🍊 Foods Highest in Vitamin C — TOP 30(per 100g)

Supports immune function and collagen synthesis. Water-soluble antioxidant. FDA Daily Value: 90mg.

#	Food	Category	Vitamin C(mg)	% DV
🥇	Spices, basil, dried	Spices and Herbs	1,714.5	1905%
🥈	Spices, thyme, dried	Spices and Herbs	1,714.5	1905%
🥉	Spices, sage, ground	Spices and Herbs	1,714.5	1905%
4	Parsley, fresh	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1,640	1822%
5	Spices, coriander leaf, dried	Spices and Herbs	1,359.5	1511%
6	Spices, parsley, dried	Spices and Herbs	1,359.5	1511%
7	Amaranth leaves, raw	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	1,140	1267%
8	Chard, swiss, raw	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	830	922%
9	Spices, poultry seasoning	Spices and Herbs	805.4	895%
10	Dandelion greens, raw	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	778.4	865%
11	Collards, frozen, chopped, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	623.2	692%
12	Collards, frozen, chopped, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	623.2	692%
13	Spices, marjoram, dried	Spices and Herbs	621.7	691%
14	Spices, oregano, dried	Spices and Herbs	621.7	691%
15	Mustard greens, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	592.7	659%
16	Mustard greens, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	592.7	659%
17	Dandelion greens, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	551.4	613%
18	Cress, garden, raw	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	541.9	602%
19	Spinach, frozen, chopped or leaf, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	540.7	601%
20	Spinach, frozen, chopped or leaf, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	540.7	601%
21	Turnip greens, frozen, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	518.9	577%
22	Turnip greens, frozen, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	518.9	577%
23	Stinging Nettles, blanched (Northern Plains Indians)	Other	498.6	554%
24	Lambsquarters, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	494.2	549%
25	Lambsquarters, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	494.2	549%
26	Spinach, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	493.6	548%
27	Spinach, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	493.6	548%
28	Beet greens, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	484	538%
29	Beet greens, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	484	538%
30	Spinach, raw	Vegetables and Vegetable Products	482.9	537%

1–30 of 4,069 foods

What Vitamin C Does

Vitamin C is required to synthesize collagen, supports immune function, acts as an antioxidant, and sharply improves the absorption of non-heme iron. Humans cannot make it, so it has to arrive daily from food.

Dried herbs again lead the raw ranking — thyme, basil, and sage all at 1,714.5mg per 100g, with fresh parsley at 1,640mg. These are seasoning quantities, and vitamin C degrades with storage besides.

The dependable sources are fresh: bell peppers, citrus, strawberries, kiwi, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. Note that USDA carries vitamin C values for about 5,100 foods in this dataset, so coverage is thinner than for the macronutrients.

Daily intake reference (FDA Daily Value)

FDA Daily Value: 90mg per day. Smokers are generally advised to add roughly 35mg because oxidative turnover is higher. Intakes far above the DV are not stored — the excess is simply excreted.

Getting Enough Vitamin C

Heat and water are the enemies

Vitamin C is both heat-sensitive and water-soluble, so boiling is the worst case. Steaming, microwaving, quick stir-frying, or eating produce raw keeps far more of it intact.

Use it to unlock iron

Pairing a vitamin C source with plant iron in the same meal raises iron absorption several-fold. This is one of the best-evidenced food combinations there is.

Fresh beats stored

Vitamin C declines during storage and after cutting. Whole produce kept cool, cut shortly before eating, retains substantially more than pre-cut items held for days.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Which foods are the best everyday vitamin C sources?

A. Bell peppers (especially red), citrus fruit, strawberries, kiwi, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. Among these, red bell pepper and broccoli deliver more per 100g than oranges do.

Q. Does vitamin C prevent colds?

A. Regular intake does not appear to prevent colds in the general population, though evidence suggests it may modestly shorten duration. It is better framed as a nutrient you should not be deficient in than as a treatment.

Q. Can you take too much vitamin C?

A. It is water-soluble and excess is excreted, but large supplemental doses can cause digestive upset and, in susceptible people, contribute to kidney stones. Food sources do not pose this problem.

🍊 Foods Highest in Vitamin C — TOP 30(per 100g)

What Vitamin C Does

Getting Enough Vitamin C

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Reading

Other Nutrient Rankings