Vegetarian foods high in Iron (Canadian (CNF))

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 1051–1100 of 3,595 foods

# Food Category Per 100 g % DV
1051 Drumstick (horseradish-tree), leaves, boiled, drained, with salt Vegetables and Vegetable Products 2.32 mg 13%
1052 Granola bar, chewy, chocolate chip Baked Products 2.31 mg 13%
1053 Bread, whole grain (whole-wheat), commercial Baked Products 2.31 mg 13%
1054 Lentils, pink, boiled Legumes and Legume Products 2.31 mg 13%
1055 Waffle, plain, homemade Baked Products 2.31 mg 13%
1056 Fast foods, sandwiches and burgers, cheeseburger, large, single patty, with condiments, vegetables and mayonnaise Fast Foods 2.30 mg 13%
1057 Spinach, canned, drained solids Vegetables and Vegetable Products 2.30 mg 13%
1058 Instant breakfast, powder, chocolate, sugar-free, with artificial sweetener Beverages 2.30 mg 13%
1059 Beans, pink, boiled, salted Legumes and Legume Products 2.30 mg 13%
1060 Chrysanthemum leaves, raw Vegetables and Vegetable Products 2.30 mg 13%
1061 Beans, pink, boiled Legumes and Legume Products 2.30 mg 13%
1062 Fast foods, mexican, burrito with beans, cheese and chili peppers Fast Foods 2.29 mg 13%
1063 Fast foods, sandwiches and burgers, cheeseburger, large, double patty, with condiments and vegetables Fast Foods 2.29 mg 13%
1064 Cookie, raisin, soft-type Baked Products 2.29 mg 13%
1065 Nuts, Chinese chestnuts, dried Nuts and Seeds 2.29 mg 13%
1066 Candies, milk chocolate coated coffee beans Sweets 2.29 mg 13%
1067 Chrysanthemum, garland, raw Vegetables and Vegetable Products 2.29 mg 13%
1068 Nuts, coconut cream (liquid from grated meat), raw Nuts and Seeds 2.28 mg 13%
1069 Snacks, popcorn, microwave, low fat and sodium Snacks 2.28 mg 13%
1070 Peanuts, Spanish, oil-roasted Legumes and Legume Products 2.28 mg 13%
1071 Malted milk, chocolate flavour, powder Beverages 2.28 mg 13%
1072 Peanuts, Spanish, oil-roasted, salted Legumes and Legume Products 2.28 mg 13%
1073 Soybeans, green (edamame), frozen, prepared Vegetables and Vegetable Products 2.27 mg 13%
1074 Snacks, potato sticks Snacks 2.27 mg 13%
1075 Fast foods, pizza, cheese, regular crust, frozen, cooked Fast Foods 2.27 mg 13%
1076 Muffin, blueberry, homemade, with 2% milk Baked Products 2.27 mg 13%
1077 Peas, mature seeds, sprouted, raw Vegetables and Vegetable Products 2.26 mg 13%
1078 Peach, dehydrated (low moisture), sulphured, cooked Fruits and fruit juices 2.26 mg 13%
1079 Peanut butter, natural Legumes and Legume Products 2.26 mg 13%
1080 Amaranth leaves, boiled, drained Vegetables and Vegetable Products 2.26 mg 13%
1081 Chard, swiss, boiled, drained Vegetables and Vegetable Products 2.26 mg 13%
1082 Tea, instant, unsweetened, powder, decaffeinated Beverages 2.26 mg 13%
1083 Tea, instant, unsweetened, powder Beverages 2.26 mg 13%
1084 Cookie, brownie, commercial Baked Products 2.25 mg 12%
1085 Fast foods, sandwiches and burgers, cheeseburger, regular, single patty, with condiments Fast Foods 2.25 mg 12%
1086 Taro leaves, raw Vegetables and Vegetable Products 2.25 mg 12%
1087 Bread, potato Baked Products 2.25 mg 12%
1088 Snacks, popcorn, cheese flavour Snacks 2.24 mg 12%
1089 Cookie, sugar, commercial Baked Products 2.24 mg 12%
1090 Cereal, ready to eat, Kashi: puffed, Kashi Breakfast cereals 2.24 mg 12%
1091 Fast foods, mexican, burrito with beans and chili peppers Fast Foods 2.23 mg 12%
1092 Fast foods, sandwiches and burgers, cheeseburger, large, triple patty, plain Fast Foods 2.23 mg 12%
1093 Cookie, peanut butter, homemade, with margarine Baked Products 2.23 mg 12%
1094 Bread, whole grain (whole-wheat), with added fibre, commercial Baked Products 2.23 mg 12%
1095 Beans, kidney, all types, boiled Legumes and Legume Products 2.22 mg 12%
1096 Cookie, butter, commercial Baked Products 2.22 mg 12%
1097 Pumpkin leaves, raw Vegetables and Vegetable Products 2.22 mg 12%
1098 Cookie, oatmeal (with or without raisins), dry mix, unprepared Baked Products 2.22 mg 12%
1099 Arrowroot, raw Vegetables and Vegetable Products 2.22 mg 12%
1100 Pie crust, standard-type, dry mix, unprepared Baked Products 2.22 mg 12%

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