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.
FDA daily value: 18 mg
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Showing 1–50 of 374 foods
| # | Food | Category | Per 100 g | % DV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sorghum bran, white, unenriched, dry, raw | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 14.21 mg | 79% |
| 2 | Flour, potato | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 11.97 mg | 66% |
| 3 | Flour, soy, full-fat | Legumes and Legume Products | 9.51 mg | 53% |
| 4 | Egg, yolk, dried | Dairy and Egg Products | 9.28 mg | 52% |
| 5 | Seeds, pumpkin seeds (pepitas), raw | Nut and Seed Products | 8.36 mg | 46% |
| 6 | Flour, coconut | Nut and Seed Products | 8.02 mg | 45% |
| 7 | Flour, amaranth | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 7.56 mg | 42% |
| 8 | Flour, soy, defatted | Legumes and Legume Products | 7.34 mg | 41% |
| 9 | Beans, Dry, Light Tan (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 7.29 mg | 40% |
| 10 | Beans, Dry, Light Tan (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 7.29 mg | 40% |
| 11 | Lentils, dry | Legumes and Legume Products | 7.16 mg | 40% |
| 12 | Sesame butter, creamy | Nut and Seed Products | 7.00 mg | 39% |
| 13 | Egg, whole, dried | Dairy and Egg Products | 6.97 mg | 39% |
| 14 | Beans, Dry, Light Red Kidney (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 6.95 mg | 39% |
| 15 | Beans, Dry, Light Red Kidney (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 6.95 mg | 39% |
| 16 | Beans, cannellini, dry | Legumes and Legume Products | 6.67 mg | 37% |
| 17 | Beans, Dry, Dark Red Kidney (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 6.58 mg | 37% |
| 18 | Beans, Dry, Dark Red Kidney (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 6.58 mg | 37% |
| 19 | Beans, Dry, Medium Red (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 6.27 mg | 35% |
| 20 | Beans, Dry, Medium Red (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 6.27 mg | 35% |
| 21 | Chia seeds, dry, raw | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 6.04 mg | 34% |
| 22 | Nuts, cashew nuts, raw | Nut and Seed Products | 5.99 mg | 33% |
| 23 | Blackeye pea, dry | Legumes and Legume Products | 5.93 mg | 33% |
| 24 | Beans, Dry, Carioca (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 5.87 mg | 33% |
| 25 | Beans, Dry, Carioca (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 5.87 mg | 33% |
| 26 | Beans, Dry, Tan (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 5.85 mg | 32% |
| 27 | Beans, Dry, Tan (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 5.85 mg | 32% |
| 28 | Flaxseed, ground | Nut and Seed Products | 5.78 mg | 32% |
| 29 | Flour, wheat, all-purpose, enriched, bleached | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 5.62 mg | 31% |
| 30 | Flour, bread, white, enriched, unbleached | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 5.55 mg | 31% |
| 31 | Beans, Dry, Great Northern (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 5.48 mg | 30% |
| 32 | Beans, Dry, Great Northern (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 5.48 mg | 30% |
| 33 | Beans, Dry, Pink (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 5.46 mg | 30% |
| 34 | Beans, Dry, Pink (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 5.46 mg | 30% |
| 35 | Flour, wheat, all-purpose, enriched, unbleached | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 5.41 mg | 30% |
| 36 | Beans, Dry, Pinto (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 5.40 mg | 30% |
| 37 | Beans, Dry, Pinto (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 5.40 mg | 30% |
| 38 | Nuts, pine nuts, raw | Nut and Seed Products | 5.36 mg | 30% |
| 39 | Beans, Dry, Black (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 5.34 mg | 30% |
| 40 | Beans, Dry, Black (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 5.34 mg | 30% |
| 41 | Beans, Dry, Navy (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 5.29 mg | 29% |
| 42 | Beans, Dry, Navy (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 5.29 mg | 29% |
| 43 | Beans, Dry, Cranberry (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 5.26 mg | 29% |
| 44 | Beans, Dry, Cranberry (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 5.26 mg | 29% |
| 45 | Seeds, sunflower seed kernels, dry roasted, with salt added | Nut and Seed Products | 5.21 mg | 29% |
| 46 | Chickpeas, (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), dry | Legumes and Legume Products | 5.09 mg | 28% |
| 47 | Beans, Dry, Red (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 5.05 mg | 28% |
| 48 | Beans, Dry, Red (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 5.05 mg | 28% |
| 49 | Beans, Dry, Small Red (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 4.95 mg | 28% |
| 50 | Beans, Dry, Small Red (0% moisture) | Legumes and Legume Products | 4.95 mg | 28% |
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