Red meat and poultry dominate this ranking because their iron binds easily to the proteins that carry oxygen through your blood. Animal tissues contain haem iron, the form your body absorbs with the fewest obstacles. Plant foods hold non-haem iron, which your gut takes up less readily and only when other compounds in the meal do not block it.
Iron concentrates in organ meats, then muscle meats, then leafy greens and legumes. A single ranking cannot show you absorption rates. Two foods with the same iron count per 100 g deliver different amounts to your bloodstream depending on what else you eat alongside them.
Without animal foods, you lose access to haem iron. Plant sources and fortified foods supply non-haem iron instead, which your body absorbs at a lower rate and loses to interference from phytates, tannins and polyphenols in the same meal. Eating vitamin C alongside iron-rich plants improves uptake substantially. Many fortified cereals and plant milks contain added iron in amounts comparable to meat, but absorption remains the limiting factor on a vegetarian or vegan diet.
FDA daily value: 18 mg
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Showing 451–500 of 3,584 foods
| # | Food | Category | Per 100 g | % DV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 451 | Cornmeal, yellow, self-rising, degermed, enriched | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 4.73 mg | 26% |
| 452 | Peas, green, split, mature seeds, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 4.73 mg | 26% |
| 453 | Pepperidge Farm, Goldfish, Baked Snack Crackers, Original | Baked Products | 4.73 mg | 26% |
| 454 | Molasses | Sweets | 4.72 mg | 26% |
| 455 | Cookies, chocolate sandwich, with creme filling, special dietary | Baked Products | 4.72 mg | 26% |
| 456 | Oats (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program) | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 4.72 mg | 26% |
| 457 | Barley malt flour | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 4.71 mg | 26% |
| 458 | Caribou, eye, raw (Alaska Native) | American Indian/Alaska Native Foods | 4.70 mg | 26% |
| 459 | Cake, gingerbread, dry mix | Baked Products | 4.70 mg | 26% |
| 460 | Nuts, hazelnuts or filberts | Nut and Seed Products | 4.70 mg | 26% |
| 461 | Archway Home Style Cookies, Molasses | Baked Products | 4.68 mg | 26% |
| 462 | Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, self-rising, enriched | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 4.67 mg | 26% |
| 463 | Crackers, matzo, whole-wheat | Baked Products | 4.65 mg | 26% |
| 464 | PIZZA HUT, breadstick, parmesan garlic | Fast Foods | 4.65 mg | 26% |
| 465 | Muffins, English, plain, toasted, enriched, with calcium propionate (includes sourdough) | Baked Products | 4.65 mg | 26% |
| 466 | Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, unbleached | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 4.64 mg | 26% |
| 467 | Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, calcium-fortified | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 4.64 mg | 26% |
| 468 | Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, bleached | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 4.64 mg | 26% |
| 469 | Cracker, meal | Baked Products | 4.64 mg | 26% |
| 470 | Cereals, QUAKER, Quick Oats, Dry | Breakfast Cereals | 4.64 mg | 26% |
| 471 | Seeds, breadnut tree seeds, dried | Nut and Seed Products | 4.60 mg | 26% |
| 472 | Beverages, Carob-flavor beverage mix, powder | Beverages | 4.60 mg | 26% |
| 473 | Beverages, coffee substitute, cereal grain beverage, powder | Beverages | 4.60 mg | 26% |
| 474 | Snacks, pita chips, salted | Snacks | 4.59 mg | 26% |
| 475 | Hyacinth beans, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt | Legumes and Legume Products | 4.58 mg | 25% |
| 476 | Hyacinth beans, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, with salt | Legumes and Legume Products | 4.58 mg | 25% |
| 477 | Snacks, pretzels, hard, plain, salted | Snacks | 4.58 mg | 25% |
| 478 | Peanuts, all types, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 4.58 mg | 25% |
| 479 | Quinoa, uncooked | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 4.57 mg | 25% |
| 480 | Bread, protein, (includes gluten), toasted | Baked Products | 4.56 mg | 25% |
| 481 | Wheat, hard white | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 4.56 mg | 25% |
| 482 | Tomato powder | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 4.56 mg | 25% |
| 483 | Candies, halavah, plain | Sweets | 4.53 mg | 25% |
| 484 | Soup, ramen noodle, dry, any flavor, reduced fat, reduced sodium | Soups, Sauces, and Gravies | 4.52 mg | 25% |
| 485 | Caribou, bone marrow, raw (Alaska Native) | American Indian/Alaska Native Foods | 4.50 mg | 25% |
| 486 | Bagels, plain, enriched, with calcium propionate (includes onion, poppy, sesame), toasted | Baked Products | 4.50 mg | 25% |
| 487 | Crackers, melba toast, wheat | Baked Products | 4.50 mg | 25% |
| 488 | Muffins, English, raisin-cinnamon (includes apple-cinnamon) | Baked Products | 4.50 mg | 25% |
| 489 | Nabisco, Nabisco Ritz Crackers | Baked Products | 4.47 mg | 25% |
| 490 | Pepperidge Farm, Goldfish, Baked Snack Crackers, Parmesan | Baked Products | 4.45 mg | 25% |
| 491 | Spelt, uncooked | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 4.44 mg | 25% |
| 492 | Pepperidge Farm, Goldfish, Baked Snack Crackers, Explosive Pizza | Baked Products | 4.43 mg | 25% |
| 493 | Seeds, sesame butter, tahini, type of kernels unspecified | Nut and Seed Products | 4.42 mg | 25% |
| 494 | Cereals, QUAKER, hominy grits, white, quick, dry | Breakfast Cereals | 4.42 mg | 25% |
| 495 | Cereals, QUAKER, hominy grits, white, regular, dry | Breakfast Cereals | 4.42 mg | 25% |
| 496 | Beverages, coffee, instant, regular, half the caffeine | Beverages | 4.41 mg | 24% |
| 497 | Wheat flour, white, bread, enriched | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 4.41 mg | 24% |
| 498 | Beverages, coffee, instant, regular, powder | Beverages | 4.41 mg | 24% |
| 499 | Cereals ready-to-eat, QUAKER, QUAKER Puffed Wheat | Breakfast Cereals | 4.41 mg | 24% |
| 500 | Crackers, wheat, low salt | Baked Products | 4.40 mg | 24% |
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