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 1001–1050 of 6,739 foods
| # | Food | Category | Per 100 g | % DV | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1001 | Seeds, sunflower seed butter, without salt | Nut and Seed Products | 4.12 mg | 23% | USDA_SR |
| 1002 | Seeds, sunflower seed butter, with salt added (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program) | Nut and Seed Products | 4.12 mg | 23% | USDA_SR |
| 1003 | Seeds, sunflower seed butter, salted | Nuts and Seeds | 4.12 mg | 23% | CNF |
| 1004 | Seeds, sunflower seed butter | Nuts and Seeds | 4.12 mg | 23% | CNF |
| 1005 | Soup, ramen noodle, any flavor, dry | Soups, Sauces, and Gravies | 4.11 mg | 23% | USDA_SR |
| 1006 | Soup, ramen noodles, any flavour, dry | Soups, Sauces and Gravies | 4.11 mg | 23% | CNF |
| 1007 | Almond butter, creamy | Nut and Seed Products | 4.11 mg | 23% | USDA_FF |
| 1008 | Archway Home Style Cookies, Iced Molasses | Baked Products | 4.10 mg | 23% | USDA_SR |
| 1009 | Bread, wheat, toasted | Baked Products | 4.09 mg | 23% | USDA_SR |
| 1010 | Bagels, cinnamon-raisin, toasted | Baked Products | 4.09 mg | 23% | USDA_SR |
| 1011 | Bagel, cinnamon-raisin, toasted | Baked Products | 4.09 mg | 23% | CNF |
| 1012 | Croutons, plain | Baked Products | 4.08 mg | 23% | USDA_SR |
| 1013 | Croutons, plain | Baked Products | 4.08 mg | 23% | CNF |
| 1014 | Cereals ready-to-eat, QUAKER, MOTHER'S Toasted Oat Bran cereal | Breakfast Cereals | 4.07 mg | 23% | USDA_SR |
| 1015 | Cookies, oatmeal, commercially prepared, special dietary | Baked Products | 4.07 mg | 23% | USDA_SR |
| 1016 | Cookies, chocolate chip, commercially prepared, soft-type | Baked Products | 4.07 mg | 23% | USDA_SR |
| 1017 | Cookie, chocolate chip, soft type, commercial | Baked Products | 4.07 mg | 23% | CNF |
| 1018 | Cereal, ready to eat, Heritage Flakes, Nature's Path | Breakfast cereals | 4.07 mg | 23% | CNF |
| 1019 | Buckwheat flour, whole-groat | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 4.06 mg | 23% | USDA_SR |
| 1020 | Peaches, dried, sulfured, uncooked | Fruits and Fruit Juices | 4.06 mg | 23% | USDA_SR |
| 1021 | Grains, buckwheat flour, whole-groat | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 4.06 mg | 23% | CNF |
| 1022 | Peach, dried halves, sulphured, uncooked | Fruits and fruit juices | 4.06 mg | 23% | CNF |
| 1023 | Cereals ready-to-eat, NATURE'S PATH, Organic FLAX PLUS, Pumpkin Granola | Breakfast Cereals | 4.04 mg | 22% | USDA_SR |
| 1024 | Yeast extract spread | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 4.04 mg | 22% | USDA_SR |
| 1025 | Yeast extract spread | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 4.04 mg | 22% | CNF |
| 1026 | Crackers, standard snack-type, regular | Baked Products | 4.03 mg | 22% | USDA_SR |
| 1027 | Cereals ready-to-eat, UNCLE SAM CEREAL | Breakfast Cereals | 4.03 mg | 22% | USDA_SR |
| 1028 | Nuts, pistachio nuts, dry roasted, without salt added | Nut and Seed Products | 4.03 mg | 22% | USDA_SR |
| 1029 | Nuts, pistachio nuts, dry roasted, with salt added | Nut and Seed Products | 4.03 mg | 22% | USDA_SR |
| 1030 | Cracker, standard snack-type | Baked Products | 4.03 mg | 22% | CNF |
| 1031 | Bread, rye, toasted | Baked Products | 4.03 mg | 22% | CNF |
| 1032 | Nuts, pistachio nuts, dry roasted, salted | Nuts and Seeds | 4.03 mg | 22% | CNF |
| 1033 | Nuts, pistachio nuts, dry roasted | Nuts and Seeds | 4.03 mg | 22% | CNF |
| 1034 | Nuts, butternuts, dried | Nut and Seed Products | 4.02 mg | 22% | USDA_SR |
| 1035 | Cereal, ready to eat, Agave Sunflower Seeds Granola, Nature's Path | Breakfast cereals | 4.02 mg | 22% | CNF |
| 1036 | Nuts, butternuts (long walnuts), dried | Nuts and Seeds | 4.02 mg | 22% | CNF |
| 1037 | Cake, snack cakes, creme-filled, chocolate with frosting, low-fat, with added fiber | Baked Products | 4.01 mg | 22% | USDA_SR |
| 1038 | Cookies, chocolate wafers | Baked Products | 4.01 mg | 22% | USDA_SR |
| 1039 | Noodles, egg, dry, enriched | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 4.01 mg | 22% | USDA_SR |
| 1040 | Pasta, egg noodles, enriched, dry | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 4.01 mg | 22% | CNF |
| 1041 | Cookie, chocolate wafer | Baked Products | 4.01 mg | 22% | CNF |
| 1042 | Muffins, English, plain, enriched, with ca prop (includes sourdough) | Baked Products | 4.00 mg | 22% | USDA_SR |
| 1043 | Doughnuts, cake-type, plain, chocolate-coated or frosted | Baked Products | 4.00 mg | 22% | USDA_SR |
| 1044 | Winged bean leaves, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 4.00 mg | 22% | USDA_SR |
| 1045 | Oat flour, partially debranned | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 4.00 mg | 22% | USDA_SR |
| 1046 | Snacks, granola bar, fruit-filled, nonfat | Snacks | 4.00 mg | 22% | USDA_SR |
| 1047 | Drumstick leaves, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 4.00 mg | 22% | USDA_SR |
| 1048 | Grains, oat flour, partially debranned | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 4.00 mg | 22% | CNF |
| 1049 | Cereal, hot, Red River, dry Robin Hood | Breakfast cereals | 4.00 mg | 22% | CNF |
| 1050 | Grains, barley, malt, dry | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 4.00 mg | 22% | CNF |
Need this on a label? Turn these foods into a print-ready Nutrition Facts label.
Make a labelBuild a recipe from any of these ingredients and export a print-ready FDA or Canada Nutrition Facts label. Free.