I took the liberty to compile a list of what vegetables have fiber in them below. I know it is an extremely helpful information that I hope you pay attention to. I also included some great tips you can use when preparing various dishes …
15 High Fiber Foods You Should Eat
What is fiber?
Fiber is a blanket term that applies to any type of carbohydrate that your body can’t digest. The fact your body doesn’t use fiber for fuel doesn’t make it less valuable to your overall health.
Dietary fiber can offer the following benefits when you consume it:
- Reducing cholesterol. Fiber’s presence in the digestive tract can help reduce the body’s cholesterol absorption. This is especially true if you take statins, which are medications to lower cholesterol, and use fiber supplements like psyllium fiber.
- Promoting a healthy weight. High fiber foods like fruits and vegetables tend to be lower in calories. Also, fiber’s presence can slow digestion in the stomach to help you feel fuller for longer .
- Adding bulk to the digestive tract. Those who struggle with constipation or a generally sluggish digestive tract may wish to add fiber to their diet. Fiber naturally adds bulk to the digestive tract, as your body doesn’t digest it. This stimulates the intestines.
- Promoting blood sugar control. It can take your body longer to break down high fiber foods. This helps you maintain more consistent blood sugar levels, which is especially helpful for those with diabetes .
- Reducing gastrointestinal cancer risk. Eating enough fiber can have protective effects against certain cancer types, including colon cancer. There are many reasons for this, including that some types of fiber, such as the pectin in apples, may have antioxidant-like properties.
Fiber offers many health benefits, but it’s important to incorporate fiber-containing foods gradually over the course of a few days to avoid adverse effects, such as bloating and gas.
Drinking plenty of water while you up your fiber intake may also help keep these symptoms at bay.
Here are 15 high fiber foods that are both healthy and satisfying.
1. Pears (3.1 grams)
The pear is a popular fruit that’s both tasty and nutritious. It’s one of the best fruit sources of fiber.
Fiber content: 5.5 grams in a medium-sized, raw pear, or 3.1 grams per 100 grams
2. Strawberries (2 grams)
Strawberries are a delicious, healthy option that can be eaten fresh.
Interestingly, they’re also among the most nutrient-dense fruits you can eat, boasting loads of vitamin C, manganese, and various powerful antioxidants. Try some in this banana strawberry smoothie.
Fiber content: 3 grams in 1 cup of fresh strawberries, or 2 grams per 100 grams
3. Avocado (6.7 grams)
The avocado is a unique fruit. Instead of being high in carbs, it’s loaded with healthy fats.
Avocados are very high in vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, vitamin E, and various B vitamins. They also have numerous health benefits. Try them in one of these delicious avocado recipes.
Fiber content: 10 grams in 1 cup of raw avocado, or 6.7 grams per 100 grams
4. Apples (2.4 grams)
Apples are among the tastiest and most satisfying fruits you can eat. They are also relatively high in fiber.
We especially like them in salads.
Fiber content: 4.4 grams in a medium-sized, raw apple, or 2.4 grams per 100 grams
5. Raspberries (6.5 grams)
Raspberries are highly nutritious with a very strong flavor. They’re loaded with vitamin C and manganese.
Try blending some into this raspberry tarragon dressing.
Fiber content: One cup of raw raspberries contains 8 grams of fiber, or 6.5 grams per 100 grams
6. Bananas (2.6 grams)
Bananas are a good source of many nutrients, including vitamin C, vitamin B6, and potassium.
A green or unripe banana also contains a significant amount of resistant starch, a type of indigestible carbohydrate that functions like fiber. Try them in a nut butter sandwich for a hit of protein, too.
Fiber content: 3.1 grams in a medium-sized banana, or 2.6 grams per 100 grams
Other high fiber fruits
- Blueberries: 2.4 grams per 100-gram serving
- Blackberries: 5.3 grams per 100-gram serving
7. Carrots (2.8 grams)
The carrot is a root vegetable that’s tasty, crunchy, and highly nutritious.
It’s high in vitamin K, vitamin B6, magnesium, and beta carotene, an antioxidant that gets turned into vitamin A in your body.
Toss some diced carrots into your next veggie-loaded soup.
Fiber content: 3.6 grams in 1 cup of raw carrots, or 2.8 grams per 100 grams
8. Beets (2.8 grams)
The beet, or beetroot, is a root vegetable that’s high in various important nutrients, such as folate, iron, copper, manganese, and potassium.
Beets are also loaded with inorganic nitrates, which are nutrients shown to have various benefits related to blood pressure regulation and exercise performance
Give them a go in this lemon dijon beet salad.
Fiber content: 3.8 grams per cup of raw beets, or 2.8 grams per 100 grams .
9. Broccoli (2.6 grams)
Broccoli is a type of cruciferous vegetable and one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet.
It’s loaded with vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, B vitamins, potassium, iron, and manganese and contains antioxidants and potent cancer-fighting nutrients.
Broccoli is also relatively high in protein, compared with most vegetables. We like turning them into a slaw for various uses.
Fiber content: 2.4 grams per cup, or 2.6 grams per 100 grams .
10. Artichoke (5.4 grams)
The artichoke doesn’t make headlines very often. However, this vegetable is high in many nutrients and one of the world’s best sources of fiber.
Just wait until you try them roasted.
Fiber content: 6.9 grams in 1 raw globe or French artichoke, or 5.4 grams per 100 grams
11. Brussels sprouts (3.8 grams)
The Brussels sprout is a cruciferous vegetable that’s related to broccoli.
They’re very high in vitamin K, potassium, folate, and potent cancer-fighting antioxidants.
Try out Brussels sprouts roasted with apples and bacon or drizzled with balsamic vinegar.
Fiber content: 3.3 grams per cup of raw Brussels sprouts, or 3.7 grams per 100 grams
Other high fiber vegetables
Almost all vegetables contain significant amounts of fiber. Other notable examples include:
- Kale: 3.6 grams
- Spinach: 2.2 grams
- Tomatoes: 1.2 grams
All values are given for raw vegetables.
12. Lentils (7.3 grams)
Lentils are very cheap and among the most nutritious foods. They’re very high in protein and loaded with many important nutrients.
This lentil soup is spiced up with cumin, coriander, turmeric, and cinnamon.
Fiber content: 13.1 grams per cup of cooked lentils, or 7.3 grams per 100 grams
13. Kidney beans (6.8 grams)
Kidney beans are a popular type of legume. Like other legumes, they’re loaded with plant-based protein and various nutrients.
Fiber content: 12.2 grams per cup of cooked beans, or 6.8 per 100 grams
14. Split peas (8.3 grams)
Split peas are made from the dried, split, and peeled seeds of peas. They’re often seen in split pea soup after holidays featuring ham.
Fiber content: 16.3 grams per cup of cooked split peas, or 8.3 per 100 grams
15. Chickpeas (7 grams)
The chickpea is another type of legume that’s loaded with nutrients, including minerals and protein.
Chickpeas form the base of hummus, one of the easiest spreads to make yourself. You can slather it on salads, veggies, whole grain toast, and more.
Fiber content: 12.5 grams per cup of cooked chickpeas, or 7.6 per 100 grams
Other high fiber legumes
Most legumes are high in protein, fiber, and various nutrients. When properly prepared, they’re among the world’s cheapest sources of quality nutrition.
Other high fiber legumes include:
- Cooked black beans: 8.7 grams
- Cooked edamame: 5.2 grams
- Cooked lima beans: 7 grams
- Baked beans: 5.5 grams
Your Ultimate High-Fiber Grocery List
The next time you go food shopping, put these items in your cart. They’re great sources of fiber, which can cut your LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, is good for your digestion, and helps you feel full. (Related: What is sulfur, and why does your body need it?)
Fruits and Vegetables
- Apples, bananas, oranges, strawberries all have around 3 to 4 grams of fiber. (Eat the apple peels — that’s where the most fiber is!)
- Raspberries win the fiber race at 8 grams per cup.
- Exotic fruits are also good sources of fiber: A mango has 5 grams, a persimmon has 6, and 1 cup of guava has about 9.
- Dark-colored vegetables. In general, the darker the color of the vegetable, the higher the fiber content. Carrots, beets, and broccoli are fiber-rich. Collard greens and Swiss chard have 4 grams of fiber per cup. Artichokes are among the highest-fiber veggies, at 10 grams for a medium-sized one.
- Potatoes. Russet, red, and sweet potatoes all have at least 3 grams of fiber in a medium-sized spud, if you eat the skin and all.
Go for a guava. This tropical fruit has about 9 grams of fiber per cup.
Dry and Canned Goods
- Stock up on beans. Navy and white beans are the most fiber-rich, but all beans are fiber-packed. Any of these is a good choice for your shopping cart: garbanzo, kidney, lima, or pinto beans. They make great soups and chilis, and are a flavorful addition to salads. Beans are also high in protein, so if you’re cutting back on red meat, they’re a healthy, filling substitute.
- Include other legumes. Peas, soybeans (edamame), and lentils are also high in fiber.
Bread and Grains
- Check cereal labels. Most cereals have at least some fiber content, but they’re not all created equal. Any cereal with 5 or more grams of fiber per serving is a good source.
- Whole-grain breads. Seven-grain, dark rye, cracked wheat, and pumpernickel breads are good choices.
- Whole grains. Bulgur wheat, brown rice, wild rice, and barley are all tasty substitutions for white rice.
The Snack Aisle
- Nuts and seeds.An ounce of of sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, pistachios, or almonds gives you at least 3 grams of fiber. They are also high in calories, though, so make a little go a long way.
- Popcorn. Three cups of air-popped popcorn have about 4 grams of fiber.
The Cold Case
- Try foods with fiber added. Milk and other dairy products, and most juices, naturally have no or low fiber. New products, however, are changing that picture: Look for labels on orange juice, milk, and yogurt that say fiber is added or “fiber fortified.”
Top 8 High-Fiber Foods
Another excuse to eat popcorn.
Getting your fill of fiber can seem tough, especially if you’re not in the mood for vegetables. But did you know popcorn has fiber? Keep reading for more high-fiber foods that you’ll actually want to eat
1. Beans
Lentils and other beans are an easy way to sneak fiber into your diet in soups, stews and salads. Some beans, like edamame (which is a steamed soy bean), are even a great fiber-filled snack. There are 9 grams of fiber in a half-cup serving of shelled edamame. A bonus? All of these provide a source of plant protein, too. Some bakers have even started including beans or bean flours in their baked goods, which research suggests can still make quality cakes.
2. Broccoli
This veggie can get pigeonholed as the fiber vegetable. Its cruciferous nature—meaning it’s from the Brassica genus of plants along with cauliflower, cabbage and kale—makes it rich in many nutrients in addition to fiber. Studies have shown that broccoli’s 5 grams of fiber per cup can positively support the bacteria in the gut, which may help your gut stay healthy and balanced.
3. Berries
Berries get a lot of attention for their antioxidants, but they’re full of fiber, too. Just a cup of fresh blueberries can give you almost 4 grams of fiber, and there is nearly the same amount of fiber in a cup of frozen unsweetened blueberries. Blackberries, strawberries and raspberries are also great sources of fiber. Of course, one of the biggest benefits of berries is that they’re naturally low in calories, too.
4. Avocados
Avocados pretty much go with everything—toast, salads, entrees, eggs—and while they’re often recognized for their hefty dose of healthy fats, there are 10 grams of fiber in one cup of avocado (so just imagine how much is in your guacamole).
5. Popcorn
There’s one gram of fiber in one cup of popcorn, and the snack (when natural and not covered in butter, like at the movies) is a whole grain that can satiate cravings with a hit of fiber. It’s even been called the King of Snack Foods.
6. Whole Grains
Good news for bread lovers: Real whole grains, found in 100% whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, and oats, have fiber. One tip to watch out for: as required by The Food and Drug Administration, whole grains should be the first ingredient on a food package in order for it to be considered a real whole grain.
7. Apples
That old saying that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” isn’t necessarily true, according to research, but the fruit can boost your fiber intake. There are about 4 grams of fiber in an apple, depending on its size. And, of course, they’re a nice and crunchy snack.
8. Dried Fruits
Dried fruits like figs, prunes and dates can boost your fiber intake dramatically and are recommended for those struggling with occasional constipation. The sugar called sorbitol, which naturally occurs in these fruits, can help your bowels and lead to more comfort. However, eating too many can lead to cramping or diarrhea, so try a small serving and see how you feel once you’ve digested them, before noshing on too many more.
What Vegetable is Highest in Fiber?
If you are looking to increase the fiber in your diet, eating more vegetables is an excellent idea. Most vegetables are high in fiber. But which vegetable is highest in fiber?
Avocados are the highest-fiber vegetable. They provide 6.7 grams of fiber per 100-gram serving. Peas are second-highest in fiber at 5.7 grams per serving, and artichokes are third-highest in fiber at 5.4 grams.
Avocados are so high in fiber, they provide 13 times the fiber of the lowest-fiber vegetable among those tested, which is watercress. And avocados provide 18% more fiber than the second-highest vegetable, peas.
While avocados are technically a fruit, I included them in this list since they are most often eaten like a vegetable, as a savory companion to other foods.
Top 10 List
Here is a list of the top 10 vegetables in order by fiber content:
- Avocados, 6.7g
- Peas (Green), 5.7g
- Artichokes, 5.4g
- Jicama and Parsnip, 4.9g (tied)
- Kale, 4.1g
- Collard, 4.0g
- Hubbard Squash and Yam, 3.9g (tied)
- Brussels Sprouts and Chanterelle Mushrooms, 3.8g (tied)
- Kohlrabi, 3.6g
- Dandelion Greens and Escarole, 3.5g (tied)
Recommended Daily Fiber Intake
More than 90 percent of women and 97 percent of men do not meet recommended intakes for dietary fiber. This is likely because 85% of adults don’t eat enough fruits, vegetables and whole grains5. So you are smart to learn about sources of high fiber in this article!
The USDA recommended fiber intake for women is 22-28 grams, and 28-34 grams for men. For simplicity’s sake, food labels use 29 grams as the DV (Daily Value), assuming a 2,000/day calorie diet. That’s the number I used to calculate the DV percentage of the veggies in the chart below.
Fiber Comparison Chart in Vegetables
See the following table for all popular vegetables ranked in order by fiber content, from highest to lowest, and including the percent of recommended daily fiber intake.
For the purposes of this analysis, I have defined vegetables as plants that are eaten via the leaves, stems, roots, tubers, bulbs, flowers and savory fruits. So I’ve omitted beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, and grains (although I included corn, which is often treated as a vegetable). See my article here on the healthiest beans, including fiber content, and the healthiest nuts, including fiber content, here.
| VEGETABLE (100 grams raw, except where noted*) | Fiber (grams) | % DV** |
| Artichoke | 5.4 | 19% |
| Arugula (AKA rocket; Italian Cress) | 1.6 | 7% |
| Asparagus | 2.1 | 7% |
| Avocado | 6.7 | 23% |
| Bamboo Shoots | 2.2 | 8% |
| Beet | 2.8 | 10% |
| Broccoli | 2.4 | 8% |
| Broccoli Rabe | 2.7 | 9% |
| Brussels Sprouts | 3.8 | 13% |
| Butterhead (includes Bibb and Boston) | 1.1 | 4% |
| Cabbage, Green | 2.5 | 9% |
| Cabbage, Red | 2.1 | 7% |
| Carrot | 2.8 | 10% |
| Cauliflower | 2.0 | 7% |
| Celery | 1.6 | 6% |
| Celery Root (Celeriac) | 1.8 | 3% |
| Chinese Cabbage (AKA Napa Cabbage; Pak-choi; Bok Choy) | 1.0 | 3% |
| Collard | 4.0 | 14% |
| Corn† | 2.0 | 7% |
| Cucumber | 0.5 | 2% |
| Daikon (cooked) | 1.5 | 5% |
| Dandelion Greens | 3.5 | 12% |
| Eggplant (AKA Aubergine) | 3.0 | 10% |
| Endive | 3.1 | 11% |
| Escarole (Frisée and Curly Endive are closely related) | 3.5 | 12% |
| Fennel | 3.1 | 11% |
| Green Beans | 2.7 | 9% |
| Green Leaf (AKA Leaf Lettuce) | 1.3 | 4% |
| Green Pepper | 1.7 | 6% |
| Iceberg (AKA Crisphead) | 1.2 | 4% |
| Jicama (AKA Yambean) | 4.9 | 17% |
| Kale | 4.1 | 14% |
| Kohlrabi | 3.6 | 12% |
| Leeks | 1.8 | 6% |
| Mushrooms, Chanterelle | 3.8 | 13% |
| Mushrooms, Enoki | 2.7 | 9% |
| Mushrooms, Maitake | 2.7 | 9% |
| Mushrooms, Morel | 2.8 | 10% |
| Mushrooms, Oyster | 2.3 | 8% |
| Mushrooms, Portabella | 1.3 | 4% |
| Mushrooms, Shiitake | 2.5 | 9% |
| Mushrooms, White | 1.0 | 3% |
| Mustard Greens | 3.2 | 11% |
| Okra | 3.2 | 11% |
| Onion, Red | 2.2 | 8% |
| Onion, White | 1.2 | 4% |
| Onion, Yellow | 1.9 | 7% |
| Parsnip | 4.9 | 17% |
| Peas, Green | 5.7 | 20% |
| Potato, White (baked) | 2.1 | 7% |
| Potato, Red (baked) | 1.8 | 6% |
| Pumpkin | 0.5 | 2% |
| Radicchio | 0.9 | 3% |
| Radish | 1.6 | 6% |
| Red Leaf | 0.9 | 3% |
| Red Pepper | 2.1 | 7% |
| Romaine (Little Gem is closely related) | 2.1 | 7% |
| Rutabaga | 2.3 | 8% |
| Scallions (AKA Spring Onions) | 2.6 | 9% |
| Shallots | 3.2 | 11% |
| Snow Peas† | 2.4 | 8% |
| Spinach | 2.2 | 8% |
| Sugar Snap Peas | 2.6 | 9% |
| Squash, Acorn | 1.5 | 5% |
| Squash, Butternut | 2.0 | 7% |
| Squash, Hubbard | 3.9 | 13% |
| Squash, Spaghetti | 1.5 | 5% |
| Sweet Potato (cooked) | 3.3 | 11% |
| Tomatillo | 1.9 | 7% |
| Tomato, Grape | 2.1 | 7% |
| Tomato, Red | 1.2 | 4% |
| Tomato, Roma | 1.0 | 3% |
| Turnip | 1.8 | 6% |
| Watercress | 0.5 | 2% |
| Yam (baked) | 3.9 | 13% |
| Yellow Pepper | 0.9 | 3% |
| Zucchini (AKA Courgette) | 1.0 | 3% |