Don’t serve cashews to anyone who needs to avoid them: cashews are a tree nut allergen themselves. For other dietary needs, check the full ingredients list and warnings on the exact pack. If the product is suitable, you can then choose based on salt, preparation and quantity. If someone has coeliac disease, you’ll also need to serve it separately.
You’re shopping for guests who need to avoid a particular allergen. First, check whether cashews are suitable at all, then check the full pack against their specific dietary needs. The Food Allergy Foundation and Jeroen Bosch Hospital highlight that nuts and traces of them can be relevant for someone with a nut allergy.
You’re hosting someone with coeliac disease, so you’re thinking not only about the snack but also about crumbs and shared serving dishes or dips. The Dutch Coeliac Society recommends, among other things, using a separate bowl when serving nibbles.
Cashews suit your guests’ dietary needs, and you’re mainly looking for an unsalted option with the right preparation or pack size. Unsalted, unroasted and roasted describe different product characteristics; on their own, they tell you nothing about allergens.
First check that the exact product suits the dietary need, then consider how you’ll serve it, your taste preference and the quantity.
| What to consider | What should you check? | Who is this important to? |
|---|---|---|
| Avoiding the right allergen | Read the full ingredients list and warnings for the exact product; don’t rely on the product name or an icon alone. | When I’m shopping for a guest with an allergy, I want to know whether the snack contains the specific allergen they need to avoid. Cashews themselves are a tree nut allergen, as the Food Allergy Foundation explains. Around 42% of consumers prioritise avoiding the relevant allergen. |
| Serving gluten-free food | Check the ingredients and warnings. Use clean hands and utensils, and keep the snack and any dip separate from foods containing gluten. | When I’m hosting someone with coeliac disease, I also want to prevent contact with crumbs and shared dips while everyone is sharing food; the Dutch Coeliac Society recommends serving food separately. Around 33% of consumers prioritise this concern. |
| Salt and preparation | Choose unsalted if that’s your preference, and treat unroasted and roasted as different preparation methods, not as allergen information. | Once I’ve confirmed the product is suitable for the dietary need, I can choose based on salt and preparation. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre includes unsalted nuts in its Wheel of Five, while product descriptions specify how particular products are prepared. Around 17% of consumers prioritise these product characteristics. |
| Quantity and storage | Check the net weight and follow the storage instructions on the pack you buy. | When I’m buying for a group, I want to choose an amount that suits the guests who can eat the snack and know how to store the pack. Around 8% of consumers prioritise quantity and practicality. |
Cashews are a tree nut allergen themselves. So a general request for a free-from product doesn’t make cashews suitable for someone who needs to avoid them.
Start with the specific substance your guest needs to avoid, then read the full ingredients list and warnings on the exact pack.
When food is shared, crumbs or shared dips can end up on the snack. The Dutch Coeliac Society highlights the risk of cross-contamination.
Use clean hands and utensils, keep a separate area of the table clear, and serve gluten-free nibbles or dips separately.
These terms describe salt, production methods or product positioning. They don’t tell you whether a specific product is free from an allergen your guest needs to avoid.
First check the ingredients and warnings on the exact pack. Only then use salt and preparation as criteria for choosing a product.
Duyvis describes Cashews Original as oven-roasted with no added oil, in a 125 g pack.
AH Organic Unroasted Cashews are worth considering if you’re looking for unroasted cashews.
Jumbo offers unsalted cashew varieties, including 200 g and 130 g packs.
Lidl lists Way To Go cashews in its Alesto range, with Fairtrade positioning.
ALDI lists Trader Joe’s roasted, unsalted cashews in a 250 g pack.
PLUS Unsalted Unroasted Cashews 200 g are worth considering if you’re looking for unsalted, unroasted cashews.
These Joybuy products are cashews for snacking straight from the pack. Check the ingredients and warnings for the exact product before serving them to guests.
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An option if cashews suit your guest’s dietary needs and you’re looking for a ready-to-eat snack.
The product information lists 100% cashew kernels as the ingredient. Contains cashews and isn’t suitable for anyone who needs to avoid them.
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A roasted cashew option to consider if it suits your guest’s dietary needs.
The product information lists cashews, gluten, wheat and peanuts as allergens. It isn’t suitable if your guest needs to avoid any of these.
No. Cashews are one of the nuts that must be listed as an allergen. If someone needs to avoid cashews, they aren’t suitable, even if they’re unsalted or roasted.
No. The Dutch Coeliac Society describes a cross-contamination warning as indicating a possible risk; it doesn’t mean the allergen is necessarily present in every pack. Consider the information in light of your guest’s dietary needs.
Keep the snack separate from foods containing gluten, and use clean hands and utensils. The Dutch Coeliac Society recommends using a separate bowl when serving nibbles, among other things. Keep gluten-free dips separate too, so no one dips foods containing gluten into them.
Read the ingredients and allergen information on the pack for the exact product, and check it against the substance your guest needs to avoid. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) states that pre-packed products must display allergen information on the label. Since 1 January 2026, the NVWA has also been checking the use of cross-contamination warnings; this isn’t an individual certification of every product.
No. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority warning of 20 May 2026 names Trader Joe’s unsalted cashews, 170 g, barcode 2003020120930 and best-before date 23-09-2026, due to possible metal fragments. The warning applies to the specified pack and batch, not automatically to other packs or batches.
