Vegetarian foods high in Iron (USDA Foundation)

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 101–150 of 301 foods

#	Food	Category	Per 100 g	% DV
101	Peanut butter, creamy	Legumes and Legume Products	1.85 mg	10%
102	Egg, whole, raw, frozen, pasteurized	Dairy and Egg Products	1.77 mg	10%
103	Peanut butter, smooth style, with salt	Legumes and Legume Products	1.73 mg	10%
104	Corn flour, masa harina, white or yellow, dry, raw	Cereal Grains and Pasta	1.70 mg	9%
105	Beans, black, canned, sodium added, drained and rinsed	Legumes and Legume Products	1.69 mg	9%
106	Eggs, Grade A, Large, egg whole	Dairy and Egg Products	1.67 mg	9%
107	Flour, chestnut	Nut and Seed Products	1.62 mg	9%
108	Kale, raw	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.60 mg	9%
109	Beans, navy, canned, sodium added, drained and rinsed	Legumes and Legume Products	1.60 mg	9%
110	Mustard, prepared, yellow	Spices and Herbs	1.59 mg	9%
111	Peanuts, raw	Legumes and Legume Products	1.55 mg	9%
112	Flour, semolina, coarse and semi-coarse	Cereal Grains and Pasta	1.55 mg	9%
113	Wild rice, dry, raw	Cereal Grains and Pasta	1.53 mg	8%
114	Flour, rice, brown	Cereal Grains and Pasta	1.50 mg	8%
115	Restaurant, Latino, pupusas con frijoles (pupusas, bean)	Restaurant Foods	1.46 mg	8%
116	Beans, kidney, dark red, canned, sodium added, sugar added, drained and rinsed	Legumes and Legume Products	1.44 mg	8%
117	Beans, cannellini, canned, sodium added, drained and rinsed	Legumes and Legume Products	1.41 mg	8%
118	Arugula, baby, raw	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.39 mg	8%
119	Beans, great northern, canned, sodium added, drained and rinsed	Legumes and Legume Products	1.38 mg	8%
120	Beans, kidney, light red, canned, sodium added, sugar added, drained and rinsed	Legumes and Legume Products	1.30 mg	7%
121	Cheese, pasteurized process cheese food or product, American, singles	Dairy and Egg Products	1.30 mg	7%
122	Beans, pinto, canned, sodium added, drained and rinsed	Legumes and Legume Products	1.28 mg	7%
123	Mushroom, enoki	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.27 mg	7%
124	Spinach, baby	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.26 mg	7%
125	Spinach, baby	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.26 mg	7%
126	Rice, brown, long grain, unenriched, raw	Cereal Grains and Pasta	1.24 mg	7%
127	Tomato, puree, canned	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.24 mg	7%
128	Rice, red, unenriched, dry, raw	Cereal Grains and Pasta	1.20 mg	7%
129	Flour, wheat, all-purpose, unenriched, unbleached	Cereal Grains and Pasta	1.18 mg	7%
130	Onion rings, breaded, par fried, frozen, prepared, heated in oven	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.14 mg	6%
131	Peas, green, sweet, canned, sodium added, sugar added, drained and rinsed	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.14 mg	6%
132	Rice, black, unenriched, raw	Cereal Grains and Pasta	1.12 mg	6%
133	Tomato, sauce, canned, with salt added	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.11 mg	6%
134	Blackeye pea, canned, sodium added, drained and rinsed	Legumes and Legume Products	1.08 mg	6%
135	Spinach, mature	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.05 mg	6%
136	Spinach, mature	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.05 mg	6%
137	Green onion, (scallion), bulb and greens, root removed, raw	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.04 mg	6%
138	Chickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), canned, sodium added, drained and rinsed	Legumes and Legume Products	1.04 mg	6%
139	Flour, 00	Cereal Grains and Pasta	0.99 mg	5%
140	Lettuce, cos or romaine, raw	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	0.95 mg	5%
141	Lettuce, cos or romaine, raw	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	0.95 mg	5%
142	Tomatoes, whole, canned, solids and liquids, with salt added	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	0.93 mg	5%
143	Flour, pastry, unenriched, unbleached	Cereal Grains and Pasta	0.87 mg	5%
144	Kale, frozen, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	0.84 mg	5%
145	Beans, snap, green, canned, regular pack, drained solids	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	0.78 mg	4%
146	Sauce, pasta, spaghetti/marinara, ready-to-serve	Soups, Sauces, and Gravies	0.78 mg	4%
147	Leeks, bulb and greens, root removed, raw	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	0.76 mg	4%
148	Collards, raw	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	0.75 mg	4%
149	Mushroom, beech	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	0.74 mg	4%
150	Brussels sprouts, raw	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	0.73 mg	4%

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Vegetarian foods high in Iron (USDA Foundation)

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