Quick answer

No single food is rich in every B vitamin, but meat, fish, eggs, dairy, legumes, leafy greens and fortified grains together cover them. Beef liver comes closest: 3 ounces has about 70.7 mcg of vitamin B12 and 215 mcg DFE of folate. Plant foods have no natural B12.^1,2,3

Key facts

Vitamin B12 occurs naturally only in animal foods; fortified cereals and nutritional yeasts are the plant-based options.³
A cup of canned chickpeas has about 1.1 mg of vitamin B6, 65% of the Daily Value.⁴
Boiling food loses about twice as much riboflavin to the water as steaming or microwaving.⁵
Unless it is enriched, white rice has a tenth of the thiamin in brown rice.⁶

Good food sources, vitamin by vitamin

Selected foods and the B vitamins they are notable for, per serving^{1,2,4,5,6,7,8}
Food	Serving	Notable B vitamins
Beef liver, cooked	3 ounces	B12 70.7 mcg, folate 215 mcg DFE, niacin 14.9 mg, riboflavin 2.9 mg, biotin 30.8 mcg, B6 0.9 mg
Clams, cooked	3 ounces	B12 17 mcg, riboflavin 0.4 mg
Chicken breast	3 ounces	Niacin 10.3 mg, B6 0.5 mg
Tuna, light, canned in water	3 ounces	Niacin 8.6 mg, B12 2.5 mcg
Pork chop, broiled	3 ounces	Thiamin 0.4 mg
Egg, whole, cooked	1 large	Biotin 10 mcg, B12 0.5 mcg, folate 22 mcg DFE
Milk, 2% fat	1 cup	Riboflavin 0.5 mg, B12 1.3 mcg
Chickpeas, canned	1 cup	B6 1.1 mg
Black beans, boiled	half a cup	Thiamin 0.4 mg
Black-eyed peas, boiled	half a cup	Folate 105 mcg DFE
Spinach, boiled	half a cup	Folate 131 mcg DFE
Asparagus, boiled	4 spears	Folate 89 mcg DFE
Nutritional yeast, fortified	about a quarter cup	B12 8.3 to 24 mcg, depending on brand

Where each B vitamin comes from

Thiamin comes from whole grains, fortified bread, cereal, pasta and rice, meat (especially pork), fish, legumes such as black beans and soybeans, seeds and nuts.⁹

Riboflavin comes from eggs, organ meats, lean meats, low-fat milk, some vegetables such as mushrooms and spinach, and fortified cereals and grains.¹⁰

Niacin comes from poultry, beef, pork, fish, some nuts, legumes and grains, and enriched breads and cereals. The body also makes some from tryptophan, an amino acid in protein.¹¹

Pantothenic acid is found in nearly all plant and animal foods. Chicken, beef, potatoes, oat cereals, tomato products, liver, kidney, yeast, egg yolk, broccoli and whole grains are major sources.¹²

Vitamin B6 comes from poultry, fish, organ meats, potatoes and other starchy vegetables, and fruit other than citrus.¹³

Biotin is richest in organ meats and eggs, followed by fish, meat, seeds, nuts and vegetables such as sweet potatoes.⁸

Folate is naturally present in dark green leafy vegetables, asparagus, brussels sprouts, beans, peas, peanuts, oranges and beef liver.¹⁴

Vitamin B12 comes from fish, meat, poultry, eggs, milk and other dairy foods, with clams, oysters and beef liver among the richest sources.³

Vegan and vegetarian sources

Most B vitamins are easy to find in plant foods. Legumes such as chickpeas, black beans and black-eyed peas supply vitamin B6, thiamin and folate; whole and enriched grains add thiamin, riboflavin and niacin; and seeds and nuts add thiamin and biotin.^2,4,8,9,11

Plant foods have no vitamin B12 unless it is added. Fortified breakfast cereals and fortified nutritional yeasts are readily available sources, and the body absorbs their B12 well.^1,3

Riboflavin is the other one to watch: NIH lists vegans, vegetarian athletes and people who eat little dairy among those more likely to fall short. Mushrooms, spinach, almonds and fortified cereals and grains are plant sources.^5,10

Fortified foods

In the United States, enriched bread, flour, cornmeal, pasta and rice must have folic acid added, and many breads and cereals also have added thiamin, riboflavin and niacin.^5,6,7,14

Fortified foods matter most for vitamin B12 after 50. B12 added to foods is not bound to protein, so people who absorb less of the B12 naturally present in food can still take it up.^1,3

Cooking and processing

Thiamin and riboflavin dissolve in water, so boiling and pouring away the cooking water loses some of them. Bread has 20 to 30% less thiamin than its raw ingredients.^5,6

Steaming or microwaving keeps more riboflavin than boiling, and milk is not usually sold in glass bottles because light breaks riboflavin down. Choosing enriched white rice, or brown rice, avoids the thiamin lost when white rice is processed.^5,6

Questions people ask

Which foods have the most B vitamins overall?

Liver is the richest single food for several B vitamins at once. Eggs, dairy, fish and poultry each cover a few, and legumes, leafy greens and enriched grains fill the rest, so a varied diet is the practical answer.^1,2,5

Can vegans get all the B vitamins from food?

All except vitamin B12, which plant foods do not contain unless it is added. Vegans need fortified foods such as some breakfast cereals and nutritional yeasts, or a supplement, for B12.^1,3

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Sources

This page is information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your own situation.