Vegetarian Iron Sources Ranked, With the Palak Myth Measured
Til and soya chunks lead Indian vegetarian foods on iron, while palak, the food most people name first, has only about 2.5–3 mg per 100 g. Til carries roughly 9–15 mg and soya chunks 8–10 mg. Ranked per serving, a katori of soya chunks, a bajra roti and a katori of kala chana do the most work, and palak's oxalate means less of its iron is absorbed. Both rankings are below.
- Per 100 g, til (~9–15 mg), soya chunks (~8–10 mg) and bajra (~6–8 mg) lead.
- Palak has about 2.5–3 mg per 100 g, and its oxalate limits how much is absorbed.
- Per serving, 30 g of soya chunks (~2.5–3 mg) and one bajra roti (~2–2.8 mg) top the list.
- Polished rice has about 0.5–1 mg per 100 g; paneer about 0.3–0.6 mg.
- ICMR-NIN's RDA is 19 mg a day for men and 29 mg for women, so ranking matters.
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Per 100 g and per serving
Iron content per 100 g tells you which foods are dense; per-serving figures tell you which ones move a day. Both are here, from the KABO Indian Nutrition Index, which compiles them from the ICMR-NIN Indian Food Composition Tables. Each food has its own detailed page, for example iron in til, iron in soya chunks and iron in palak.
Ranked by iron per 100 g
| Food | Iron per 100 g |
|---|---|
| Til (sesame), black | ~10–15 mg |
| Til (sesame), white | ~9–15 mg |
| Soya chunks, defatted (dry) | ~8–10 mg |
| Bajra (pearl millet), raw | ~6–8 mg |
| Masoor dal, raw | ~6–7 mg |
| Rajma, raw | ~5–8 mg |
| Kala chana, raw | ~5–6 mg |
| Kabuli chana, raw | ~4–6 mg |
| Ragi, raw | ~4–5 mg |
| Whole wheat atta | ~4–5 mg |
| Whole green moong, raw | ~4–5 mg |
| Yellow moong dal, raw | ~3.5–4.5 mg |
| Jowar, raw | ~3–4 mg |
| Jaggery (cane) | ~3–11 mg |
| Dried figs (anjeer) | ~2.5–4 mg |
| Palak (spinach), raw | ~2.5–3 mg |
| Dates, dried | ~2–4 mg |
| Rice, raw milled | ~0.5–1 mg |
| Paneer | ~0.3–0.6 mg |
Jaggery's range is unusually wide because much of its iron can come from the iron pans it is boiled in; iron in jaggery explains why a teaspoon does less than its reputation.
Ranked by iron per typical serving
| Serving | Iron per serving |
|---|---|
| 30 g dry soya chunks (1 katori cooked) | ~2.5–3 mg |
| 1 bajra roti (~35 g flour) | ~2–2.8 mg |
| 1 katori kala chana curry (~40 g dry) | ~2–2.5 mg |
| 1 katori masoor dal (~30 g raw) | ~1.8–2.1 mg |
| 1 katori rajma (~30 g raw) | ~1.5–2.4 mg |
| 1 ragi roti (~30 g flour) | ~1.2–1.5 mg |
| 1 tablespoon til (~10 g) | ~0.9–1.5 mg |
| 1 katori moong dal (~30 g dry) | ~1–1.3 mg |
| 3 dried dates (~25 g) | ~0.5–1 mg |
| 1 teaspoon jaggery (~5 g) | ~0.15–0.5 mg |
The calculation is per-100 g value × grams eaten ÷ 100: a katori of masoor dal is about 30 g raw at 6–7 mg per 100 g, so 1.8–2.1 mg.
The palak myth, measured
Palak's reputation comes from a decades-old story about a misplaced decimal point, but the plain numbers are enough. At about 2.5–3 mg per 100 g raw, it sits below bajra, masoor, rajma, kala chana and whole wheat, and well below til and soya chunks.
It also contains oxalate, which binds iron and reduces the share your body absorbs. Palak is a good vegetable worth eating for folate, vitamin K and fibre; it is not the iron food it is sold as.
How much iron a vegetarian day actually delivers shows why the ranking matters once absorption is counted.
Making the top of the list count
- Pair with vitamin C. Lemon on dal, amla, guava or tomato in the same meal raises non-haem iron absorption.
- Move the chai. Tea and coffee with meals reduce absorption; leave an hour either side. Chai with meals covers the evidence.
- Soak, sprout, ferment. These reduce phytate in pulses and millets.
- Test before supplementing. If you are tired and pale, a ferritin and haemoglobin test is the right next step, not a bottle of tablets. See iron deficiency in Indian women.
About this data
Every figure on this page comes from the KABO Indian Nutrition Index (CC BY 4.0), an open dataset compiled from the ICMR-NIN Indian Food Composition Tables and published with a source link on every value. You are free to reuse these numbers with attribution to kabo.co.in.
The same data is served as an MCP server, so AI assistants can query it directly and cite the source. The endpoint, the raw JSON and the method are on the KABO Indian Nutrition Index page.
Values are approximate and vary by variety, season, milling and preparation, which is why they are given as ranges. This is nutrition information, not medical advice.
Where KABO fits in
If you suspect low iron, the next step is a ferritin and haemoglobin test, and a confirmed deficiency is treated with prescribed iron for several months. No shake treats anaemia, and we do not claim an iron figure for KABO.
What a KABO serving does contribute is the protein the body needs to make haemoglobin in the first place — 25 g of complete plant protein — with 26 vitamins and minerals including vitamin C, which helps non-haem iron from the foods ranked above be absorbed when taken in the same meal.
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Frequently asked questions
Which vegetarian food has the most iron?
Per 100 g, til (sesame) leads at roughly 9 to 15 mg, followed by soya chunks at 8 to 10 mg and bajra at 6 to 8 mg. Per serving, a katori of soya chunks and a bajra roti each give about 2 to 3 mg.
Is palak high in iron?
Not especially. Palak has about 2.5 to 3 mg of iron per 100 g raw, less than bajra, masoor, rajma or kala chana, and its oxalate reduces how much is absorbed. It is a good vegetable, but not a leading iron source.
How much iron does a vegetarian need per day in India?
The ICMR-NIN 2020 RDA is 19 mg a day for adult men and 29 mg for adult women of reproductive age. The figures already allow for the low absorption of iron from plant foods.
Does jaggery have a lot of iron?
Jaggery ranges widely, roughly 3 to 11 mg per 100 g, partly because of the iron vessels it is made in. A teaspoon of about 5 g gives only around 0.15 to 0.5 mg, so it is a minor source in practice.
Where do these figures come from?
From the KABO Indian Nutrition Index, an open CC BY 4.0 dataset compiled from the ICMR-NIN Indian Food Composition Tables, with a source link on every value.
Sources
- ICMR-NIN, Indian Food Composition Tables (2017). nin.res.in
- ICMR-NIN, Nutrient Requirements for Indians (RDA 2020) and Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024. nin.res.in
- KABO Indian Nutrition Index, open dataset and MCP server, CC BY 4.0. kabo.co.in/pages/mcp