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 3451–3500 of 8,274 foods

# Food Category Per 100 g % DV Source
3451 Snacks, granola bar, GENERAL MILLS NATURE VALLEY, SWEET&SALTY NUT, peanut Snacks 1.44 mg 8% USDA_SR
3452 Refried beans, canned, traditional, reduced sodium Legumes and Legume Products 1.44 mg 8% USDA_SR
3453 Cookies, fortune Baked Products 1.44 mg 8% USDA_SR
3454 Refried beans, canned, traditional style Legumes and Legume Products 1.44 mg 8% USDA_SR
3455 Refried beans, canned, reduced sodium Legumes and Legume Products 1.44 mg 8% CNF
3456 Cookie, fortune Baked Products 1.44 mg 8% CNF
3457 Refried beans, canned Legumes and Legume Products 1.44 mg 8% CNF
3458 Beans, kidney, dark red, canned, sodium added, sugar added, drained and rinsed Legumes and Legume Products 1.44 mg 8% USDA_FF
3459 Cake, coffeecake, cinnamon with crumb topping, dry mix, prepared Baked Products 1.43 mg 8% USDA_SR
3460 Snacks, potato chips, lightly salted Snacks 1.43 mg 8% USDA_SR
3461 Sauce, plum, ready-to-serve Soups, Sauces, and Gravies 1.43 mg 8% USDA_SR
3462 Mushrooms, straw, canned, drained solids Vegetables and Vegetable Products 1.43 mg 8% USDA_SR
3463 Snacks, potato chips, lightly salted Snacks 1.43 mg 8% CNF
3464 Mushroom, straw, canned, drained solids Vegetables and Vegetable Products 1.43 mg 8% CNF
3465 Sauce, plum, ready-to-serve Soups, Sauces and Gravies 1.43 mg 8% CNF
3466 Coffee cake, cinnamon with crumb topping, dry mix, prepared Baked Products 1.43 mg 8% CNF
3467 Beverages, Malted drink mix, chocolate, with added nutrients, powder, prepared with whole milk Beverages 1.42 mg 8% USDA_SR
3468 Cowpeas, common (blackeyes, crowder, southern), mature seeds, canned with pork Legumes and Legume Products 1.42 mg 8% USDA_SR
3469 Frostings, chocolate, creamy, ready-to-eat Sweets 1.42 mg 8% USDA_SR
3470 Cake, chocolate, pudding-type, dry mix, prepared, with chocolate icing (frosting) Baked Products 1.42 mg 8% CNF
3471 Icing (frosting), chocolate, creamy, ready-to-eat Sweets 1.42 mg 8% CNF
3472 Black-eyed peas (cowpeas, crowder, southern), common, mature seeds, canned with pork Legumes and Legume Products 1.42 mg 8% CNF
3473 Snacks, FRITOLAY, SUNCHIPS, Multigrain Snack, Harvest Cheddar flavor Snacks 1.41 mg 8% USDA_SR
3474 Infant formula, MEAD JOHNSON, Enfamil 24, ready to feed, with ARA and DHA Baby Foods 1.41 mg 8% USDA_SR
3475 Infant formula, MEAD JOHNSON, Enfamil Premature High Protein 24 Calories, ready to feed, with ARA and DHA Baby Foods 1.41 mg 8% USDA_SR
3476 Nuts, chestnuts, chinese, raw Nut and Seed Products 1.41 mg 8% USDA_SR
3477 Frankfurter, meatless Legumes and Legume Products 1.41 mg 8% USDA_SR
3478 Restaurant, Chinese, egg rolls, assorted Restaurant Foods 1.41 mg 8% USDA_SR
3479 Egg roll, assorted, restaurant prepared Mixed Dishes 1.41 mg 8% CNF
3480 Snacks, SUNCHIPS, Harvest Cheddar flavour Snacks 1.41 mg 8% CNF
3481 Instant breakfast, powder, prepared with 2% milk Beverages 1.41 mg 8% CNF
3482 Wiener (frankfurter), meatless Legumes and Legume Products 1.41 mg 8% CNF
3483 Nuts, Chinese chestnuts, raw Nuts and Seeds 1.41 mg 8% CNF
3484 Beans, cannellini, canned, sodium added, drained and rinsed Legumes and Legume Products 1.41 mg 8% USDA_FF
3485 Mung beans, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, with salt Legumes and Legume Products 1.40 mg 8% USDA_SR
3486 Bread, banana, prepared from recipe, made with margarine Baked Products 1.40 mg 8% USDA_SR
3487 Mung beans, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt Legumes and Legume Products 1.40 mg 8% USDA_SR
3488 Beans, baked, canned, with pork and sweet sauce Legumes and Legume Products 1.40 mg 8% USDA_SR
3489 Tortillas, ready-to-bake or -fry, corn, without added salt Baked Products 1.40 mg 8% USDA_SR
3490 Bread, pita, white, unenriched Baked Products 1.40 mg 8% USDA_SR
3491 Infant formula, MEAD JOHNSON, Pregestimil 24 Calories, ready to feed, with ARA and DHA Baby Foods 1.40 mg 8% USDA_SR
3492 Fast foods, cheeseburger; double, regular patty; double decker bun with condiments and special sauce Fast Foods 1.40 mg 8% USDA_SR
3493 Apples, dried, sulfured, uncooked Fruits and Fruit Juices 1.40 mg 8% USDA_SR
3494 Infant formula, MEAD JOHNSON, ENFAMIL, Premature, with iron, 24 calories, ready-to-feed Baby Foods 1.40 mg 8% USDA_SR
3495 Snacks, corn cakes, very low sodium Snacks 1.40 mg 8% USDA_SR
3496 Brussels sprouts, raw Vegetables and Vegetable Products 1.40 mg 8% USDA_SR
3497 Snacks, M&M MARS, KUDOS Whole Grain Bar, chocolate chip Snacks 1.40 mg 8% USDA_SR
3498 Pickles, chowchow, with cauliflower onion mustard, sweet Vegetables and Vegetable Products 1.40 mg 8% USDA_SR
3499 Snacks, corn cakes Snacks 1.40 mg 8% USDA_SR
3500 Snacks, potato chips, made from dried potatoes, sour-cream and onion-flavor Snacks 1.40 mg 8% USDA_SR

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