In general, herbs and spices are loaded with iron. However, we do not tend to eat large quantities of any one of these food items. We may add a pinch of garlic powder to a recipe or a tablespoon of dried epazote. Because we use smaller quantities of herbs and spices, in the graphs on this site we included only 5 gram measures of each item, compared to 100 grams for the rest of the foods in the database. Five grams of dried thyme is about one tablespoon.
The Top Ten List includes dried forms of these items — the fresh herbs are high in iron as well. The Top Ten List includes common cooking herbs such as thyme, mint, marjoram, dill, bay leaf, coriander leaf, and sweet basil. Among spices, it includes cumin, celery seed, and turmeric. Explore the iron content in some of these popular herbs and spices:
- Black Pepper
- Cilantro
- Garlic Powder
- Ginger
- Horseradish
- Nutmeg
- Oregano
- Paprika
- Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Savory
- Tarragon
