Dark leafy greens top the list, but many other vegetables deliver meaningful amounts of vitamin K. Adults need 90 mcg per day (women) or 120 mcg per day (men), and a single half-cup serving of cooked greens or cruciferous vegetables can meet or exceed that target on its own.
Leafy Greens: The Richest Sources
Leafy greens contain more vitamin K per serving than any other food group. Kale, collard greens, spinach, and Swiss chard all deliver several hundred micrograms in a single cooked half-cup, often supplying five to ten times the daily recommended intake. Turnip greens, mustard greens, and beet greens fall into the same high range. Even raw leafy greens like romaine and green leaf lettuce provide a solid dose, though the amounts per cup are lower than their cooked counterparts since raw leaves are less dense.
If you eat salads regularly or cook greens as a side dish, you’re likely getting plenty of vitamin K without trying. One important detail: vitamin K is fat-soluble, so your body absorbs it more efficiently when you eat these vegetables with some fat. A drizzle of olive oil on your salad or sautéing greens in butter isn’t just tastier, it helps you actually use the vitamin K in the food.
Cruciferous Vegetables
Broccoli and Brussels sprouts are the standouts in this category. A half cup of cooked broccoli provides about 110 mcg of vitamin K, and the same amount of cooked Brussels sprouts delivers 109 mcg. Either one covers the full daily intake for women and nearly all of it for men. Cooked green cabbage comes in lower at around 62 mcg per half cup, but that’s still a significant contribution.
Frozen broccoli works nearly as well, providing about 81 mcg per cooked half cup. Since vitamin K is fat-soluble rather than water-soluble, it holds up well through cooking and freezing. You won’t lose vitamin K by boiling, steaming, or roasting these vegetables the way you might lose vitamin C or B vitamins.
Other Vegetables Worth Knowing
Beyond the greens and cruciferous families, several other vegetables contribute vitamin K in moderate amounts. Asparagus, okra, green peas, and green beans all provide meaningful levels per serving. They won’t match kale or broccoli on their own, but they add up across a day of eating, especially if you’re combining them with other sources.
Scallions, leeks, and celery also contain vitamin K, as do some less obvious picks like edamame (young soybeans) and snap peas. The general pattern is simple: the greener the vegetable, the more vitamin K it tends to have. Yellow, orange, and red vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes, and bell peppers contain very little by comparison.
Why Color Matters
The form of vitamin K found in plants is called phylloquinone, and it’s directly involved in photosynthesis. That’s why it concentrates in green tissues. The deeper and darker the green color, the more chlorophyll the plant contains, and the more vitamin K comes along with it. This makes color a surprisingly reliable shortcut for estimating vitamin K content at the grocery store or farmers market.
Fermented foods like natto (fermented soybeans) contain a different form of vitamin K produced by bacteria, but among whole vegetables, the plant-based form dominates. Herbs like parsley, basil, and cilantro are also packed with vitamin K, though you typically eat them in small enough quantities that the total contribution is modest.
Absorption Tips
Because vitamin K is fat-soluble, eating vegetables completely fat-free reduces how much your body actually takes in. Research from Oregon State University’s Linus Pauling Institute confirms that absorption efficiency varies among plant sources and increases when fat is part of the meal. You don’t need a lot. A tablespoon of oil in a stir-fry, cheese on steamed broccoli, or nuts tossed into a salad all do the job.
Raw vegetables generally have lower vitamin K bioavailability than cooked ones, partly because cooking breaks down plant cell walls and releases more of the vitamin. That said, raw salads dressed with an oil-based vinaigrette still deliver plenty.
If You Take Blood Thinners
Vitamin K plays a central role in blood clotting, which is why it matters for people taking warfarin. The key guidance from the American Heart Association is not to avoid vitamin K, but to keep your intake consistent from day to day. Warfarin dosing is calibrated to your usual diet, so sudden spikes or drops in vitamin K intake can push your blood clotting levels out of range.
This means you don’t need to skip salads or avoid broccoli. You just need to eat roughly the same amount of high-vitamin-K foods each week rather than having none for days and then a large kale salad. If you want to change your eating habits, your care team can adjust your medication accordingly. Newer blood thinners that aren’t warfarin generally don’t interact with vitamin K in the same way.
Quick Reference by Serving
- Kale, cooked (½ cup): 500+ mcg
- Spinach, cooked (½ cup): 400+ mcg
- Broccoli, cooked (½ cup): 110 mcg
- Brussels sprouts, cooked (½ cup): 109 mcg
- Broccoli, cooked from frozen (½ cup): 81 mcg
- Green cabbage, cooked (½ cup): 62 mcg
- Asparagus, green peas, okra: moderate amounts per serving
For most people eating a varied diet that includes green vegetables a few times a week, vitamin K deficiency is rare. The vitamin is stable through storage and cooking, easy to absorb with a little fat, and widely available in common, affordable produce.