The richest everyday sources of folate are dark leafy greens, beans and peas, and asparagus. The foods highest in folic acid are fortified grains like breakfast cereal and enriched rice.

The short version

  • Natural folate: spinach, black-eyed peas, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, romaine, avocado, and broccoli lead the list.
  • Folic acid: comes from fortified foods (cereal, bread, pasta, rice, corn masa flour) and vitamins. Your body absorbs it better than natural folate.
  • A day of good choices can add up to around 500 mcg, enough for most adults’ daily need.
  • Before and during early pregnancy, food isn’t enough on its own. The CDC recommends 400 mcg of folic acid a day from a vitamin, fortified foods, or both, on top of a folate-rich diet.

The top foods for folate

These amounts come from the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Percent Daily Value is based on 400 mcg, the amount most adults need. Rows marked “fortified” contain folic acid added during processing.

Food Serving Folate (mcg) % Daily Value Type
Spinach, boiled ½ cup 131 33% Natural
Black-eyed peas, boiled ½ cup 105 26% Natural
Breakfast cereal fortified with 25% DV 1 serving 100 25% Fortified
Asparagus, boiled 4 spears 89 22% Natural
Brussels sprouts, boiled ½ cup 78 20% Natural
Romaine lettuce, shredded 1 cup 64 16% Natural
Avocado, sliced ½ cup 59 15% Natural
Spinach, raw 1 cup 58 15% Natural
White rice, enriched, cooked ½ cup 54 14% Fortified
Broccoli, cooked ½ cup 52 13% Natural
Mustard greens, boiled ½ cup 52 13% Natural
Green peas, boiled ½ cup 47 12% Natural
Kidney beans, canned ½ cup 46 12% Natural
Spaghetti, enriched, cooked ½ cup 45 11% Fortified
Wheat germ 2 tablespoons 40 10% Natural
Orange juice ¾ cup 35 9% Natural
White bread, enriched 1 slice 32 8% Fortified
Turnip greens, boiled ½ cup 32 8% Natural
Orange 1 small 29 7% Natural
Peanuts, dry roasted 1 ounce 27 7% Natural
Papaya, cubed ½ cup 27 7% Natural
Banana 1 medium 24 6% Natural
Egg, hard-boiled 1 large 22 6% Natural

Beef liver is the single richest source, at 215 mcg in 3 ounces. It’s left out of the main list because of its very high vitamin A content, which matters in pregnancy (see below). Lentils, chickpeas, and black beans are also good sources and work well in soups, salads, and tacos.

Natural folate vs. folic acid in fortified foods

If you search for “foods highest in folic acid,” the answer is fortified foods. Folic acid is the man-made form, so it’s only in foods that have it added, plus vitamins. Leafy greens, beans, and fruit contain folate, the natural form.

What’s fortified. Since 1998, the FDA has required 140 mcg of folic acid per 100 grams of enriched bread, cereal, flour, cornmeal, pasta, rice, and other grain products. Since 2016, corn masa flour, used for tortillas, tamales, and pupusas, can also be fortified, according to the NIH. Not every grain product is enriched, so check the label for “folic acid.”

The difference. Your body absorbs at least 85% of the folic acid in fortified foods eaten with a meal, but only about half of the natural folate in food. Folic acid is also the only form of folate shown to help prevent neural tube defects, according to the CDC. Both forms count toward your daily folate total; for pregnancy prevention, folic acid is the one that’s been tested.

Reading labels. Newer Nutrition Facts labels list folate in mcg DFE (dietary folate equivalents). If a food has added folic acid, the label will say so.

What a folate-rich day looks like

A day of ordinary, easy choices can add up to more than 550 mcg of folate. This example uses the NIH amounts above.

Meal What’s on the plate Folate (mcg)
Breakfast Fortified cereal, ¾ cup orange juice, 1 banana 159
Lunch Salad with 1 cup romaine, ½ cup avocado, ½ cup kidney beans 169
Snack 1 small orange, 1 ounce peanuts 56
Dinner ½ cup boiled spinach, ½ cup enriched rice 185
Total 569

That’s more than the 400 mcg most adults need. But look at where it comes from: only about 154 mcg is folic acid, from the cereal and rice. The rest is natural folate.

That gap is why the CDC’s advice for women who could become pregnant is 400 mcg of folic acid specifically, on top of a diet like this one. Even a very good day of eating usually falls short of that without a vitamin or more fortified foods.

Vegetarian and vegan options, and food safety in pregnancy

Plant-based eaters do well on folate. Most of the top sources are plants: greens, beans, peas, lentils, asparagus, avocado, and fortified grains. If you eat little or no animal food, the bigger concern is vitamin B12, which comes mainly from animal foods. Large amounts of folic acid can hide the anemia caused by low B12, so ask your provider about B12 too, especially in pregnancy.

Go easy on liver when pregnant. Beef liver is rich in folate, but 3 ounces has 6,582 mcg of vitamin A, according to the NIH. That’s more than twice the 3,000 mcg upper limit for preformed vitamin A in pregnancy (2,800 mcg for teens), and too much preformed vitamin A can cause birth defects, according to the NIH. Talk with your provider before eating liver while pregnant. The vitamin A in plant foods like sweet potatoes and spinach comes as beta-carotene, which doesn’t carry the same risk.

Other food safety basics. When you’re pregnant, ACOG advises avoiding raw sprouts, unpasteurized milk and cheese, and raw or undercooked meat, fish, and eggs. Wash fruits and vegetables well, and cook dried beans and lentils fully before eating them.

Why food alone isn’t enough before pregnancy

A folate-rich diet is worth the effort at every age, but it doesn’t replace folic acid before pregnancy. Three reasons:

  1. Timing. The baby’s neural tube closes 21 to 28 days after conception, often before you know you’re pregnant, according to the NIH. Your folate levels need to be built up beforehand.
  2. The proven form. Folic acid is the only form of folate shown in studies to prevent neural tube defects, according to the CDC.
  3. Real diets vary. About half of U.S. women say enriched grains are their only source of folic acid, according to the CDC. A week of low-carb eating or a picky first trimester can drop that to almost nothing.

So the plan for anyone who could become pregnant: 400 mcg of folic acid a day from a vitamin or fortified foods, plus the foods in this guide.

Related reading

Sources

This article is for general information and is not a substitute for advice from your health care provider.