Vegetarian foods high in Iron

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

Selling a product with iron? Generate a print-ready nutrition label from your recipe.

Showing 551–600 of 8,274 foods

#	Food	Category	Per 100 g	% DV	Source
551	Candies, chocolate, dark, not further specified	Sweets	8.13 mg	45%	CNF
552	Babyfood, cereal, Oat, with milk powder, prepared with water	Babyfoods	8.11 mg	45%	CNF
553	Cereals, QUAKER, Oat Bran, QUAKER/MOTHER'S Oat Bran, dry	Breakfast Cereals	8.07 mg	45%	USDA_SR
554	Seeds, pumpkin and squash seed kernels, roasted, without salt	Nut and Seed Products	8.07 mg	45%	USDA_SR
555	Seeds, pumpkin and squash seed kernels, roasted, with salt added	Nut and Seed Products	8.07 mg	45%	USDA_SR
556	Seaweed, Canadian Cultivated EMI-TSUNOMATA, rehydrated	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	8.07 mg	45%	USDA_SR
557	Seaweed, Canadian cultivated EMI-TSUNOMATA, rehydrated	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	8.07 mg	45%	CNF
558	Seeds, pumpkin and squash seed kernels, roasted, salted	Nuts and Seeds	8.07 mg	45%	CNF
559	Seeds, pumpkin and squash seed kernels, roasted	Nuts and Seeds	8.07 mg	45%	CNF
560	Cereals ready-to-eat, SUN COUNTRY, KRETSCHMER Honey Crunch Wheat Germ	Breakfast Cereals	8.05 mg	45%	USDA_SR
561	Chocolate, dark, 45- 59% cacao solids	Sweets	8.02 mg	45%	USDA_SR
562	Candies, chocolate, dark, 45-59% cacao solids	Sweets	8.02 mg	45%	CNF
563	Flour, coconut	Nut and Seed Products	8.02 mg	45%	USDA_FF
564	Seeds, hemp seed, hulled	Nut and Seed Products	7.95 mg	44%	USDA_SR
565	Cereals ready-to-eat, MALT-O-MEAL, GOLDEN PUFFS	Breakfast Cereals	7.92 mg	44%	USDA_SR
566	Cereals, QUAKER, Instant Oatmeal, DINOSAUR EGGS, Brown Sugar, dry	Breakfast Cereals	7.91 mg	44%	USDA_SR
567	Pancakes, whole-wheat, dry mix, incomplete	Baked Products	7.84 mg	44%	USDA_SR
568	Pancake, whole-wheat, dry mix, incomplete, unprepared	Baked Products	7.84 mg	44%	CNF
569	Celery flakes, dried	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	7.83 mg	44%	CNF
570	Cookies, chocolate sandwich, with extra creme filling	Baked Products	7.80 mg	43%	USDA_SR
571	Spices, pepper, red or cayenne	Spices and Herbs	7.80 mg	43%	USDA_SR
572	Papad	Legumes and Legume Products	7.80 mg	43%	USDA_SR
573	Indian, papad (papadum)	Legumes and Legume Products	7.80 mg	43%	CNF
574	Cookie, chocolate sandwich, extra cream filling	Baked Products	7.80 mg	43%	CNF
575	Spices, pepper, red or cayenne	Spices and Herbs	7.80 mg	43%	CNF
576	Seeds, sesame seed kernels, toasted, without salt added (decorticated)	Nut and Seed Products	7.78 mg	43%	USDA_SR
577	Seeds, sesame seed kernels, toasted, with salt added (decorticated)	Nut and Seed Products	7.78 mg	43%	USDA_SR
578	Seeds, sesame seed kernels, toasted, shelled, with salt	Nuts and Seeds	7.78 mg	43%	CNF
579	Seeds, sesame seed kernels, toasted, shelled	Nuts and Seeds	7.78 mg	43%	CNF
580	Beans, small white, mature seeds, raw	Legumes and Legume Products	7.73 mg	43%	USDA_SR
581	Beans, small white, raw	Legumes and Legume Products	7.73 mg	43%	CNF
582	Crackers, saltines, fat-free, low-sodium	Baked Products	7.72 mg	43%	USDA_SR
583	Seeds, chia seeds, dried	Nut and Seed Products	7.72 mg	43%	USDA_SR
584	Seeds, chia seeds, dried	Nuts and Seeds	7.72 mg	43%	CNF
585	Beverages, Dairy drink mix, chocolate, reduced calorie, with low-calorie sweeteners, powder	Beverages	7.70 mg	43%	USDA_SR
586	Infant formula, NESTLE, GOOD START SUPREME, with iron, powder	Baby Foods	7.70 mg	43%	USDA_SR
587	Toddler formula, MEAD JOHNSON, Nutramigen Toddler with LGG Powder, with ARA and DHA, not reconstituted	Baby Foods	7.70 mg	43%	USDA_SR
588	Infant formula, GERBER, GOOD START, PROTECT PLUS, powder	Baby Foods	7.70 mg	43%	USDA_SR
589	Milk shake, not chocolate, dry mix, unprepared	Beverages	7.70 mg	43%	CNF
590	Meal replacement (cereal), ready to eat, Force Active, President's Choice	Breakfast cereals	7.69 mg	43%	CNF
591	Teff, uncooked	Cereal Grains and Pasta	7.63 mg	42%	USDA_SR
592	Grains, teff, uncooked	Cereals, Grains and Pasta	7.63 mg	42%	CNF
593	Cereals ready-to-eat, MALT-O-MEAL, Fruity DYNO-BITES	Breakfast Cereals	7.62 mg	42%	USDA_SR
594	Amaranth grain, uncooked	Cereal Grains and Pasta	7.61 mg	42%	USDA_SR
595	Grains, amaranth, raw	Cereals, Grains and Pasta	7.61 mg	42%	CNF
596	Leeks, (bulb and lower-leaf portion), freeze-dried	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	7.60 mg	42%	USDA_SR
597	Leeks (bulb and lower-leaf portion), freeze-dried	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	7.60 mg	42%	CNF
598	Mungo beans, mature seeds, raw	Legumes and Legume Products	7.57 mg	42%	USDA_SR
599	Beans, mungo, raw	Legumes and Legume Products	7.57 mg	42%	CNF
600	Flour, amaranth	Cereal Grains and Pasta	7.56 mg	42%	USDA_FF

Need this on a label? Turn these foods into a print-ready Nutrition Facts label.

Make a label

Vegetarian foods high in Iron

Turn these foods into a print-ready nutrition label.