Foods High in Folate: UK Portions, Folate vs Folic Acid, and Cooking

The foods highest in folate are liver, pulses such as chickpeas, lentils and black beans, green vegetables led by asparagus, spinach, Brussels sprouts and broccoli, edamame, beetroot, avocado and oranges, with fortified breakfast cereals and yeast extract as the quick top-ups. The UK reference intake is 200 micrograms a day for adults, 400 micrograms of folic acid on top for women who could become pregnant, and a diet with vegetables most days and pulses a few times a week reaches it comfortably.¹ Two things decide how much you actually get. Folate is destroyed by heat and leaches into cooking water, so boiling vegetables can halve it; steaming or microwaving keeps most. And folic acid, the synthetic form in supplements and fortified foods, is absorbed more completely than food folate, which is why the figures for fortified cereal look large next to spinach. The table gives UK portions, then the answers on folic acid, methylfolate, fortification and cooking.

• Richest per portion: liver, black beans, edamame, asparagus, chickpeas, Brussels sprouts, beetroot, spinach, fortified cereal
• Everyday carriers: broccoli, peas, kale, lentils, oranges, avocado, wholemeal bread, eggs, yeast extract
• Need: 200 micrograms a day; plus 400 micrograms of folic acid before and in early pregnancy
• Cooking: steam or microwave; boiling loses up to half
• Fortification: UK non-wholemeal flour gains folic acid from late 2026

Foods high in folate, per UK portion

Approximate figures from UK food composition data for cooked portions where relevant; fortified products vary by brand.

• Lamb's or chicken liver, 100 g: about 250 micrograms; not in pregnancy, because of its vitamin A
• Black beans, cooked, 150 g: about 130 micrograms; kidney beans similar
• Edamame beans, 100 g: about 100 micrograms
• Asparagus, steamed, 80 g (5 spears): about 140 micrograms
• Brussels sprouts, steamed, 80 g: about 90 micrograms; boiled about 60
• Beetroot, cooked, 80 g: about 90 micrograms
• Spinach, boiled, 90 g: about 80 micrograms; raw in a salad, 50 g, about 75
• Fortified breakfast cereal, 30 g: about 60 to 100 micrograms, brand dependent
• Chickpeas, tinned, 120 g: about 65 micrograms; lentils, cooked, 120 g: about 35 to 60
• Kale, steamed, 80 g: about 70 micrograms
• Avocado, half (80 g): about 60 micrograms
• Broccoli, steamed, 80 g: about 50 micrograms
• Orange, one medium: about 50 micrograms; orange juice, 150 ml: about 45
• Yeast extract, fortified, 4 g on toast: about 40 micrograms
• Peas, 80 g: about 35 micrograms
• Wholemeal bread, 2 slices: about 30 micrograms; white bread will rise once fortification begins
• Egg, one medium: about 25 micrograms

A breakfast of fortified cereal, a lunch with a salad or soup containing pulses, and a dinner with a green vegetable gets most adults to 200 micrograms without thinking about it. Our page on folate deficiency symptoms covers what happens when the diet does not.

Folate or folic acid: what is the difference?

Folate is the family of forms found in food; folic acid is the stable synthetic form used in supplements and fortified foods. Both are converted in the gut and liver to the same active form the body uses. Folic acid is absorbed almost completely, food folate at roughly half that, which is why dietary guidance counts them differently and why the pregnancy advice specifies 400 micrograms of folic acid rather than a food target: the evidence that neural tube defects are prevented comes from folic acid trials, and food alone cannot reliably supply the amount at the right time.² What folic acid does for a woman and folic acid in pregnancy cover that side.

Is methylfolate better than folic acid?

Not for most people, and not for pregnancy. Methylfolate is the active form, sold on the argument that people with a common variant in the MTHFR gene convert folic acid less efficiently. The variant does slow conversion, but people who carry it still raise their folate status on folic acid, the neural tube defect evidence is for folic acid, and UK and international guidance recommend folic acid, not methylfolate, for pregnancy.^{2, 3} Methylfolate is a reasonable alternative for someone who prefers it and has no reason to need the 5 mg prescription dose; it is not a superior one, and it costs more.

What cooking does to folate

Folate is water-soluble and breaks down with heat, so the method matters more than for most nutrients. Boiling vegetables for ten minutes can lose 40 to 60% of their folate into the water; steaming loses 10 to 20%; microwaving with a splash of water loses little; raw loses none. Using the cooking water in soups, stews and gravies recovers some. Pulses lose folate in cooking too, but start so high that a cooked portion remains one of the best sources. Fortified cereals and yeast extract need no cooking, which is one reason they carry so much to the plate.⁴

UK flour fortification

From late 2026, UK regulations require non-wholemeal wheat flour to be fortified with folic acid, as the United States, Canada and Australia have done for years, with the aim of reducing neural tube defects in pregnancies that were not planned. The level is modest, around 250 micrograms per 100 g of flour, so two slices of white bread will carry roughly 60 to 70 micrograms. It does not replace the 400 microgram pregnancy supplement, and it does not affect wholemeal flour. "What foods in the UK are fortified with folic acid" will have a new answer: most white bread, pizza bases, biscuits and cakes, alongside the breakfast cereals that already are.

Which fruit has the highest folate?

Oranges and orange juice lead, then papaya, strawberries, raspberries, mango and banana at 20 to 40 micrograms a portion. Avocado, botanically a fruit, is higher at about 60 for a half. Fruit is a useful contributor rather than a main source; vegetables and pulses do the heavy lifting.

Who needs more than food gives?

Women who could become pregnant, who should take 400 micrograms of folic acid daily; women at higher risk, who are prescribed 5 mg; people on methotrexate or certain anti-epileptics, whose folic acid is managed by the prescriber; and anyone with coeliac or Crohn's disease, heavy alcohol use or a very poor diet, who may need a supplement after a blood test that includes B12, because folic acid should not be started before B12 is checked.² For everyone else, the plate above is enough. Our guide to what B complex is for places folate among the other B vitamins.

What we don't know

• Exact folate figures for your food. Variety, freshness and cooking change them; every figure above is approximate.
• The long-term effects of UK fortification on older adults with undiagnosed B12 deficiency. Other countries' experience is reassuring.

Frequently asked questions

Which food is richest in folate?

Liver, at about 250 micrograms per 100 g, then black beans, edamame, asparagus and chickpeas. Fortified cereal is the easiest everyday source.

What drink is high in folic acid?

Orange juice, at about 45 micrograms per 150 ml; fortified plant milks carry some. Tea, coffee and water contain none.

How do you get 100% folate from food?

Fortified cereal at breakfast, pulses in lunch or dinner, and a steamed green vegetable daily reach 200 micrograms. Pregnancy needs folic acid on top.¹

Is methylfolate better than folic acid?

No for most people and not for pregnancy, where the evidence is for folic acid. It is an acceptable alternative, not a superior one.^{2, 3}

Are bananas high in folic acid?

Modest: about 20 micrograms in a medium banana, a tenth of the daily need.

Sources

1. NHS. B vitamins and folic acid: folate and folic acid. nhs.uk.
2. Viswanathan M, et al. Folic acid supplementation to prevent neural tube defects: updated evidence report and systematic review for the US Preventive Services Task Force. JAMA, 2023. PubMed 37526714.
3. Czeizel AE, et al. Prevention of neural-tube defects with periconceptional folic acid, methylfolate, or multivitamins? Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 2011. PubMed 21865678.
4. Hannon-Fletcher MP, et al. Determining bioavailability of food folates in a controlled intervention study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2004. PubMed 15447898.

This article is general information, not medical advice. Women who could become pregnant should take 400 micrograms of folic acid daily regardless of diet; anyone with symptoms of deficiency should see their GP for a blood test that includes B12.