Protein may be hogging the nutrition limelight at the moment, but amid all the hubbub, don’t forget about one critical carb: fiber. It plays “so many important roles in our overall health and well-being,” Amber Young, MS, RDN, the founder of the North Carolina–based practice Redefined Nutrition, tells SELF. For starters, it keeps you full for longer, nurtures your gut microbiome, and prevents constipation—and can help manage blood sugar and cholesterol to boot.
Yet fiber often falls by the wayside in the typical Western diet. Most US adults only take in around half of the recommended daily allowance (RDA)—38 grams for men ages 19 to 50, and 25 grams for women in the same age range. Not only does skimping on this nutrient mean you’re missing out on the awesome benefits of fiber, but doing so can also increase your risk for a whole host of health conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers.
The good news is, hitting the magic number is well within your capabilities: It just may require a little more intentionality and mindfulness, Young says. Besides, fiber-rich foods aren’t exactly few and far between. Vegetables are among the best natural sources of the all-important carb (and some even pack a fair bit of protein, too, as SELF previously reported), so your fridge’s crisper drawers or your local supermarket’s produce aisle should be able to deliver. If you’re primarily interested in eating veggies for their fiber benefits, however, you might want to know which specific types will offer the most bang for your buck. Below, we’ve rounded up 11 of the most high-fiber vegetables so you can elevate your intake in the most efficient way possible.
1. Beans
10 g fiber per half cup cooked navy beans; 8 g per half cup cooked black beans; 7 g per half cup cooked white lima beans; and 6 g per half cup cooked chickpeas
In terms of fiber content, beans leave every other vegetable in the dust, Thanh Thanh Nguyen, MS, RDN, a registered dietitian at Mendinground Nutrition, tells SELF. (Yes, beans and other legumes are technically classified as vegetables, FYI!) In fact, they deliver such a huge amount of fiber that it can even backfire on you if you go all-in too soon, causing GI issues like stomach pain, bloating, and gas as your digestive tract works to assimilate the sudden influx, according to Nguyen.
As you can see above, the amount of the nutrient varies among beans, but just a cup of most readily available kinds can “get most folks close to 50% of their daily total fiber needs just in one sitting,” Young says. Ultimately, however, the difference among varieties is “pretty small,” Nguyen says, so any kind will be a solid bet. Regardless of your selection, she has one main rec, especially if you don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen: “Definitely go for the canned ones,” she says. Otherwise, “you need to soak them for a long period of time.”
Nguyen’s approach to cooking beans is also simple: what she calls a “mishmash soup situation,” or a balanced combo of onions, carrots, celery, and canned beans that can always be stored for later. That way, Nguyen has a fallback meal she can turn to when she knows her schedule is looking rough. As for Young? Roasted chickpeas all the way—they pack the “crunchy, savory combination” she often reaches for during that midday slump.
2. Lentils
8 g fiber per half-cup cooked lentils
While lentils don’t deliver quite as much fiber as some beans, they still pack a whole lot. (Plus they’re also a solid source of zinc). Toss them with pasta, add them to meat to make your ground beef or chuck stretch further, swap them into any recipe that calls for beans, or blend them into a smoothie for some added thickness. Not sold? Check out this list of 43 lentil-centric recipe ideas for some more meal inspo. Or try one of these eight lentil-based meal hacks to add more protein and fiber to breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks. “Sometimes when we think about fiber content, we’re really focusing on the meals, but snacks can be a good opportunity to bring in a little bit more,” Young says. In the case of lentils, that can look like roasting them into a crunchy treat (à la chickpeas) or blending them into a dip perfect for crackers and chips.
3. Artichokes
7 g fiber per one medium raw artichoke, or 10 g per one cup cooked
Much like beans and lentils, you might not consider artichokes a true vegetable, but—surprise—they actually do count! (At least according to the USDA, and, well, we’re not going to question their expertise.) What’s more, artichokes are more versatile than you might think: “These we can get creative with,” Young says. Use them as a side (say, in salads, dips, chicken rolls, and steamed dumplings) or incorporate them into your main (for instance, in bakes, casseroles, bean burgers, or quesadillas). Either way, that’ll boost your fiber content by a bunch.
4. Green peas
9 g fiber per one cup cooked
You might associate peas more with leafy greens than legumes (maybe because of their color?), but they are indeed in the same veggie category as beans and lentils—and have the fiber content to match, according to Young. For a more fiber-rich spin on a classic comfort-food recipe, try incorporating them into mac and cheese. “If I am low on energy and I’m craving something comforting but still want to make sure that my fiber needs are met, I will just add what I can to a boxed mac and cheese,” Young says.
If you don’t want to go green, other types of peas are also rich in fiber. Split peas come in at around eight grams of fiber per half cup cooked, while pigeon peas, black-eyed peas, and cowpeas all pack around six grams of fiber for that same amount.
5. Pumpkin
7 g fiber per one cup canned
While you might be more accustomed to seeing the big orange gourd on your front step around Halloween than on your dinner plate, it’s much more than spooky-season yard decor—it’s actually a solid fiber source, according to Nguyen. If you’re not familiar with cooking with pumpkin, Nguyen has a few suggestions. Try roasting it in the oven, stuffed with a filling like rice or meat, or seasoned on its own. “One roast squash lasts pretty long,” Nguyen says. You can also buy a can of the pureed stuff to save yourself some prep time. That works particularly well in baked goods like scones, muffins, sweet breads, cookies, brownies, and cheesecake bites, but it can also be adapted to savory dishes like chili, curry, pasta, lasagna, mac and cheese, meatballs, empanadas, and many more.
You can even swap in pumpkin for beans to make Nguyen’s signature “mishmash soup situation”—again, that’s a throw-together, freezer-friendly recipe featuring stock, aromatics, and seasonal veggies. Having easy and durable dishes at the ready is “a great way to assure myself that if there are days where it’s just tough to get the fiber in, I have these in the rotation,” she says.
6. Brussels sprouts
6 g fiber per one cup cooked
Brussels sprouts and other cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower are famously tough and bitter, especially when raw, so Nguyen recommends seeking out recipes and cooking methods that make them “a bit more tolerable and flavorful”—roasting, for example. “You can just let it sit in the oven while you go do other things,” she says. “Just make sure you have a good seasoning mix on.” (Sauces and dressings like balsamic vinegar or maple syrup can also help enhance the flavor, as some of these 32 recipes demonstrate.)
To add to their appeal, cruciferous veggies like brussels sprouts tend to hold up well in the freezer when fresh, so they’re well-suited for long-term cold storage, Nguyen says. Unlike some other types of produce, as SELF previously reported, “they don’t taste too mopey after you defrost them,” she explains. (You can thank their low water content for that!)
7. Broccoli
5 g fiber per one cup cooked
Like brussels sprouts, broccoli belongs to the cruciferous vegetable family, so a cooking method like roasting can help soften those stalks up and make them more palatable overall. Similar to peas, broccoli can also be incorporated into mac and cheese to make it a little more appetizing—a dish Young and her grad-school classmates called “mac and trees.” Generally, “adding in some of those frozen things when your pasta is boiling can be a great way to sneak in some additional nutrient value,” she says.
8. Kale
5 g fiber per one cup cooked
Cooked kale can be “a fabulous option” as far as a fiber source, Young says. Whether you’re boiling, sautéing, or relying on an entirely different cooking method, that process will compact the fiber content, vastly decreasing how much you need to eat to take in a solid amount. Sure, you can also get fiber from the raw stuff if you’re into salads or smoothies, but just know that the payoff is going to be way smaller: One cup of raw kale contains less than one gram of fiber—hardly an impressive figure compared to the earlier entries on this list.
9. Collard greens
5 g fiber per one cup cooked
Ditto for raw collard greens, but cooked, they’re also a solid fiber source. Chopped collards lend themselves especially well to soups and stews, according to Purdue University. Try sauteing them with diced bacon, minced garlic, and salt per Southern tradition.
10. Potatoes
5 g fiber with skin (microwaved); 3 g without skin (microwaved)
Much of the fiber in potatoes (around half) is contained in the skin, according to Nguyen, so if you’re peeling ’em, you’re skimming off a lot of that nutrient along with that tough outer layer. If you can tolerate the texture, keep the peel on for an extra boost in fiber or save it for later to turn into a stand-alone dish (say, roasted potato peels or loaded potato skins).
If not? Don’t lose sleep over it. Even though the peel may be the primary fiber source, you still get some of it within the vegetable itself, Nguyen says, so it’s not like you’re voiding the benefits entirely. Whether we’re talking peeled or unpeeled, Nguyen likes to microwave her potatoes in a pinch rather than boil or bake them to save time.
And if you prefer your potatoes sugary rather than plain? Sweet potatoes are also an excellent source of fiber, at more than six grams per one cup cooked. You’re probably most familiar with them as a dinner side or a salad mix-in, but if you want to expand your horizons, here are 51 wide-ranging recipe ideas sure to keep you busy for a long time.
11. Spinach
4 g fiber per one cup cooked
Raw spinach suffers from the same fiber issue as kale: you’d need a hell of a lot of volume to reach a significant amount. Thankfully, the solution is also the same: cooking it. Think about it: If you’ve ever cooked a whole bag of spinach, you’ve likely seen it wilt down into maybe a half cup to a cup, Young says. Unlike kale, which tends toward bitterness, spinach has a mild flavor that makes it easy to pair with other ingredients. You can tailor it to everything from pizzas and pastas to salads and smoothies (and all the other options in between).
What if none of these are my jam?
Not to worry. Like we said, lots of vegetables are rich in fiber, so while these 11 types are especially rich in that critical carb, they’re hardly your only options! Choose “whatever vegetables you like, that you could eat a lot of,” Nguyen advises. So if none of these happen to rate? Don’t feel the need to force them down. Ultimately, figuring out ways to make eating veggies enjoyable is “what’s going to keep us coming back” (and deliver that corresponding fiber boost), Young says.
And if you’re having a hard time putting veggies of any kind on your plate? You’re not out of luck, either: Take a peep at this list for a few non-veggie-based tips for boosting your fiber intake. (And then, may we suggest, check out these awesome recs to find ways to eat veggies you actually may like!)
Related:
- 12 Veggie-Packed Smoothie Recipes That Don’t Taste Like Salad
- 22 Easy Ways to Eat More Veggies This Year
- 18 Sheet Pan Recipes That Are Absolutely Packed With Veggies
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