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 1701–1750 of 8,274 foods
| # | Food | Category | Per 100 g | % DV | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1701 | Lentils, sprouted, stir-fried, with salt, no fat added | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 3.10 mg | 17% | CNF |
| 1702 | Bread, whole wheat, homemade (2/3 whole wheat flour) | Baked Products | 3.10 mg | 17% | CNF |
| 1703 | Lentils, sprouted, stir-fried, no fat added | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 3.10 mg | 17% | CNF |
| 1704 | Dandelion greens, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 3.10 mg | 17% | CNF |
| 1705 | Biscuits, plain or buttermilk, refrigerated dough, lower fat, baked | Baked Products | 3.09 mg | 17% | USDA_SR |
| 1706 | Cookies, graham crackers, plain or honey, lowfat | Baked Products | 3.09 mg | 17% | USDA_SR |
| 1707 | Cookie, graham cracker, plain or honey, low fat | Baked Products | 3.09 mg | 17% | CNF |
| 1708 | Biscuit, plain/buttermilk, refrigerated dough, lower fat, baked | Baked Products | 3.09 mg | 17% | CNF |
| 1709 | Crackers, whole-wheat, low salt | Baked Products | 3.08 mg | 17% | USDA_SR |
| 1710 | Bagels, oat bran | Baked Products | 3.08 mg | 17% | USDA_SR |
| 1711 | Cereals, QUAKER, oatmeal, REAL MEDLEYS, blueberry hazelnut, dry | Breakfast Cereals | 3.08 mg | 17% | USDA_SR |
| 1712 | Cracker, whole wheat, low sodium | Baked Products | 3.08 mg | 17% | CNF |
| 1713 | Bagel, oat bran | Baked Products | 3.08 mg | 17% | CNF |
| 1714 | Crackers, whole grain, sandwich-type, with peanut butter filling | Baked Products | 3.07 mg | 17% | USDA_SR |
| 1715 | Bread, pita, whole-wheat | Baked Products | 3.06 mg | 17% | USDA_SR |
| 1716 | Beverages, coffee and cocoa, instant, decaffeinated, with whitener and low calorie sweetener | Beverages | 3.06 mg | 17% | USDA_SR |
| 1717 | Archway Home Style Cookies, Old Fashioned Windmill Cookies | Baked Products | 3.06 mg | 17% | USDA_SR |
| 1718 | Nuts, pine nuts, pinyon, dried | Nut and Seed Products | 3.06 mg | 17% | USDA_SR |
| 1719 | Coffee and cocoa (mocha) powder, with whitener and low calorie sweetener | Beverages | 3.06 mg | 17% | CNF |
| 1720 | Coffee, instant, mocha, powder, with whitener and artificial sweetener, decaffeinated | Beverages | 3.06 mg | 17% | CNF |
| 1721 | Bread, pita, whole-wheat | Baked Products | 3.06 mg | 17% | CNF |
| 1722 | Nuts, pine nuts, pinyon, dried | Nuts and Seeds | 3.06 mg | 17% | CNF |
| 1723 | Cowpeas, catjang, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, with salt | Legumes and Legume Products | 3.05 mg | 17% | USDA_SR |
| 1724 | Cowpeas, catjang, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt | Legumes and Legume Products | 3.05 mg | 17% | USDA_SR |
| 1725 | Pancakes, plain, dry mix, incomplete (includes buttermilk) | Baked Products | 3.05 mg | 17% | USDA_SR |
| 1726 | Pancakes, special dietary, dry mix | Baked Products | 3.05 mg | 17% | USDA_SR |
| 1727 | Cereals, corn grits, white, regular and quick, enriched, dry | Breakfast Cereals | 3.05 mg | 17% | USDA_SR |
| 1728 | Snacks, trail mix, regular, unsalted | Snacks | 3.05 mg | 17% | USDA_SR |
| 1729 | Snacks, granola bars, hard, chocolate chip | Snacks | 3.05 mg | 17% | USDA_SR |
| 1730 | Garlic bread, frozen | Baked Products | 3.05 mg | 17% | USDA_SR |
| 1731 | Snacks, trail mix, regular | Snacks | 3.05 mg | 17% | USDA_SR |
| 1732 | Bread, garlic | Baked Products | 3.05 mg | 17% | CNF |
| 1733 | Snacks, trail mix, regular, unsalted | Snacks | 3.05 mg | 17% | CNF |
| 1734 | Snacks, trail mix, regular | Snacks | 3.05 mg | 17% | CNF |
| 1735 | Pancake, plain (includes buttermilk), dry mix, incomplete, unprepared | Baked Products | 3.05 mg | 17% | CNF |
| 1736 | Bread, white with raisins, commercial | Baked Products | 3.05 mg | 17% | CNF |
| 1737 | Black-eyed peas (cowpeas), catjang, boiled, salted | Legumes and Legume Products | 3.05 mg | 17% | CNF |
| 1738 | Black-eyed peas (cowpeas), catjang, boiled | Legumes and Legume Products | 3.05 mg | 17% | CNF |
| 1739 | Cereal, hot, oats, instant: apple & cinnamon, prepared, Quaker | Breakfast cereals | 3.05 mg | 17% | CNF |
| 1740 | Hush puppies, prepared from recipe | Baked Products | 3.04 mg | 17% | USDA_SR |
| 1741 | Cake, chocolate, commercially prepared with chocolate frosting, in-store bakery | Baked Products | 3.04 mg | 17% | USDA_SR |
| 1742 | Crackers, rye, wafers, seasoned | Baked Products | 3.04 mg | 17% | USDA_SR |
| 1743 | Bread, egg | Baked Products | 3.04 mg | 17% | USDA_SR |
| 1744 | Spices, nutmeg, ground | Spices and Herbs | 3.04 mg | 17% | USDA_SR |
| 1745 | Cereal, hot, oats, instant: reduced sugar, brown sugar cinnamon, prepared, Quaker | Breakfast cereals | 3.04 mg | 17% | CNF |
| 1746 | Snacks, popcorn, unpopped kernels | Snacks | 3.04 mg | 17% | CNF |
| 1747 | Hush puppy, homemade | Baked Products | 3.04 mg | 17% | CNF |
| 1748 | Cracker, rye, wafers, seasoned | Baked Products | 3.04 mg | 17% | CNF |
| 1749 | Cake, chocolate, commercial, with chocolate icing (frosting), in-store bakery | Baked Products | 3.04 mg | 17% | CNF |
| 1750 | Bread, egg (Challah) | Baked Products | 3.04 mg | 17% | CNF |
Need this on a label? Turn these foods into a print-ready Nutrition Facts label.
Make a labelBuild a recipe from any of these ingredients and export a print-ready FDA or Canada Nutrition Facts label. Free.