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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