What Is Healthier: Dry Roasted Or Regular Peanuts?

Eating peanuts in their shells at the ballpark or having the perfect Pad Thai with plenty of chopped peanuts at your favorite restaurant provide two simple pleasures of life. Both oil-roasted, regular peanuts and dry roasted peanuts have the crunch and flavor that make peanuts an addictive treat. Either kind is healthy if you eat them in moderation, but because regular peanuts have less sodium than dry roasted peanuts, they are a healthier choice overall.

Nutrition in Peanuts

Both types of peanuts provide an excellent source for manganese, a trace mineral that helps your body make bones and break down amino acids, cholesterol and carbohydrates. Both peanuts also are a good source for folate for cell reproduction; vitamin E to keep your cells healthy; and niacin, or vitamin B-3, for healthy skin, blood cells and your brain and nervous systems. Moreover, a 1-oz. serving contains 7 g of protein and 2 g of dietary fiber, according to Food and Veggies, More Matters.

Regular Peanuts

Unfortunately, you can't eat many regular, oil-roasted peanuts without also ingesting lots of fat and calories. If you eat 1/2 cup of peanuts, or about a handful, you get 432 calories, or about the same amount in a fast-food hamburger, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture nutrient database. The peanuts also come with 38 g of fat, including 6.5 g of saturated fat.

Dry Roasted Peanuts

Eat dry roasted peanuts in moderation. They contain almost as many calories as oil-roasted nuts, with 427 calories in 1/2 cup instead of 432. The amount of fat in dry roasted peanuts weighs in at about the same level of fat overall as regular peanuts, with 36 g of total fat and 5 g of saturated fat.

Sodium

Buy either unsalted dry roasted or unsalted regular peanuts, and you'll get no sodium, according to one brand-name manufacturer. Either unsalted type gives you a healthy peanut, helping to keep your sodium level within the daily recommend amount by the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans of 2,300 mg for most adults or 1,500 mg for those 51 years old or older or who have higher levels of risk for heart disease or diabetes; however, 28 g of salted dry roasted peanuts contain 190 mg of sodium, or 8 percent of your daily recommended amount of sodium, whereas 28 g of salted regular peanuts contain 115 mg or 5 percent of your daily amount. Regular peanuts are a healthier choice than dry roasted peanuts in terms of sodium.