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 2001–2050 of 3,595 foods
| # | Food | Category | Per 100 g | % DV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Candies, REESE'S BITES | Sweets | 0.85 mg | 5% |
| 2002 | Candies, SNICKERS Almond bar | Sweets | 0.85 mg | 5% |
| 2003 | Grains, rice and vermicelli mix, pilaf flavour, prepared with margarine | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 0.85 mg | 5% |
| 2004 | Potato, whole, frozen, boiled, drained, with salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.84 mg | 5% |
| 2005 | Cheese, processed, cheddar, cold pack | Dairy and Egg Products | 0.84 mg | 5% |
| 2006 | Cereal, ready to eat, Sugar Crisp, Post | Breakfast cereals | 0.84 mg | 5% |
| 2007 | Cereal, hot, cream of wheat, regular, prepared | Breakfast cereals | 0.84 mg | 5% |
| 2008 | Plum, canned, purple, heavy syrup pack, solids and liquid | Fruits and fruit juices | 0.84 mg | 5% |
| 2009 | Potato, whole, frozen, boiled, drained | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.84 mg | 5% |
| 2010 | Sesbania flowers, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.84 mg | 5% |
| 2011 | Plum, canned, heavy syrup, drained | Fruits and fruit juices | 0.84 mg | 5% |
| 2012 | Candies, bars, KIT KAT BIG KAT | Sweets | 0.84 mg | 5% |
| 2013 | Dessert, frozen, ice cream, chocolate, low fat | Sweets | 0.84 mg | 5% |
| 2014 | Escarole or endive (cichorium endivia), raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.83 mg | 5% |
| 2015 | Soup, red pepper and black bean, ready-to-serve, reduced sodium | Soups, Sauces and Gravies | 0.83 mg | 5% |
| 2016 | Beans, snap (Italian, green or yellow), fresh, microwaved | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.83 mg | 5% |
| 2017 | Sauce, cocktail, ready-to-serve | Soups, Sauces and Gravies | 0.83 mg | 5% |
| 2018 | Vegetables, mixed, frozen, boiled, drained, with salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.82 mg | 5% |
| 2019 | Ravioli, cheese-filled with marinara sauce | Mixed Dishes | 0.82 mg | 5% |
| 2020 | Cheese, parmesan, hard | Dairy and Egg Products | 0.82 mg | 5% |
| 2021 | Cereal, hot, oats, one minute, prepared, Quaker | Breakfast cereals | 0.82 mg | 5% |
| 2022 | Cereal, hot, oats, quick, prepared, Quaker | Breakfast cereals | 0.82 mg | 5% |
| 2023 | Cereal, hot, oats, large flakes, prepared, Quaker | Breakfast cereals | 0.82 mg | 5% |
| 2024 | Plum, canned, purple, extra heavy syrup pack, solids and liquid | Fruits and fruit juices | 0.82 mg | 5% |
| 2025 | Vegetables, mixed, frozen, boiled, drained | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.82 mg | 5% |
| 2026 | Cookie, coconut macaroon | Baked Products | 0.82 mg | 5% |
| 2027 | Tofu, silken, soft | Legumes and Legume Products | 0.82 mg | 5% |
| 2028 | Coffee, instant, French vanilla flavour, with aspartame and acesulfame potassium, fat free, sugar free, low calorie, powder | Beverages | 0.82 mg | 5% |
| 2029 | Dessert, apple crisp, homemade | Sweets | 0.82 mg | 5% |
| 2030 | Beans, kidney, sprouted, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.81 mg | 5% |
| 2031 | Broccoli, frozen, chopped, unprepared | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.81 mg | 5% |
| 2032 | Nuts, coconut milk (liquid from grated meat and water), frozen | Nuts and Seeds | 0.81 mg | 5% |
| 2033 | Candies, bars, Twix, caramel cookie | Sweets | 0.81 mg | 5% |
| 2034 | Fast foods, mexican, enchilada with cheese | Fast Foods | 0.81 mg | 5% |
| 2035 | Fast foods, side dish, potato, french-fried in vegetable oil | Fast Foods | 0.81 mg | 5% |
| 2036 | Yogourt, soy, vanilla flavoured, with added fibre | Dairy and Egg Products | 0.81 mg | 5% |
| 2037 | Mustard spinach (tendergreen), boiled, drained, with salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.80 mg | 4% |
| 2038 | Pepper, sweet, red, canned, solids and liquid | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.80 mg | 4% |
| 2039 | Potato, french-fried, frozen, shoestring, heated in oven | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.80 mg | 4% |
| 2040 | Turnip greens, boiled, drained, with salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.80 mg | 4% |
| 2041 | Beans, snap (Italian, green or yellow), frozen, microwaved | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.80 mg | 4% |
| 2042 | Yogourt, soy, plain | Dairy and Egg Products | 0.80 mg | 4% |
| 2043 | Soup, tomato noodle, ready-to-serve | Soups, Sauces and Gravies | 0.80 mg | 4% |
| 2044 | Salad dressing, french, commercial, regular | Fats and Oils | 0.80 mg | 4% |
| 2045 | Blackberry, frozen, unsweetened | Fruits and fruit juices | 0.80 mg | 4% |
| 2046 | Lemon peel, raw | Fruits and fruit juices | 0.80 mg | 4% |
| 2047 | Orange, with peel, raw | Fruits and fruit juices | 0.80 mg | 4% |
| 2048 | Orange peel, raw | Fruits and fruit juices | 0.80 mg | 4% |
| 2049 | Sapodilla, raw | Fruits and fruit juices | 0.80 mg | 4% |
| 2050 | Burdock root, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.80 mg | 4% |
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.