Quick answer
Few foods are naturally rich in vitamin D. Fatty fish lead: 3 cooked ounces of farmed rainbow trout has 16.2 mcg (645 IU) and sockeye salmon 14.2 mcg (570 IU). Fortified milk and plant milks add about 3 mcg (120 IU) a cup and supply most of the vitamin D Americans eat.1,2
Key facts
- Half a cup of white mushrooms exposed to UV light has 9.2 mcg (366 IU); ordinary mushrooms have very little.1
- Cheese and ice cream are usually not fortified, even though almost all milk is.2
- Fruit, vegetables, grains and nuts have essentially no vitamin D unless it is added.1
- The average American gets 4 to 5 mcg a day from food, against the 15 mcg most adults need.1,2
The richest foods
| Food and serving | mcg | IU | Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cod liver oil, 1 tablespoon | 34.0 | 1,360 | 170% |
| Rainbow trout, farmed, cooked, 3 ounces | 16.2 | 645 | 81% |
| Sockeye salmon, cooked, 3 ounces | 14.2 | 570 | 71% |
| White mushrooms exposed to UV light, raw, half cup | 9.2 | 366 | 46% |
| Milk, 2%, fortified, 1 cup | 2.9 | 120 | 15% |
| Soy, almond or oat milk, fortified, 1 cup | 2.5 to 3.6 | 100 to 144 | 13 to 18% |
| Breakfast cereal fortified with 10% of the Daily Value, 1 serving | 2.0 | 80 | 10% |
| Sardines, canned in oil, 2 sardines | 1.2 | 46 | 6% |
| Egg, large, scrambled | 1.1 | 44 | 6% |
| Beef liver, braised, 3 ounces | 1.0 | 42 | 5% |
| Light tuna, canned in water, 3 ounces | 1.0 | 40 | 5% |
| Cheddar cheese, 1.5 ounces | 0.4 | 17 | 2% |
| Chicken breast, roasted, 3 ounces | 0.1 | 4 | 1% |
Fatty fish such as trout, salmon, tuna and mackerel, and fish liver oils, are among the best natural sources. Three ounces of cooked sockeye salmon has 14.2 mcg (570 IU), and a tablespoon of cod liver oil 34 mcg (1,360 IU).1
Meat, eggs and other animal foods also contain some 25-hydroxyvitamin D, which raises blood levels about five times as much as the same amount of plain vitamin D3. Standard food tables do not count it.1
Fortified foods do most of the work
Fortified foods provide most of the vitamin D in American diets. Almost all US milk is fortified with about 3 mcg (120 IU) a cup, and many plant milks, breakfast cereals and some brands of orange juice, yogurt and margarine have vitamin D added. Cheese and ice cream are usually not fortified.1,2
Check the Nutrition Facts panel. Vitamin D has to be listed in mcg, and the percentage is worked out against a Daily Value of 20 mcg. A food that gives 20% or more of the Daily Value counts as a high source.1
Milk fortification is voluntary in the US but close to universal, while Canada requires vitamin D in both milk and margarine. Foods made from milk, such as cheese and ice cream, usually have none added.1,2
Plant-based and vegan sources
Mushrooms provide a little vitamin D2, and those exposed to ultraviolet light can have much more: half a cup of UV-exposed white mushrooms has 9.2 mcg (366 IU), against 0.1 mcg in half a cup of portabella.1
Ordinary fruit, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds and beans have essentially no vitamin D. NIH lists apples, bananas, broccoli, carrots, almonds, brown rice, whole wheat bread and lentils at zero.1
If you eat no animal foods, the realistic sources are UV-exposed mushrooms, fortified plant milks, cereals and juices, sunlight and supplements. Most vitamin D3 in supplements is made from lanolin in sheep's wool, but a vegan D3 made from lichen is sold, and vitamin D2 is made from yeast.1
Foods with vitamin D and calcium
Many people look for both nutrients in the same foods. The figures below come from two NIH tables, so the serving or the exact product can differ slightly between the two numbers.1,3
- Fortified cow's milk: about 3 mcg (120 IU) of vitamin D and 276 to 299 mg of calcium a cup, depending on the fat content2,3
- Calcium-fortified soy milk: 299 mg of calcium a cup, and 2.5 to 3.6 mcg of vitamin D when vitamin D is added too1,3
- Canned sardines with bones: 325 mg of calcium in 3 ounces, and 1.2 mcg of vitamin D in two sardines1,3
- Canned pink salmon with bones: 181 mg of calcium in 3 ounces. Salmon is also among the richest vitamin D foods, though NIH's vitamin D figure is for cooked sockeye1,3
- Fortified breakfast cereal: often 10% of the Daily Value for each, which is about 2 mcg of vitamin D and 130 mg of calcium a serving1,3
- Yogurt and orange juice: some brands add vitamin D, and calcium-fortified orange juice has 349 mg of calcium a cup, so read the label2,3
Can you get enough from food alone?
It is hard. To reach 15 mcg a day from food you would need something like a 3 ounce portion of trout or salmon, or about five cups of fortified milk, every single day. Survey data show that more than 9 in 10 Americans fall short of 10 mcg from food alone.1
The skin makes vitamin D when bare skin is exposed to the sun. Clouds, smog, older age and darker skin reduce how much it makes, and sunlight through a window makes none.1,2
Sunlight is the reason most people still have adequate blood levels despite eating so little vitamin D. In winter, at northern latitudes, or if you cover up or stay indoors, food and supplements have to carry more of the load.1,2
Fish liver oils and the upper limit
A tablespoon of cod liver oil has 34 mcg (1,360 IU), about a third of the adult upper limit of 100 mcg (4,000 IU) a day. Food and supplements both count toward that limit. Ordinary meals almost never come close, but fish liver oils taken on top of a vitamin D supplement can.1,2
Questions people ask
What fruit has vitamin D?
Essentially none. NIH lists apples and bananas at zero, and the same goes for most fruit and vegetables. The exception is orange juice with vitamin D added, so check the label.1,2
Which foods have both vitamin D3 and K2?
Eggs and cheese carry a little of each. A large egg has about 1.1 mcg of vitamin D and 4 mcg of vitamin K2, and 1.5 ounces of cheddar has 0.4 mcg of vitamin D and 4 mcg of K2. Natto, the richest K2 food, is not in NIH's vitamin D table.1,4
Do eggs from any hen have the same vitamin D?
Not necessarily. NIH notes that an animal's diet affects how much vitamin D its tissues contain, so the figure of about 1.1 mcg per large egg is an average, not a guarantee.1
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Sources
- National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. Vitamin D: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. Updated June 27, 2025. Opened 2026-10-07.
- Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health. Vitamin D: Fact Sheet for Consumers. Updated November 8, 2022. Opened 2026-10-07.
- National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. Calcium: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. Updated June 22, 2026. Opened 2026-10-07.
- National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. Vitamin K: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. Updated March 29, 2021. Opened 2026-10-07.
This page is information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your own situation.