The 15 best potassium sources in food, ranked by mg per 100g

Daily potassium requirements

Most adults fall well short of the daily potassium target. The U.S. National Academies recommend 2,600 mg/day for women and 3,400 mg/day for men — yet the average adult gets only about 2,000 mg. Pregnancy and breastfeeding raise the bar slightly. There's no defined Tolerable Upper Limit from food, so a deliberate focus on potassium-rich meals is safe and worthwhile.

Potassium content per serving: what real portions actually deliver

Per 100g rankings are useful science but tell only half the story — you'd never eat 100g of cumin or 100g of dark chocolate. The chart below shows what each food delivers in a realistic serving, as a percentage of the daily potassium target.

The 15 best potassium sources (per 100g)

All values are per 100g of edible food, sourced from USDA FoodData Central. We've excluded culinary spices (cumin, fennel, coriander, poppy) from this list — see the next section for why their per-100g numbers don't translate to real-world potassium contribution.

1. 1Hemp seeds1200 mg
   Eaten by the spoonful in smoothies, yogurt, and salads — a genuine real-portion food, not just a per-100g leader. Daily intake~217g for 2600 mg — impractical in one sitting. A realistic 30g serving (~2 tbsp) gives 14% of daily needs, plus complete protein and omega-3.
2. 2Dried apricots1162 mg
   A snack handful is a normal portion, containing concentrated potassium plus iron and beta-carotene. Daily intake~224g for 2600 mg. A 40g handful (~6 halves) delivers ~465 mg — about 18% of daily needs! Choose unsulfured varieties if you can find them.
3. 3Pistachios1025 mg
   The top nut for potassium — 40% more than almonds. A 30g handful delivers ~310 mg without effort. Daily intake~254g (~1.5 cups) for 2600 mg. A 30g handful covers ~12% of daily needs, plus magnesium and B6.
4. 4Beet greens (cooked)909 mg
   The leafy tops of beetroots — usually discarded but they are considered a potassium powerhouse. A 150g cooked portion (from a large bunch) delivers ~1,360 mg. Daily intake~286g cooked for 2600 mg. One cup cooked (~150g) covers ~52% of women's daily needs in a single side dish! Sauté with garlic and olive oil like spinach.
5. 5Flaxseeds813 mg
   Best ground for absorption — whole seeds pass through largely undigested. A tablespoon (~10g) delivers ~81 mg. Daily intake~320g for 2600 mg. Realistically a tablespoon or two adds ~80–160 mg, plus omega-3 ALA and lignans.
6. 6Pumpkin seeds809 mg
   Also a top iron and zinc source. A 30g handful delivers ~243 mg potassium plus magnesium. Daily intake~321g for 2600 mg. A realistic 30g serving covers ~9% — a nice add-on to salads or yogurt.
7. 7Dark chocolate 80%760 mg
   The most popular dark chocolate strength — easy to eat daily. A 30g serving = ~228 mg of potassium plus serious magnesium and antioxidants. Daily intake~342g for 2600 mg. A normal 30g (2–3 squares) gives ~9% — combine with nuts for a potent snack. Darker varieties (85–100%) push the potassium content even more.
8. 8Raisins749 mg
   Concentrated dried grapes — a small box (~40g) delivers ~300 mg of easy snack-form potassium. Daily intake~347g for 2600 mg. A 40g serving = ~12% of daily needs. Watch the sugar load though — raisins are ~60% sugar.
9. 9Almonds733 mg
   A 30g handful (~24 almonds) delivers ~220 mg potassium plus vitamin E, protein, and healthy fats. Daily intake~355g (~3 cups) for 2600 mg. A realistic 30g handful covers ~8% — not the top nut for potassium but excellent overall.
10. 10White beans (cooked)561 mg
    A real meal-sized food, not a sprinkle. One cup (~200g) of cooked white beans delivers a massive ~1,120 mg of potassium. Daily intake~460g cooked for 2600 mg. A standard 200g portion (1 cup) gives ~43% of women's daily needs in a single serving — the highest practical real-meal source on this list!
11. 11Swiss chard (cooked)549 mg
    Cousin to beet greens with similar potassium profile. A 175g cooked serving delivers ~960 mg of potassium — and impressive vitamin K (~570% RDA per serving). Daily intake~474g cooked for 2600 mg. A normal 175g side covers ~37% of women's daily needs. Sauté or steam — don't boil, or you lose the potassium to the water.
12. 12Potato (baked, w/ skin)535 mg
    The classic and one of the most underrated potassium sources. A medium baked potato with the skin on (~150g) delivers ~800 mg — almost 2× a banana. Daily intake~486g for 2600 mg (~3 medium potatoes). A single medium baked potato covers ~31% of women's daily needs! Keep the skin on — it holds about 20% of the potassium and most of the fibre.
13. 13Avocado485 mg
    Lower per 100g than nuts and seeds, but you eat real amounts. Half a fruit (~100g) delivers ~485 mg. Daily intake~536g (~2.7 avocados) for 2600 mg. Half an avocado on toast = ~19% of daily needs plus monounsaturated fat and fibre.
14. 14Spinach (cooked)466 mg
    Wilts down dramatically — a 600g raw bag becomes ~200g cooked. That cooked portion delivers ~930 mg of potassium. Daily intake~558g cooked (from ~1.7 kg raw!) for 2600 mg. A realistic 200g cooked portion covers ~36%, making spinach one of the best practical sources of potassium.
15. 15Yogurt (plain low-fat)234 mg
    Per 100g it's modest, but you eat real-cup portions. One cup of plain yogurt (~245g) delivers ~573 mg of potassium — and it's a complete source with calcium and protein on top. Daily intake~1.1 kg (~4.5 cups) for 2600 mg. A single 245g cup covers ~22% of women's daily needs. Greek yogurt is similar but with more protein. Avoid sugar-heavy flavoured versions — they often have less potassium per gram.

Potassium content comparison — per 100g

Spices like cumin: why they don't really count

If you've read any "top potassium foods" article, you've probably seen cumin, fennel, coriander, and poppy seeds at the top. They are genuine per-100g champions:

The problem is the unit. You'd never eat 100g of a culinary spice. A typical recipe uses 1–2 teaspoons of cumin total — about 3–6g per dish. That delivers ~50–110 mg of potassium, roughly the same as a small bite of banana. The same applies to fennel seed (~50 mg/tsp), coriander seed (~40 mg/tsp), and poppy seed (~20 mg/tsp).

What about teas and infusions? Brewing cumin or fennel seed in hot water extracts only a small fraction of the potassium — typically 10–30% over a steep, similar to other minerals. A cup of cumin tea (brewed from 1 tsp seed) delivers maybe 10–25 mg of potassium. Useful for flavour and digestion, but trivial for potassium intake.

Bottom line: spices are fantastic seasonings — they just aren't a meaningful potassium source at the doses you actually use. Treat them as flavour, not as nutrition.

Why bananas aren't the top potassium source

The banana-potassium association is so strong that "potassium" and "banana" feel interchangeable in popular health writing. But once you compare bananas against the foods you actually eat in real meal-sized portions, the story flips.

Where bananas win: they're cheap, portable, and easy to eat. A medium banana delivers about 430 mg of potassium — useful, just not exceptional. Calling them "the" potassium food undersells dozens of much richer practical sources like beans, potatoes, salmon, and leafy greens.

Leafy greens: the underrated potassium powerhouse

If you only remember one practical takeaway from this article, make it this: cooked leafy greens are one of the best per-portion potassium sources you can eat. They don't make headlines like bananas or pistachios, but a single sautéed cup hits potassium numbers that most foods need a whole bag to match.

The trick is that raw leafy greens are almost all water. Cooking shrinks them dramatically — a 600g raw bag of spinach wilts down to about 200g cooked — and concentrates the potassium per bite. That's why spinach jumps from a modest 558 mg/100g raw to 466 mg/100g cooked while one realistic portion delivers ~930 mg.

A few practical notes:

1. Beet greens are usually free. Most supermarkets cut them off whole beetroots and bin them. Ask the produce team or buy the un-trimmed bunches at farmers' markets — the leafy tops are nutritionally better than the root, with twice the potassium per gram.
2. Rainbow / Swiss chard is a near-twin to beet greens. Same plant family (Beta vulgaris), similar potassium profile, and the colorful stems are edible too — just slice them and cook a few minutes ahead of the leaves.
3. Sauté or steam, don't boil. Boiling leaches 50–75% of the potassium into water you'll throw away. A quick sauté with garlic and olive oil keeps almost all of it.
4. Watch the oxalates. Beet greens, chard, and spinach are all high in oxalates, which can contribute to kidney-stone formation in susceptible people. If you've had calcium-oxalate stones, ask a doctor before making these a daily habit (otherwise enjoy freely — most people are fine).

Cooking and potassium retention

Potassium is highly water-soluble, so the cooking method matters more than people realise. Unlike vitamins, potassium isn't destroyed by heat — it just leaches into the cooking water, which most of us throw away.

1. Boiling vegetables loses 50–75% of potassium into the discarded water (USDA, multiple studies). Potatoes alone can lose 60% when peeled and boiled.
2. Steaming preserves 80–95% — minimal water contact, minimal leaching.
3. Roasting and microwaving preserve nearly all of it — no water at all means no losses.
4. Pickling and canning can reduce potassium by 30–50% depending on how the liquid is handled.
5. Soaking raw potatoes overnight (a common technique for people on potassium-restricted diets) drops their potassium by ~50%.

A realistic day to hit your potassium target

Hitting 2,600 mg (women) or 3,400 mg (men) from food isn't hard if you know where to look. Here's a sample day that comfortably clears both targets:

Signs of low potassium (hypokalemia)

Severe potassium deficiency from diet alone is rare in healthy adults — but mild low intake is widespread, and chronic diarrhoea, certain medications (diuretics, laxatives, some blood-pressure drugs), or kidney problems can push levels into hypokalemia territory. Watch for:

1. Muscle weakness, cramps, or spasms — especially in the legs and after exertion
2. Fatigue that doesn't improve with rest or caffeine
3. Constipation or sluggish digestion
4. Heart palpitations or irregular heartbeat (potassium is critical for cardiac rhythm)
5. Tingling or numbness in hands and feet
6. Low blood pressure with lightheadedness when standing up quickly

If several of these appear together — especially combined with diuretic use or digestive issues — ask a doctor for a serum potassium blood test before reaching for supplements. Excess potassium from supplements (not food) can be dangerous, especially for people with kidney issues.

Frequently asked questions

Which food has the most potassium per 100g?
Cumin seeds technically top the per-100g table at 1788 mg, but you'd never eat 100g of cumin. Among realistic foods per 100g, hemp seeds (1200 mg), dried apricots (1162 mg), and pistachios (1025 mg) lead.

Which food delivers the most potassium per real serving?
In real meal-sized portions, white beans (~1,120 mg per cup cooked), cooked spinach (~930 mg per 200g), baked potato with skin (~800 mg per medium potato), and salmon (~735 mg per fillet) are the heaviest hitters — far more than a banana (~430 mg).

Aren't bananas the best source of potassium?
No. Bananas contain about 358 mg per 100g — useful but not exceptional. Many foods contain 2–5× more, and a baked potato delivers almost double the potassium of a banana per portion.

Does cooking destroy potassium?
Cooking doesn't destroy it, but boiling leaches it into the water. Steaming, roasting, or microwaving preserve nearly all of it.

How much potassium do you need per day?
3,400 mg/day for men and 2,600 mg/day for women. Most adults average around 2,000 mg, well below the target.

Sources & references

• U.S. Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central (SR Legacy). All nutrient values per 100g.
• National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. Potassium: Health Professional Fact Sheet.
• National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. DRIs for Sodium and Potassium (2019).
• European Food Safety Authority. EFSA Dietary Reference Values for Potassium.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.

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