Broccoli contains a moderate amount of iron, not a high amount. One cup of chopped broccoli provides roughly 1 mg of iron, which covers about 6% of the daily need for adult men and closer to 5% for premenopausal women. It’s a decent contributor to your overall iron intake, especially alongside other foods, but it’s far from an iron powerhouse.
How Much Iron Broccoli Actually Contains
A cup of cooked broccoli (about 156g) provides approximately 1.1 mg of iron. Raw broccoli has slightly less per cup because the pieces are less dense and weigh less overall. Frozen broccoli falls in a similar range, around 1.1 to 1.3 mg per cup depending on preparation.
To put that in perspective, the recommended daily intake for iron varies significantly by group:
- Adult men (all ages): 8 mg per day
- Women ages 19 to 50: 18 mg per day
- Women over 51: 8 mg per day
- Pregnant women: 27 mg per day
So a cup of broccoli gets an adult man about 14% of the way there, but a premenopausal woman only about 6%. You’d need to eat a very large volume of broccoli to meet your daily iron needs from this vegetable alone.
How Broccoli Compares to Other Iron Sources
Broccoli sits in the lower tier of commonly cited iron-rich foods. A cup of canned spinach delivers about 3.7 mg of iron, more than three times what broccoli offers. A three-ounce cooked beef patty (90% lean) provides roughly 2.3 mg. Even raw spinach, cup for cup, is comparable to broccoli at around 0.8 mg, though raw spinach is much lighter and compresses into a smaller volume.
Where broccoli does stand out among vegetables is in its overall nutritional profile. It delivers vitamin C, fiber, and several B vitamins alongside its iron. That vitamin C content turns out to be particularly relevant for how well your body can use the iron it contains.
Why Broccoli’s Iron Is Harder to Absorb
All plant-based iron is “non-heme” iron, which your body absorbs less efficiently than the “heme” iron found in meat, poultry, and fish. Non-heme iron absorption can be as low as 1% to 23%, depending on what else you’re eating at the same meal. That’s a massive range, and it means the 1.1 mg in your cup of broccoli might deliver very different amounts of usable iron depending on context.
Several common compounds reduce how well your body absorbs non-heme iron. Phytates, found in whole grains, seeds, and legumes, are among the strongest inhibitors. Tannins in tea and coffee also interfere with iron absorption. If you’re eating broccoli as part of a grain bowl and washing it down with black tea, you’re likely absorbing iron on the lower end of that range.
The Vitamin C Advantage
Broccoli has a built-in advantage that many plant iron sources lack: it’s naturally rich in vitamin C. Vitamin C significantly enhances the absorption of non-heme iron when the two are consumed together. Since broccoli delivers both in the same bite, your body can make better use of its iron compared to plant foods that lack vitamin C.
You can amplify this effect further by pairing broccoli with other vitamin C-rich foods like bell peppers, citrus, or tomatoes. Eating it alongside a source of heme iron, such as chicken or fish, also improves absorption. On the flip side, saving your coffee or tea for between meals rather than during the meal helps prevent tannins from blocking the iron you just ate.
Where Broccoli Fits in an Iron-Rich Diet
Broccoli works best as a supporting player rather than a primary iron source. If you’re eating a varied diet that includes meat, it adds a modest iron boost on top of more concentrated sources. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, broccoli is worth including regularly, but you’ll want to pair it with higher-iron plant foods like lentils, chickpeas, fortified cereals, and tofu to reach your daily target.
For women of reproductive age, whose iron needs are more than double those of men, relying on broccoli alone would require an impractical amount. Combining multiple iron-containing foods across the day, paying attention to absorption-boosting pairings, and minimizing inhibitors at mealtimes makes a much bigger difference than loading up on any single vegetable. Broccoli earns its place on the plate for many reasons, but being an iron-rich food isn’t the strongest one.