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 1651–1700 of 4,377 foods

# Food Category Per 100 g % DV
1651 Snacks, potato chips, plain, unsalted Snacks 1.63 mg 9%
1652 Pie crust, cookie-type, prepared from recipe, vanilla wafer, chilled Baked Products 1.63 mg 9%
1653 Refried beans, canned, fat-free Legumes and Legume Products 1.62 mg 9%
1654 Muffins, blueberry, dry mix Baked Products 1.62 mg 9%
1655 Archway Home Style Cookies, Frosty Lemon Baked Products 1.62 mg 9%
1656 Cheese, goat, semisoft type Dairy and Egg Products 1.62 mg 9%
1657 Snacks, granola bar, KASHI GOLEAN, chewy, mixed flavors Snacks 1.62 mg 9%
1658 Cake, pound, commercially prepared, other than all butter, enriched Baked Products 1.62 mg 9%
1659 Restaurant, Mexican, refried beans Restaurant Foods 1.62 mg 9%
1660 Abiyuch, raw Fruits and Fruit Juices 1.61 mg 9%
1661 Lima beans, immature seeds, canned, regular pack, solids and liquids Vegetables and Vegetable Products 1.61 mg 9%
1662 Lima beans, immature seeds, canned, no salt added, solids and liquids Vegetables and Vegetable Products 1.61 mg 9%
1663 Sugars, maple Sweets 1.61 mg 9%
1664 Mustard, prepared, yellow Spices and Herbs 1.61 mg 9%
1665 Tofu, firm, prepared with calcium sulfate and magnesium chloride (nigari) Legumes and Legume Products 1.61 mg 9%
1666 Cake, chocolate, prepared from recipe without frosting Baked Products 1.61 mg 9%
1667 Bread, paratha, whole wheat, commercially prepared, frozen Baked Products 1.61 mg 9%
1668 Elderberries, raw Fruits and Fruit Juices 1.60 mg 9%
1669 Dip, bean, original flavor Soups, Sauces, and Gravies 1.60 mg 9%
1670 Dip, FRITO'S, bean, original flavor Soups, Sauces, and Gravies 1.60 mg 9%
1671 Vitasoy USA, Nasoya Lite Firm Tofu Legumes and Legume Products 1.60 mg 9%
1672 Vitasoy USA, Organic Nasoya Extra Firm Tofu Legumes and Legume Products 1.60 mg 9%
1673 Vitasoy USA Organic Nasoya, Tofu Plus Extra Firm Legumes and Legume Products 1.60 mg 9%
1674 Sweet rolls, cinnamon, commercially prepared with raisins Baked Products 1.60 mg 9%
1675 Beans, baked, canned, with beef Legumes and Legume Products 1.60 mg 9%
1676 Candies, TOBLERONE, milk chocolate with honey and almond nougat Sweets 1.60 mg 9%
1677 Snacks, potato chips, sour-cream-and-onion-flavor Snacks 1.60 mg 9%
1678 Kale, raw Vegetables and Vegetable Products 1.60 mg 9%
1679 Tortilla chips, low fat, baked without fat Snacks 1.60 mg 9%
1680 Rice, white, glutinous, unenriched, uncooked Cereal Grains and Pasta 1.60 mg 9%
1681 Passion-fruit, (granadilla), purple, raw Fruits and Fruit Juices 1.60 mg 9%
1682 Snacks, potato chips, made from dried potatoes, cheese-flavor Snacks 1.60 mg 9%
1683 Chives, raw Vegetables and Vegetable Products 1.60 mg 9%
1684 Pigeonpeas, immature seeds, raw Vegetables and Vegetable Products 1.60 mg 9%
1685 Nuts, almond paste Nut and Seed Products 1.60 mg 9%
1686 Nuts, ginkgo nuts, dried Nut and Seed Products 1.60 mg 9%
1687 Snacks, tortilla chips, low fat, unsalted Snacks 1.60 mg 9%
1688 Snacks, rice cakes, brown rice, sesame seed Snacks 1.58 mg 9%
1689 Spinach, canned, regular pack, solids and liquids Vegetables and Vegetable Products 1.58 mg 9%
1690 Tapioca, pearl, dry Cereal Grains and Pasta 1.58 mg 9%
1691 Bread, blue corn, somiviki (Hopi) American Indian/Alaska Native Foods 1.58 mg 9%
1692 Spinach, canned, no salt added, solids and liquids Vegetables and Vegetable Products 1.58 mg 9%
1693 Frozen novelties, No Sugar Added, FUDGSICLE pops Sweets 1.58 mg 9%
1694 Snacks, rice cakes, brown rice, sesame seed, unsalted Snacks 1.58 mg 9%
1695 Pasta, whole grain, 51% whole wheat, remaining enriched semolina, cooked (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program) Cereal Grains and Pasta 1.58 mg 9%
1696 Cake, sponge, prepared from recipe Baked Products 1.58 mg 9%
1697 Peanuts, all types, dry-roasted, without salt Legumes and Legume Products 1.58 mg 9%
1698 Peanuts, all types, dry-roasted, with salt Legumes and Legume Products 1.58 mg 9%
1699 Cookies, animal, with frosting or icing Baked Products 1.57 mg 9%
1700 Beans, great northern, mature seeds, canned, low sodium Legumes and Legume Products 1.57 mg 9%

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