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 301–350 of 3,595 foods
| # | Food | Category | Per 100 g | % DV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 301 | Waffle, chocolate chip, frozen, ready-to-heat | Baked Products | 6.40 mg | 36% |
| 302 | Soy flour, full-fat, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 6.37 mg | 35% |
| 303 | Seeds, sesame seed kernels, dried, shelled | Nuts and Seeds | 6.36 mg | 35% |
| 304 | Seeds, sesame butter, tahini, unroasted kernels | Nuts and Seeds | 6.35 mg | 35% |
| 305 | Snacks, crisped rice bar, almond | Snacks | 6.35 mg | 35% |
| 306 | Candies, chocolate, dark, 60-69% cacao solids | Sweets | 6.32 mg | 35% |
| 307 | Apricots, dehydrated (low moisture), sulphured, uncooked | Fruits and fruit juices | 6.31 mg | 35% |
| 308 | Snacks, crisped rice bar, chocolate chip | Snacks | 6.30 mg | 35% |
| 309 | Grains, wheat germ, crude | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 6.26 mg | 35% |
| 310 | Parsley, fresh | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 6.20 mg | 34% |
| 311 | Beans, lima, dry, baby, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 6.19 mg | 34% |
| 312 | Jew's ear (cloud or wood ear, pepeao), dried | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 6.14 mg | 34% |
| 313 | Potato, boiled with skin, skin only | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 6.07 mg | 34% |
| 314 | Potato, boiled with skin, skin only, with salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 6.07 mg | 34% |
| 315 | Nuts, cashew nuts, oil roasted | Nuts and Seeds | 6.05 mg | 34% |
| 316 | Nuts, cashew nuts, oil roasted, salted | Nuts and Seeds | 6.05 mg | 34% |
| 317 | Pepper, hot chili, red, sun-dried | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 6.04 mg | 34% |
| 318 | Waffle, buttermilk, frozen, ready-to-heat | Baked Products | 6.04 mg | 34% |
| 319 | Cereal, hot, oats, large flakes, whole-grain, dry, Cream Hill Estates | Breakfast cereals | 6.00 mg | 33% |
| 320 | Shallot, freeze-dried | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 6.00 mg | 33% |
| 321 | Nuts, cashew nuts, dry roasted | Nuts and Seeds | 6.00 mg | 33% |
| 322 | Nuts, cashew nuts, dry roasted, salted | Nuts and Seeds | 6.00 mg | 33% |
| 323 | Bar, milk and cereal | Baked Products | 5.99 mg | 33% |
| 324 | Cereal, ready to eat, Smart Bran Psyllium, Nature's Path | Breakfast cereals | 5.98 mg | 33% |
| 325 | Cracker, rye, wafers, plain | Baked Products | 5.94 mg | 33% |
| 326 | Potato, skin, cooked in skin, microwaved | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 5.94 mg | 33% |
| 327 | Potato, skin, cooked in skin, microwaved, with salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 5.94 mg | 33% |
| 328 | Cereal, ready to eat, Multigrain, Nature's Path | Breakfast cereals | 5.88 mg | 33% |
| 329 | Mushroom, fungi, Cloud ears, dried | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 5.88 mg | 33% |
| 330 | Soy flour, full-fat, roasted | Legumes and Legume Products | 5.82 mg | 32% |
| 331 | Waffle, plain, frozen, ready-to-heat, microwaved | Baked Products | 5.81 mg | 32% |
| 332 | Babyfood, cereal, mixed grain, with biscuit, milk powder and fruit, prepared with water | Babyfoods | 5.74 mg | 32% |
| 333 | Seeds, flaxseed (linseed), whole and ground | Nuts and Seeds | 5.73 mg | 32% |
| 334 | Granola bar, cereal bar, Oatmeal to go, all flavours, Quaker | Baked Products | 5.71 mg | 32% |
| 335 | Netted willow, native, leaves, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 5.70 mg | 32% |
| 336 | Lemonade with artificial sweetener, powder | Beverages | 5.70 mg | 32% |
| 337 | Spices, garlic powder | Spices and Herbs | 5.65 mg | 31% |
| 338 | Waffle, plain, frozen, ready-to-heat | Baked Products | 5.61 mg | 31% |
| 339 | Soybean, curd cheese | Legumes and Legume Products | 5.60 mg | 31% |
| 340 | Cookie, chocolate chip, commercial, regular, higher fat | Baked Products | 5.58 mg | 31% |
| 341 | Bread, sprouted wheat with added calcium and vitamin D, commercial, toasted | Baked Products | 5.54 mg | 31% |
| 342 | Nuts, pine nuts, pignolia, dried | Nuts and Seeds | 5.53 mg | 31% |
| 343 | Peach, dehydrated (low moisture), sulphured, uncooked | Fruits and fruit juices | 5.51 mg | 31% |
| 344 | Cereal, ready to eat, Morning Crisp: maple & pecan, Jordans | Breakfast cereals | 5.50 mg | 31% |
| 345 | Beans, navy, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 5.49 mg | 30% |
| 346 | Beans, great northern, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 5.47 mg | 30% |
| 347 | Grains, oat bran, dry | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 5.41 mg | 30% |
| 348 | Longan, dried | Fruits and fruit juices | 5.40 mg | 30% |
| 349 | Seeds, cottonseed kernels, roasted | Nuts and Seeds | 5.40 mg | 30% |
| 350 | Grains, wheat, soft white | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 5.37 mg | 30% |
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