🥜Peanut allergy
Peanut allergy is one of the most common food allergies and one of the most likely to cause a severe reaction. It usually starts in childhood and often lasts for life, so it is managed by avoiding peanuts completely and being ready to treat a reaction.
🔬What it means
In a peanut allergy the immune system mistakes peanut proteins for a threat and releases chemicals such as histamine. Even a small amount can trigger a reaction in some people.
Peanuts are legumes, not tree nuts, but some people with a peanut allergy are also allergic to tree nuts, and lupin (another legume) can cross-react. An allergist can test which foods are safe for you.
✅What you can eat
Everything that does not contain peanuts or traces of them. Plain meat, fish, eggs, dairy, grains, fruit and vegetables are naturally peanut-free. Whether tree nuts, seeds or lupin are safe depends on your own tests — ask your allergist.
🚫What to avoid
- 🥜Peanuts in any form: roasted, salted, ground, peanut butter, peanut flour.
- 🫗Peanut oil, also called groundnut or arachis oil. Highly refined peanut oil is tolerated by many people, but cold-pressed oil can contain enough peanut protein to cause a reaction — check with your doctor before using either.
- 🍜Dishes where peanuts are usual: satay and peanut sauces, pad thai, kung pao, massaman and panang curries, gado-gado, som tam, Vietnamese spring rolls with dipping sauce, West African groundnut stew, mole.
- 🍫Sweets and snacks: some chocolates, nougat, cereal and protein bars, cookies, ice cream toppings.
- 🏷️Labels: in the EU and UK peanuts must be highlighted in the ingredients. “May contain peanuts” means there is a risk of traces — most allergists advise avoiding these products.
- 🍽️In restaurants: tell the staff about the allergy every time; shared fryers, woks and utensils can carry traces.
⚠️What happens during a reaction
Symptoms usually start within minutes to two hours: itchy mouth, hives, redness, swelling of the lips or face, stomach pain, vomiting, sneezing or a runny nose.
A severe reaction — anaphylaxis — affects breathing or circulation: swelling of the tongue or throat, hoarse voice, wheezing, difficulty breathing, feeling faint, pale or clammy skin, collapse. It can develop fast and is life-threatening.
Repeated small exposures do not “train” the body to tolerate peanuts. Supervised treatment (oral immunotherapy) exists, but it is done only by specialists.
🚑When to get help urgently
If there are any signs of anaphylaxis, use an adrenaline auto-injector if you have one and call emergency services immediately, even if symptoms improve. Lie down with legs raised (or sit up if it is hard to breathe) and do not stand up suddenly. After any reaction, see a doctor about an allergy plan.
📱How Me Nutrition helps
Every dish in the app and on this site shows the major allergens of a typical recipe, including peanuts, and which ingredient contains them. Recipes differ and traces are not covered, so always check with whoever cooked the dish.
Dishes that contain it: 41
Sources
Written from the sources below; not reviewed by a doctor. Not medical advice. How we count →