50 Best Vegan Sources of Calcium [Food List + Chart]

If you have a serious calcium deficiency, it can lead to weaker bones and diseases like osteoporosis (1).

Due to advertising growing up, we think of animal products like dairy as amazing sources of calcium.

In reality, dairy is an okay source of calcium but nothing special. And while some effort is needed, most vegans can get enough calcium in their diet from food sources.

If you’re having trouble getting enough, you can also use a vegan calcium supplement. Here’s a guide to the best vegan calcium supplements.

How Much Calcium Do You Need?

For adults, either men or women, the recommended daily intake of calcium is 1,000 mg (2).

Calcium is one of the most important minerals in the diet.

Getting too much or too little can lead to kidney stones in vegans or non-vegans alike.

Vegan Foods Highest in Calcium Per Gram and Calorie

Getting right into it, I’ve compiled a huge list of vegan foods, and created a table below of the foods in terms of their calcium content.

The data comes from the USDA Food Composition Database.

I’ve avoided processed and fortified foods, focusing just on whole plant-based foods, but you likely get some extra in your non-dairy milk, cereal, or bread as well. Tofu also has a lot since it’s usually packaged with a calcium solution.

Food	Calcium (mg) per 100 grams	Calcium (mg) per 100 calories
Sesame seeds	975	170
Chia seeds	630	129
Almonds	269	46
Flaxseed	257	48
Kale	255	713
Collard greens	232	788
Turnip greens	189	578
Garlic	167	125
Arugula	160	640
Brazil nut	159	24
Soybeans	145	103
Vital wheat gluten	142	38
Cowpeas	128	132
Watercress	120	1000
Mustard greens	114	427
Seaweed (dried)	114	40
Hazelnut	114	18
Rapini	108	490
Bok choy	106	822
Pistachio nuts	106	19
Spinach	99	432
Walnut	97	15
Peanuts	92	16
Olive	88	74
Macadamia nut	85	12
Okra	82	252
Sunflower seeds	79	13
Water spinach	77	391
Pecans	71	10
Hemp seeds	70	13
Navy beans	69	49
Date	64	23
Leek	60	98
Pumpkin seeds	55	12
Oats	54	14
Swiss chard	51	269
Chickpeas	49	30
Broccoli	47	139
Amaranth	47	46
Cashew	45	8
Lotus root	45	61
Artichoke	44	93
Orange	43	94
Chicory root	42	58
Celery	41	289
Cabbage	40	164
Tangerine	37	69
Green bean	36	118
Parsnip	36	48
Brussels sprouts	36	100
Fava bean	36	33
Fig	35	47
Carrot	33	80
Lettuce (red leaf)	33	255
Wheat flour (whole-grain)	33	10
Lime	33	110
Lima beans	32	26
Sweet potato	30	35
Chestnut	29	12
Napa cabbage	29	246
Blackberry	29	68
Kidney beans	28	22
Adzuki beans	28	22
Mung bean	27	26
Black beans	27	20
Raspberry	26	50
Lemon	26	88
Peas	25	31
Rye grain	24	7
Jackfruit	24	25
Asparagus	23	108
Onion	23	57
Cauliflower	22	89
Radish	22	133
Gourd	20	100
Lentils	19	17
Guava	18	27
Buckwheat groats	17	5
Quinoa	17	14
Pine nuts	16	2
Cassava	16	10
Zucchini	16	95
Beets	16	36
Cucumber	16	104
Strawberry	16	50
Squash	15	92
Coconut meat	14	4
Avocado	13	8
Pineapple	13	26
Cherry	13	21
Apricot	13	27
Grapefruit	12	32
Bamboo shoot	12	100
Mango	11	18
Barley	11	9
Grapes	10	15
Rice	10	8
Tomato	10	55
Green bell pepper	10	48
Pear	9	16
White potato	9	13
Eggplant	9	36
Cantaloupe	9	26
Farro	9	10
Cranberry	8	17
Red bell pepper	7	26
Plum	6	13
Melon	6	17
Peach	6	16
Durian	6	4
Apple	6	11
Nectarine	6	13
Banana	5	6
Mushrooms	4	14
Lychee	4	6
Pummelo	4	10
Plantain	3	2
Corn	2	2
Ginger	0	0

The “per 100 grams” column is the most practical, while the “per 100 calories” column can be useful if you’re trying to lose weight and are watching your calorie intake.

The Most Efficient Plant Sources of Calcium

Here’s one more way to look at the data in the table above.

I’ve graphed the amount of calcium per 100 calories against the amount per 100 grams of the very best sources.

The most efficient sources are those foods somewhere in the middle of both axis, towards the top right corner.

Only seeds and greens really make the cut here (nuts and other foods are clustered around the bottom left hand grid).

No source is particularly efficient overall, so you’ll likely want to go for a mix of seeds and leafy greens to get most of the calcium in your diet.

Types of Vegan Foods That Are High in Calcium

There are certain types of plant foods that dominate the top of the list:

• Seeds – Almost every type of seed that is commonly eaten (sesame, chia, flax, etc.) is in the top 30 vegan calcium sources. It”s easy to add these to salads and other meals to get a large portion of your daily calcium.
• Dark leafy greens are excellent sources of calcium – Spinach, swiss chard, collard greens, and kale all have a significant amount per serving, with very few calories.
• Nuts are an okay source of calcium – They mostly round out the list and have some calcium, but also a lot of calories. Almonds are the best nut in terms of calcium.

Oxalate and Calcium Absorption

Leafy greens are a good source of calcium, but they also have a lot of oxalate – an “antinutrient”.

Oxalate isn’t a terrible thing, but it does reduce the absorption of calcium (3). Additionally, people who are prone to kidney stones may need to watch their oxalate intake.

Note that this hindered absorption is already factored into RDAs, so you likely don’t need to stress about it.

If you’re concerned about this, cook your vegetables, which reduces oxalate content from 30 to 90% (4). Boiling in particular is the most effective, although you lose some other nutrients from the food as well.

Vegan Recipes High in Calcium

There are tons of plant-based meals that are packed with calcium, but I’ll get you started with a few of my favorites that aren’t too difficult to make.

Keep in mind that you can also just add chia seeds or sesame seeds to things like salads and likely get enough that way. 

Soy Sesame Soba Noodle Bowl⁣

This is an awesome recipe that combines multiple plant-based sources of calcium and takes about 10 minutes to make.

When it comes to bean nutrition, soybeans have the most calcium by far, and soybean products like tofu retain most of that calcium.

On top of that, this bowl includes bok choy, but you can substitute in a leafy green that’s even higher in calcium like kale.

Finally, I add a bunch of sesame seeds on top. You can get close to your RDA of calcium with a single bowl of this.

Raw Power Protein Balls

This might be my favorite snack, and it’s quite healthy too.

It combines multiple seeds – hemp, flax, and chia – along with almonds to make little protein balls that are packed with nutrients like calcium.

They’re quite easy to make, which is why I turn to them when I’m feeling too lazy to cook a full meal.

Kale, Black Bean & Avocado Burrito Bowl

Most of the calcium in this dish comes from the kale, so add as much as you can.

Additionally, there is a bit of calcium in the black beans. This recipe does take a bit of time to put together, but tastes great and has a good amount of calcium.