The foods highest in each key vitamin

Ask which foods are highest in a given vitamin and the honest answer depends on how you count. Measure per 100 grams and concentrated powders, dried herbs, and organ meats dominate. Measure per calorie, which is how our Nutrient Density Score works on a 1 to 100 scale, and the picture sharpens into something more useful for everyday eating. Below we walk through the standout foods for vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin E, then add potassium, the mineral most people track alongside these vitamins. Every food links to its full USDA-grounded profile so you can compare portions and serving realities for yourself.

Vitamin C: acerola leads, herbs and baobab crowd in

Vitamin C is water soluble, heat sensitive, and easy to lose in storage, so fresh and minimally processed sources tend to win. The single most concentrated whole food here is Acerola juice, raw, which posts a Nutrient Density Score of 91. Acerola, also called the Barbados cherry, carries several times the vitamin C of an orange gram for gram, which is why it shows up in so many natural supplement blends.

The dried herbs are the quiet overachievers. Thyme, fresh scores a near-perfect 99, and Spices, coriander leaf, dried also lands at 99. These numbers reflect how much nutrition rides along with very few calories, though you obviously eat herbs by the teaspoon rather than the cup, so treat them as a steady trickle rather than a primary source.

Two more foods round out the vitamin C picture. Baobab powder earns a 96, making it one of the densest fruit-derived options available, and Litchis, dried comes in at 74, respectable for a dried fruit that still carries meaningful natural sugar. At the bottom of this group sits Snacks, candy bits, yogurt covered with vitamin C at 57. It is a fortified novelty rather than a whole food, and its lower score is a fair reminder that adding vitamin C to a candy does not turn that candy into a nutrient-dense choice.

Vitamin A: liver and cod liver oil in a class of their own

Vitamin A is fat soluble and comes in two broad forms: preformed retinol from animal foods and provitamin A carotenoids from plants. When you rank by preformed vitamin A, animal organ meats are essentially untouchable. Goose, liver, raw tops this list at 97, with Turkey, all classes, liver, raw close behind at 96 and Veal liver, raw at 94.

Beef liver appears twice, which is useful because cooking method barely moves the needle here. Both Beef liver, braised and Beef liver, pan-fried hold a Nutrient Density Score of 94. That consistency tells you the vitamin A in liver is robust enough to survive normal home cooking, so you can pick the preparation you enjoy without sacrificing the payoff.

The one non-organ standout is Fish oil, cod liver at 88. It is nearly pure fat, so its density comes from the sheer concentration of retinol and, as a bonus, vitamin D. A word of caution belongs here: preformed vitamin A is stored in the body and can accumulate. Liver and cod liver oil are so potent that a small, occasional serving covers your needs, and routinely large portions are one of the few realistic ways to overshoot vitamin A from food.

Vitamin E: seed oils, chili powder, and sunflower seeds

Vitamin E is a family of fat-soluble antioxidants, and the richest natural sources are the oils pressed from seeds and germ. Oil, wheat germ is the benchmark at 88, one of the most vitamin E dense foods that exists. Following it are Oil, hazelnut at 61, Oil, almond at 54, and Oil, cottonseed, salad or cooking at 43. The spread among these oils is worth noticing. They are all pure fat, so their scores reflect how much vitamin E rides along with those identical calories, and wheat germ oil simply carries far more.

Two whole-food entries make vitamin E easier to reach without pouring oil. Spices, chili powder scores a striking 97, and Seeds, sunflower seed kernels, dried lands at 84. Sunflower seeds are the practical hero of this group: a small handful delivers a genuine dose of vitamin E alongside protein and fiber, which the oils cannot offer. Because vitamin E is fat soluble, it also stores reasonably well in these foods, so seeds and oils retain their value on the shelf better than fragile vitamin C does.

Potassium: cream of tartar and dried herbs punch above their weight

Potassium is a mineral rather than a vitamin, but it belongs in any serious discussion of nutrient density because so many diets fall short of it. Ranked per calorie, the leaders look unusual. Leavening agents, cream of tartar scores 90 and is, chemically, potassium bitartrate, which is why it is essentially a potassium concentrate. You use it a pinch at a time, so it is a curiosity more than a staple, but it illustrates how the score rewards nutrition per calorie.

The dried herbs reappear and dominate. Spices, coriander leaf, dried hits 99, Spices, dill weed, dried reaches 98, Spices, chervil, dried lands at 97, and Spices, tarragon, dried sits at 96. As with vitamin C, these numbers are honest but portion-limited, since a teaspoon of dried dill contributes flavor and a modest mineral nudge rather than your daily target.

The most practical potassium food on this list is Tomatoes, sun-dried at 87. Because drying concentrates the tomato without adding much beyond the fruit itself, sun-dried tomatoes deliver real, chewable potassium in a portion you would actually eat, which makes them a better everyday choice than the herbs that technically outscore them.

How to read these rankings

The Nutrient Density Score measures nutrition per calorie, so it favors foods that pack a lot of a nutrient into very little energy. That is exactly why dried herbs, spices, and pure oils climb so high, and it is also why you should pair the score with a sense of realistic portions. A teaspoon of thyme and a tablespoon of wheat germ oil both score near the top, yet they play very different roles on a plate. For a dependable diet, lean on the foods that combine a strong score with a normal serving size, such as sunflower seeds for vitamin E, acerola and baobab for vitamin C, sun-dried tomatoes for potassium, and a small, occasional portion of liver for vitamin A. Use the concentrated herbs and oils to layer nutrition on top, not to carry the load alone. None of this is medical advice; it is a map of where these nutrients are densest so you can build meals that cover more ground with every calorie.