Vegetarian foods high in Iron (USDA SR Legacy)

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 4,377 foods

# Food Category Per 100 g % DV
551 Soup, ramen noodle, dry, any flavor, reduced fat, reduced sodium Soups, Sauces, and Gravies 4.52 mg 25%
552 Muffins, English, raisin-cinnamon (includes apple-cinnamon) Baked Products 4.50 mg 25%
553 Crackers, melba toast, wheat Baked Products 4.50 mg 25%
554 Bagels, plain, enriched, with calcium propionate (includes onion, poppy, sesame), toasted Baked Products 4.50 mg 25%
555 Caribou, bone marrow, raw (Alaska Native) American Indian/Alaska Native Foods 4.50 mg 25%
556 Nabisco, Nabisco Ritz Crackers Baked Products 4.47 mg 25%
557 Pepperidge Farm, Goldfish, Baked Snack Crackers, Parmesan Baked Products 4.45 mg 25%
558 Spelt, uncooked Cereal Grains and Pasta 4.44 mg 25%
559 Pepperidge Farm, Goldfish, Baked Snack Crackers, Explosive Pizza Baked Products 4.43 mg 25%
560 Ice cream cones, sugar, rolled-type Baked Products 4.43 mg 25%
561 Cereals, QUAKER, hominy grits, white, quick, dry Breakfast Cereals 4.42 mg 25%
562 Cereals, QUAKER, hominy grits, white, regular, dry Breakfast Cereals 4.42 mg 25%
563 Seeds, sesame butter, tahini, type of kernels unspecified Nut and Seed Products 4.42 mg 25%
564 Wheat flour, white, bread, enriched Cereal Grains and Pasta 4.41 mg 24%
565 Cereals ready-to-eat, QUAKER, QUAKER Puffed Wheat Breakfast Cereals 4.41 mg 24%
566 Beverages, coffee, instant, regular, powder Beverages 4.41 mg 24%
567 Beverages, coffee, instant, regular, half the caffeine Beverages 4.41 mg 24%
568 Crackers, wheat, low salt Baked Products 4.40 mg 24%
569 Nuts, hazelnuts or filberts, dry roasted, without salt added Nut and Seed Products 4.38 mg 24%
570 Chocolate-flavored hazelnut spread Sweets 4.38 mg 24%
571 BURGER KING, WHOPPER, no cheese Fast Foods 4.37 mg 24%
572 Crackers, matzo, egg and onion Baked Products 4.37 mg 24%
573 Lupins, mature seeds, raw Legumes and Legume Products 4.36 mg 24%
574 Cornmeal, degermed, enriched, yellow Cereal Grains and Pasta 4.36 mg 24%
575 Rice, white, medium-grain, raw, enriched Cereal Grains and Pasta 4.36 mg 24%
576 Cornmeal, degermed, enriched, white Cereal Grains and Pasta 4.36 mg 24%
577 Semolina, enriched Cereal Grains and Pasta 4.36 mg 24%
578 Toaster Pastries, fruit, frosted (include apples, blueberry, cherry, strawberry) Baked Products 4.35 mg 24%
579 Winged beans, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt Legumes and Legume Products 4.33 mg 24%
580 Winged beans, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, with salt Legumes and Legume Products 4.33 mg 24%
581 Snacks, pretzels, hard, plain, made with enriched flour, unsalted Snacks 4.32 mg 24%
582 Rice, white, long-grain, regular, raw, enriched Cereal Grains and Pasta 4.31 mg 24%
583 Chickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), mature seeds, raw Legumes and Legume Products 4.31 mg 24%
584 Pie Crust, Cookie-type, Chocolate, Ready Crust Baked Products 4.30 mg 24%
585 Seeds, sunflower seed kernels, oil roasted, without salt Nut and Seed Products 4.28 mg 24%
586 Macaroni, vegetable, enriched, dry Cereal Grains and Pasta 4.28 mg 24%
587 Seeds, sunflower seed kernels, oil roasted, with salt added Nut and Seed Products 4.28 mg 24%
588 Bread, sticks, plain Baked Products 4.28 mg 24%
589 Candies, sesame crunch Sweets 4.27 mg 24%
590 Pepperidge Farm, Goldfish, Baked Snack Crackers, Cheddar Baked Products 4.26 mg 24%
591 Cereals, oats, regular and quick, not fortified, dry Breakfast Cereals 4.25 mg 24%
592 Rice, white, short-grain, enriched, uncooked Cereal Grains and Pasta 4.23 mg 24%
593 Babyfood, crackers, vegetable Baby Foods 4.20 mg 23%
594 Noodles, egg, spinach, enriched, dry Cereal Grains and Pasta 4.20 mg 23%
595 Muffins, oat bran Baked Products 4.20 mg 23%
596 Cereals, QUAKER, Instant Oatmeal Organic, Regular Breakfast Cereals 4.20 mg 23%
597 Bagels, whole grain white Baked Products 4.19 mg 23%
598 Babyfood, cookies Baby Foods 4.18 mg 23%
599 Babyfood, yogurt, whole milk, with fruit, multigrain cereal and added iron fortified Baby Foods 4.18 mg 23%
600 Baking chocolate, unsweetened, liquid Sweets 4.15 mg 23%

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

Make a label

Turn these foods into a print-ready nutrition label.

Build a recipe from any of these ingredients and export a print-ready FDA or Canada Nutrition Facts label. Free.

Style