Written by Medically reviewed by Kimberly Lucas, RD on May 3, 2020 —
Last updated on March 25, 2021 at 12:21 pm
9 plant-based sources of calcium are listed below but why is Calcium so important? Calcium is a key nutrient in any diet as it plays an important role in the maintenance of many basic body functions.
Calcium is well known for its role in bone health, where it helps to provide strength and structure to the skeleton. Calcium also helps with neuronal communication, blood circulation, and hormone function (1, 2, 3, 4).
The human body doesn’t produce calcium, so you have to consume it through your diet to ensure you have enough calcium to function properly.
How Much Calcium Do You Need?
Consuming around 1000 mg of calcium a day is enough for most people to maintain healthy calcium levels; however, some people who eat plant-based diets are often concerned that by not eating dairy products (a strong source of calcium), they may not be getting enough calcium (5).
Luckily, there are many plant-based sources of calcium that can be easily incorporated into plant-based diets.
Here are the top nine to help you add a calcium boost to your plant-based meals.
9 Plant-Based Sources of Calcium
1. Dark Leafy Greens
Load up on those dark leafy greens next time you cook a plant-based meal because they’re an excellent source of calcium. Dark leafy vegetables include broccoli, spinach, bok choy, and mustard greens.
Broccoli can have around 47 mg of calcium per 100 g, meaning that a single serving of broccoli could provide you with a substantial amount of your daily calcium needs (6).
Spinach is another high-calcium leafy green, with 100g of spinach providing around 94 mg of calcium (7). That’s almost 10% of your daily calcium requirement.
Bok choy and mustard greens also give you a boost of calcium, providing around 114 mg and 115 mg of calcium per 100 g respectively (8, 9).
Add these calcium-rich greens to your plant-based diet by including them in a salad, adding them to a curry, or by boiling and serving them as a side dish.
Boiling is a particularly efficient cooking method for these calcium-rich leafy greens because it has been shown to help reduce oxalate levels by up to 87% (10).
Oxalate is a substance that can reduce your absorption of calcium by binding to calcium in your gut and forming calcium oxalate, otherwise known as kidney stones.
So grab a handful of dark leafy greens next time you’re whipping up a plant-based meal, they’ll go a long way in helping you meet your daily calcium needs.
2. Soy Products
Soybean products are a great option for people eating plant-based foods as they are high in a range of minerals and nutrients. From tofu to soy milk to edamame beans, there’s a soybean product for every recipe.
Soybeans themselves are a rich source of calcium, with plain soybeans in canola oil providing 133 mg of calcium per 100 g (11). So while simple soybeans will provide you with a substantial amount of your daily calcium, the options don’t just stop there.
Soy milk, an excellent plant-based milk alternative, is another soybean product high in calcium. One cup of soy milk can deliver 300 mg of calcium, giving you almost a third of your daily calcium needs (12). Soy milk works great with cereal, in baking, or as a dairy-free alternative to your frothy coffee in the morning.
When it comes to great soybean products, you can’t forget about tofu. Tofu is a vegan staple for a reason. It easily replaces meat in recipes, is easy to cook, and is packed full of nutrients.
A 100g serving of tofu can provide you with an impressive 118 mg of calcium (13). That’s over 10% of your recommended daily intake.
Soy products have great taste and texture, so these versatile high-calcium plant-based products can easily be used in your next meal.
3. Sesame Seeds
Sesame seeds aren’t just great on top of a burger bun. They’re also an excellent source of nutrition, providing high levels of fiber, protein, vitamins, and calcium.
100g of sesame seeds will provide you with around 131 mg of calcium, making them a great vegan source of calcium (14).
Sesame seeds are also extremely versatile. Ground sesame seeds can make a butter-like substance called tahini. Tahini is an even more potent source of calcium, with a small 1tbsp serving of tahini providing a whopping 63 mg of calcium (15).
You can use tahini to make hummus, salad dressing, or slather it on toast for a delicious calcium-rich and plant-based breakfast.
You can also toast sesame seeds and use them as a topping for salads, steamed vegetables, or stir-fries. Baking with sesame seeds adds a pleasant crunch and flavor to various recipes as well.
There is yet another reason to love sesame seeds; they may also help to reduce inflammation and pain. One study found that sesame seeds helped to reduce knee pain by 63% in patients with arthritis of the knee who ate 40 g of sesame seeds a day (16).
While more research is needed into the potential anti-inflammatory actions of sesame seeds, it is a good indication of its benefits aside from it being a rich calcium source.
4. Fruit
If you’re on the lookout for more plant-based foods with calcium, you don’t need to go much further than your fruit bowl. There are also many fruits that are high in calcium that can help you meet your daily needs.
Berries such as raspberries, blackberries, and boysenberries will provide you with 25, 29, and 29 mg of calcium per 100 g respectively (17, 18, 19). By adding these berries to your cereal, smoothies, or by eating them raw, you can easily add a little calcium boost to your plant-based breakfast.
Other fruits like oranges and figs are also great sources of calcium. A single 100 g orange will give you around 40 mg of calcium, not to mention high amounts of vitamin C, magnesium, and folate (20, 21). Figs are equally as impressive, with 35 mg of calcium per 100 g. They are also a good source of vitamins A and K.
Fruit is also a great option for people new to plant-based eating because it’s familiar, doesn’t take much preparation, and is packed full of the nutrients you need to stay healthy while following a plant-based diet.
5. Beans
Vegans love beans and for good reason. They’re full of protein, help to make stews, salads, and curries more filling, and are an excellent source of calcium.
Winged beans are beans with one of the highest ratios of calcium. 100g of winged beans will provide you with a huge 224 mg of calcium, which is nearly a quarter of your recommended daily calcium intake (22).
Other beans high in calcium, including black beans, chickpeas (yes they’re actually a bean), and kidney beans contain 114, 64, and 46 mg of calcium per 100 g respectively (23, 24, 25).
Many beans are also high in other nutrients such as folate, protein, iron, and zinc, so you know that they’re going to get you through the day and help your body function properly.
By including these beans in your plant-based meals, you can easily add a significant amount of calcium into your diet.
Whether you’re adding beans to a curry, blending them into a dip, or roasting them into a crispy snack, there’s a recipe out there will make this a tasty and calcium-rich addition to your day
6. Nuts
If you’re trying to eat more plant-based foods, then you should be going nuts for nuts! As well as being a crunchy, delicious snack or addition to a meal, many nuts are also high in calcium.
To help reach your daily calcium intake, you can’t go wrong with a handful of almonds. Almonds are particularly rich in calcium, with 100g of roasted almonds containing around 253 mg of calcium (26). That will provide you with over a quarter of your daily calcium needs.
Brazil nuts are also a good option. With a slightly chewier texture than almonds, Brazil nuts contain impressive amounts of calcium.
They are also a great addition to your trail mix or granola. Brazil nuts contain 160 mg of calcium per 100 g, making them an easy calcium boost to almost any meal (27).
Other nuts that contain beneficial amounts of calcium include macadamia nuts, pistachios, and walnuts, which provide 85, 167, and 98 mg of calcium per 100 g respectively (28, 29, 30).
Add any of these calcium-rich nuts to your breakfast, roast them with spices for a snack, or soak and blend them to create a high-calcium milk substitute. However you decide to use them, nuts are an easy and tasty source of calcium.
7. Blackstrap Molasses
This vegan source of calcium is a bit of a treat. Blackstrap molasses is made from sugar cane, much like white sugar. However, blackstrap molasses and sugar differ in their nutritional makeup because of their different production processes.
This dark syrup has a very thick consistency and gives a sweet flavor to food. And it is also high in calcium and other nutrients.
A one-tablespoon serving of blackstrap molasses contains 100 mg of calcium, making it an excellent calcium boost to many plant-based foods (31).
Blackstrap molasses is also high in iron, magnesium, and potassium, making this indulgent syrup so much more nutritious than white sugar.
Blackstrap molasses might not be a regular pantry staple, but it goes with so many things. You can use it for baking, making glazes, and sweetening sauces.
Be adventurous and try adding blackstrap molasses to your next plant-based meal. Enjoy this sweet treat knowing how much calcium and other nutrients you are getting.
8. Ancient Grains
No, ancient grains aren’t the really old box of porridge in the back of your pantry. Ancient grains refer to many varieties of grain that are thought to have minimally changed over time.
Certain ancient grains such as amaranth, teff, sorghum, and millet are particularly nutritious and are a great plant-based source of calcium.
Although you might not have heard of some of these ancient grains, they’ll quickly become your new favorite ingredients thanks to their tastes, textures, and nutritional values.
For example, amaranth contains 116 mg of calcium per cup, as well as a smorgasbord of nutrients including iron, protein, magnesium, and potassium (32).
Amaranth has an almost nutty flavor and can be cooked much like rice or couscous and added to curries, salads, or be eaten like porridge.
Another impressive ancient grain is teff, which has an earthy flavor and an impressive nutrient profile. One cup of cooked teff can provide you with 123 mg of calcium, making it an excellent plant-based calcium source (33). Teff works well as a side dish or as porridge and is also high in iron, magnesium, and folate.
If you’re looking to increase your calcium intake, other ancient grains like sorghum and millet can also help you reach your daily calcium goals. Sorghum contains 13 mg of calcium per 100 g and millet contains 8 mg of calcium per 100 g (34, 35).
9. Mushrooms
This last food on our plant-based calcium list is a little strange because it isn’t actually very high in calcium.
Mushrooms do contain some calcium, with oyster mushrooms providing around 3 mg of calcium per 100 g, but they make the list for another important reason: their high levels of vitamin D (36).
Vitamin D plays an important role in the body’s calcium levels as you can’t absorb calcium without vitamin D. Vitamin D is a precursor of the hormones that help you to metabolize calcium, so without it, you can’t digest and process all that wonderful plant-based calcium (37).
The importance of vitamin D to our calcium levels was highlighted in one study which found that vitamin D supplementation was successful in helping to treat rickets caused by calcium-deficiency (38).
While most dietary vitamin D comes from non-vegan products like salmon or eggs, certain types of mushrooms such as oyster mushrooms can also provide a substantial dose of vitamin D in a single serving (39).
You can increase your calcium levels and calcium absorption rate by eating mushrooms or add them to another calcium-rich plant-based food on this list to really increase your calcium intake.
Combine oyster mushrooms with tofu and amaranth for an umami meal that is guaranteed to help you meet your daily calcium goals.
The Bottom Line
Plant-based sources of calcium are everywhere. Whether you’re experimenting with a few plant-based recipes or are eating a vegan diet, it’s important to make sure you’re getting enough calcium to maintain your overall health.
There are so many plant-based sources of calcium available that it’s easy to meet your recommended daily intake of calcium, all while eating a plant-based diet.
Just remember to not ignore vitamin D in your diet because without it you won’t be able to absorb any of that calcium.
