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 301–350 of 3,584 foods
| # | Food | Category | Per 100 g | % DV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 301 | Wheat flour, white, tortilla mix, enriched | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 7.05 mg | 39% |
| 302 | Potatoes, baked, skin only, with salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 7.04 mg | 39% |
| 303 | Potatoes, baked, skin, without salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 7.04 mg | 39% |
| 304 | Beans, yellow, mature seeds, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 7.01 mg | 39% |
| 305 | Sea lion, Steller, kidney (Alaska Native) | American Indian/Alaska Native Foods | 7.00 mg | 39% |
| 306 | Waffles, plain, frozen, ready -to-heat, toasted | Baked Products | 6.91 mg | 38% |
| 307 | Seeds, sunflower seed kernels, toasted, with salt added | Nut and Seed Products | 6.81 mg | 38% |
| 308 | Seeds, sunflower seed kernels, toasted, without salt | Nut and Seed Products | 6.81 mg | 38% |
| 309 | Babyfood, cereal, mixed, with applesauce and bananas, strained | Baby Foods | 6.81 mg | 38% |
| 310 | Babyfood, cereal, mixed, with applesauce and bananas, junior, fortified | Baby Foods | 6.81 mg | 38% |
| 311 | Goji berries, dried | Fruits and Fruit Juices | 6.80 mg | 38% |
| 312 | Beans, pink, mature seeds, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 6.77 mg | 38% |
| 313 | Moose, liver, braised (Alaska Native) | American Indian/Alaska Native Foods | 6.77 mg | 38% |
| 314 | Mung beans, mature seeds, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 6.74 mg | 37% |
| 315 | Radishes, oriental, dried | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 6.73 mg | 37% |
| 316 | Babyfood, cereal, rice, with applesauce and bananas, strained | Baby Foods | 6.73 mg | 37% |
| 317 | Cereals, QUAKER, corn grits, instant, plain, prepared (microwaved or boiling water added), without salt | Breakfast Cereals | 6.71 mg | 37% |
| 318 | Broadbeans (fava beans), mature seeds, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 6.70 mg | 37% |
| 319 | Cereals ready-to-eat, POST, GOLDEN CRISP | Breakfast Cereals | 6.70 mg | 37% |
| 320 | Sea lion, Steller, heart (Alaska Native) | American Indian/Alaska Native Foods | 6.70 mg | 37% |
| 321 | Beans, kidney, red, mature seeds, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 6.69 mg | 37% |
| 322 | Nuts, cashew nuts, raw | Nut and Seed Products | 6.68 mg | 37% |
| 323 | Cereals ready-to-eat, POST, FRUITY PEBBLES | Breakfast Cereals | 6.67 mg | 37% |
| 324 | Rosemary, fresh | Spices and Herbs | 6.65 mg | 37% |
| 325 | Snacks, CLIF BAR, mixed flavors | Snacks | 6.62 mg | 37% |
| 326 | Seeds, sunflower seed flour, partially defatted | Nut and Seed Products | 6.62 mg | 37% |
| 327 | Dill weed, fresh | Spices and Herbs | 6.59 mg | 37% |
| 328 | Lentils, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 6.51 mg | 36% |
| 329 | Noodles, chinese, chow mein | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 6.43 mg | 36% |
| 330 | Cookies, molasses | Baked Products | 6.43 mg | 36% |
| 331 | Beverages, ABBOTT, EAS soy protein powder | Beverages | 6.43 mg | 36% |
| 332 | Waffles, whole wheat, lowfat, frozen, ready-to-heat | Baked Products | 6.43 mg | 36% |
| 333 | Cookies, gingersnaps | Baked Products | 6.40 mg | 36% |
| 334 | Waffles, chocolate chip, frozen, ready-to-heat | Baked Products | 6.40 mg | 36% |
| 335 | Babyfood, Snack, GERBER, GRADUATES, LIL CRUNCHIES, baked whole grain corn snack | Baby Foods | 6.40 mg | 36% |
| 336 | Soy flour, full-fat, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 6.37 mg | 35% |
| 337 | Seeds, sesame seed kernels, dried (decorticated) | Nut and Seed Products | 6.36 mg | 35% |
| 338 | Snacks, crisped rice bar, almond | Snacks | 6.35 mg | 35% |
| 339 | Seeds, sesame butter, tahini, from unroasted kernels (non-chemically removed seed coat) | Nut and Seed Products | 6.35 mg | 35% |
| 340 | Chocolate, dark, 60-69% cacao solids | Sweets | 6.32 mg | 35% |
| 341 | Apricots, dehydrated (low-moisture), sulfured, uncooked | Fruits and Fruit Juices | 6.31 mg | 35% |
| 342 | Rice, white, long-grain, precooked or instant, enriched, dry | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 6.30 mg | 35% |
| 343 | Snacks, crisped rice bar, chocolate chip | Snacks | 6.30 mg | 35% |
| 344 | Olives, ripe, canned (small-extra large) | Fruits and Fruit Juices | 6.28 mg | 35% |
| 345 | Wheat germ, crude | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 6.26 mg | 35% |
| 346 | Cereals ready-to-eat, MALT-O-MEAL, Cocoa DYNO-BITES | Breakfast Cereals | 6.21 mg | 34% |
| 347 | Cereals ready-to-eat, POST, COCOA PEBBLES | Breakfast Cereals | 6.20 mg | 34% |
| 348 | Parsley, fresh | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 6.20 mg | 34% |
| 349 | Lima beans, thin seeded (baby), mature seeds, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 6.19 mg | 34% |
| 350 | Snacks, KELLOGG, KELLOGG'S, NUTRI-GRAIN Cereal Bars, fruit | Snacks | 6.14 mg | 34% |
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