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 501–550 of 3,584 foods
| # | Food | Category | Per 100 g | % DV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 501 | Chocolate-flavored hazelnut spread | Sweets | 4.38 mg | 24% |
| 502 | Nuts, hazelnuts or filberts, dry roasted, without salt added | Nut and Seed Products | 4.38 mg | 24% |
| 503 | Cornmeal, degermed, enriched, white | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 4.36 mg | 24% |
| 504 | Rice, white, medium-grain, raw, enriched | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 4.36 mg | 24% |
| 505 | Cornmeal, degermed, enriched, yellow | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 4.36 mg | 24% |
| 506 | Lupins, mature seeds, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 4.36 mg | 24% |
| 507 | Semolina, enriched | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 4.36 mg | 24% |
| 508 | Toaster Pastries, fruit, frosted (include apples, blueberry, cherry, strawberry) | Baked Products | 4.35 mg | 24% |
| 509 | Winged beans, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt | Legumes and Legume Products | 4.33 mg | 24% |
| 510 | Winged beans, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, with salt | Legumes and Legume Products | 4.33 mg | 24% |
| 511 | Snacks, pretzels, hard, plain, made with enriched flour, unsalted | Snacks | 4.32 mg | 24% |
| 512 | Rice, white, long-grain, regular, raw, enriched | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 4.31 mg | 24% |
| 513 | Chickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), mature seeds, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 4.31 mg | 24% |
| 514 | Pie Crust, Cookie-type, Chocolate, Ready Crust | Baked Products | 4.30 mg | 24% |
| 515 | Macaroni, vegetable, enriched, dry | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 4.28 mg | 24% |
| 516 | Seeds, sunflower seed kernels, oil roasted, with salt added | Nut and Seed Products | 4.28 mg | 24% |
| 517 | Seeds, sunflower seed kernels, oil roasted, without salt | Nut and Seed Products | 4.28 mg | 24% |
| 518 | Bread, sticks, plain | Baked Products | 4.28 mg | 24% |
| 519 | Candies, sesame crunch | Sweets | 4.27 mg | 24% |
| 520 | Pepperidge Farm, Goldfish, Baked Snack Crackers, Cheddar | Baked Products | 4.26 mg | 24% |
| 521 | Cereals, oats, regular and quick, not fortified, dry | Breakfast Cereals | 4.25 mg | 24% |
| 522 | Rice, white, short-grain, enriched, uncooked | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 4.23 mg | 24% |
| 523 | Babyfood, crackers, vegetable | Baby Foods | 4.20 mg | 23% |
| 524 | Noodles, egg, spinach, enriched, dry | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 4.20 mg | 23% |
| 525 | Muffins, oat bran | Baked Products | 4.20 mg | 23% |
| 526 | Cereals, QUAKER, Instant Oatmeal Organic, Regular | Breakfast Cereals | 4.20 mg | 23% |
| 527 | Bagels, whole grain white | Baked Products | 4.19 mg | 23% |
| 528 | Babyfood, cookies | Baby Foods | 4.18 mg | 23% |
| 529 | Spaghetti, protein-fortified, dry, enriched (n x 6.25) | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 4.15 mg | 23% |
| 530 | Baking chocolate, unsweetened, liquid | Sweets | 4.15 mg | 23% |
| 531 | Bread, protein (includes gluten) | Baked Products | 4.15 mg | 23% |
| 532 | Rolls, dinner, oat bran | Baked Products | 4.14 mg | 23% |
| 533 | Nabisco, Nabisco Grahams Crackers | Baked Products | 4.13 mg | 23% |
| 534 | Seeds, sunflower seed butter, with salt added (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program) | Nut and Seed Products | 4.12 mg | 23% |
| 535 | Seeds, sunflower seed butter, without salt | Nut and Seed Products | 4.12 mg | 23% |
| 536 | Soup, ramen noodle, any flavor, dry | Soups, Sauces, and Gravies | 4.11 mg | 23% |
| 537 | Archway Home Style Cookies, Iced Molasses | Baked Products | 4.10 mg | 23% |
| 538 | Bagels, cinnamon-raisin, toasted | Baked Products | 4.09 mg | 23% |
| 539 | Bread, wheat, toasted | Baked Products | 4.09 mg | 23% |
| 540 | Croutons, plain | Baked Products | 4.08 mg | 23% |
| 541 | Cookies, chocolate chip, commercially prepared, soft-type | Baked Products | 4.07 mg | 23% |
| 542 | Cookies, oatmeal, commercially prepared, special dietary | Baked Products | 4.07 mg | 23% |
| 543 | Cereals ready-to-eat, QUAKER, MOTHER'S Toasted Oat Bran cereal | Breakfast Cereals | 4.07 mg | 23% |
| 544 | Peaches, dried, sulfured, uncooked | Fruits and Fruit Juices | 4.06 mg | 23% |
| 545 | Buckwheat flour, whole-groat | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 4.06 mg | 23% |
| 546 | Yeast extract spread | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 4.04 mg | 22% |
| 547 | Cereals ready-to-eat, NATURE'S PATH, Organic FLAX PLUS, Pumpkin Granola | Breakfast Cereals | 4.04 mg | 22% |
| 548 | Cereals ready-to-eat, UNCLE SAM CEREAL | Breakfast Cereals | 4.03 mg | 22% |
| 549 | Crackers, standard snack-type, regular | Baked Products | 4.03 mg | 22% |
| 550 | Nuts, pistachio nuts, dry roasted, without salt added | Nut and Seed Products | 4.03 mg | 22% |
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