Do roasted cashews and other roasted nuts contain acrylamide?

What's actually in it

Acrylamide forms when foods rich in the amino acid asparagine are heated above about 120°C (250°F). Cashews, almonds, and other nuts contain asparagine and natural sugars, so roasting them triggers the Maillard reaction: the same browning process that gives toast its color and coffee its aroma. Along with those flavors comes acrylamide, classified as a probable human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

What the research says

A 2026 study in Food Chem roasted cashews at different temperatures and measured acrylamide levels at each stage. The results were clear: higher roasting temperatures produced more acrylamide. The study also tracked two other harmful compounds, 5-HMF and advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which followed the same pattern.

The darkest, most heavily roasted cashews had the highest acrylamide levels. Lightly roasted cashews had less. Raw cashews had essentially none. The relationship was linear: more heat and more time equals more of the toxic compound.

If you eat roasted nuts as a daily snack, this adds to your total acrylamide intake from other browned foods like toast, French fries, coffee, and breakfast cereal. Each individual source might be low, but they stack up.

Choosing raw or lightly roasted nuts cuts acrylamide exposure without losing the nutritional benefits. If you roast nuts at home, keep the temperature moderate and pull them out before they get deeply brown.