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

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Showing 801–850 of 8,274 foods

# Food Category Per 100 g % DV Source
801 Cookies, chocolate chip, commercially prepared, regular, higher fat, enriched Baked Products 5.58 mg 31% USDA_SR
802 Cookie, chocolate chip, commercial, regular, higher fat Baked Products 5.58 mg 31% CNF
803 Flour, bread, white, enriched, unbleached Cereal Grains and Pasta 5.55 mg 31% USDA_FF
804 Bread, sprouted wheat with added calcium and vitamin D, commercial, toasted Baked Products 5.54 mg 31% CNF
805 Nuts, pine nuts, dried Nut and Seed Products 5.53 mg 31% USDA_SR
806 Nuts, pine nuts, pignolia, dried Nuts and Seeds 5.53 mg 31% CNF
807 Toaster pastries, fruit (includes apple, blueberry, cherry, strawberry) Baked Products 5.51 mg 31% USDA_SR
808 Peaches, dehydrated (low-moisture), sulfured, uncooked Fruits and Fruit Juices 5.51 mg 31% USDA_SR
809 Peach, dehydrated (low moisture), sulphured, uncooked Fruits and fruit juices 5.51 mg 31% CNF
810 Cereal, ready to eat, Morning Crisp: maple & pecan, Jordans Breakfast cereals 5.50 mg 31% CNF
811 Beans, navy, mature seeds, raw Legumes and Legume Products 5.49 mg 30% USDA_SR
812 Beans, navy, raw Legumes and Legume Products 5.49 mg 30% CNF
813 Beans, Dry, Great Northern (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 5.48 mg 30% USDA_FF
814 Beans, Dry, Great Northern (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 5.48 mg 30% USDA_FF
815 Beans, great northern, mature seeds, raw (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program) Legumes and Legume Products 5.47 mg 30% USDA_SR
816 Beans, great northern, raw Legumes and Legume Products 5.47 mg 30% CNF
817 Beans, Dry, Pink (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 5.46 mg 30% USDA_FF
818 Beans, Dry, Pink (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 5.46 mg 30% USDA_FF
819 Flour, wheat, all-purpose, enriched, unbleached Cereal Grains and Pasta 5.41 mg 30% USDA_FF
820 Oat bran, raw Cereal Grains and Pasta 5.41 mg 30% USDA_SR
821 Grains, oat bran, dry Cereals, Grains and Pasta 5.41 mg 30% CNF
822 Pink Himalayan sea salt 5.40 mg 30% CUSTOM
823 Beans, Dry, Pinto (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 5.40 mg 30% USDA_FF
824 Beans, Dry, Pinto (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 5.40 mg 30% USDA_FF
825 Formulated Bar, SOUTH BEACH protein bar Snacks 5.40 mg 30% USDA_SR
826 Seeds, cottonseed kernels, roasted (glandless) Nut and Seed Products 5.40 mg 30% USDA_SR
827 Longans, dried Fruits and Fruit Juices 5.40 mg 30% USDA_SR
828 Smelt, dried (Alaska Native) American Indian/Alaska Native Foods 5.40 mg 30% USDA_SR
829 Seeds, cottonseed kernels, roasted Nuts and Seeds 5.40 mg 30% CNF
830 Longan, dried Fruits and fruit juices 5.40 mg 30% CNF
831 Wheat, soft white Cereal Grains and Pasta 5.37 mg 30% USDA_SR
832 Grains, wheat, soft white Cereals, Grains and Pasta 5.37 mg 30% CNF
833 Nuts, pine nuts, raw Nut and Seed Products 5.36 mg 30% USDA_FF
834 Tofu, raw, regular, prepared with calcium sulfate Legumes and Legume Products 5.36 mg 30% USDA_SR
835 Tofu, regular; medium firm or firm, raw (prepared with calcium sulphate) Legumes and Legume Products 5.36 mg 30% CNF
836 Beans, Dry, Black (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 5.34 mg 30% USDA_FF
837 Beans, Dry, Black (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 5.34 mg 30% USDA_FF
838 Beans, black, flour Legumes and Legume Products 5.34 mg 30% CNF
839 Cereals, farina, enriched, cooked with water, with salt Breakfast Cereals 5.33 mg 30% USDA_SR
840 Cereals, farina, enriched, assorted brands including CREAM OF WHEAT, quick (1-3 minutes), cooked with water, without salt Breakfast Cereals 5.33 mg 30% USDA_SR
841 Sauce, worcestershire Soups, Sauces, and Gravies 5.30 mg 29% USDA_SR
842 BURGER KING, DOUBLE WHOPPER, with cheese Fast Foods 5.30 mg 29% USDA_SR
843 Nuts, almonds, oil roasted, blanched, salted Nuts and Seeds 5.30 mg 29% CNF
844 Nuts, almonds, oil roasted, blanched Nuts and Seeds 5.30 mg 29% CNF
845 Sauce, worcestershire, ready-to-serve Soups, Sauces and Gravies 5.30 mg 29% CNF
846 Beans, Dry, Navy (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 5.29 mg 29% USDA_FF
847 Beans, Dry, Navy (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 5.29 mg 29% USDA_FF
848 Beans, Dry, Cranberry (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 5.26 mg 29% USDA_FF
849 Beans, Dry, Cranberry (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 5.26 mg 29% USDA_FF
850 Seeds, sunflower seed kernels, dried Nut and Seed Products 5.25 mg 29% USDA_SR

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