Vegetarian foods high in Iron (Canadian (CNF))

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 351–400 of 3,595 foods

# Food Category Per 100 g % DV
351 Tofu, regular; medium firm or firm, raw (prepared with calcium sulphate) Legumes and Legume Products 5.36 mg 30%
352 Beans, black, flour Legumes and Legume Products 5.34 mg 30%
353 Nuts, almonds, oil roasted, blanched Nuts and Seeds 5.30 mg 29%
354 Nuts, almonds, oil roasted, blanched, salted Nuts and Seeds 5.30 mg 29%
355 Sauce, worcestershire, ready-to-serve Soups, Sauces and Gravies 5.30 mg 29%
356 Seeds, sunflower seed kernels, dried Nuts and Seeds 5.25 mg 29%
357 Cereal, hot, 9 grain, dry, Rogers Breakfast cereals 5.25 mg 29%
358 Peas, pigeon (red gram), raw Legumes and Legume Products 5.23 mg 29%
359 Snacks, soy chips or crisps, salted Snacks 5.20 mg 29%
360 Wheat, vital wheat gluten Cereals, Grains and Pasta 5.20 mg 29%
361 Nuts, mixed nuts, oil roasted without peanuts, lightly salted Nuts and Seeds 5.18 mg 29%
362 Grains, wheat flour, white, cake flour Cereals, Grains and Pasta 5.16 mg 29%
363 Soybeans, dry, boiled, salted Legumes and Legume Products 5.14 mg 29%
364 Soybeans, dry, boiled Legumes and Legume Products 5.14 mg 29%
365 Cereal, ready to eat, Flax plus Raisin Bran, Nature's Path Breakfast cereals 5.14 mg 29%
366 Kanpyo (dried gourd strips) Vegetables and Vegetable Products 5.12 mg 28%
367 Beans, hyacinth, raw Legumes and Legume Products 5.10 mg 28%
368 Grains, wheat flour, white, bread flour Cereals, Grains and Pasta 5.09 mg 28%
369 Peppermint, fresh Spices and Herbs 5.08 mg 28%
370 Beans, pinto, raw Legumes and Legume Products 5.07 mg 28%
371 Snacks, bagel chips Snacks 5.05 mg 28%
372 Nuts, cashew butter, plain Nuts and Seeds 5.03 mg 28%
373 Beans, black, mature seeds, raw Legumes and Legume Products 5.02 mg 28%
374 Beans, cranberry (roman), raw Legumes and Legume Products 5.00 mg 28%
375 Grains, wheat flour, white, all purpose, unbleached Cereals, Grains and Pasta 4.99 mg 28%
376 Bread, sprouted wheat with added calcium and vitamin D, commercial Baked Products 4.99 mg 28%
377 Beans, adzuki, raw Legumes and Legume Products 4.98 mg 28%
378 Hot chocolate, low calorie, with aspartame, mix, powder, with added calcium and phosphorus, without added sodium or vitamin A Beverages 4.96 mg 28%
379 Hot chocolate, with aspartame, mix, powder Beverages 4.96 mg 28%
380 Nuts, almonds, toasted, unblanched Nuts and Seeds 4.92 mg 27%
381 Nuts, cashew butter, plain, salted Nuts and Seeds 4.91 mg 27%
382 English muffin, raisin-cinnamon, (apple cinnamon) toasted Baked Products 4.90 mg 27%
383 Seeds, safflower seed kernels, dried Nuts and Seeds 4.90 mg 27%
384 Cracker, cheese Baked Products 4.88 mg 27%
385 Tofu, fried Legumes and Legume Products 4.87 mg 27%
386 Tofu, fried (prepared with calcium sulphate) Legumes and Legume Products 4.87 mg 27%
387 Breakfast bar, corn flake crust with fruit Baked Products 4.86 mg 27%
388 Seeds, safflower seed meal, partially defatted Nuts and Seeds 4.86 mg 27%
389 Chickpea flour (besan) Legumes and Legume Products 4.86 mg 27%
390 Bread crumbs, dry, grated, plain Baked Products 4.83 mg 27%
391 Peas, split, raw Legumes and Legume Products 4.82 mg 27%
392 Cracker, cheese, reduced fat Baked Products 4.80 mg 27%
393 Grains, wheat flour, white, all purpose, bleached Cereals, Grains and Pasta 4.80 mg 27%
394 Cracker, cheese, reduced sodium Baked Products 4.77 mg 26%
395 Jute, potherb, raw Vegetables and Vegetable Products 4.76 mg 26%
396 Coffee, instant with chicory, powder Beverages 4.76 mg 26%
397 Peanut flour, low-fat Legumes and Legume Products 4.74 mg 26%
398 Pasta, Chinese noodles, chow mein Cereals, Grains and Pasta 4.73 mg 26%
399 Pancake, buckwheat, dry mix, incomplete, unprepared Baked Products 4.73 mg 26%
400 Sweets, fancy molasses Sweets 4.72 mg 26%

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