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 4901–4950 of 8,274 foods

# Food Category Per 100 g % DV Source
4901 Potato, french-fried, frozen, shoestring, unprepared Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.72 mg 4% CNF
4902 Vinegar, balsamic Spices and Herbs 0.72 mg 4% CNF
4903 Dessert, frozen, ice cream, chocolate or caramel covered, with nuts Sweets 0.72 mg 4% CNF
4904 Meatless, bacon bits Legumes and Legume Products 0.72 mg 4% CNF
4905 Cheese, monterey, low fat Dairy and Egg Products 0.72 mg 4% CNF
4906 Pasta, spaghetti, protein-fortified, enriched, cooked Cereals, Grains and Pasta 0.72 mg 4% CNF
4907 Pasta, macaroni, protein-fortified, enriched, cooked Cereals, Grains and Pasta 0.72 mg 4% CNF
4908 Dessert, pudding, coconut, dry mix, instant, unprepared Sweets 0.72 mg 4% CNF
4909 Candies, bars, Snickers Sweets 0.72 mg 4% CNF
4910 Cauliflower, green, boiled, with salt Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.72 mg 4% CNF
4911 Cauliflower, green, boiled Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.72 mg 4% CNF
4912 Taro, cooked Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.72 mg 4% CNF
4913 Sweet potato, boiled without skin Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.72 mg 4% CNF
4914 Potato, canned, solids and liquid Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.72 mg 4% CNF
4915 Broccoli, frozen, spears, unprepared Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.72 mg 4% CNF
4916 Cheese, cheddar or colby type, low sodium Dairy and Egg Products 0.72 mg 4% CNF
4917 Cheese, monterey Dairy and Egg Products 0.72 mg 4% CNF
4918 BURGER KING, Hash Brown Rounds Fast Foods 0.71 mg 4% USDA_SR
4919 Custard-apple, (bullock's-heart), raw Fruits and Fruit Juices 0.71 mg 4% USDA_SR
4920 Sauce, pesto, CLASSICO, basil pesto, ready-to-serve Soups, Sauces, and Gravies 0.71 mg 4% USDA_SR
4921 Frozen novelties, KLONDIKE, SLIM-A-BEAR Fudge Bar, 98% fat free, no sugar added Sweets 0.71 mg 4% USDA_SR
4922 ON THE BORDER, cheese enchilada Restaurant Foods 0.71 mg 4% USDA_SR
4923 Restaurant, family style, onion rings Restaurant Foods 0.71 mg 4% USDA_SR
4924 Sugars, brown Sweets 0.71 mg 4% USDA_SR
4925 Squash, summer, crookneck and straightneck, canned, drained, solid, without salt Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.71 mg 4% USDA_SR
4926 Candies, honey-combed, with peanut butter Sweets 0.71 mg 4% USDA_SR
4927 Babyfood, dinner, jarred, pasta with cheese and vegetables Babyfoods 0.71 mg 4% CNF
4928 Sweets, sugar, brown Sweets 0.71 mg 4% CNF
4929 Squash, summer, crookneck, canned, drained solids Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.71 mg 4% CNF
4930 Custard-apple, raw Fruits and fruit juices 0.71 mg 4% CNF
4931 Pancakes, gluten-free, frozen, ready-to-heat Baked Products 0.70 mg 4% USDA_SR
4932 Beverages, Malted drink mix, natural, powder, dairy based. Beverages 0.70 mg 4% USDA_SR
4933 Potatoes, red, flesh and skin, baked Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.70 mg 4% USDA_SR
4934 Celeriac, raw Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.70 mg 4% USDA_SR
4935 Turnips, frozen, unprepared Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.70 mg 4% USDA_SR
4936 Cardoon, raw Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.70 mg 4% USDA_SR
4937 Mammy-apple, (mamey), raw Fruits and Fruit Juices 0.70 mg 4% USDA_SR
4938 Cabbage, mustard, salted Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.70 mg 4% USDA_SR
4939 Cloudberries, raw (Alaska Native) American Indian/Alaska Native Foods 0.70 mg 4% USDA_SR
4940 Rice noodles, dry Cereal Grains and Pasta 0.70 mg 4% USDA_SR
4941 Squash, winter, butternut, raw Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.70 mg 4% USDA_SR
4942 Salsify, (vegetable oyster), raw Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.70 mg 4% USDA_SR
4943 Pumpkin flowers, raw Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.70 mg 4% USDA_SR
4944 Lambsquarters, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.70 mg 4% USDA_SR
4945 Cowpeas, young pods with seeds, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.70 mg 4% USDA_SR
4946 Candies, NESTLE, CRUNCH Bar and Dessert Topping Sweets 0.70 mg 4% USDA_SR
4947 Lambsquarters, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.70 mg 4% USDA_SR
4948 Cowpeas, young pods with seeds, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.70 mg 4% USDA_SR
4949 Squash, winter, acorn, raw Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.70 mg 4% USDA_SR
4950 Potato wedges, frozen (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program) Vegetables and Vegetable Products 0.70 mg 4% USDA_SR

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

Make a label

Turn these foods into a print-ready nutrition label.

Build a recipe from any of these ingredients and export a print-ready FDA or Canada Nutrition Facts label. Free.

Style