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 1901–1950 of 2,883 foods
| # | Food | Category | Per 100 g | % DV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1901 | Beans, mung, mature seeds, sprouted, bean sprouts, boiled, drained, with salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.65 mg | 4% |
| 1902 | Sauce, salsa, verde, ready-to-serve | Soups, Sauces and Gravies | 0.65 mg | 4% |
| 1903 | Babyfood, vegetables and fruit, jarred, green beans and apple | Babyfoods | 0.65 mg | 4% |
| 1904 | Sauce, barbecue, ready-to-serve | Soups, Sauces and Gravies | 0.64 mg | 4% |
| 1905 | Loganberry, frozen | Fruits and fruit juices | 0.64 mg | 4% |
| 1906 | Potato, au gratin, homemade, with butter | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.64 mg | 4% |
| 1907 | Carrot, canned, drained solids | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.64 mg | 4% |
| 1908 | Plant-based beverage, soy, original and vanilla, unenriched | Beverages | 0.64 mg | 4% |
| 1909 | Potato, white, flesh and skin, baked | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.64 mg | 4% |
| 1910 | Carrot, canned, drained solids, unsalted | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.64 mg | 4% |
| 1911 | Potato, au gratin, homemade, with margarine | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.64 mg | 4% |
| 1912 | Raspberry, wild, raw | Fruits and fruit juices | 0.64 mg | 4% |
| 1913 | Chinese dish, soup, hot and sour, restaurant prepared | Soups, Sauces and Gravies | 0.64 mg | 4% |
| 1914 | Cherry, sour, canned, water pack, drained | Fruits and fruit juices | 0.64 mg | 4% |
| 1915 | Butterbur (fuki), canned | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.63 mg | 4% |
| 1916 | Sweet potato leaves, steamed | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.63 mg | 4% |
| 1917 | Candies, bars, Baby Ruth | Sweets | 0.63 mg | 4% |
| 1918 | Grains, millet, cooked | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 0.63 mg | 4% |
| 1919 | Fast foods, entree, salad, vegetable, no dressing | Fast Foods | 0.63 mg | 4% |
| 1920 | Sweet potato leaves, steamed, with salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.63 mg | 4% |
| 1921 | Soup, tomato rice, canned, condensed | Soups, Sauces and Gravies | 0.62 mg | 3% |
| 1922 | Apricot, canned whole no skin, extra heavy syrup, solids and liquid | Fruits and fruit juices | 0.62 mg | 3% |
| 1923 | Blackberry, raw | Fruits and fruit juices | 0.62 mg | 3% |
| 1924 | Okra (gumbo), raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.62 mg | 3% |
| 1925 | Tomatillo, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.62 mg | 3% |
| 1926 | Pepper, sweet, green, frozen, chopped, unprepared | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.62 mg | 3% |
| 1927 | Potato, french-fried, frozen, unprepared | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.62 mg | 3% |
| 1928 | Grains, hominy, canned, yellow | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 0.62 mg | 3% |
| 1929 | Fast foods, mexican, tostada with guacamole | Fast Foods | 0.62 mg | 3% |
| 1930 | Soup, NISSIN, OODLES OF NOODLES TOP RAMEN ramen noodles, oriental flavour, dry, water added | Soups, Sauces and Gravies | 0.62 mg | 3% |
| 1931 | Jam type spread, Double Fruit | Sweets | 0.62 mg | 3% |
| 1932 | Pepper, sweet, red, frozen, chopped, unprepared | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.62 mg | 3% |
| 1933 | Mozzarella sticks, fried | Mixed Dishes | 0.62 mg | 3% |
| 1934 | Avocado, raw, california | Fruits and fruit juices | 0.61 mg | 3% |
| 1935 | Broccoli, frozen, spears, boiled, drained | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.61 mg | 3% |
| 1936 | Corn, sweet, frozen, kernels on the cob, boiled, drained | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.61 mg | 3% |
| 1937 | Sweet potato, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.61 mg | 3% |
| 1938 | Artichoke (Globe, French), boiled, drained, with salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.61 mg | 3% |
| 1939 | Broccoli, frozen, spears, boiled, drained, with salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.61 mg | 3% |
| 1940 | Artichoke (Globe, French), boiled, drained | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.61 mg | 3% |
| 1941 | Broccoli, frozen, chopped, boiled, drained | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.61 mg | 3% |
| 1942 | Pie, lemon meringue, commercial | Baked Products | 0.61 mg | 3% |
| 1943 | Broccoli, frozen, chopped, boiled, drained, with salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.61 mg | 3% |
| 1944 | Salad dressing, russian, commercial, regular | Fats and Oils | 0.60 mg | 3% |
| 1945 | Salad dressing, russian, commercial, low calorie | Fats and Oils | 0.60 mg | 3% |
| 1946 | Gravy, au jus, canned | Soups, Sauces and Gravies | 0.60 mg | 3% |
| 1947 | Lemon, raw, without peel | Fruits and fruit juices | 0.60 mg | 3% |
| 1948 | Lime, raw | Fruits and fruit juices | 0.60 mg | 3% |
| 1949 | Plantain, raw | Fruits and fruit juices | 0.60 mg | 3% |
| 1950 | Soursop, raw | Fruits and fruit juices | 0.60 mg | 3% |
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