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 201–250 of 4,377 foods

#	Food	Category	Per 100 g	% DV
201	Spices, saffron	Spices and Herbs	11.10 mg	62%
202	Babyfood, cereal, oatmeal, with honey, prepared with whole milk	Baby Foods	11.09 mg	62%
203	Leavening agents, baking powder, double-acting, sodium aluminum sulfate	Baked Products	11.02 mg	61%
204	Peppers, ancho, dried	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	10.93 mg	61%
205	Snack, BALANCE, original bar	Snacks	10.90 mg	61%
206	Mothbeans, mature seeds, raw	Legumes and Legume Products	10.85 mg	60%
207	Babyfood, cereal, rice, with honey, prepared with whole milk	Baby Foods	10.81 mg	60%
208	Soy protein concentrate, produced by alcohol extraction	Legumes and Legume Products	10.78 mg	60%
209	Soy protein concentrate, produced by acid wash	Legumes and Legume Products	10.78 mg	60%
210	Cereals, QUAKER, Instant Oatmeal, raisins, dates and walnuts, dry	Breakfast Cereals	10.70 mg	59%
211	Wheat bran, crude	Cereal Grains and Pasta	10.57 mg	59%
212	Beans, white, mature seeds, raw	Legumes and Legume Products	10.44 mg	58%
213	Babyfood, cereal, mixed, prepared with whole milk	Baby Foods	10.43 mg	58%
214	Peppers, sweet, red, freeze-dried	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	10.40 mg	58%
215	Cereals, oats, instant, fortified, maple and brown sugar, dry	Breakfast Cereals	10.36 mg	58%
216	SCHIFF,TIGER'S MILK BAR	Sweets	10.28 mg	57%
217	Infant formula, ABBOTT NUTRITION, SIMILAC, GO AND GROW, powder, with ARA and DHA	Baby Foods	10.20 mg	57%
218	Formulated bar, MARS SNACKFOOD US, SNICKERS MARATHON Protein Performance Bar, Caramel Nut Rush	Snacks	10.13 mg	56%
219	Cereals, QUAKER, Weight Control Instant Oatmeal, maple and brown sugar	Breakfast Cereals	10.13 mg	56%
220	Cereals, QUAKER, Instant Oatmeal, Banana Bread, dry	Breakfast Cereals	10.07 mg	56%
221	Infant formula, GERBER, GOOD START 2, PROTECT PLUS, powder	Baby Foods	10.00 mg	56%
222	Cowpeas, catjang, mature seeds, raw	Legumes and Legume Products	9.95 mg	55%
223	Peppers, pasilla, dried	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	9.83 mg	55%
224	Cereals ready-to-eat, wheat and bran, presweetened with nuts and fruits	Breakfast Cereals	9.82 mg	55%
225	Infant Formula, GERBER GOOD START 2, GENTLE PLUS, powder	Baby Foods	9.80 mg	54%
226	Spices, poppy seed	Spices and Herbs	9.76 mg	54%
227	Tofu, dried-frozen (koyadofu)	Legumes and Legume Products	9.73 mg	54%
228	Tofu, dried-frozen (koyadofu), prepared with calcium sulfate	Legumes and Legume Products	9.73 mg	54%
229	Spices, pepper, black	Spices and Herbs	9.71 mg	54%
230	Egg, yolk, dried	Dairy and Egg Products	9.56 mg	53%
231	Infant formula, MEAD JOHNSON, ENFAMIL, PROSOBEE, with iron, powder, not reconstituted, with ARA and DHA	Baby Foods	9.50 mg	53%
232	Infant formula, MEAD JOHNSON, NEXT STEP PROSOBEE, powder, not reconstituted	Baby Foods	9.50 mg	53%
233	Infant formula, PBM PRODUCTS, store brand, powder	Baby Foods	9.50 mg	53%
234	Infant formula, MEAD JOHNSON, NEXT STEP, PROSOBEE LIPIL, powder, with ARA and DHA	Baby Foods	9.50 mg	53%
235	Infant formula, MEAD JOHNSON, ENFAMIL, ENFAGROW, Soy, Toddler transitions, with ARA and DHA, powder	Baby Foods	9.50 mg	53%
236	Infant formula, ABBOTT NUTRITION, SIMILAC, with iron, powder, not reconstituted	Baby Foods	9.47 mg	53%
237	Infant formula, ABBOTT NUTRITION, SIMILAC, ADVANCE, with iron, powder, not reconstituted	Baby Foods	9.47 mg	53%
238	Cereals, QUAKER, Instant Oatmeal, Cinnamon Swirl, high fiber	Breakfast Cereals	9.41 mg	52%
239	Beans, kidney, california red, mature seeds, raw	Legumes and Legume Products	9.35 mg	52%
240	Infant formula, ABBOTT NUTRITION, SIMILAC, SENSITIVE, (LACTOSE FREE), powder, with ARA and DHA	Baby Foods	9.33 mg	52%
241	Infant formula, MEAD JOHNSON, ENFAMIL, Infant, with iron, powder, with ARA and DHA	Baby Foods	9.30 mg	52%
242	Infant formula, MEAD JOHNSON, ENFAMIL, with iron, powder	Baby Foods	9.30 mg	52%
243	Infant formula, ABBOTT NUTRITION, SIMILAC, For Spit Up, powder, with ARA and DHA	Baby Foods	9.30 mg	52%
244	Gravy, au jus, dry	Soups, Sauces, and Gravies	9.30 mg	52%
245	Infant formula, ABBOTT NUTRITION, SIMILAC, ISOMIL, ADVANCE with iron, powder, not reconstituted	Baby Foods	9.26 mg	51%
246	Infant formula, ABBOTT NUTRITION, SIMILAC, ISOMIL, with iron, powder, not reconstituted	Baby Foods	9.26 mg	51%
247	Infant formula, ABBOTT NUTRITION, SIMILAC, NEOSURE, powder, with ARA and DHA	Baby Foods	9.26 mg	51%
248	Soy flour, defatted	Legumes and Legume Products	9.24 mg	51%
249	Spices, mustard seed, ground	Spices and Herbs	9.21 mg	51%
250	Infant Formula, MEAD JOHNSON, ENFAMIL, GENTLEASE, with ARA and DHA powder not reconstituted	Baby Foods	9.20 mg	51%

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Vegetarian foods high in Iron (USDA SR Legacy)

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