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 1951–2000 of 8,274 foods

#	Food	Category	Per 100 g	% DV	Source
1951	Bread, multi-grain, toasted (includes whole-grain)	Baked Products	2.72 mg	15%	USDA_SR
1952	Archway Home Style Cookies, Peanut Butter	Baked Products	2.72 mg	15%	USDA_SR
1953	Cake, sponge, commercially prepared	Baked Products	2.72 mg	15%	USDA_SR
1954	Cracker, rusk toast	Baked Products	2.72 mg	15%	CNF
1955	Cracker, cheese, sandwich-type, with peanut butter filling	Baked Products	2.72 mg	15%	CNF
1956	Cake, sponge, commercial	Baked Products	2.72 mg	15%	CNF
1957	Rolls, french	Baked Products	2.71 mg	15%	USDA_SR
1958	Fast foods, cheeseburger; single, regular patty; plain	Fast Foods	2.71 mg	15%	USDA_SR
1959	Corn grain, yellow	Cereal Grains and Pasta	2.71 mg	15%	USDA_SR
1960	Beans, pinto, immature seeds, frozen, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	2.71 mg	15%	USDA_SR
1961	Corn grain, white	Cereal Grains and Pasta	2.71 mg	15%	USDA_SR
1962	Pectin, unsweetened, dry mix	Sweets	2.71 mg	15%	USDA_SR
1963	Beans, pinto, immature seeds, frozen, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	2.71 mg	15%	USDA_SR
1964	Spinach, raw	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	2.71 mg	15%	USDA_SR
1965	Bread, 60% whole wheat, commercial	Baked Products	2.71 mg	15%	CNF
1966	Beans, pinto, frozen, boiled, drained, with salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	2.71 mg	15%	CNF
1967	Fast foods, sandwiches and burgers, cheeseburger, regular, single patty, plain	Fast Foods	2.71 mg	15%	CNF
1968	Grains, corn, yellow, field, dry	Cereals, Grains and Pasta	2.71 mg	15%	CNF
1969	Sweets, pectin, unsweetened, dry mix	Sweets	2.71 mg	15%	CNF
1970	Roll, french	Baked Products	2.71 mg	15%	CNF
1971	Spinach, raw	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	2.71 mg	15%	CNF
1972	Beans, pinto, frozen, boiled, drained	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	2.71 mg	15%	CNF
1973	Cereal, ready to eat, Harvest Crunch: Honey Nut, Light and Crisp, Quaker	Breakfast cereals	2.71 mg	15%	CNF
1974	Rolls, dinner, rye	Baked Products	2.70 mg	15%	USDA_SR
1975	Snacks, granola bar, KASHI TLC Bar, crunchy, mixed flavors	Snacks	2.70 mg	15%	USDA_SR
1976	Tempeh	Legumes and Legume Products	2.70 mg	15%	USDA_SR
1977	Clif Z bar	Baby Foods	2.70 mg	15%	USDA_SR
1978	Cookies, oatmeal, prepared from recipe, without raisins	Baked Products	2.70 mg	15%	USDA_SR
1979	Crackers, matzo, egg	Baked Products	2.70 mg	15%	USDA_SR
1980	Bread, oatmeal	Baked Products	2.70 mg	15%	USDA_SR
1981	Candies, dark chocolate coated coffee beans	Sweets	2.70 mg	15%	USDA_SR
1982	Noodles, japanese, soba, dry	Cereal Grains and Pasta	2.70 mg	15%	USDA_SR
1983	Candies, dark chocolate coated coffee beans	Sweets	2.70 mg	15%	CNF
1984	Cereal, ready to eat, Apple Cinnamon Hoops, Barbara's Bakery	Breakfast cereals	2.70 mg	15%	CNF
1985	Cereal, ready to eat, Grainshop, Weetabix	Breakfast cereals	2.70 mg	15%	CNF
1986	Pasta, Japanese noodles, soba, dry	Cereals, Grains and Pasta	2.70 mg	15%	CNF
1987	Cookie, oatmeal, homemade, without raisins	Baked Products	2.70 mg	15%	CNF
1988	Roll, dinner, rye	Baked Products	2.70 mg	15%	CNF
1989	Cracker, matzo, egg	Baked Products	2.70 mg	15%	CNF
1990	Soybean, fermented products, tempeh (tempe)	Legumes and Legume Products	2.70 mg	15%	CNF
1991	Bread, irish soda, prepared from recipe	Baked Products	2.69 mg	15%	USDA_SR
1992	Cereals ready-to-eat, QUAKER, QUAKER 100% Natural Granola with Oats, Wheat, Honey, and Raisins	Breakfast Cereals	2.69 mg	15%	USDA_SR
1993	Snacks, pretzels, hard, whole-wheat including both salted and unsalted	Snacks	2.69 mg	15%	USDA_SR
1994	Muffin, wheat bran, dry mix, prepared	Baked Products	2.69 mg	15%	CNF
1995	Bread, Irish soda, homemade	Baked Products	2.69 mg	15%	CNF
1996	Snacks, pretzels, hard, whole-wheat, including both salted and unsalted	Snacks	2.69 mg	15%	CNF
1997	Soup, pea, green or split, dehydrated	Soups, Sauces and Gravies	2.69 mg	15%	CNF
1998	Barley flour or meal	Cereal Grains and Pasta	2.68 mg	15%	USDA_SR
1999	Tomatoes, sun-dried, packed in oil, drained	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	2.68 mg	15%	USDA_SR
2000	Elk, free range, roast, eye of round, cooked (Shoshone Bannock)	American Indian/Alaska Native Foods	2.68 mg	15%	USDA_SR

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Vegetarian foods high in Iron

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