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

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Showing 1351–1400 of 4,377 foods

#	Food	Category	Per 100 g	% DV
1351	Beans, black, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt	Legumes and Legume Products	2.10 mg	12%
1352	Peanut flour, defatted	Legumes and Legume Products	2.10 mg	12%
1353	Bread, boston brown, canned	Baked Products	2.10 mg	12%
1354	Beans, black, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, with salt	Legumes and Legume Products	2.10 mg	12%
1355	Nuts, chestnuts, japanese, roasted	Nut and Seed Products	2.10 mg	12%
1356	Fireweed, young leaves, raw (Alaska Native)	American Indian/Alaska Native Foods	2.10 mg	12%
1357	Pears, dried, sulfured, uncooked	Fruits and Fruit Juices	2.10 mg	12%
1358	Leeks, (bulb and lower leaf-portion), raw	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	2.10 mg	12%
1359	Soybeans, mature seeds, sprouted, raw	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	2.10 mg	12%
1360	Vegetarian meatloaf or patties	Legumes and Legume Products	2.10 mg	12%
1361	Amaranth grain, cooked	Cereal Grains and Pasta	2.10 mg	12%
1362	McDONALD'S, QUARTER POUNDER with Cheese	Fast Foods	2.10 mg	12%
1363	Candies, MOUNDS Candy Bar	Sweets	2.09 mg	12%
1364	Seeds, breadnut tree seeds, raw	Nut and Seed Products	2.09 mg	12%
1365	Peanuts, valencia, raw	Legumes and Legume Products	2.09 mg	12%
1366	Beans, cranberry (roman), mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt	Legumes and Legume Products	2.09 mg	12%
1367	Beans, pinto, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, with salt	Legumes and Legume Products	2.09 mg	12%
1368	Beans, pinto, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt	Legumes and Legume Products	2.09 mg	12%
1369	Beans, cranberry (roman), mature seeds, cooked, boiled, with salt	Legumes and Legume Products	2.09 mg	12%
1370	Fast foods, burrito, with beans	Fast Foods	2.08 mg	12%
1371	Cake, yellow, enriched, dry mix	Baked Products	2.08 mg	12%
1372	Dock, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	2.08 mg	12%
1373	Peas, edible-podded, raw	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	2.08 mg	12%
1374	Dock, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	2.08 mg	12%
1375	Macaroni and cheese, box mix with cheese sauce, unprepared	Meals, Entrees, and Side Dishes	2.07 mg	12%
1376	APPLEBEE'S, 9 oz house sirloin steak	Restaurant Foods	2.07 mg	12%
1377	Cake, fruitcake, commercially prepared	Baked Products	2.07 mg	12%
1378	Cookies, chocolate chip, dry mix	Baked Products	2.07 mg	12%
1379	Bread, wheat, sprouted, toasted	Baked Products	2.06 mg	11%
1380	Popcorn, microwave, regular (butter) flavor, made with palm oil	Snacks	2.06 mg	11%
1381	Cake, pound, commercially prepared, fat-free	Baked Products	2.06 mg	11%
1382	Fast foods, bagel, with breakfast steak, egg, cheese, and condiments	Fast Foods	2.06 mg	11%
1383	Cereals ready-to-eat, QUAKER, MOTHER'S COCOA BUMPERS	Breakfast Cereals	2.06 mg	11%
1384	Syrups, chocolate, HERSHEY'S Sugar free, Genuine Chocolate Flavored, Lite Syrup	Sweets	2.06 mg	11%
1385	Teff, cooked	Cereal Grains and Pasta	2.05 mg	11%
1386	Biscuits, plain or buttermilk, dry mix, prepared	Baked Products	2.05 mg	11%
1387	Tofu, extra firm, prepared with nigari	Legumes and Legume Products	2.04 mg	11%
1388	Balsam-pear (bitter gourd), leafy tips, raw	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	2.04 mg	11%
1389	Fast Food, Pizza Chain, 14" pizza, cheese topping, stuffed crust	Fast Foods	2.04 mg	11%
1390	PIZZA HUT 14" Cheese Pizza, Stuffed Crust	Fast Foods	2.04 mg	11%
1391	Snacks, granola bar, chewy, reduced sugar, all flavors	Snacks	2.03 mg	11%
1392	Pillsbury, Chocolate Chip Cookies, refrigerated dough	Baked Products	2.03 mg	11%
1393	Figs, dried, uncooked	Fruits and Fruit Juices	2.03 mg	11%
1394	Cake, yellow, commercially prepared, with chocolate frosting, in-store bakery	Baked Products	2.03 mg	11%
1395	Croissants, butter	Baked Products	2.03 mg	11%
1396	Cream puff shell, prepared from recipe	Baked Products	2.02 mg	11%
1397	Snacks, tortilla chips, taco-flavor	Snacks	2.02 mg	11%
1398	SUBWAY, steak & cheese sub on white bread with American cheese, lettuce and tomato	Fast Foods	2.02 mg	11%
1399	Fast foods, submarine sandwich, steak and cheese on white bread with cheese, lettuce and tomato	Fast Foods	2.02 mg	11%
1400	Potatoes, scalloped, dry mix, unprepared	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	2.01 mg	11%

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Vegetarian foods high in Iron (USDA SR Legacy)

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