12 Foods High in Iron

Medically reviewed by Kierra Brown, RDMedically reviewed by Kierra Brown, RD

Foods high in iron include options like red meat, fortified foods, and green vegetables. Your body depends on the mineral iron for physical growth, oxygen transport, energy production, hormone synthesis, and many other essential biological processes.

You can use these and other food sources of iron—like nuts and seeds or cocoa products, which are high-iron snacks—to help increase your iron intake. Not getting enough iron can contribute to other nutrient deficiencies and medical conditions. Read on for a list of foods high in iron.

Why Is Iron Important?

Iron’s main role in the body is oxygen transportation. Iron assists with the production of hemoglobin, a protein that carries oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your tissues and organs. Around 65% of the iron in your body is found in your blood, which gives your blood its bright red color.

In addition to oxygen transportation, iron is essential to growth and development, cellular function, and the production of certain hormones. Your body recycles and reuses iron from old blood cells, which covers up to 90% of your iron needs.

Your body also loses small amounts of iron daily. For example, most people lose about 1 milligram (mg) of iron through their poop every day.

How Much Iron Do You Need?

Iron needs depend on factors like age, as well as menstruation and pregnancy status. People who menstruate need more iron due to blood loss during their monthly period. Pregnancy and certain medical conditions—such as ulcerative colitis or cancer—also increase the body’s need for dietary iron.

Here are the daily recommended iron intakes for non-vegetarians:

• Men aged 19-50: 8mg

• Women aged 19-50: 18mg

• Men aged 51 and older: 8mg

• Women aged 51 and older: 8mg

• Pregnant women: 27mg

• Breastfeeding women: 9mg

Daily iron recommendations are about 1.8 times higher for vegetarians and vegans. This is because your body can absorb and use heme iron, the type of iron found in animal foods like meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs, better than non-heme iron, the iron in plant foods. Your body absorbs about 25% of dietary heme iron and about 17% of dietary non-heme iron.

Heme iron also enhances the absorption of non-heme iron. Therefore, people who don’t eat animal sources of iron often need to eat more sources of plant-based iron or take an iron supplement to meet their daily needs.

1. Organ Meats

Organ meats are among the most nutritious foods you can eat. In addition to iron, these protein-rich foods contain minerals like selenium and zinc, vitamin B12, and fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K.

These types of meat may contain 1.8mg to 19mg of iron per 3-ounce (oz) serving. Here’s the iron content of some more popular organ meats:

• Chicken liver: 9.86mg per 3oz, or 54% of the Daily Value (DV)

• Beef liver: 5.56mg per 3oz, or 31% DV
  

• Beef heart: 5.42mg per 3oz, or 30% DV

2. Red Meat

Red meats like beef, bison, and venison are high in iron. Like organ meats, red meat is also an excellent source of vitamin B12, zinc, selenium, and protein.

The following red meat products can help you meet your daily iron needs:

• Venison tenderloin: 3.61mg per 3oz, or 20% DV
  

• Bison: 2.71mg per 3oz, or 15% DV

• Beef steak, broiled: 1.56mg per 3oz, or 8% DV
  

3. Fish and Shellfish

Fish and shellfish provide many important nutrients, including iron, selenium, zinc, iodine, and vitamin B12. Seafood also provides omega-3 fats, which play important roles in immune function and inflammation regulation in the body.

Here’s the iron content of some popular seafood products:

• Mussels (cooked): 5.71mg per 3oz, or 32% DV

• Sardines: 2.69mg per 3.75-oz can, or 15% DV

• Salmon: 1.3mg per 6oz, or 7% DV
  

4. Poultry and Eggs

Poultry contains less iron than red meat, but it’s still a good source. Dark cuts of meat contain more iron than white meat. Chicken, turkey, and duck also offer B vitamins and minerals like selenium, while eggs contain nutrients like calcium and potassium.

Here’s the iron content of dark meat poultry products and eggs:

• Duck: 3.78mg per cup, or 21% DV

• Dark turkey meat: 1.23mg per 3oz, or 7% DV
  

• Hard-boiled eggs: 1.19mg per two large eggs, or 7% DV

5. Beans and Lentils

Beans and lentils are packed with non-heme iron. They’re also rich sources of plant-based protein, fiber, magnesium, folate, and many other important nutrients.

Beans and lentils do have natural substances known as antinutrients. Antinutrients may reduce your body’s ability to absorb essential nutrients, including iron. Soaking dried beans and lentils or choosing sprouted legume products may help reduce the antinutrient presence.

Research has still indicated that many of these antinutrients may actually be beneficial for the body. Consuming unbalanced amounts of these nutrients may cause negative effects like allergies.

Try adding the following legumes to your diet to boost your intake of plant-based iron:

• Lentils: 6.59mg per cooked cup, or 37% DV

• Red kidney beans: 5.2mg per cooked cup, or 29% DV

• Chickpeas: 4.74mg per cooked cup, or 26% DV
  

6. Green Vegetables

Green vegetables provide an array of important nutrients and protective plant compounds such as folate, vitamin C, and carotenoid antioxidants. Many greens, including cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and Brussels sprouts and leafy greens like spinach, kale, and Swiss chard, are particularly rich in iron.

The following greens are packed with plant-based iron:

• Spinach: 6.43mg per cooked cup, or 36% DV

• Swiss chard: 3.96mg per cooked cup, or 22% DV

• Beet greens: 2.74mg per cooked cup, or 15% DV

7. Soy Products

Many people who eat a plant-based diet consume soy products, like tofu and edamame, to help them meet their protein needs. Tofu and edamame are excellent sources of protein and provide non-heme iron.

Here’s the iron content of some common soy products:

• Edamame: 3.52mg per cooked cup, or 20% DV

• Tofu: 3.35mg per one-half cup, or 19% DV

• Fortified soy milk: 2mg per cup, or 11% DV

8. Cocoa Products

High-quality cocoa products are good sources of important minerals like iron and magnesium. Cocoa products also offer flavonoid antioxidants, which help protect against cellular damage and reduce inflammation in the body.

When buying cocoa products, look for high-quality items low in added sugar. Pure cocoa powder, cacao nibs, and dark chocolate are among the healthier options.

The following cocoa products can help you meet your iron needs:

• Dark chocolate (70-85% cacao solids): 3.37mg per 1oz, or 19% DV

• Cocoa powder: 1.5mg per 2 tablespoons, or 8% DV

• Cacao nibs: 1.44mg per 2 tablespoons, or 8% DV
  

9. Nuts and Seeds

Adding nuts and seeds to your diet can significantly increase your iron intake. Nuts and seeds also provide fiber, healthy fats, protein, and many other essential nutrients.

The following nuts and seeds are high in iron:

• Pumpkin seeds: 2.29 mg per 1 oz, or 13% DV

• Sesame seeds: 2.26 mg per 2 tablespoons, 13% DV
  

• Cashews: 1.89 mg per 1 oz, or 11% DV
  

10. Sprouted Grains

Unrefined grains contain antinutrients called phytates, which can negatively affect iron absorption. Sprouting grains means soaking them in water until they begin to germinate, or sprout. As with beans and legumes, this process breaks down antinutrients, which may help improve your body’s ability to absorb iron.

Here are a few iron-rich grains and grain products:

• Amaranth: 5.17 mg per cooked cup, or 29% DV

• Quinoa: 2.76 mg per cooked cup, or 15% DV

• Oats: 2.11 mg per cooked cup, or 12% DV

11. Fortified Foods

Fortified foods are products that have nutrients added during processing. Iron is commonly added to plant-based foods like cereals to boost their nutritional value. Remember that fortified foods contain non-heme iron, which is less bioavailable than heme iron.

The following fortified foods are rich in iron:

• Breakfast cereal: Up to 8mg per cup, or 44% DV

• Rice: 1.4mg per one-half cooked cup, or 8% DV (look for "enriched rice" and iron amounts on the product label of quick rice to ensure it is fortified)

• Bread: About 0.5mg to 1mg per slice, or 3-6% DV

12. Certain Fruit Products

Fruit itself isn't listed as a main source of iron. However, some fruit-based products—such as juices or dried fruits—can contain the nutrient. Examples of those fruit products are:

• Dehydrated peaches, sulfured and stewed: 5.47mg per cup, or 30% DV

• Prune juice, 100%: 3mg per cup, or 16% DV

• Dried pears: 2.6mg per cup of half slices, or 14% DV

What Happens When You Don’t Get Enough Iron?

You'll develop low iron levels if your body can't replace the iron it loses daily, eventually becoming deficient in iron. This is known as iron deficiency anemia (IDA), which occurs when your body has used up all of your stored iron.

People with IDA have low hemoglobin in their blood, which decreases the size of their red blood cells. Low levels of hemoglobin, or healthy red blood cells, can contribute to a long list of possible symptoms, including:

• Cold intolerance

• Difficulty concentrating

• Fatigue

• Weakness
  

• Pale skin
  

• Shortness of breath

• Stomach pain

• Weakness
  

Contact a healthcare provider if you think you may be deficient in iron. Blood testing, such as mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), is the only way to confirm an iron deficiency.

Always check with a healthcare provider before trying an iron supplement. The FDA minimally regulates dietary supplements, which may or may not be suitable for you. Consuming too much supplemental iron can harm your health and cause dangerous side effects like kidney damage.

A Quick Review

Iron is an essential mineral in many animal and plant-based foods, such as organ meats, seafood, nuts, and seeds. Eating a nutritious diet that provides heme and non-heme iron sources helps ensure you get enough of this essential mineral.

Make an appointment with a healthcare provider if you think you may not be taking in enough iron or think you may be iron deficient. They can assess your iron status and advise on reaching and maintaining healthy iron levels.

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