Vegetarian foods high in Zinc (USDA Foundation)

Your body needs zinc daily for immune cells to work, wounds to close, and DNA to copy itself during cell division. This Daily Value is a target, not a ceiling: most people benefit from meeting it, and your label's percentage tells you how much one serving contributes to that goal.

Zinc concentrates in animal muscle and shellfish, then in seeds, legumes, and whole grains. The ranking below shows raw concentration per 100 g, but bioavailability matters; compounds in plants can bind zinc and reduce how much your body absorbs, so a plant-based food may look higher on this table than it performs in practice.

On a vegetarian or vegan diet, legumes and seeds become your primary sources, but phytates in these foods bind zinc and lower absorption. Fortified cereals and nutritional yeast provide an alternative route. Soaking, sprouting, and fermenting legumes and grains can reduce phytate content and improve zinc uptake, though they do not eliminate it.

FDA daily value: 11 mg

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Showing 51–100 of 342 foods

# Food Category Per 100 g % DV
51 Beans, Dry, Black (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 3.37 mg 31%
52 Beans, Dry, Carioca (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 3.36 mg 31%
53 Beans, Dry, Carioca (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 3.36 mg 31%
54 Beans, Dry, Navy (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 3.31 mg 30%
55 Beans, Dry, Navy (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 3.31 mg 30%
56 Beans, Dry, Dark Red Kidney (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 3.29 mg 30%
57 Beans, Dry, Dark Red Kidney (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 3.29 mg 30%
58 Cheese, dry white, queso seco Dairy and Egg Products 3.28 mg 30%
59 Cheese, dry white, queso seco Dairy and Egg Products 3.28 mg 30%
60 Beans, Dry, Pink (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 3.26 mg 30%
61 Beans, Dry, Pink (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 3.26 mg 30%
62 Flour, whole wheat, unenriched Cereal Grains and Pasta 3.24 mg 29%
63 Beans, Dry, Small Red (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 3.23 mg 29%
64 Beans, Dry, Small Red (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 3.23 mg 29%
65 Beans, Dry, Light Tan (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 3.23 mg 29%
66 Beans, Dry, Light Tan (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 3.23 mg 29%
67 Almond butter, creamy Nut and Seed Products 3.18 mg 29%
68 Chickpeas, (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), dry Legumes and Legume Products 3.12 mg 28%
69 Peanut butter, creamy Legumes and Legume Products 3.06 mg 28%
70 Beans, Dry, Cranberry (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 3.03 mg 28%
71 Beans, Dry, Cranberry (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 3.03 mg 28%
72 Flour, amaranth Cereal Grains and Pasta 3.00 mg 27%
73 Egg, yolk, raw, frozen, pasteurized Dairy and Egg Products 2.93 mg 27%
74 Cheese, queso fresco, solid Dairy and Egg Products 2.91 mg 26%
75 Nuts, almonds, whole, raw Nut and Seed Products 2.87 mg 26%
76 Oats, whole grain, steel cut Cereal Grains and Pasta 2.84 mg 26%
77 Beans, Dry, Red (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 2.84 mg 26%
78 Beans, Dry, Red (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 2.84 mg 26%
79 Nuts, almonds, dry roasted, with salt added Nut and Seed Products 2.80 mg 25%
80 Flour, almond Nut and Seed Products 2.79 mg 25%
81 Peanuts, raw Legumes and Legume Products 2.78 mg 25%
82 Flour, quinoa Cereal Grains and Pasta 2.77 mg 25%
83 Nuts, walnuts, English, halves, raw Nut and Seed Products 2.76 mg 25%
84 Flour, oat, whole grain Cereal Grains and Pasta 2.75 mg 25%
85 Oats, whole grain, rolled, old fashioned Cereal Grains and Pasta 2.74 mg 25%
86 Beans, cannellini, dry Legumes and Legume Products 2.72 mg 25%
87 Rice, red, unenriched, dry, raw Cereal Grains and Pasta 2.56 mg 23%
88 Peanut butter, smooth style, with salt Legumes and Legume Products 2.54 mg 23%
89 Cheese, American, restaurant Dairy and Egg Products 2.45 mg 22%
90 Cheese, pasteurized process, American, vitamin D fortified Dairy and Egg Products 2.42 mg 22%
91 Cheese, pasteurized process cheese food or product, American, singles Dairy and Egg Products 2.38 mg 22%
92 Cheese, feta, whole milk, crumbled Dairy and Egg Products 2.35 mg 21%
93 Nuts, hazelnuts or filberts, raw Nut and Seed Products 2.33 mg 21%
94 Flour, rye Cereal Grains and Pasta 2.33 mg 21%
95 Millet, whole grain Cereal Grains and Pasta 2.26 mg 21%
96 Buckwheat, whole grain Cereal Grains and Pasta 2.24 mg 20%
97 Nuts, pistachio nuts, raw Nut and Seed Products 2.18 mg 20%
98 Bulgur, dry, raw Cereal Grains and Pasta 2.15 mg 20%
99 Flour, barley Cereal Grains and Pasta 2.14 mg 19%
100 Flour, rice, brown Cereal Grains and Pasta 1.91 mg 17%

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