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 201–250 of 2,883 foods
| # | Food | Category | Per 100 g | % DV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 201 | Pancake, whole-wheat, dry mix, incomplete, unprepared | Baked Products | 7.84 mg | 44% |
| 202 | Celery flakes, dried | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 7.83 mg | 44% |
| 203 | Spices, pepper, red or cayenne | Spices and Herbs | 7.80 mg | 43% |
| 204 | Indian, papad (papadum) | Legumes and Legume Products | 7.80 mg | 43% |
| 205 | Seeds, sesame seed kernels, toasted, shelled, with salt | Nuts and Seeds | 7.78 mg | 43% |
| 206 | Seeds, sesame seed kernels, toasted, shelled | Nuts and Seeds | 7.78 mg | 43% |
| 207 | Beans, small white, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 7.73 mg | 43% |
| 208 | Seeds, chia seeds, dried | Nuts and Seeds | 7.72 mg | 43% |
| 209 | Meal replacement (cereal), ready to eat, Force Active, President's Choice | Breakfast cereals | 7.69 mg | 43% |
| 210 | Grains, teff, uncooked | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 7.63 mg | 42% |
| 211 | Grains, amaranth, raw | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 7.61 mg | 42% |
| 212 | Leeks (bulb and lower-leaf portion), freeze-dried | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 7.60 mg | 42% |
| 213 | Beans, mungo, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 7.57 mg | 42% |
| 214 | Grains, amaranth, flour | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 7.55 mg | 42% |
| 215 | Beans, lima, dry, large, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 7.51 mg | 42% |
| 216 | Gravy, brown instant, dry | Soups, Sauces and Gravies | 7.40 mg | 41% |
| 217 | Lentils, pink, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 7.39 mg | 41% |
| 218 | Cereal, ready to eat, Muslix: Almond Raisin, Kellogg's | Breakfast cereals | 7.35 mg | 41% |
| 219 | Seeds, watermelon seed kernels, dried | Nuts and Seeds | 7.28 mg | 40% |
| 220 | Seasoning mix, taco, dry mix | Spices and Herbs | 7.20 mg | 40% |
| 221 | Babyfood, cereal, ready to eat, 'O' shaped | Babyfoods | 7.14 mg | 40% |
| 222 | Dessert, rennin, tablets, unsweetened | Sweets | 7.07 mg | 39% |
| 223 | Spices, allspice, ground | Spices and Herbs | 7.06 mg | 39% |
| 224 | Potato, skin, baked, with salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 7.04 mg | 39% |
| 225 | Potato, skin, baked | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 7.04 mg | 39% |
| 226 | Beans, yellow, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 7.01 mg | 39% |
| 227 | Waffle, plain, frozen, ready-to-heat, toasted | Baked Products | 6.91 mg | 38% |
| 228 | Seeds, sunflower seed kernels, toasted, salted | Nuts and Seeds | 6.81 mg | 38% |
| 229 | Seeds, sunflower seed kernels, toasted | Nuts and Seeds | 6.81 mg | 38% |
| 230 | Beans, pink, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 6.77 mg | 38% |
| 231 | Beans, legumes, mung (green gram), raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 6.74 mg | 37% |
| 232 | Radish, oriental (daikon), dried | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 6.73 mg | 37% |
| 233 | Broadbeans (fava beans), dry, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 6.70 mg | 37% |
| 234 | Beans, kidney, dark red, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 6.69 mg | 37% |
| 235 | Nuts, cashew nuts, raw | Nuts and Seeds | 6.68 mg | 37% |
| 236 | Spices, rosemary, fresh | Spices and Herbs | 6.65 mg | 37% |
| 237 | Snacks, Clif bar, all flavours | Snacks | 6.62 mg | 37% |
| 238 | Seeds, sunflower seed flour, partially defatted | Nuts and Seeds | 6.62 mg | 37% |
| 239 | Bread crumbs, dry, grated, seasoned | Baked Products | 6.60 mg | 37% |
| 240 | Spices, dill weed, fresh | Spices and Herbs | 6.59 mg | 37% |
| 241 | Lentils, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 6.51 mg | 36% |
| 242 | Grains, rye flour, dark | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 6.45 mg | 36% |
| 243 | Cookie, molasses | Baked Products | 6.43 mg | 36% |
| 244 | Cookie, ginger snap | Baked Products | 6.40 mg | 36% |
| 245 | Waffle, whole wheat, low fat | Baked Products | 6.40 mg | 36% |
| 246 | Waffle, chocolate chip, frozen, ready-to-heat | Baked Products | 6.40 mg | 36% |
| 247 | Grains, oat flour, whole-grain | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 6.40 mg | 36% |
| 248 | Soy flour, full-fat, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 6.37 mg | 35% |
| 249 | Seeds, sesame seed kernels, dried, shelled | Nuts and Seeds | 6.36 mg | 35% |
| 250 | Seeds, sesame butter, tahini, unroasted kernels | Nuts and Seeds | 6.35 mg | 35% |
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