17 Foods High in Vitamin B

What is Vitamin B and How Much Do I Need?

Unlike many of the other vitamins you know and love, Vitamin B isn’t just one vitamin — it’s several! The “B-Complex Vitamins” is a group of vitamins that each play pivotal roles throughout your entire body.

Because each B vitamin is its own unique nutrient, you also need different amounts of each. The recommended Daily Values of each B vitamin are¹:

B1 (Thiamin) – 1.2 mg

B2 (Riboflavin) – 1.3 mg

B3 (Niacin) – 16 mg

B5 (Pantothenic Acid) – 5 mg

B6 (Pyridoxine) – 1.7 mg

B7 (Biotin) – 30 mcg

B9 (Folate) – 400 mcg

B12 (Cobalamin) – 2.4 mcg

Many people are particularly interested in getting more B12, and for good reason. You’ve probably heard about the mitochondria, aka “the powerhouse of the cell.” If you need a refresher from your middle school biology course, it’s a part of your cell that helps you generate energy. And as it turns out, B12 is an especially important piece of this puzzle.² It’s also crucial for helping your red blood cells move oxygen throughout your body.³

16 Foods High in Vitamin B

Ready to add more Vitamin B into your life? Here are some of the most delicious and nutritious foods you should be eating to meet your needs!⁴

1. Chicken

As any gym buff or healthy eater will tell you, chicken breast is one of the cornerstones of many healthy diets since it’s so lean and high in protein. As it turns out, it’s also a great way to fill up on several B vitamins like B3, B6, and B12! You’d need to eat about 7 boneless, skinless chicken breasts to get enough B12 for the day.

2. Salmon

A fan-favorite among seafood lovers, rich and succulent salmon is packed with healthy fats (which, yes, is definitely a good thing). It’s also a great way to fill up on Vitamin B12 — you only need to eat about a quarter of a fillet to fill up on B12. Use it as your healthy protein choice for salads, rice dishes, and poke bowls for maximum flavor.

3. Beef liver

It might not exactly be the most common food in your diet, but it’s worth adding to your plate if you’re trying to increase your B12 intake. Cows store their B12 in the liver, making it a super-rich source for you if you eat it. Just one slice of cooked beef liver is packed with more than enough of the amount of B12 you need per day. Beef liver can be eaten in thin slices, but you can also grind it up and mix it with other ground meets like beef or turkey if you aren’t quite used to the flavor alone.

4. Beef

Good news: you don’t necessarily have to eat the liver to reap the B12 benefits that beef has to offer! A T-bone steak should have all the B12 you need for a day, plus plenty amounts of B2, B3, and B6. Pair it with a sweet potato or spinach salad to round out to a well-balanced meal.

5. Egg

Start your day off sunny-side-up with a delicious and nutritious egg, and get some B12 in the process. You’ll need to bring your appetite, though: it takes about 5 large eggs, scrambled, to deliver all the B12 you need to really get the day going right.

6. Swiss cheese

Let’s get real: everything tastes better with a little bit of cheese sprinkled on top. Swiss cheese is a great choice for B12, though you’ll still need at least 3 slices to meet your recommended intake for this vitamin. Swiss makes for a great addition to any sandwich, but it also pairs great with chicken and mushrooms for a main dish.

7. Avocado

Uber-trendy and uber-nutritious? Sign us up! Everyone’s favorite kind of green is loaded with healthy fats, antioxidants, and a store of a multitude of B-complex vitamins including B6 and B9 (also known as folate). But you’ll need to eat quite a few bowls of guacamole to reach your needs: it takes more than four whole avocados to get the daily recommended value for Vitamin B6.

8. Greek yogurt

Whether you’re layering up a fruit parfait or using it as the base for creamy sauces, Greek yogurt is jam-packed with vital nutrients including B12. You’ll need to eat more than two 7oz cups of Greek yogurt throughout the day to meet your B12 requirements.

9. Sweet potato

If you’re trying to add more Vitamin B6 into your life but can’t decide whether you’re in the mood for sweet or savory, the versatile sweet potato is an easy answer. Whether you’re roasting, baking, or mashing, sweet potato is a great source of B6 and other nutrients like fiber and Vitamin A. You’ll still need to fill up on at least five cups of cubed sweet potato to get the daily recommended value for Vitamin B6.

10. Clams

If you’ve been looking for an excuse to throw a clambake on a beach, here it is: just one single small clam can give you all of the B12 you need for one day. Clams are a great protein to add to pastas and chowders, or you can simply steam and eat straight from the shell (New England beach setting optional).

11. Sunflower Seeds

Cover so many of your B-complex bases by chowing down on sunflower seeds, the popular snack of baseball players everywhere. Dry roasted sunflower seeds are packed with a bunch of important B-complex vitamins, including B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, and B9. Let’s get cracking: you only need about half a cup to meet your B5 needs.

12. Almonds

Almonds are another tried-and-true favorite among healthy eaters since they’re so full of important nutrients like healthy fats and protein. They’re also a decent option for increasing your Vitamin B2 (or Riboflavin) consumption since eating one cup of whole almonds can meet your Vitamin B2 daily needs. If you don’t want to snack on them as is, almonds make a great topping for smoothie bowls, parfaits, and cheese plates.

13. Tuna

Surf’s up! A 4 oz serving of tuna (about the size of a large deck of cards) can give you all the Vitamin B12 you need for optimum cellular energy. Sear up a tuna steak to serve with your favorite Asian-inspired salad mix, or stick with canned tuna for an easy everyday B12 boost.

14. Mackerel

Other fatty fish like tuna and salmon tend to get a lot of love, but you can’t count out mackerel if you’re fishing for healthy seafood options. This is especially true if you’re on the hunt for B12: just one fillet of Atlantic mackerel has more than enough of the B12 you need for the day! Pan fry it or throw it onto the grill for a tasty main dish that’s perfect for the summertime.

15. Spinach

You already know that spinach is a healthy, leafy greens to add to your salads and entrees, but did you know that it’s also a great way to eat more Vitamins B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, and B9? Pro tip: Cook your spinach down so that you can eat more of it (and get more nutrients in the process).

16. Milk

Whether it’s poured into your breakfast cereal of choice, paired with your favorite cookie, or drunk straight up, milk is one of the best ways to get all the B-Complex Vitamins your body needs to stay happy, including B12! You’ll need to drink about 1½ cups of milk per day to meet your B12 goals.

17. Fortified Non-Dairy Milk

You might have noticed that B12 is kind of hard to come by if you aren’t eating meat or dairy. Some manufacturers actually add (aka fortify) their products with more B12 to help people get all the nutrients they need. For example, even though coconut milk on its own doesn’t naturally have B12, some brands of fortified non-dairy coconut milk contain all the B12 you need for the day in just a cup.

VÖOST Supplements with Vitamin B12

If you read this article hoping to find ways to get more B12, you might have noticed a bit of a pattern forming: while B-Complex vitamins are present in a wide variety of foods, most foods that naturally contain B12 are animal-based foods like meat and dairy. In other words: it can be kind of hard to get enough B12 from food alone sometimes!

You’ve probably also noticed that, even if there is B12 present, you often need to eat quite a bit of it to actually meet your needs, which is not always easy.

Luckily, bridging that gap is easier now than ever before with VÖOST Vitamin B12 Gummies. These great-tasting, pomegranate citrus gummies are packed with a whopping 500 mcg of Vitamin B12 per serving to help support cellular energy.* Taking vitamins has never been easier or tastier. VÖOST up your everyday vitamin routine with VÖOST B12 Gummies.

*THESE STATEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN EVALUATED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION. THIS PRODUCT IS NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT, CURE, OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE.