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

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Showing 101–150 of 3,584 foods

# Food Category Per 100 g % DV
101 Rice bran, crude Cereal Grains and Pasta 18.54 mg 103%
102 Cereals ready-to-eat, QUAKER, SWEET CRUNCH/QUISP Breakfast Cereals 18.35 mg 102%
103 Cereals ready-to-eat, POST Raisin Bran Cereal Breakfast Cereals 18.30 mg 102%
104 Formulated bar, MARS SNACKFOOD US, SNICKERS MARATHON Double Chocolate Nut Bar Snacks 17.95 mg 100%
105 Peanut butter, chunky, vitamin and mineral fortified Legumes and Legume Products 17.50 mg 97%
106 Thyme, fresh Spices and Herbs 17.45 mg 97%
107 Baking chocolate, unsweetened, squares Sweets 17.40 mg 97%
108 Spices, chili powder Spices and Herbs 17.30 mg 96%
109 Cereals ready-to-eat, POST, GREAT GRAINS Crunchy Pecan Cereal Breakfast Cereals 17.30 mg 96%
110 Peanut butter, smooth, vitamin and mineral fortified Legumes and Legume Products 16.60 mg 92%
111 Cereals ready-to-eat, POST, GREAT GRAINS, Raisin, Date & Pecan Breakfast Cereals 16.40 mg 91%
112 Beverages, rich chocolate, powder Beverages 16.36 mg 91%
113 Beverages, OVALTINE, chocolate malt powder Beverages 16.36 mg 91%
114 Beverages, OVALTINE, Classic Malt powder Beverages 16.36 mg 91%
115 Spices, dill seed Spices and Herbs 16.33 mg 91%
116 Spices, coriander seed Spices and Herbs 16.32 mg 91%
117 Formulated bar, MARS SNACKFOOD US, SNICKERS MARATHON Energy Bar, all flavors Snacks 16.31 mg 91%
118 Spices, caraway seed Spices and Herbs 16.23 mg 90%
119 Cockles, raw (Alaska Native) American Indian/Alaska Native Foods 16.20 mg 90%
120 Chiton, leathery, gumboots (Alaska Native) American Indian/Alaska Native Foods 16.00 mg 89%
121 Cereals ready-to-eat, chocolate-flavored frosted puffed corn Breakfast Cereals 15.87 mg 88%
122 Caribou, liver, raw (Alaska Native) American Indian/Alaska Native Foods 15.70 mg 87%
123 Soybeans, mature seeds, raw Legumes and Legume Products 15.70 mg 87%
124 Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened, processed with alkali Sweets 15.52 mg 86%
125 Cereals ready-to-eat, MALT-O-MEAL, Raisin Bran Cereal Breakfast Cereals 15.25 mg 85%
126 Seeds, sesame flour, high-fat Nut and Seed Products 15.17 mg 84%
127 Cereals ready-to-eat, frosted oat cereal with marshmallows Breakfast Cereals 15.00 mg 83%
128 Seeds, sesame seeds, whole, roasted and toasted Nut and Seed Products 14.76 mg 82%
129 Formulated bar, MARS SNACKFOOD US, SNICKERS MARATHON MULTIGRAIN CRUNCH BAR Snacks 14.67 mg 82%
130 Seeds, sesame meal, partially defatted Nut and Seed Products 14.55 mg 81%
131 Seeds, sesame seeds, whole, dried Nut and Seed Products 14.55 mg 81%
132 Cocoa, dry powder, hi-fat or breakfast, processed with alkali Sweets 14.50 mg 81%
133 Soy protein isolate Legumes and Legume Products 14.50 mg 81%
134 Soy protein isolate, potassium type Legumes and Legume Products 14.50 mg 81%
135 Walrus, liver, raw (Alaska Native) American Indian/Alaska Native Foods 14.40 mg 80%
136 Spices, pepper, white Spices and Herbs 14.31 mg 80%
137 Babyfood, oatmeal cereal with fruit, dry, instant, toddler fortified Baby Foods 14.30 mg 79%
138 Seeds, sesame flour, partially defatted Nut and Seed Products 14.30 mg 79%
139 Seeds, sesame flour, low-fat Nut and Seed Products 14.22 mg 79%
140 Formulated bar, LUNA BAR, NUTZ OVER CHOCOLATE Snacks 14.20 mg 79%
141 Spices, cardamom Spices and Herbs 13.97 mg 78%
142 Spices, mace, ground Spices and Herbs 13.90 mg 77%
143 Cereals ready-to-eat, SUN COUNTRY, KRETSCHMER Toasted Wheat Bran Breakfast Cereals 13.88 mg 77%
144 Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened Sweets 13.86 mg 77%
145 Soy meal, defatted, raw Legumes and Legume Products 13.70 mg 76%
146 Seal, ringed, liver (Alaska Native) American Indian/Alaska Native Foods 13.50 mg 75%
147 Winged beans, mature seeds, raw Legumes and Legume Products 13.44 mg 75%
148 Seeds, cottonseed meal, partially defatted (glandless) Nut and Seed Products 13.35 mg 74%
149 Babyfood, fortified cereal bar, fruit filling Baby Foods 13.16 mg 73%
150 Cereals ready-to-eat, WEETABIX whole grain cereal Breakfast Cereals 12.86 mg 71%

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