Cereal has been a North American breakfast staple for decades, and it’s no mystery why. Cereal is quick and easy to prepare, and most importantly, delicious! But did you know that cereal can also be an excellent source of iron? I’m sharing the top 23 cold cereals high in iron that can help you meet your daily iron needs.
In this post:
How much iron do we need?
Iron plays an essential role in various processes throughout the body, including the production of red blood cells, muscle metabolism, and connective tissue development. We generally need anywhere from 8 to 18 mg/d of iron, depending on age and gender. The reference value for the percent daily value that you’ll see on food labels is 18 mg/d, based on the recommended intake for women of childbearing age, who have the highest iron needs. This approach is used to provide population-wide coverage, ensuring that individuals with higher nutrient needs are accounted for.
Heme Vs. Non-Heme Iron
There are two forms of iron: heme iron and non-heme. Heme iron is found in animal sources, such as meat, and non-heme iron is found in plant sources, such as spinach and lentils. Heme iron has a higher bioavailability, meaning it is more readily absorbed by the body than non-heme iron. However, we can increase the rate at which our body absorbs non-heme iron by pairing it with a source of vitamin C. The iron found in cold breakfast cereal is non-heme iron, so you should plan to pair your cereal with a source of vitamin C for optimal absorption.
Top 23 Cold Cereals High in Iron
Most breakfast cereals are fortified with iron, making them an excellent option to help meet your daily iron needs. Each cereal below contains at least 5.5 mg of iron per serving, which accounts for over 30% of the daily iron needs (based on the reference value of 18 mg/d).
1. Post Grape-Nuts
Post Grape-Nuts contains 16.2 mg of iron per 1/2 cup serving.
2. Multigrain Cheerios
A 1-cup serving of Multigrain Cheerios has 18 mg of iron (American version). Note: the Canadian version only has 4 mg per serving.
3. Special K Protein
Special K High Protein cereal contains 18 mg of iron per 1 cup serving.
4. Total Cereal
Total cereal contains 18 mg of iron per 1-cup serving.
5. Mom’s Best Wheatfuls
Mom’s Best Wheatfuls contains 16.8 mg of iron per serving (21 biscuits).
6. Great Grains Cereal
Great Grains Banana Nut Crunch has 16.5 mg, Pecan has 16 mg, and the Raisins, Dates and Pecans flavour has 10 mg of iron per 1-cup serving.
7. Quaker Oatmeal Squares
Quaker Oatmeal Squares contains 16.5 mg (American version) and 7.5mg (Canadian version) of iron per 1-cup serving.
8. Honey Bunches of Oats
Each Honey Bunches of Oats flavour has around 16 mg of iron per 1 cup serving (American) and 7 mg per serving (Canadian).
9. Quaker Life Multigrain Cereal
Quaker Life cereal has 13 mg of iron per 1-cup serving (American version) and 6.5 mg per 1-cup serving (Canadian version).
10. Cheerios Veggie Blends
Cheerios Veggie Blends has 12.6 mg of iron per 1-cup serving (American). Note: the Canadian version has only 5 mg per serving.
11. Post Grape-Nuts Flakes
Post Grape-Nuts Flakes cereal has 12.6 mg of iron per 1-cup serving.
12. Special K Fruit & Yogurt
Special K Fruit & Yogurt has 11 mg of iron per 1-cup serving (American version). Note: the Canadian version has only 5 mg per serving.
13. All-Bran Original
All-Bran Original has 9.5 mg of iron per 1-cup serving (Canadian version). The American version has around 7 mg per 1-cup serving.
14. Post Raisin Bran
Post Raisin Bran cereal has 8 mg of iron per 1-cup serving.
15. Fibre One Original
Fibre One Original cereal contains 8 mg of iron per 1-cup serving.
16. Cheerios Original
Cheerios Original has 8 mg of iron per 1-cup serving (American version). Note: the Canadian version has only 3.5 mg per 1-cup serving.
17. Cheerios Oat Crunch
Cheerios Oat Crunch has 16 mg of iron per 1-cup serving (American version) and 7.5 mg per 1-cup serving (Canadian version).
18. Oatmeal Crisp
Oatmeal Crisp cereals have 7 to 7.5mg of iron, depending on the flavour.
19. Shreddies
Shreddies cereal has 7.5 mg of iron per 1-cup serving.
20. Kellogg’s Two Scoops of Raisins
Two Scoops of Raising cereal (Canadian version) has 7.5 mg of iron per 1-cup serving. Note: the American version has only 1.8 mg per 1-cup serving.
21. Post Honey Ohs
Honey Oh’s Cereal has 7 mg of iron per 1-cup serving.
22. Weetabix Whole Grain Cereal
Weetabix has 7 mg of iron per serving of 3 biscuits.
23. Quaker Corn Squares
Quaker Corn Squares have 5.5 mg of iron per 1-cup serving.
Highest Iron Cereals Available in the U.S.:
- Total Cereal: 18 mg per serving
- Multigrain Cheerios: 18 mg per serving
- Special K Protein: 18 mg per serving
- Mom’s Best Wheatfuls: 17 mg per serving
- Great Grains Banana nut crunch: 16.5 mg per serving
- Cheerios Oat Crunch: 16 mg per serving
- Honey Bunches of Oats: 16 mg per serving
- Post Grape-Nuts: 16 mg per serving
Highest Iron Cereal Available in Canada:
- Kellogg’s All Bran Original: 9.5 mg per serving
- Post Raisin Bran: 8 mg per serving
- Fibre One Original: 8 mg per serving
- Oatmeal Crisp: 7.5 mg per serving
- Quaker Oatmeal Squares: 7.5 mg per serving
- Wheetabix: 7 mg per serving
- Honey Bunches of Oats: 7 mg per serving
High Iron Cereals with High Fibre and Low Sugar:
- Post Grape-Nuts (7g fibre, 5g sugar)
- Total Cereal (4g fibre, 6g sugar)
- Weetabix (6g of fibre, 2g of sugar)
- Cheerios Original (4g of fibre, 2g of sugar)
- Fibre One (27g of fibre, 1g of sugar)
