9 plant-based foods high in iron

Iron is an essential mineral that our body needs to help transport oxygen around the body via our blood, but we can only get it from food. Many people don’t get enough iron in their diet and an iron deficiency can lead to tiredness and anaemia. In this post I’m sharing nine plant-based foods that are high in iron and some recipe ideas to help you incorporate them into your meal plan!

How much iron do we need?

The recommended daily intake (RDI) of iron depends on age and sex. Adults need more iron than children, and women need more iron than men to replace the iron lost in the blood during menstruation. After menopause, men and women need the same amout of iron per day. Pregnant women should also consume more iron daily.

According to the NHS, the amount of iron adults need daily is:

• 8.7mg a day for men over 18 / women over 50
• 14.8mg a day for women aged 19 to 50

According to Healthline children need varying amounts of iron depending on their age:

• 7mg a day from ages 1-3
• 10mg a day from ages 4-8
• 8mg a day from ages 9-13
• Teenage boys need 11mg per day to support growth spurts, whereas teenage girls need 15mg per day to compensate for menstruation

The bottom line is, we all need iron! Whilst too much iron can be harmful, it’s very unlikely that you will consume too much iron from food, so make sure you regularly incorporate foods from the list below into your daily meals.

Increasing iron absorption

There are two types of iron that we can consume from food: haem and non-haem. Haem iron is in meat, poultry and seafood, and is absorbed more effectively than non-haem iron, which is found in eggs and plant-based foods.

Luckily, there are ways that we can help our body to absorb non-haem iron more effectively!

Foods that are rich in vitamin C increase the absorption of iron if you eat them at the same time as foods high in iron. For example, citrus fruits, tomatoes, berries, kiwis, melons, leafy greens and peppers. You can eat them raw alongside your main iron-rich meal or make a delicious smoothie, like this one!

Unfortunately, tea, coffee and red wine may decrease absorption of iron into the body, so it’s best to drink these inbetween meals.

Plant-based foods high in iron

Since I don’t eat much meat and fish (max once a week) I tend to get my iron from plant-based sources.

Here are nine plant-based sources of iron, along with meal suggestions for each one to help you get started.

Lentils

Lentils are a great source of iron; just 200g of cooked lentils provides over a third of our RDI of iron as well as protein, fibre, potassium and a selection of B vitamins.

Recipe ideas for lentils:

• One-pot vegetable and lentil stew
• Vegan bolognese sauce
• Vegetable, lentil & dark ale pie
• Puy lentils with tahini and cumin
• Red lentil and chard soup

Chickpeas

Chickpeas come from the same family as lentils (i.e. legumes) and are also a good source of iron; 160g cooked chickpeas contain around 4.7mg iron – that’s a quarter of the RDI! In addition, they are rich in protein and fibre.

Recipe ideas for chickpeas:

• Homemade hummus
• Beetroot & chickpea burgers
• Mashed chickpea salad sandwich
• Chickpea stuffed sweet potatoes
• Roasted aubergine and chickpea curry

Tofu

Tofu is a soy product. It’s made from soy milk which has been condensed and pressed into solid blocks. An 85g serving of tofu contains just 80 calories, 8% of the iron RDI and is high in calcium (15% RDI).

In my opinion it’s fairly flavourless but if you marinade it well or add it to well-seasoned stir fries it’s a great ingredient for vegetarians and vegans!

Recipe ideas for tofu:

• Tofu pad Thai
• Vietnamese spring rolls
• Crispy buffalo tofu bites
• Loaded tofu tacos

Tempeh

Tempeh is also a soy product but is made from fermented and compacted soy beans. The result is a firm cake that sometimes also contains seeds and grains like quinoa and linseeds.

An 85g serving of tempeh contains more calories compared to tofu (around 140 calories) but contains 10% of the iron RDI, 16g of protein, 7g of fibre and 8% of the potassium RDI.

Recipe ideas for tempeh:

• Vegetable tempeh stir-fry
• BBQ baked tempeh chips
• Vegan BLT tempeh sandwiches

Pumpkin seeds

Seeds are packed with nutrients, so the more you can sprinkle them on salads, soups and breakfast oats the better!

Pumpkin seeds in particular are rich in iron; a 28g serving contains 4.2mg (almost a quarter of the RDI) as well as healthy fats and a bunch of minerals like manganese, magnesium and phosphorus. These minerals help to keep our bones and muscles healthy, and aid digestion.

Pumpkin seeds can be eaten raw as a snack! Alternatively, here are some recipe ideas for pumpkin seeds:

• Easy roasted pumpkin seeds
• Rye & pumpkin seed crackers
• Easy everyday granola

Cashews, almonds and pine nuts

Several varieties of nuts also contain a decent amount of iron and are easy to add to meals!

Raw cashews, for example contain 10% of the iron RDI in one 28g serving. They alo contain healthy omega-3 fats as well as magnesium and manganese.

Almonds contain an incredible amount of nutrients! Whilst people are often freaked out by their fat content, the majority of the fats are good mono- and polyunsaturated ones that’s great for your heart. They’re also high in iron (obviously, or they wouldn’t be in this list!), fibre, protein, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and vitamin E.

Similarly to cashews and almonds, pine nuts are rich in healthy fats and minerals. A single 28g serving contains 10% of the iron RDI.

Raw nuts are a great snack inbetween meals. Mix a variety of nuts, seeds and dried fruit like raisins for a simple trail mix that you can grab a handful of at any moment! Here are some other recipe ideas:

• Creamy cashew pea soup
• Crunchy cashew sesame bars
• Pine nut pesto
• Almond cashew crackers
• Almond butter

Leafy greens

Many leafy green vegetables are a great source of iron. Kale, broccoli, spinach and green peas are good examples of greens that are farily low in calories and high in nutritious value.

Just 100g of cooked spinach contains 20% of the iron RDI. Moreover, it’s also naturally rich in vitamin C (16% RDI) which will help your body absorb the iron – double win! If you enjoy raw spinach (e.g. in a salad) the iron content is slightly less but the vitamin C remains more intact (100g contains 47% RDI), so consider including a mix of raw and cooked spinach in your diet.

Broccol, kale and green peas contain less iron than spinach but are very high in vitamin C, so try pairing them in a single meal to boost iron absorption further.

Recipe ideas for spinach, broccoli, kale and green peas:

• Kale pesto pasta
• Black bean and kale burgers
• Chickpea and spinach curry
• Simple sauteed spinach
• Quinoa, squash and broccoli salad
• Broccoli and potato stir-fry
• Lemon tarragon pea salad

Oats and quinoa

Certain cereals and grains such as oats and quinoa are rich in iron and are a good choice to eat at breakfast. A 100g serving of cooked quinoa contains 1.5mg of iron (8% of RDI), whereas 100g of cooked oats contains as much as 6mg (33% RDI) of iron!

Recipe ideas for oats and quinoa:

• Oat & banana pancakes
• Flapjacks
• Chocolate & coconut energy balls
• Roasted aubergines with quinoa salad
• Mediterranean quinoa salad
• Quinoa chilli

Dark chocolate

It gives me great pleasure to tell you that dark chocolate is actually a great source of iron!

A 28g serving of 70% cocoa chocolate contains as much as 3.3mg (19% RDI) of iron. It’s also been said to have antioxidant properties and beneficial effects on cholesterol… Just sayin’.

Recipes with dark chocolate:

• Chocolate & coconut energy balls
• Dark chocoalte sea salt almond clusters
• Dark chocolate brownies
• Salted caramel dark chocolate cookies

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