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 3,584 foods
| # | Food | Category | Per 100 g | % DV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1901 | Cereals, corn grits, yellow, regular and quick, unenriched, dry | Breakfast Cereals | 1.00 mg | 6% |
| 1902 | Cookies, chocolate chip, commercially prepared, regular, higher fat, unenriched | Baked Products | 1.00 mg | 6% |
| 1903 | Beans, shellie, canned, solids and liquids | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.99 mg | 6% |
| 1904 | Potatoes, hash brown, frozen, with butter sauce, prepared | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.99 mg | 6% |
| 1905 | Sauce, pesto, MEZZETTA, NAPA VALLEY BISTRO, basil pesto, ready-to-serve | Soups, Sauces, and Gravies | 0.99 mg | 6% |
| 1906 | Infant formula, NESTLE, GOOD START SUPREME, with iron, DHA and ARA, ready-to-feed | Baby Foods | 0.99 mg | 6% |
| 1907 | Infant formula, NESTLE, GOOD START SUPREME, with iron, DHA and ARA, prepared from liquid concentrate | Baby Foods | 0.99 mg | 6% |
| 1908 | Raisins, golden, seedless | Fruits and Fruit Juices | 0.98 mg | 5% |
| 1909 | Yardlong bean, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.98 mg | 5% |
| 1910 | Yardlong bean, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.98 mg | 5% |
| 1911 | Yautia (tannier), raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.98 mg | 5% |
| 1912 | BANQUET, Salisbury Steak With Gravy, family size, frozen, unprepared | Meals, Entrees, and Side Dishes | 0.98 mg | 5% |
| 1913 | T.G.I. FRIDAY'S, french fries | Restaurant Foods | 0.98 mg | 5% |
| 1914 | OLIVE GARDEN, spaghetti with pomodoro sauce | Restaurant Foods | 0.98 mg | 5% |
| 1915 | Potatoes, hash brown, frozen, plain, unprepared | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.98 mg | 5% |
| 1916 | Turnips, frozen, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.98 mg | 5% |
| 1917 | Turnips, frozen, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.98 mg | 5% |
| 1918 | Infant formula, GERBER, GOOD START, PROTECT PLUS, ready-to-feed | Baby Foods | 0.98 mg | 5% |
| 1919 | Infant formula, GERBER, GOOD START 2, PROTECT PLUS, ready-to-feed | Baby Foods | 0.98 mg | 5% |
| 1920 | Infant formula, MEAD JOHNSON, Enfamil Reguline, ready to feed, with ARA and DHA | Baby Foods | 0.98 mg | 5% |
| 1921 | Chickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), mature seeds, canned, drained, rinsed in tap water | Legumes and Legume Products | 0.98 mg | 5% |
| 1922 | Grapes, canned, thompson seedless, water pack, solids and liquids | Fruits and Fruit Juices | 0.98 mg | 5% |
| 1923 | Snacks, plantain chips, salted | Snacks | 0.97 mg | 5% |
| 1924 | Sorghum flour, refined, unenriched | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 0.97 mg | 5% |
| 1925 | Cowpeas, common (blackeyes, crowder, southern), mature seeds, canned, plain | Legumes and Legume Products | 0.97 mg | 5% |
| 1926 | Cereals, QUAKER, Oat Bran, QUAKER/MOTHER'S Oat Bran, prepared with water, no salt | Breakfast Cereals | 0.97 mg | 5% |
| 1927 | Pears, dried, sulfured, stewed, with added sugar | Fruits and Fruit Juices | 0.97 mg | 5% |
| 1928 | Lettuce, cos or romaine, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.97 mg | 5% |
| 1929 | Sweet potato leaves, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.97 mg | 5% |
| 1930 | Candies, peanut bar | Sweets | 0.97 mg | 5% |
| 1931 | Nuts, chestnuts, chinese, boiled and steamed | Nut and Seed Products | 0.97 mg | 5% |
| 1932 | CHICK-FIL-A, Chick-n-Strips | Fast Foods | 0.97 mg | 5% |
| 1933 | Cereals, Oat Bran, QUAKER, QUAKER/MOTHER'S Oat Bran, prepared with water, salt | Breakfast Cereals | 0.97 mg | 5% |
| 1934 | Alfalfa seeds, sprouted, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.96 mg | 5% |
| 1935 | Tomato sauce, canned, no salt added | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.96 mg | 5% |
| 1936 | Syrups, malt | Sweets | 0.96 mg | 5% |
| 1937 | Candies, fudge, chocolate marshmallow, prepared-from-recipe | Sweets | 0.96 mg | 5% |
| 1938 | Tomato products, canned, sauce | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.96 mg | 5% |
| 1939 | Bulgur, cooked | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 0.96 mg | 5% |
| 1940 | Potatoes, o'brien, frozen, prepared | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.96 mg | 5% |
| 1941 | Beverages, SLIMFAST, Meal replacement, High Protein Shake, Ready-To-Drink, 3-2-1 plan | Beverages | 0.96 mg | 5% |
| 1942 | Bread, stuffing, dry mix, prepared | Baked Products | 0.95 mg | 5% |
| 1943 | Chilchen (Red Berry Beverage) (Navajo) | American Indian/Alaska Native Foods | 0.95 mg | 5% |
| 1944 | Seeds, lotus seeds, raw | Nut and Seed Products | 0.95 mg | 5% |
| 1945 | Salisbury steak with gravy, frozen | Meals, Entrees, and Side Dishes | 0.95 mg | 5% |
| 1946 | Prairie Turnips, boiled (Northern Plains Indians) | American Indian/Alaska Native Foods | 0.95 mg | 5% |
| 1947 | Sweet potato, canned, syrup pack, drained solids | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.95 mg | 5% |
| 1948 | Peas, green, canned, no salt added, drained solids | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.95 mg | 5% |
| 1949 | Vegetables, mixed, frozen, unprepared | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.95 mg | 5% |
| 1950 | Babyfood, vegetables, peas, strained | Baby Foods | 0.95 mg | 5% |
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