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 101–150 of 271 foods
| # | Food | Category | Per 100 g | % DV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | Beans, black, canned, sodium added, drained and rinsed | Legumes and Legume Products | 1.69 mg | 9% |
| 102 | Flour, chestnut | Nut and Seed Products | 1.62 mg | 9% |
| 103 | Kale, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.60 mg | 9% |
| 104 | Beans, navy, canned, sodium added, drained and rinsed | Legumes and Legume Products | 1.60 mg | 9% |
| 105 | Mustard, prepared, yellow | Spices and Herbs | 1.59 mg | 9% |
| 106 | Peanuts, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 1.55 mg | 9% |
| 107 | Flour, semolina, coarse and semi-coarse | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 1.55 mg | 9% |
| 108 | Wild rice, dry, raw | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 1.53 mg | 8% |
| 109 | Flour, rice, brown | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 1.50 mg | 8% |
| 110 | Restaurant, Latino, pupusas con frijoles (pupusas, bean) | Restaurant Foods | 1.46 mg | 8% |
| 111 | Beans, kidney, dark red, canned, sodium added, sugar added, drained and rinsed | Legumes and Legume Products | 1.44 mg | 8% |
| 112 | Beans, cannellini, canned, sodium added, drained and rinsed | Legumes and Legume Products | 1.41 mg | 8% |
| 113 | Arugula, baby, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.39 mg | 8% |
| 114 | Beans, great northern, canned, sodium added, drained and rinsed | Legumes and Legume Products | 1.38 mg | 8% |
| 115 | Beans, kidney, light red, canned, sodium added, sugar added, drained and rinsed | Legumes and Legume Products | 1.30 mg | 7% |
| 116 | Beans, pinto, canned, sodium added, drained and rinsed | Legumes and Legume Products | 1.28 mg | 7% |
| 117 | Mushroom, enoki | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.27 mg | 7% |
| 118 | Spinach, baby | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.26 mg | 7% |
| 119 | Spinach, baby | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.26 mg | 7% |
| 120 | Rice, brown, long grain, unenriched, raw | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 1.24 mg | 7% |
| 121 | Tomato, puree, canned | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.24 mg | 7% |
| 122 | Rice, red, unenriched, dry, raw | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 1.20 mg | 7% |
| 123 | Flour, wheat, all-purpose, unenriched, unbleached | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 1.18 mg | 7% |
| 124 | Onion rings, breaded, par fried, frozen, prepared, heated in oven | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.14 mg | 6% |
| 125 | Peas, green, sweet, canned, sodium added, sugar added, drained and rinsed | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.14 mg | 6% |
| 126 | Rice, black, unenriched, raw | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 1.12 mg | 6% |
| 127 | Tomato, sauce, canned, with salt added | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.11 mg | 6% |
| 128 | Blackeye pea, canned, sodium added, drained and rinsed | Legumes and Legume Products | 1.08 mg | 6% |
| 129 | Spinach, mature | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.05 mg | 6% |
| 130 | Spinach, mature | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.05 mg | 6% |
| 131 | Green onion, (scallion), bulb and greens, root removed, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.04 mg | 6% |
| 132 | Chickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), canned, sodium added, drained and rinsed | Legumes and Legume Products | 1.04 mg | 6% |
| 133 | Flour, 00 | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 0.99 mg | 5% |
| 134 | Lettuce, cos or romaine, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.95 mg | 5% |
| 135 | Lettuce, cos or romaine, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.95 mg | 5% |
| 136 | Tomatoes, whole, canned, solids and liquids, with salt added | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.93 mg | 5% |
| 137 | Flour, pastry, unenriched, unbleached | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 0.87 mg | 5% |
| 138 | Kale, frozen, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.84 mg | 5% |
| 139 | Beans, snap, green, canned, regular pack, drained solids | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.78 mg | 4% |
| 140 | Sauce, pasta, spaghetti/marinara, ready-to-serve | Soups, Sauces, and Gravies | 0.78 mg | 4% |
| 141 | Leeks, bulb and greens, root removed, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.76 mg | 4% |
| 142 | Collards, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.75 mg | 4% |
| 143 | Mushroom, beech | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.74 mg | 4% |
| 144 | Brussels sprouts, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.73 mg | 4% |
| 145 | Mushroom, oyster | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.70 mg | 4% |
| 146 | Mushroom, oyster | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.70 mg | 4% |
| 147 | Broccoli, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.69 mg | 4% |
| 148 | Broccoli, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.69 mg | 4% |
| 149 | Mushroom, lion's mane | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.69 mg | 4% |
| 150 | Mushroom, lion's mane | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.69 mg | 4% |
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