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 401–450 of 3,595 foods
| # | Food | Category | Per 100 g | % DV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 401 | Grains, oats | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 4.72 mg | 26% |
| 402 | Grains, barley, malt flour | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 4.71 mg | 26% |
| 403 | Cake mix, gingerbread, dry, unprepared | Baked Products | 4.70 mg | 26% |
| 404 | Pasta, spaghetti, protein-fortified, enriched, dry | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 4.70 mg | 26% |
| 405 | Nuts, filberts or hazelnuts, dried | Nuts and Seeds | 4.70 mg | 26% |
| 406 | Cereal, hot, oats, instant: Weight Control, Cinnamon, prepared, Quaker | Breakfast cereals | 4.66 mg | 26% |
| 407 | English muffin, plain (also sourdough), toasted | Baked Products | 4.65 mg | 26% |
| 408 | Cracker, matzo, whole-wheat | Baked Products | 4.65 mg | 26% |
| 409 | Cracker meal | Baked Products | 4.64 mg | 26% |
| 410 | Cereal, hot, oats, instant: Weight Control, Maple and Brown Sugar, prepared, Quaker | Breakfast cereals | 4.63 mg | 26% |
| 411 | Cereal, ready to eat, Maximum Raisin Bran Flakes, Compliments | Breakfast cereals | 4.63 mg | 26% |
| 412 | Cereal, ready to eat, Breakfast O's, Barbara's Bakery | Breakfast cereals | 4.60 mg | 26% |
| 413 | Snacks, pretzels, hard, plain, salted | Snacks | 4.60 mg | 26% |
| 414 | Coffee substitute, cereal grain beverage, powder | Beverages | 4.60 mg | 26% |
| 415 | Beverage mix, carob flavour, powder | Beverages | 4.60 mg | 26% |
| 416 | Seeds, breadnuttree seeds, dried | Nuts and Seeds | 4.60 mg | 26% |
| 417 | Beans, hyacinth, boiled | Legumes and Legume Products | 4.58 mg | 25% |
| 418 | Beans, hyacinth, boiled, salted | Legumes and Legume Products | 4.58 mg | 25% |
| 419 | Peanuts, all types, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 4.58 mg | 25% |
| 420 | Cereal, ready to eat, Shredded Wheat'n Bran: spoon size, Post | Breakfast cereals | 4.57 mg | 25% |
| 421 | Grains, quinoa, dry | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 4.57 mg | 25% |
| 422 | Tomato powder | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 4.56 mg | 25% |
| 423 | Grains, wheat, hard white | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 4.56 mg | 25% |
| 424 | Bread, protein (includes gluten), toasted | Baked Products | 4.56 mg | 25% |
| 425 | Candies, halavah (halvah), plain | Sweets | 4.53 mg | 25% |
| 426 | Babyfood, cereal, rice, with yogourt, with fruit, prepared with water | Babyfoods | 4.52 mg | 25% |
| 427 | Cracker, melba toast, wheat | Baked Products | 4.50 mg | 25% |
| 428 | English muffin, raisin-cinnamon (apple cinnamon) | Baked Products | 4.50 mg | 25% |
| 429 | Soup, minestrone, dehydrated | Soups, Sauces and Gravies | 4.50 mg | 25% |
| 430 | Cereal, hot, oats, minute, dry, Robin Hood | Breakfast cereals | 4.50 mg | 25% |
| 431 | Cereal, hot, oats, large flakes, dry, Rogers | Breakfast cereals | 4.50 mg | 25% |
| 432 | Cake mix, chocolate (devil's food, fudge), regular, dry, unprepared | Baked Products | 4.50 mg | 25% |
| 433 | Bagel, plain (with onion, poppy seed and/or sesame seed), toasted | Baked Products | 4.50 mg | 25% |
| 434 | Cereal, hot, oats, Quick: Robin Hood, dry, Robin Hood | Breakfast cereals | 4.50 mg | 25% |
| 435 | Grains, spelt, uncooked | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 4.44 mg | 25% |
| 436 | Ice cream cone, sugar, rolled-type | Baked Products | 4.43 mg | 25% |
| 437 | Coffee, instant, regular, powder | Beverages | 4.41 mg | 24% |
| 438 | Coffee, instant, powder, half the caffeine | Beverages | 4.41 mg | 24% |
| 439 | Grains, wheat flour, white, self-rising | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 4.40 mg | 24% |
| 440 | Grains, wheat flour, white, tortilla mix | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 4.40 mg | 24% |
| 441 | Grains, wheat flour, white, all purpose, enriched, calcium fortified | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 4.40 mg | 24% |
| 442 | Grains, wheat flour, white, high gluten | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 4.40 mg | 24% |
| 443 | Egg, chicken, yolk, fresh or frozen, raw | Dairy and Egg Products | 4.40 mg | 24% |
| 444 | Cracker, wheat, low sodium | Baked Products | 4.40 mg | 24% |
| 445 | Egg, chicken, yolk, cooked | Dairy and Egg Products | 4.40 mg | 24% |
| 446 | Sweets, topping, chocolate flavour hazelnut spread | Sweets | 4.38 mg | 24% |
| 447 | Nuts, filberts or hazelnuts, dry roasted, unblanched | Nuts and Seeds | 4.38 mg | 24% |
| 448 | Cracker, matzo, egg and onion | Baked Products | 4.37 mg | 24% |
| 449 | Lupins, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 4.36 mg | 24% |
| 450 | Cereal, ready to eat, Flax Plus Maple Pecan Crunch, Nature's Path | Breakfast cereals | 4.35 mg | 24% |
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