the seeds of a plant whose purpose is to grow into a new plant. Again, the culinary definition specifies seeds as being edible for human consumption.

For the purpose of this article (and everything else on this site) the culinary definition is being used. Nuts and seeds contain many similar nutrients and uses in cooking, which is why they can be grouped together into one of the six food groups for a healthy vegan diet.

Health Benefits of Nuts and Seeds

Nuts and seeds are an excellent source of essential nutrients while also containing antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds; these can be beneficial for long term health ¹^,². Some of the compounds include: carotenoids, phenolic acids, phytosterols, polyphenols (flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, stilbenes), phytates, sphingolipids, alkylphenols, and lignans ².

Research has found that people who consume nuts and seeds on a regular basis, compared to those who do not, have better heart health ³^,⁴^,⁵^,⁶^,⁷^,⁸^,⁹^,¹⁰^,¹¹^,¹²^,¹³^,¹⁴^,¹⁵, weight management ¹⁶^,¹⁷^,¹⁸^,¹⁹ and lower the risk of some types of cancers ¹^,⁸^,¹⁰^,²⁰^,²¹. Eating nuts and seeds may also be helpful for those with type 2 diabetes ¹^,³^,¹⁰^,¹³^,²² and is associated with reduced all-cause mortality ³^,⁴^,⁷^,⁸^,¹⁰^,¹⁵^,²³.

Nutrition Content of Nuts and Seeds

Nuts and seeds contain many essential nutrients to benefit human health ¹. Each variety of nut or seed has its own unique profile of nutrients but as a group, they all typically contain:

Plant-based protein
Heart healthy fats
Fiber
Vitamin E
Magnesium

B-vitamins (excluding vitamin B12)
Manganese
Copper
Omega 3 fatty acids (specifically ALA)

Each individual nut or seed contains varying levels of these nutrients so including a variety in your diet can provide the widest range of nutrition ¹.

Why It’s Important to Eat Nuts and Seeds as a Vegan

While the nutrients found in nuts and seeds can be beneficial for both vegans and omnivores, they are especially helpful for vegans. Nuts and seeds are excellent sources of nutrients that vegans can find challenging to consume enough of. Specifically, nuts and seeds are a great way for vegans to get in plant-based protein, healthy fats including omega 3s, vitamin E, zinc, iron, calcium, and selenium.

This is why I list nuts and seeds as one of the six food groups for a healthy vegan diet. Omnivores can also reap the benefits of including this fantastic food group into their daily routine.

I shouldn’t have to say it but if you are allergic to anything, don’t eat it.

List of Nuts and Seeds to Include in a Vegan Diet

There are so many tasty nuts and seeds that can be included in a healthy vegan diet. Some fantastic choices for nuts include:

Almonds
Cashews
Pistachios
Walnuts
Pine nuts
Hazelnuts

Chestnuts
Brazil nuts
Macadamia nuts
Peanuts
Pecan

There are also many different seeds that can be part of a healthy vegan diet including:

Chia seeds
Flaxseeds (aka linseeds)
Sesame seeds
Hemp seeds

Poppy seeds
Sunflower seeds
Pumpkin seeds

There are also nut and seed butters made by blending one or more nuts and seeds together. These can also be delicious and creamy additions to a vegan diet.

How to Include More Nuts and Seeds into Your Diet

Nuts and seeds are incredibly easy to add to your daily diet. Keeping a variety of nuts and seeds on hand makes it easy to toss them into whatever you are preparing.

My best tips for including more nuts and seeds into your diet include:

Keep a jar of seeds on the counter: Having a jar of chia, hemp and/or ground flaxseed (or a combo of any) can be a great reminder to add some seeds to your meals. Just open the jar and shake onto your breakfast or snacks!
Use nuts and seeds as a garnish: Nuts and seeds make a tasty garnish for dishes like stir fry’s, curry, soups, wraps, oatmeal, smoothie bowls etc.
Use them to add crunch to a salad: Nuts and seeds are a fantastic addition to salads. They add a nice crunch as well as healthy fats and protein to keep you feeling full and satisfied.
Add nut and seed butters in sauces, dips, soups and spreads: Add nut and seed butters to add a rich creaminess to any sauce (including salad dressings), soups, dips or spreads! Or simply spread some nut or seed butters onto whatever you are eating that could use a boost of healthy fats!
Get snacking: Often time, when people aim to make healthier snack choices, the snacks end up lacking fat and/ or protein. Adding nuts and seeds or nut and seed butters to a snack can make for a well-balanced choice.
Make some vegan cheese alternatives: Homemade vegan cheese alternatives often use nuts and seeds to create a creamy, rich flavor and texture. Homemade vegan Parmesan is a super easy way to start learning how to make vegan cheese substitutes at home!

Recipes with Nuts and Seeds from Lettuce Veg Out

I have created plenty of recipes that include nuts and seeds for you to try out. These are some of my favorites:

Summary: Nuts and Seeds for a Healthy Vegan Diet

Nuts and seeds can be a great addition to a healthy vegan diet (or any diet). Eating nuts and seeds has been associated with numerous health benefits. Nuts and seeds provide a range of nutrients that could be challenging to get enough of on a vegan diet. Eating a variety of nuts and seeds can provide the widest range of nutrition. There are many ways to incorporate nuts and seeds into your diet; find ways (and recipes) that work best for you!

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References cited:

Please note that this is a curated list of references for the topics above and is not intended to be comprehensive.

Disclaimer: always speak with a doctor before changing your diet. Please read our full website disclaimer.

Author Profile: Nicole Stevens

Nicole is a vegan Registered Dietitian (RD) and founder of Lettuce Veg Out. She provides vegans with balanced meals and easy-to-understand nutrition science.

Having attained a Masters degree and passing a national registration exam, Nicole is a trusted source of nutrition information. She uses this knowledge to educate others about vegan diets and how to thrive as a vegan.