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The guide

Iron-rich foods, by the portion you actually eat.

Updated 2 min readWaiting for medical review

The short answer

Shellfish, liver, red meat, beans and lentils give the most iron per portion. Iron from meat and fish gets in far more easily than iron from plants, which needs vitamin C alongside and no tea, coffee or dairy nearby.

0246810MG OF IRON PER PORTIONMussels1 bowl, 150 g10.1Chicken liver4 livers, 100 g9.0Tofuhalf a block, 125 g6.8CALCIUMWhite beans1 cup cooked6.7Lentils1 cup cooked6.6Beef liver1 slice, 100 g6.5Blood sausage2 thick slices6.4Kidney beans1 cup cooked5.2Chickpeas1 cup cooked4.6Beef steak1 steak, 150 g3.9Beef mince1 portion, 125 g3.1Liver pâté2 tbsp3.0Lamb1 portion, 150 g2.8Quinoa1 cup cooked2.8Pumpkin seedsa handful, 30 g2.6Sardines1 small tin2.6CALCIUMDark chocolate2 squares2.4TANNINSSun-dried tomatoes4 pieces1.8Turkey1 portion, 150 g1.7Spinach2 handfuls raw1.6Chicken breast1 breast1.5Eggs2 eggs1.2Beetroot1 beet0.8Salmon1 fillet, 150 g0.8
Iron per portion, mg. Rounded from standard food composition data. How much you absorb depends on the form and what you eat with it.

Two kinds of iron

Iron in meat, fish and shellfish is heme iron: it gets in easily, and coffee and tea barely touch it. Iron in plants, eggs and most supplements is non-heme iron: it needs vitamin C to be absorbed and is easily blocked. See heme and non-heme iron.

FoodPortionIron
Mussels1 bowl, 150 gabout 10 mg
Chicken liver100 gabout 9 mg
White beans, cooked1 cupabout 6.7 mg
Lentils, cooked1 cupabout 6.6 mg
Beef liver100 gabout 6.5 mg
Beef steak150 gabout 3.9 mg
Pumpkin seeds30 gabout 2.6 mg
Spinach, raw2 handfulsabout 1.6 mg
Eggs2 eggsabout 1.2 mg
Beetroot1 beetabout 0.8 mg

Myths worth dropping

  • Beetroot has about 0.8 mg per 100 g, less than chicken. Enjoy it, but do not count it.
  • Spinach has some iron, but oxalates hold most of it back. Count it as colour, not as your iron.
  • Liver capsules hold a few grams of liver. Matching one portion would take most of the jar.
  • Wholegrain bread is high in phytates. Long-fermented sourdough lets more iron through.
1 An iron sourceMeat, liver, fish, shellfish,or beans and lentils.2 ColourSweet potato, carrot, pumpkin,tomato: they guard the iron.3 Vitamin CRaw red pepper, parsley,lemon, berries, kiwi.4 A little fatOlive oil or butter helpsthe colour absorb.
The iron plate. One formula behind every meal in the guide's 7-day menu.
Do

Build each iron meal on one formula: an iron source, a vitamin C food, some colour and a little fat.

Don’t

Add cheese, yogurt or a glass of milk to the plate.

Liver and pâté are the richest everyday foods, but they are very high in vitamin A, so once or twice a week is plenty. Ask your doctor before eating them in pregnancy.

A real page from The Iron GuideIron per real portion, from the guide's food chapter.See more pages

Questions

Which food has the most iron?

Per portion, clams, mussels and liver lead, then red meat, beans and lentils. Sesame and spices are high per 100 g but eaten in small amounts.

How much iron do I need a day?

About 18 mg a day while you have periods, 8 mg after menopause and 27 mg in pregnancy, by US dietary reference intakes.

Sources

  1. 1.US Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central
  2. 2.NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Iron: fact sheet for health professionals
  3. 3.Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The Nutrition Source: Iron
  4. 4.The Iron Guide, part 4: Food that counts

This page has not been reviewed by a clinician yet. Read it as general education, and take your own results to your doctor.

Educational, not medical advice. ferritin.ai does not diagnose or treat any condition, and it never sets a dose. Talk to your doctor about your own results.

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