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

Selling a product with iron? Generate a print-ready nutrition label from your recipe.

Showing 3351–3400 of 4,377 foods

# Food Category Per 100 g % DV
3351 Apples, dried, sulfured, stewed, without added sugar Fruits and Fruit Juices 0.33 mg 2%
3352 Sauce, barbecue, SWEET BABY RAY'S, original Soups, Sauces, and Gravies 0.33 mg 2%
3353 Beverages, KRAFT, coffee, instant, French Vanilla Cafe Beverages 0.33 mg 2%
3354 Cheese, camembert Dairy and Egg Products 0.33 mg 2%
3355 Gooseberries, canned, light syrup pack, solids and liquids Fruits and Fruit Juices 0.33 mg 2%
3356 Salt, table Spices and Herbs 0.33 mg 2%
3357 Babyfood, dinner, mixed vegetable, strained Baby Foods 0.33 mg 2%
3358 Blueberries, canned, heavy syrup, solids and liquids Fruits and Fruit Juices 0.33 mg 2%
3359 Soy sauce made from hydrolyzed vegetable protein Legumes and Legume Products 0.33 mg 2%
3360 Sauce, homemade, white, medium Soups, Sauces, and Gravies 0.33 mg 2%
3361 Soup, cream of asparagus, canned, prepared with equal volume water Soups, Sauces, and Gravies 0.33 mg 2%
3362 Milk, dry, nonfat, regular, with added vitamin A and vitamin D Dairy and Egg Products 0.32 mg 2%
3363 Babyfood, vegetables, squash, strained Baby Foods 0.32 mg 2%
3364 Babyfood, vegetables, squash, junior Baby Foods 0.32 mg 2%
3365 Soup, cheese, canned, prepared with equal volume milk Soups, Sauces, and Gravies 0.32 mg 2%
3366 Babyfood, vegetables, beets, strained Baby Foods 0.32 mg 2%
3367 Babyfood, vegetables, mix vegetables strained Baby Foods 0.32 mg 2%
3368 Cherries, sour, red, raw Fruits and Fruit Juices 0.32 mg 2%
3369 Beverages, chocolate syrup, prepared with whole milk Beverages 0.32 mg 2%
3370 Fruit juice smoothie, BOLTHOUSE FARMS, strawberry banana Fruits and Fruit Juices 0.32 mg 2%
3371 Cauliflower, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.32 mg 2%
3372 Bamboo shoots, canned, drained solids Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.32 mg 2%
3373 Peppers, hot pickled, canned Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.32 mg 2%
3374 Peaches, canned, water pack, solids and liquids Fruits and Fruit Juices 0.32 mg 2%
3375 Cauliflower, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.32 mg 2%
3376 Potatoes, au gratin, dry mix, prepared with water, whole milk and butter Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.32 mg 2%
3377 Milk, dry, nonfat, regular, without added vitamin A and vitamin D Dairy and Egg Products 0.32 mg 2%
3378 Milk, dry, nonfat, calcium reduced Dairy and Egg Products 0.32 mg 2%
3379 Salad dressing, french dressing, commercial, regular Fats and Oils 0.32 mg 2%
3380 Apricots, canned, water pack, with skin, solids and liquids Fruits and Fruit Juices 0.32 mg 2%
3381 Kiwifruit, green, raw Fruits and Fruit Juices 0.31 mg 2%
3382 Pineapple juice, canned or bottled, unsweetened, with added ascorbic acid Fruits and Fruit Juices 0.31 mg 2%
3383 Fruit butters, apple Sweets 0.31 mg 2%
3384 Potatoes, yellow fleshed, hash brown, shredded, salt added in processing, frozen, unprepared Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.31 mg 2%
3385 Cheese, mozzarella, nonfat Dairy and Egg Products 0.31 mg 2%
3386 Litchis, raw Fruits and Fruit Juices 0.31 mg 2%
3387 Mushrooms, portabella, raw Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.31 mg 2%
3388 Squash, winter, spaghetti, raw Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.31 mg 2%
3389 Corn, sweet, white, canned, cream style, regular pack Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.31 mg 2%
3390 Pineapple juice, canned or bottled, unsweetened, without added ascorbic acid Fruits and Fruit Juices 0.31 mg 2%
3391 Cabbage, chinese (pe-tsai), raw Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.31 mg 2%
3392 Potatoes, boiled, cooked in skin, flesh, with salt Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.31 mg 2%
3393 Mushrooms, portabella, exposed to ultraviolet light, raw Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.31 mg 2%
3394 Potatoes, boiled, cooked in skin, flesh, without salt Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.31 mg 2%
3395 Potatoes, boiled, cooked without skin, flesh, without salt Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.31 mg 2%
3396 Potatoes, boiled, cooked without skin, flesh, with salt Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.31 mg 2%
3397 Ice creams, BREYERS, All Natural Light Vanilla Chocolate Strawberry Sweets 0.31 mg 2%
3398 Fast foods, potato, mashed Fast Foods 0.31 mg 2%
3399 Milk shakes, thick chocolate Dairy and Egg Products 0.31 mg 2%
3400 Salad Dressing, mayonnaise, light, SMART BALANCE, Omega Plus light Fats and Oils 0.31 mg 2%

Need this on a label? Turn these foods into a print-ready Nutrition Facts label.

Make a label

Turn these foods into a print-ready nutrition label.

Build a recipe from any of these ingredients and export a print-ready FDA or Canada Nutrition Facts label. Free.

Style