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

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

Showing 4001–4050 of 8,274 foods

#	Food	Category	Per 100 g	% DV	Source
4001	Leeks, (bulb and lower leaf-portion), cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.10 mg	6%	USDA_SR
4002	Candies, MARS SNACKFOOD US, MARS Almond Bar	Sweets	1.10 mg	6%	USDA_SR
4003	Stew, steamed corn (Navajo)	American Indian/Alaska Native Foods	1.10 mg	6%	USDA_SR
4004	Candies, NESTLE, GOOBERS Chocolate Covered Peanuts	Sweets	1.10 mg	6%	USDA_SR
4005	Dessert, frozen, ice cream cookie sandwich	Sweets	1.10 mg	6%	CNF
4006	Leeks (bulb and lower-leaf portion), boiled, drained, with salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.10 mg	6%	CNF
4007	Grains, cornmeal (yellow), degermed	Cereals, Grains and Pasta	1.10 mg	6%	CNF
4008	Candies, bars, Mars almond	Sweets	1.10 mg	6%	CNF
4009	Candies, goobers, chocolate covered peanuts	Sweets	1.10 mg	6%	CNF
4010	Croissant, apple, commercial	Baked Products	1.10 mg	6%	CNF
4011	Cake, cherry fudge with chocolate icing (frosting)	Baked Products	1.10 mg	6%	CNF
4012	Leeks (bulb and lower-leaf portion), boiled, drained	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.10 mg	6%	CNF
4013	Turnip greens, raw	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.10 mg	6%	CNF
4014	Cowpeas (black-eyed peas), immature seeds, raw	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.10 mg	6%	CNF
4015	Butter, light, stick, with salt	Fats and Oils	1.09 mg	6%	USDA_SR
4016	Butter, light, stick, without salt	Fats and Oils	1.09 mg	6%	USDA_SR
4017	Sauce, barbecue, KC MASTERPIECE, original	Soups, Sauces, and Gravies	1.09 mg	6%	USDA_SR
4018	Winged bean, immature seeds, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.09 mg	6%	USDA_SR
4019	Winged beans, immature seeds, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.09 mg	6%	USDA_SR
4020	Peas and carrots, frozen, unprepared	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.09 mg	6%	USDA_SR
4021	Potatoes, mashed, dehydrated, granules without milk, dry form	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.09 mg	6%	USDA_SR
4022	Peas, green, canned, drained solids, rinsed in tap water	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.09 mg	6%	USDA_SR
4023	Noodles, egg, spinach, enriched, cooked	Cereal Grains and Pasta	1.09 mg	6%	USDA_SR
4024	Cowpeas, leafy tips, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.09 mg	6%	USDA_SR
4025	Cowpeas, leafy tips, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.09 mg	6%	USDA_SR
4026	Candies, CARAMELLO Candy Bar	Sweets	1.09 mg	6%	USDA_SR
4027	Peas, green, canned, drained solids, rinsed	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.09 mg	6%	CNF
4028	Winged beans (goa bean), green, boiled, drained, with salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.09 mg	6%	CNF
4029	Cowpeas, leafy tips, boiled, drained, with salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.09 mg	6%	CNF
4030	Butter, light, unsalted	Dairy and Egg Products	1.09 mg	6%	CNF
4031	Butter, light, salted	Dairy and Egg Products	1.09 mg	6%	CNF
4032	Pasta, egg noodles, spinach, enriched, cooked	Cereals, Grains and Pasta	1.09 mg	6%	CNF
4033	Bread stuffing, dry mix, prepared	Baked Products	1.09 mg	6%	CNF
4034	Mushroom, enoki, raw	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.09 mg	6%	CNF
4035	Winged beans (goa bean), green, boiled, drained	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.09 mg	6%	CNF
4036	Potato, mashed, dehydrated, granules without milk, unprepared	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.09 mg	6%	CNF
4037	Peas and carrots, frozen, unprepared	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.09 mg	6%	CNF
4038	Cowpeas, leafy tips, boiled, drained	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.09 mg	6%	CNF
4039	Blackeye pea, canned, sodium added, drained and rinsed	Legumes and Legume Products	1.08 mg	6%	USDA_FF
4040	Beans, french, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, with salt	Legumes and Legume Products	1.08 mg	6%	USDA_SR
4041	Pie, chocolate mousse, prepared from mix, no-bake type	Baked Products	1.08 mg	6%	USDA_SR
4042	Beans, french, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt	Legumes and Legume Products	1.08 mg	6%	USDA_SR
4043	Babyfood, vegetables, green beans, junior	Baby Foods	1.08 mg	6%	USDA_SR
4044	Potatoes, baked, flesh and skin, with salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.08 mg	6%	USDA_SR
4045	Potatoes, baked, flesh and skin, without salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.08 mg	6%	USDA_SR
4046	Couscous, dry	Cereal Grains and Pasta	1.08 mg	6%	USDA_SR
4047	Salad dressing, caesar dressing, regular	Fats and Oils	1.08 mg	6%	USDA_SR
4048	Raspberries, puree, seedless	Fruits and Fruit Juices	1.08 mg	6%	USDA_SR
4049	Potato, flesh and skin, baked, with salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1.08 mg	6%	CNF
4050	Salad dressing, caesar dressing, regular	Fats and Oils	1.08 mg	6%	CNF

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

Make a label

Vegetarian foods high in Iron

Turn these foods into a print-ready nutrition label.