Which foods are high in folate, and how much is in each?

Foods high in folate include dried beans such as mung beans, black-eyed peas, adzuki beans, chickpeas, lentils and black beans; liver; edamame; and leafy greens such as spinach, cos lettuce and Chinese broccoli. Per 100 g, raw dried mung beans have 625 µg DFE of folate and raw chicken liver 588 µg, while raw spinach has 194 µg and raw white rice 8 µg. The Thai Reference Daily Intake (Thai RDI) for folate is 400 µg DFE a day. Folate is sensitive to heat, and studies have measured losses in cooking and during long frozen storage, so how food is prepared matters too.

In short:

• Highest per 100 g: dried beans (black-eyed peas, mung beans, adzuki beans, chickpeas, lentils), chicken liver, edamame, beef liver
• Highest per usual serving (in the table below): beef liver, boiled spinach, black-eyed peas, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, cos lettuce, avocado
• Thai vegetables with figures: Chinese broccoli, basil, pak choi, yardlong beans, coriander, mung bean sprouts, okra and morning glory
• Cooking and storage: studies found folate retention from 14% to 99% depending on the food and method, and in a study of broccoli, boiling kept less of the vitamins measured than steaming
• Daily amount: Thai RDI 400 µg DFE

This article is a table-based guide to how much folate is in foods. For what folate does in the body and how folate and folic acid differ, see What is folate, and what does it do in the body?

Which foods are high in folate?

The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), part of the US National Institutes of Health, says folate is naturally present in a wide variety of foods, including vegetables (especially dark green leafy vegetables), fruits, nuts, beans, peas, seafood, eggs, dairy products, meat, poultry and grains. It names spinach, liver, asparagus and Brussels sprouts among the foods with the highest folate levels. The UK's NHS says folate is found in small amounts in many foods, and lists broccoli, Brussels sprouts, leafy green vegetables such as cabbage, kale and spinach, peas, chickpeas, kidney beans and liver. Folate contributes to normal amino acid synthesis and to the normal function of the immune system.

Folate per 100 g of food

The figures below come from the US Department of Agriculture's FoodData Central database (SR Legacy), in micrograms of dietary folate equivalents (µg DFE) per 100 g of the food as described. For foods without added folic acid, this equals the folate in the food. Thai varieties and recipes may give somewhat different amounts.

Dried beans, seeds and rice are listed dry and raw. They take up water when cooked, and some folate is lost in cooking, so the cooked figures are much lower (see below).

Dried beans and liver

Dried beans top the table. Raw dried mung beans have 625 µg DFE per 100 g, black-eyed peas 633 µg, adzuki beans 622 µg, chickpeas 557 µg and lentils 479 µg. Among meats, liver stands apart: raw chicken liver has 588 µg, beef liver 290 µg and pork liver 212 µg, while lean meat has very little (the ODS table lists 3 µg in 3 ounces of roasted chicken breast).

Thai vegetables and herbs

Raw spinach has 194 µg DFE per 100 g. Among vegetables common in Thai cooking, raw Chinese broccoli (khana) has 104 µg, fresh basil 68 µg, pak choi 66 µg, yardlong bean pods and coriander leaves 62 µg each, mung bean sprouts 61 µg, okra 60 µg and morning glory 57 µg. Fruits such as mango (43 µg), papaya (37 µg) and orange (30 µg) have smaller amounts.

How much folate is in a usual serving?

The ODS table lists folate per typical serving, based on FoodData Central. The rows below leave out grain foods that are fortified with folic acid in the United States. The last column compares each serving with the Thai RDI of 400 µg DFE.

Folate per serving

Source: ODS folate fact sheet, Table 2 (US servings). The share of 400 µg DFE is our comparison with the Thai RDI. For why US figures for rice and bread are higher, see What is folate, and what does it do in the body?

How do folate in food and folic acid differ?

The two words are often used as if they meant the same thing, but they describe different forms.

Definitions

The ODS explains that folate is the general term for the vitamin, covering the folates found naturally in food and the folates in supplements and fortified foods, including folic acid. Food folates are mostly in the tetrahydrofolate (THF) form and usually carry extra glutamate units (polyglutamates). Folic acid is the fully oxidised form with a single glutamate unit (a monoglutamate), and it is the form used in fortified foods and most supplements.

Why is folate measured in DFE?

Nutrition values use dietary folate equivalents (DFE), which count folate from food and folic acid on one scale. The Thai RDI for folate is given in µg DFE. For foods with no added folic acid, the µg DFE figure is the same as the folate in the food, so the per 100 g table above can be read directly.

How much folate is lost in cooking and storage?

A 2010 study from the National University of Tucumán in Argentina notes that folate is extremely sensitive to destruction by heat, oxidation and UV light. The researchers measured folate in nine commonly eaten foods, raw and after different cooking methods, and found that retention ranged from 14% to 99% depending on the food and the method.

Boiling and steaming

A 1993 study from the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University in Denmark cooked broccoli florets by boiling, steaming and sous vide and measured vitamin C, vitamin B6 and folate. Boiling gave the lowest retention of all the vitamins examined, 45% to 64% after 5 minutes, while steaming kept 83% to 100% and sous vide 97% to 100%. The study looked at one vegetable.

Frozen storage

A 2012 study from the University of Warmia and Mazury in Poland followed folate in green beans, yellow beans, peas, cauliflower, broccoli and spinach through freezing and frozen storage. Pre-treatment and freezing lowered folate significantly only in the most cut-up product (cut and pressed spinach) and the smallest one (peas). In every sample, folate fell the longer the vegetables were stored frozen. In frozen cauliflower, the loss exceeded 95% after the third month, while in green and yellow beans significant losses, of 75% and 95%, appeared only after the ninth month.

Raw and cooked figures in FoodData Central

For dried beans, part of the drop comes from the water they take up. The raw and cooked figures in the database are separate entries rather than a before-and-after measurement, so they show the size of the difference but not exactly how much was lost. The cooking studies above measured that directly.

Soaking and short germination

A 2024 study from the University of Montpellier and partners in France and Benin tested short germination of lentils and cowpeas (the species that includes black-eyed peas) at 12 and 24 hours of soaking under different temperatures, light and water content. Under the conditions they set, the folate content of cowpeas rose by 33%. The study measured seeds in the laboratory, not cooked dishes.

How much folate do you need a day, and how much is too much?

The Thai RDI for folate is 400 µg DFE a day, for the general population aged 3 and over. For the Thai reference amounts of other nutrients, see What are the Thai daily reference amounts for each nutrient? The NHS says there are no long-term stores of folate in the body, so folate-containing foods need to be eaten often, and that most people should be able to get the folate they need from a varied and balanced diet.

Upper limits

Who should talk to a doctor or pharmacist?

People who take regular medication

Folate can interact with some medicines, and some medicines can affect the body's folate. If you take medication regularly, ask a doctor or pharmacist before adding folic acid.

Pregnant and breastfeeding women

If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, talk to a doctor or pharmacist before taking any dietary supplement, including folic acid. The NHS also advises avoiding liver if you are pregnant.

Dietary supplements are not intended to prevent, treat or cure any disease.