Vegan foods high in Iron (USDA SR Legacy)

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

Selling a product with iron? Generate a print-ready nutrition label from your recipe.

Showing 701–750 of 3,584 foods

# Food Category Per 100 g % DV
701 Bread, white, commercially prepared, toasted, low sodium no salt Baked Products 3.33 mg 18%
702 Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt Legumes and Legume Products 3.33 mg 18%
703 Pasta, whole grain, 51% whole wheat, remaining unenriched semolina, dry Cereal Grains and Pasta 3.33 mg 18%
704 Bread, white, commercially prepared, toasted Baked Products 3.33 mg 18%
705 Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, with salt Legumes and Legume Products 3.33 mg 18%
706 Tortillas, ready-to-bake or -fry, flour, shelf stable Baked Products 3.32 mg 18%
707 Olives, ripe, canned (jumbo-super colossal) Fruits and Fruit Juices 3.32 mg 18%
708 Nuts, coconut meat, dried (desiccated), not sweetened Nut and Seed Products 3.32 mg 18%
709 Spanish rice mix, dry mix, unprepared Meals, Entrees, and Side Dishes 3.32 mg 18%
710 Seeds, pumpkin and squash seeds, whole, roasted, with salt added Nut and Seed Products 3.31 mg 18%
711 Seeds, pumpkin and squash seeds, whole, roasted, without salt Nut and Seed Products 3.31 mg 18%
712 Pasta, fresh-refrigerated, spinach, as purchased Cereal Grains and Pasta 3.30 mg 18%
713 Pasta, dry, enriched Cereal Grains and Pasta 3.30 mg 18%
714 Nuts, hazelnuts or filberts, blanched Nut and Seed Products 3.30 mg 18%
715 Borage, raw Vegetables and Vegetable Products 3.30 mg 18%
716 Nuts, coconut milk, canned (liquid expressed from grated meat and water) Nut and Seed Products 3.30 mg 18%
717 Ascidians (tunughnak) (Alaska Native) American Indian/Alaska Native Foods 3.30 mg 18%
718 Tortillas, ready-to-bake or -fry, flour, without added calcium Baked Products 3.30 mg 18%
719 Cereals ready-to-eat, POST SELECTS Blueberry Morning Breakfast Cereals 3.30 mg 18%
720 Cereals, QUAKER, Whole Wheat Natural Cereal, dry Breakfast Cereals 3.30 mg 18%
721 Rolls, hard (includes kaiser) Baked Products 3.28 mg 18%
722 Nuts, almonds, blanched Nut and Seed Products 3.28 mg 18%
723 DENNY'S, top sirloin steak Restaurant Foods 3.27 mg 18%
724 Chicken, meatless Legumes and Legume Products 3.27 mg 18%
725 Beverages, chocolate powder, no sugar added Beverages 3.27 mg 18%
726 Cereals ready-to-eat, MOM'S BEST, Sweetened WHEAT-FULS Breakfast Cereals 3.26 mg 18%
727 Leavening agents, yeast, baker's, compressed Baked Products 3.25 mg 18%
728 Bread, naan, plain, commercially prepared, refrigerated Baked Products 3.25 mg 18%
729 Bread, stuffing, cornbread, dry mix Baked Products 3.25 mg 18%
730 Potatoes, raw, skin Vegetables and Vegetable Products 3.24 mg 18%
731 Beans, baked, canned, with pork and tomato sauce Legumes and Legume Products 3.24 mg 18%
732 Cereals ready-to-eat, QUAKER, MOTHER'S Cinnamon Oat Crunch Breakfast Cereals 3.24 mg 18%
733 Nuts, mixed nuts, dry roasted, with peanuts, salt added, CHOSEN ROASTER Nut and Seed Products 3.22 mg 18%
734 Cookies, chocolate chip, commercially prepared, regular, lower fat Baked Products 3.22 mg 18%
735 Phyllo dough Baked Products 3.21 mg 18%
736 Lentils, sprouted, raw Vegetables and Vegetable Products 3.21 mg 18%
737 Wheat, soft red winter Cereal Grains and Pasta 3.21 mg 18%
738 Cookie, vanilla with caramel, coconut, and chocolate coating Baked Products 3.20 mg 18%
739 Pumpkin leaves, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt Vegetables and Vegetable Products 3.20 mg 18%
740 Pumpkin leaves, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt Vegetables and Vegetable Products 3.20 mg 18%
741 Snacks, popcorn, air-popped Snacks 3.19 mg 18%
742 Wheat, hard red winter Cereal Grains and Pasta 3.19 mg 18%
743 Bread, reduced-calorie, white Baked Products 3.19 mg 18%
744 Candies, MARS SNACKFOOD US, COCOAVIA Blueberry and Almond Chocolate Bar Sweets 3.18 mg 18%
745 Cookies, chocolate sandwich, with creme filling, reduced fat Baked Products 3.18 mg 18%
746 Breakfast bars, oats, sugar, raisins, coconut (include granola bar) Snacks 3.18 mg 18%
747 Candies, MARS SNACKFOOD US, DOVE Dark Chocolate Sweets 3.18 mg 18%
748 Mary's Gone Crackers, Original Crackers, Organic Gluten Free Baked Products 3.17 mg 18%
749 Schar, Gluten-Free, Wheat-Free, Classic White Bread Baked Products 3.17 mg 18%
750 Basil, fresh Spices and Herbs 3.17 mg 18%

Need this on a label? Turn these foods into a print-ready Nutrition Facts label.

Make a label

Turn these foods into a print-ready nutrition label.

Build a recipe from any of these ingredients and export a print-ready FDA or Canada Nutrition Facts label. Free.

Style