Summary
Here is our list of top iron snacks:
- Dark Chocolate (12 mg iron per 100 g serving)
- Pumpkin Seeds (8 mg iron per 100 g serving)
- Cashews (7 mg iron per 100 g serving)
- Sesame Sticks (5 mg iron per 100 g serving)
- Beef Liver (5 mg iron per 100 g serving)
Help us design a high-iron snack!
Keep reading to learn more about each snack and how to maximize your iron absorption from them.
Why are High Iron Snacks Important?
With many people needing additional iron in their diet, high iron snacks are a great way to get extra iron. Moreover, spreading out your iron intake can increase absorption. Eating these foods can help you build healthy blood, increase ferritin levels, and feel your best.
What is a High Iron Snack?
In this post, we've considered any food that would be reasonably eaten between meals or on-the-go. Using data from the US government (with links below), we've evaluated how many mg of iron is in a typical serving size of each food. From this info, we've compiled our list of the best high iron snacks based on the iron content and the flavor.
we've compiled our list of the best high iron snacks based on the iron content and the flavor
Dark Chocolate is the Best High Iron Snack
It may be surprising to see that dark chocolate, at 11.9 mg of iron per 100 g serving, is the best high-iron snack. Dark chocolate is packed with iron because cacao, the main ingredient in dark chocolate, is very rich in iron. However, that 100 g serving of dark chocolate will come with about 600 calories and a whopping 43 g of fat, so it's best to moderate your chocolate quantities.
Dark chocolate is packed with iron because cacao, the main ingredient in dark chocolate, is very rich in iron.
Pumpkin Seeds are a Very High Iron Snack
Our second best high-iron snack is pumpkin seeds, or pepitas, which offer 8.1 mg of iron per 100 g serving. We recommend toasting your pepitas for the best flavor. The downside is that a 100 g serving of pumpkin seeds will also add up to 570 calories and a staggering 49 g of fat, so you should treat pumpkin seeds similar to dark chocolate -- as a source of iron to enjoy in small doses.
We recommend toasting your pepitas for the best flavor.
Cashews have the Most Iron of any Nut
Nuts in general are a great source of iron, and our third best high-iron snack is cashes, which offer 6.7 mg iron per 100 g serving. However, the high-calorie trend continues here, as a 100 g serving of cashes also brings 550 calories and 44 g of fat. For all these high-fat and high-iron snacks, we advise you to stick to a roughly 1-oz portion to get a nice source of iron without too much fat or calories.
Nuts in general are a great source of iron
Sesame Sticks are a Good High Iron Snack
Sesame sticks offer solid iron levels in a crunchy, salty treat. Sesame sticks offer 4.8 mg of iron per 100 g serving, along with 530 calories and 37 g of fat. They can be used for a snack that provides a nice amount of iron without as much fat as the options listed above.
Liver is the Healthiest High Iron Snack
If you are not vegetarian, and you can get over the taste, liver is the best high iron snack. Liver provides 4.9 mg of iron and 20.4 g protein per 100 g serving, along with only 135 calories and 3.6 g of fat. Liver is also rich in other vitamins and minerals, which can help iron to support healthy blood.
Drink Orange or Carrot Juice with your High Iron Snack
Vitamins C and A have been shown to improve iron absorption.
For all of these snacks, what's most important is not how much iron you ingest, but how much iron you absorb. To boost absorption, have a glass of orange juice (for vitamin C) or carrot juice (for vitamin A) with your high iron snack. Vitamins C and A have been shown to improve iron absorption.
Can Iron Deficiency be Fixed with High Iron Snacks?
As shown above, high iron snacks can provide around 3-5 mg of iron in each healthy serving size. Each of these snacks represents 15-25% of the 18 mg of iron that is recommended to be included as part of a healthy diet. Despite that, if you suffer iron deficiency, you typically need more than 18 mg of iron per day - high-iron snacks should be one of several solutions to use for restoring iron levels.
high-iron snacks should be one of several solutions to use for restoring iron levels
Are there any High Iron Drinks?
Something that didn't make the list is high iron drinks. That's because there's only one brand that you can count on for drinks that help boost iron levels.
Smart Eats is innovating in high iron solutions with our iron-rich shake powder (Iron Lift) and our iron-rich electrolyte powder (Iron Hydration).
These drink powders offer highly absorbed and gentle iron, along with nutrients to help boost energy levels and build healthy blood.
Nutrition Data
- Dark Chocolate (USDA Food Data Central)
- Pumpkin Seeds (USDA Food Data Central)
- Cashews (USDA Food Data Central)
- Sesame Sticks (USDA Food Data Central)
- Beef Liver (USDA Food Data Central)
