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 1651–1700 of 8,274 foods

# Food Category Per 100 g % DV Source
1651 Crackers, matzo, plain Baked Products 3.16 mg 18% USDA_SR
1652 Focaccia, Italian flatbread, plain Baked Products 3.16 mg 18% USDA_SR
1653 Bread, focaccia, Italian flatbread, plain Baked Products 3.16 mg 18% CNF
1654 Egg substitute, powder Dairy and Egg Products 3.16 mg 18% CNF
1655 Cracker, matzo, plain Baked Products 3.16 mg 18% CNF
1656 Bread, reduced-calorie, oat bran Baked Products 3.15 mg 18% USDA_SR
1657 Bread, raisin, enriched, toasted Baked Products 3.15 mg 18% USDA_SR
1658 Mothbeans, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, with salt Legumes and Legume Products 3.14 mg 17% USDA_SR
1659 Mothbeans, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt Legumes and Legume Products 3.14 mg 17% USDA_SR
1660 Jute, potherb, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt Vegetables and Vegetable Products 3.14 mg 17% USDA_SR
1661 Sorghum flour, whole-grain Cereal Grains and Pasta 3.14 mg 17% USDA_SR
1662 Jute, potherb, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt Vegetables and Vegetable Products 3.14 mg 17% USDA_SR
1663 Lima beans, immature seeds, raw Vegetables and Vegetable Products 3.14 mg 17% USDA_SR
1664 Cereal, ready to eat, Puffed Wheat, Safeway Breakfast cereals 3.14 mg 17% CNF
1665 Jute, potherb, boiled, drained, with salt Vegetables and Vegetable Products 3.14 mg 17% CNF
1666 Grains, sorghum, flour Cereals, Grains and Pasta 3.14 mg 17% CNF
1667 Moth beans, boiled, salted Legumes and Legume Products 3.14 mg 17% CNF
1668 Moth beans, boiled Legumes and Legume Products 3.14 mg 17% CNF
1669 Beverage mix, chocolate flavour, powder Beverages 3.14 mg 17% CNF
1670 Jute, potherb, boiled, drained Vegetables and Vegetable Products 3.14 mg 17% CNF
1671 Beans, lima, raw Vegetables and Vegetable Products 3.14 mg 17% CNF
1672 Cookies, chocolate sandwich, with creme filling, regular, chocolate-coated Baked Products 3.13 mg 17% USDA_SR
1673 Cereals, QUAKER, oatmeal, REAL MEDLEYS, summer berry, dry Breakfast Cereals 3.13 mg 17% USDA_SR
1674 Candies, semisweet chocolate, made with butter Sweets 3.13 mg 17% USDA_SR
1675 Hearts of palm, canned Vegetables and Vegetable Products 3.13 mg 17% USDA_SR
1676 Candies, semisweet chocolate Sweets 3.13 mg 17% USDA_SR
1677 Cereal, ready to eat, Kashi: GoLean Crunch, Kashi Breakfast cereals 3.13 mg 17% CNF
1678 Candies, bars / chips, semisweet chocolate with butter Sweets 3.13 mg 17% CNF
1679 Sweets, chocolate, semisweet, made with butter Sweets 3.13 mg 17% CNF
1680 Candies, bars / chips, semisweet chocolate Sweets 3.13 mg 17% CNF
1681 Cookie, chocolate sandwich, cream filling, chocolate-coated Baked Products 3.13 mg 17% CNF
1682 Hearts of palm, canned Vegetables and Vegetable Products 3.13 mg 17% CNF
1683 Bread, oat bran Baked Products 3.12 mg 17% USDA_SR
1684 Nuts, walnuts, black, dried Nut and Seed Products 3.12 mg 17% USDA_SR
1685 Hazelnuts, beaked (Northern Plains Indians) American Indian/Alaska Native Foods 3.12 mg 17% USDA_SR
1686 Pasta mix, Italian four cheese lasagna, unprepared Meals, Entrees, and Side Dishes 3.12 mg 17% USDA_SR
1687 English muffin, wheat, toasted Baked Products 3.12 mg 17% CNF
1688 Nuts, walnuts, black, dried Nuts and Seeds 3.12 mg 17% CNF
1689 Pancakes, whole-wheat, dry mix, incomplete, prepared Baked Products 3.11 mg 17% USDA_SR
1690 Puddings, chocolate flavor, low calorie, instant, dry mix Sweets 3.11 mg 17% USDA_SR
1691 Bread, whole grain (whole-wheat) + seeds (flax, sunflower), commercial, toasted Baked Products 3.11 mg 17% CNF
1692 Bread, whole grain (whole-wheat), +seeds and bran, commercial Baked Products 3.11 mg 17% CNF
1693 Dessert, pudding, chocolate, dry mix, instant, low calorie, unprepared Sweets 3.11 mg 17% CNF
1694 Bread, reduced-calorie, rye Baked Products 3.10 mg 17% USDA_SR
1695 Bread, whole-wheat, prepared from recipe Baked Products 3.10 mg 17% USDA_SR
1696 Bread, rye, toasted Baked Products 3.10 mg 17% USDA_SR
1697 Dandelion greens, raw Vegetables and Vegetable Products 3.10 mg 17% USDA_SR
1698 Lentils, sprouted, cooked, stir-fried, with salt Vegetables and Vegetable Products 3.10 mg 17% USDA_SR
1699 Lentils, sprouted, cooked, stir-fried, without salt Vegetables and Vegetable Products 3.10 mg 17% USDA_SR
1700 Cookie, shortbread, plain, commercial, no sugar added, with artificial sweetener Baked Products 3.10 mg 17% CNF

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