One cup of raw chopped broccoli has about 0.66 mg of iron, while a cooked cup lands near 1 mg because the volume shrinks as it cooks.
Broccoli is not an iron heavyweight like lentils or beef, yet it still chips in more than many people expect. The number changes with serving size, cooking method, and whether you’re measuring by cups or by weight. That’s where most of the confusion starts.
If you just want the practical answer, a normal cup of raw chopped broccoli gives you a bit over half a milligram of iron. A cooked cup gives you closer to one milligram. The jump does not mean cooking adds iron. It means cooked broccoli packs more broccoli into the same cup.
What The Iron Number Looks Like In Real Life
Raw broccoli contains about 0.73 mg of iron per 100 grams based on USDA FoodData Central. Since one cup of chopped raw broccoli weighs a little under 100 grams, that serving lands near 0.66 mg.
Cooked broccoli usually shows a similar iron amount by weight, yet a cup of cooked broccoli weighs more than a cup of raw chopped florets. That is why the iron per cup looks higher after cooking. Water leaves, the florets soften, and the pieces settle down into the measuring cup.
So the clean way to think about it is this:
- Per 100 grams: raw and cooked broccoli are in the same ballpark for iron.
- Per cup: cooked broccoli usually looks richer in iron because the serving is denser.
- Per meal: the total iron depends on how much broccoli you actually eat, not on whether it was steamed or raw.
How Much Iron In Broccoli? By Serving Size And Form
Serving size matters more than people think. A side dish at dinner can easily be 1½ to 2 cups cooked, which gives broccoli a bigger role in your day’s iron intake than a tiny garnish ever will.
The table below keeps the numbers easy to scan. Values are rounded for kitchen use, so they stay reader-friendly and close to standard database entries.
Iron In Broccoli By Serving Size
| Broccoli Serving | Approx. Weight | Iron |
|---|---|---|
| 100 g raw broccoli | 100 g | 0.73 mg |
| 1 cup raw, chopped | 91 g | 0.66 mg |
| 1/2 cup raw, chopped | 45 g | 0.33 mg |
| 1 spear raw | 31 g | 0.23 mg |
| 1 stalk raw | 151 g | 1.10 mg |
| 100 g cooked broccoli | 100 g | 0.67 mg |
| 1 cup cooked, chopped | 156 g | 1.05 mg |
| 2 cups cooked, chopped | 312 g | 2.09 mg |
That table tells a simple story. A modest serving gives you a modest amount of iron. A full dinner portion gets more interesting. Two cups of cooked broccoli can push past 2 mg, which is no joke for a green vegetable.
How Broccoli Fits Into A Day’s Iron Target
Iron targets vary by age and sex, yet the Nutrition Facts label uses a Daily Value of 18 mg. The FDA Daily Value for iron gives a handy yardstick for food labels and everyday meal planning.
Using that 18 mg benchmark:
- 1 cup raw chopped broccoli gives about 4% of the Daily Value.
- 1 cup cooked broccoli gives about 6% of the Daily Value.
- 2 cups cooked broccoli give about 12% of the Daily Value.
That still does not make broccoli a go-to iron source on its own. It works better as a steady helper inside a meal pattern that also includes beans, tofu, meat, seafood, fortified cereal, or leafy greens.
Why Broccoli Pulls More Weight Than Its Iron Number Suggests
Broccoli brings its own vitamin C to the plate. That matters because vitamin C helps your body absorb nonheme iron, the kind found in plants. The NIH iron fact sheet notes that plant-source iron is absorbed better when it’s eaten with vitamin C-rich foods.
That gives broccoli a nice edge. It is a source of iron, and it also brings one of the nutrients that can make plant iron easier to absorb. So while the iron count is not huge, the food still earns its spot on the plate.
What Changes The Number On Different Sites
If you compare nutrition pages, you’ll see small gaps in the iron values. That’s normal. Databases can differ by sample, season, cultivar, handling, and whether the entry is raw, frozen, boiled, or drained. Some pages round up. Others round down.
The cleanest way to avoid mix-ups is to check three things before trusting the number:
- The form of the broccoli: raw, cooked, frozen, or canned.
- The serving basis: per 100 grams, per cup, or per spear.
- The preparation note: chopped, boiled, drained, salted, or unsalted.
Once those line up, the iron values stop looking random.
Best Ways To Eat Broccoli When Iron Is The Goal
If your target is better iron intake, broccoli works best as part of a combo. It does not need to carry the whole meal. Pair it with foods that already bring more iron, then let the vitamin C in the broccoli do some of the heavy lifting.
| Meal Pairing | Why It Works | Easy Idea |
|---|---|---|
| Broccoli + lentils | Lentils add more iron; broccoli adds vitamin C | Warm lentil bowl with roasted broccoli |
| Broccoli + tofu | Solid plant-based iron combo | Tofu stir-fry with broccoli and rice |
| Broccoli + beef | Beef brings heme iron; broccoli rounds out the plate | Beef and broccoli with garlic |
| Broccoli + beans | Beans raise total iron in the meal | Bean and broccoli skillet |
| Broccoli + fortified grains | Fortified foods can add a bigger iron boost | Grain bowl topped with steamed broccoli |
You can also keep the prep simple. Steam it until crisp-tender. Roast it until the edges char a bit. Toss it into soup, pasta, omelets, or fried rice. The trick is not fancy cooking. The trick is eating enough of it often enough that the small iron hits add up.
Raw Or Cooked: Which One Should You Pick?
Pick the one you’ll eat more often. Raw broccoli is crisp and easy to snack on. Cooked broccoli is easier to pile onto a plate in bigger amounts. If you tend to eat larger portions when it’s cooked, that route may give you more iron per meal.
There’s no need to overthink it. If your salad gets a cup of raw florets, great. If dinner includes two cups of steamed broccoli, also great. The bigger win is consistency.
Plain Answer You Can Walk Away With
Broccoli has a modest amount of iron, not a huge amount. Raw broccoli gives about 0.73 mg per 100 grams, or about 0.66 mg per cup chopped. Cooked broccoli gives about 0.67 mg per 100 grams, yet a cooked cup lands near 1.05 mg because the cup holds more broccoli by weight.
If you want one clean takeaway, use this: broccoli helps with iron intake, and it helps even more when it shares the plate with stronger iron foods. That makes it a smart side dish and a smart add-in, not a solo fix.
References & Sources
- USDA FoodData Central.“Food Search: Broccoli.”Provides the food database entries used for raw and cooked broccoli iron values and serving weights.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration.“Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels.”Supplies the 18 mg Daily Value benchmark used to translate broccoli iron into percent of daily intake.
- National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements.“Iron Fact Sheet for Consumers.”Explains iron’s role in the body and notes that plant-source iron is absorbed better when eaten with vitamin C-rich foods.
