Per real serving, with the soluble-rich foods marked. Soluble fiber is the fraction that slows a meal down and flattens the blood sugar curve, so if cravings are the problem you are solving, those are the ones to look at first.
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The size of the gap
Grams of fiber a day, on one scale.
What most adults actually eat
10 to 15 g
What women are aiming at
21 to 25 g
What men are aiming at
30 to 38 g
For most women that means roughly doubling. It sounds like a lot until you see what one cup of beans does.
Soluble is the half that matters here
Fiber gets talked about as one thing. It is two, and they do different jobs.
Soluble fiber dissolves into a gel. That gel slows how fast your stomach empties and how fast the meal turns into glucose in your blood, which is exactly the flatter curve the fiber article describes. Oats, barley, beans, lentils, apples, pears, citrus, carrots, chia, flax, psyllium.
Insoluble fiber does not dissolve. It adds bulk and keeps things moving. Wheat bran, whole grains, nuts, popcorn, leafy greens.
You want both, and almost no food is purely one or the other, which is why the middle group here is marked mixed rather than split down the middle with false precision. But if the reason you are on this page is cravings and blood sugar rather than digestion, the soluble column is the one to read.
The number to aim at
Roughly 21 to 25 grams a day for women and 30 to 38 for men, with the lower end of each range applying after 50. Most adults eat about 10 to 15 grams, and around 95 percent fall short.
So this is not a tweak. For most people it means roughly doubling, which sounds daunting until you look at the list: one cup of lentils is 16 grams on its own. Two or three deliberate choices a day closes almost the whole gap.
Go up gradually, and drink more water while you do. Doubling fiber in a single day is a reliable way to feel bloated and crampy and decide fiber is not for you. Add one thing at a time over a few weeks. Soluble fiber in particular needs water to form the gel that makes it useful.
What one serving does to a day
Each full bar is 25 grams, the top of the women's range. The filled part is one realistic serving.
Navy beans1 cup cooked (182 g)
19 g
Lentils1 cup cooked (198 g)
16 g
Chickpeas1 cup cooked (164 g)
13 g
Chia seeds2 tbsp (24 g)
10 g
Raspberries1 cup (123 g)
8 g
One cup of navy beans is about three quarters of the day on its own. This is the argument for two or three deliberate choices rather than a whole new way of eating.
Showing all 49 foods, grouped.
FoodFiberCaloriesPer 100 cal
Beans & lentils
Navy beans1 cup cooked (182 g)Soluble-richBeans & lentils
Fiber 19 g
Calories 255 cal
Per 100 cal 7.5 g /100 cal
Split peas1 cup cooked (196 g)Soluble-richBeans & lentils
Fiber 16 g
Calories 231 cal
Per 100 cal 6.9 g /100 cal
Lentils1 cup cooked (198 g)Soluble-richBeans & lentilsAlso 18 g of protein. Close to the most useful single food on this whole site.
Fiber 16 g
Calories 230 cal
Per 100 cal 7 g /100 cal
Black beans1 cup cooked (172 g)Soluble-richBeans & lentils
Fiber 15 g
Calories 227 cal
Per 100 cal 6.6 g /100 cal
Kidney beans1 cup cooked (177 g)Soluble-richBeans & lentils
Fiber 13 g
Calories 225 cal
Per 100 cal 5.8 g /100 cal
Chickpeas1 cup cooked (164 g)Soluble-richBeans & lentils
Fiber 13 g
Calories 269 cal
Per 100 cal 4.8 g /100 cal
Green peas1 cup cooked (160 g)MixedBeans & lentils
Fiber 9 g
Calories 134 cal
Per 100 cal 6.7 g /100 cal
Edamame, shelled1 cup (155 g)MixedBeans & lentils
Fiber 8 g
Calories 188 cal
Per 100 cal 4.3 g /100 cal
Vegetables
Collard greens1 cup cooked (190 g)Mostly insolubleVegetablesThe most fiber per calorie of any vegetable here.
Fiber 8 g
Calories 63 cal
Per 100 cal 12.7 g /100 cal
Artichoke1 medium, cooked (120 g)MixedVegetables
Fiber 7 g
Calories 64 cal
Per 100 cal 10.9 g /100 cal
Avocado1/2 medium (100 g)MixedVegetables
Fiber 7 g
Calories 160 cal
Per 100 cal 4.4 g /100 cal
Butternut squash1 cup cooked (205 g)Soluble-richVegetables
Fiber 7 g
Calories 82 cal
Per 100 cal 8.5 g /100 cal
Broccoli1 cup cooked (156 g)MixedVegetables
Fiber 5 g
Calories 55 cal
Per 100 cal 9.1 g /100 cal
Brussels sprouts1 cup cooked (156 g)Soluble-richVegetables
Fiber 4 g
Calories 56 cal
Per 100 cal 7.1 g /100 cal
Sweet potato, with skin1 medium (150 g)Soluble-richVegetables
Fiber 4 g
Calories 130 cal
Per 100 cal 3.1 g /100 cal
Green beans1 cup cooked (125 g)MixedVegetables
Fiber 4 g
Calories 44 cal
Per 100 cal 9.1 g /100 cal
Asparagus1 cup cooked (180 g)MixedVegetables
Fiber 4 g
Calories 40 cal
Per 100 cal 10 g /100 cal
Spinach1 cup cooked (180 g)Mostly insolubleVegetables
Fiber 4 g
Calories 41 cal
Per 100 cal 9.8 g /100 cal
Carrots1 cup raw (128 g)Soluble-richVegetables
Fiber 4 g
Calories 52 cal
Per 100 cal 7.7 g /100 cal
Potato, with skin1 medium (173 g)MixedVegetablesThe skin carries most of it. Peel it and you lose about half.
Fiber 4 g
Calories 161 cal
Per 100 cal 2.5 g /100 cal
Beets1 cup cooked (170 g)MixedVegetables
Fiber 3 g
Calories 75 cal
Per 100 cal 4 g /100 cal
Cauliflower1 cup cooked (124 g)MixedVegetables
Fiber 3 g
Calories 29 cal
Per 100 cal 10.3 g /100 cal
Fruit
Raspberries1 cup (123 g)MixedFruitRaspberries and blackberries beat every other fruit here on fiber per calorie, and both are low enough in sugar to eat without thinking about it.
Fiber 8 g
Calories 64 cal
Per 100 cal 12.5 g /100 cal
Blackberries1 cup (144 g)MixedFruit
Fiber 8 g
Calories 62 cal
Per 100 cal 12.9 g /100 cal
Pear, with skin1 medium (178 g)Soluble-richFruit
Fiber 6 g
Calories 101 cal
Per 100 cal 5.9 g /100 cal
Apple, with skin1 medium (182 g)Soluble-richFruitThe pectin is in and just under the skin, so peeling it removes most of the useful part.
Fiber 4 g
Calories 95 cal
Per 100 cal 4.2 g /100 cal
Blueberries1 cup (148 g)MixedFruit
Fiber 4 g
Calories 84 cal
Per 100 cal 4.8 g /100 cal
Kiwi2 medium (150 g)MixedFruit
Fiber 4 g
Calories 84 cal
Per 100 cal 4.8 g /100 cal
Orange1 medium (140 g)Soluble-richFruit
Fiber 3 g
Calories 62 cal
Per 100 cal 4.8 g /100 cal
Strawberries1 cup (152 g)MixedFruit
Fiber 3 g
Calories 49 cal
Per 100 cal 6.1 g /100 cal
Banana1 medium (118 g)MixedFruit
Fiber 3 g
Calories 105 cal
Per 100 cal 2.9 g /100 cal
Prunes1/4 cup (44 g)Soluble-richFruit
Fiber 3 g
Calories 105 cal
Per 100 cal 2.9 g /100 cal
Nuts & seeds
Chia seeds2 tbsp (24 g)Soluble-richNuts & seedsThe single densest everyday source here. Stir into yogurt or oatmeal and it disappears.
Fiber 10 g
Calories 138 cal
Per 100 cal 7.2 g /100 cal
Psyllium husk1 tbsp (6 g)Soluble-richNuts & seedsEffectively pure soluble fiber. This is what most fiber supplements are.
Fiber 5 g
Calories 20 cal
Per 100 cal 25 g /100 cal
Ground flaxseed2 tbsp (14 g)Soluble-richNuts & seedsHas to be ground. Whole flaxseed passes straight through.
Fiber 4 g
Calories 75 cal
Per 100 cal 5.3 g /100 cal
Almonds1/4 cup (35 g)Mostly insolubleNuts & seeds
Fiber 4 g
Calories 207 cal
Per 100 cal 1.9 g /100 cal
Pumpkin seeds1/4 cup (32 g)Mostly insolubleNuts & seeds
Hemp hearts3 tbsp (30 g)Mostly insolubleNuts & seedsExcellent for protein, almost nothing for fiber. A good reminder that the two do not always travel together.
Fiber 1 g
Calories 166 cal
Per 100 cal 0.6 g /100 cal
Grains & starches
Chickpea pasta85 g drySoluble-richGrains & starches
Fiber 8 g
Calories 190 cal
Per 100 cal 4.2 g /100 cal
Whole wheat pasta1 cup cooked (140 g)Mostly insolubleGrains & starches
Fiber 6 g
Calories 174 cal
Per 100 cal 3.4 g /100 cal
Barley1 cup cooked (157 g)Soluble-richGrains & starchesCarries the same beta-glucan that makes oats useful, and almost nobody eats it.
Fiber 6 g
Calories 193 cal
Per 100 cal 3.1 g /100 cal
Quinoa1 cup cooked (185 g)MixedGrains & starches
Fiber 5 g
Calories 222 cal
Per 100 cal 2.3 g /100 cal
Oats, dry1/2 cup (40 g)Soluble-richGrains & starchesThe beta-glucan in oats is the most studied blood sugar fiber there is.
Fiber 4 g
Calories 150 cal
Per 100 cal 2.7 g /100 cal
Popcorn, air-popped3 cups (24 g)Mostly insolubleGrains & starchesA whole grain, and the rare snack that gives you volume and fiber for very little.
Fiber 4 g
Calories 93 cal
Per 100 cal 4.3 g /100 cal
Oat bran, dry1/4 cup (18 g)Soluble-richGrains & starches
Fiber 4 g
Calories 58 cal
Per 100 cal 6.9 g /100 cal
Brown rice1 cup cooked (195 g)Mostly insolubleGrains & starches
White bread1 sliceMostly insolubleGrains & starchesHere for contrast. This is what most of a day looks like when fiber comes up short.
Fiber 1 g
Calories 75 cal
Per 100 cal 1.3 g /100 cal
Nothing matches that. If something you rely on is missing, tell us and we will add it.
About these numbers
Values are rounded to whole grams and calories from standard food composition data, and they vary with variety, ripeness, and how big your idea of a cup is. Treat them as close enough to plan with.
The soluble and insoluble labels describe where most of a food's fiber sits, not a precise split. Nearly every plant food contains some of both. Packaged foods are the ones that vary most, so read the label on anything that came in a wrapper.
Fiber does its best work next to protein
Fiber flattens the curve and protein keeps you full, and a plate with both beats a plate with either one alone. The protein reference is the companion to this page, and the macro calculator gives you your own daily numbers.
If you would rather not do arithmetic at dinner, the Plate Builder assembles protein, fat, and a vegetable from whatever you already have, in about a minute.