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 151–200 of 4,377 foods

#	Food	Category	Per 100 g	% DV
151	Cereals ready-to-eat, POST, HONEY BUNCHES OF OATS, pecan bunches	Breakfast Cereals	15.50 mg	86%
152	Cereals ready-to-eat, MALT-O-MEAL, Raisin Bran Cereal	Breakfast Cereals	15.25 mg	85%
153	Seeds, sesame flour, high-fat	Nut and Seed Products	15.17 mg	84%
154	Cereals ready-to-eat, frosted oat cereal with marshmallows	Breakfast Cereals	15.00 mg	83%
155	Seeds, sesame seeds, whole, roasted and toasted	Nut and Seed Products	14.76 mg	82%
156	Formulated bar, MARS SNACKFOOD US, SNICKERS MARATHON MULTIGRAIN CRUNCH BAR	Snacks	14.67 mg	82%
157	Seeds, sesame seeds, whole, dried	Nut and Seed Products	14.55 mg	81%
158	Seeds, sesame meal, partially defatted	Nut and Seed Products	14.55 mg	81%
159	Cocoa, dry powder, hi-fat or breakfast, processed with alkali	Sweets	14.50 mg	81%
160	Soy protein isolate, potassium type	Legumes and Legume Products	14.50 mg	81%
161	Soy protein isolate	Legumes and Legume Products	14.50 mg	81%
162	Babyfood, cereal, high protein, with apple and orange, prepared with whole milk	Baby Foods	14.42 mg	80%
163	Walrus, liver, raw (Alaska Native)	American Indian/Alaska Native Foods	14.40 mg	80%
164	Spices, pepper, white	Spices and Herbs	14.31 mg	80%
165	Babyfood, oatmeal cereal with fruit, dry, instant, toddler fortified	Baby Foods	14.30 mg	79%
166	Seeds, sesame flour, partially defatted	Nut and Seed Products	14.30 mg	79%
167	Seeds, sesame flour, low-fat	Nut and Seed Products	14.22 mg	79%
168	Formulated bar, LUNA BAR, NUTZ OVER CHOCOLATE	Snacks	14.20 mg	79%
169	Spices, cardamom	Spices and Herbs	13.97 mg	78%
170	Spices, mace, ground	Spices and Herbs	13.90 mg	77%
171	Cereals ready-to-eat, SUN COUNTRY, KRETSCHMER Toasted Wheat Bran	Breakfast Cereals	13.88 mg	77%
172	Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened	Sweets	13.86 mg	77%
173	Soy meal, defatted, raw	Legumes and Legume Products	13.70 mg	76%
174	Seal, ringed, liver (Alaska Native)	American Indian/Alaska Native Foods	13.50 mg	75%
175	Winged beans, mature seeds, raw	Legumes and Legume Products	13.44 mg	75%
176	Seeds, cottonseed meal, partially defatted (glandless)	Nut and Seed Products	13.35 mg	74%
177	Babyfood, fortified cereal bar, fruit filling	Baby Foods	13.16 mg	73%
178	Cereals ready-to-eat, WEETABIX whole grain cereal	Breakfast Cereals	12.86 mg	71%
179	Beverage, instant breakfast powder, chocolate, not reconstituted	Dairy and Egg Products	12.82 mg	71%
180	Cereals, QUAKER, Instant Oatmeal, Apple and Cinnamon, reduced sugar	Breakfast Cereals	12.77 mg	71%
181	Seeds, cottonseed flour, partially defatted (glandless)	Nut and Seed Products	12.66 mg	70%
182	Seeds, cottonseed flour, low fat (glandless)	Nut and Seed Products	12.58 mg	70%
183	Archway Home Style Cookies, Reduced Fat Ginger Snaps	Baked Products	12.57 mg	70%
184	Mushrooms, morel, raw	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	12.18 mg	68%
185	Babyfood, cereal, high protein, prepared with whole milk	Baby Foods	12.14 mg	67%
186	Babyfood, cereal, oatmeal, prepared with whole milk	Baby Foods	12.14 mg	67%
187	Cookies, chocolate sandwich, with creme filling, regular	Baked Products	12.14 mg	67%
188	Cereals, QUAKER, Instant Oatmeal, fruit and cream, variety of flavors, reduced sugar	Breakfast Cereals	12.13 mg	67%
189	Protein supplement, milk based, Muscle Milk Light, powder	Dairy and Egg Products	12.00 mg	67%
190	Cereals, QUAKER, Instant Oatmeal, Cinnamon Spice, reduced sugar	Breakfast Cereals	12.00 mg	67%
191	Beverages, Protein powder soy based	Beverages	12.00 mg	67%
192	Meat extender	Legumes and Legume Products	11.99 mg	67%
193	Chocolate, dark, 70-85% cacao solids	Sweets	11.90 mg	66%
194	Spearmint, fresh	Spices and Herbs	11.87 mg	66%
195	Spices, cloves, ground	Spices and Herbs	11.83 mg	66%
196	Formulated bar, POWER BAR, chocolate	Snacks	11.70 mg	65%
197	Cereals ready-to-eat, MALT-O-MEAL, Frosted Flakes	Breakfast Cereals	11.60 mg	64%
198	Cereals, QUAKER, Instant Oatmeal, fruit and cream variety, dry	Breakfast Cereals	11.30 mg	63%
199	Babyfood, cereal, mixed, with honey, prepared with whole milk	Baby Foods	11.27 mg	63%
200	Leavening agents, baking powder, double-acting, straight phosphate	Baked Products	11.27 mg	63%

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Vegetarian foods high in Iron (USDA SR Legacy)

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