Skip To Content

    26 Most And Least Healthy Vegetables

    A healthy-eating organization called Food Day assigned scores to 73 vegetables based on their nutritional content.* Here are our faves.

    1. KALE (Health Score: 1,392)

    bonappetit.com

    Kale and White Bean Soup

    More Vitamin K (good for your blood) and lutein (good for your eyes) than you need for the day, and plenty of Vitamin C (good for your immune system, heart, skin and lots of other stuff), too. Show off.

    2. SPINACH (Health Score: 968)

    skinnytaste.com

    Hot Spinach Dip

    Spinach meets your daily requirements for Vitamin K and lutein, and has plenty of Vitamin C and potassium (good for your muscles and heart), too. It even throws in some fiber (good for pooping) for good measure. Overachiever.

    3. CARROTS (Health Score: 399)

    food52.com

    Roasted Carrot Soup

    taesmileland/taesmileland

    About 15% of the lutein you need for the day, plus some Vitamin K and fiber.

    4. BROCCOLI RABE (Health Score: 392**)

    notderbypie.com

    Rigatoni with Broccoli Rabe

    Shutterstock

    Tons of Vitamin C, Vitamin K, lutein, and even protein (one bunch of broccoli rabe has a whopping 17g).

    ** Based on 4 stalks

    5. BROCCOLI (Health Score: 268**)

    smittenkitchen.com

    Broccoli Parmesan Fritters

    Warmlight/Warmlight

    With similar nutrient levels, the better known cousin in the broccoli family has nothing to be ashamed of, even if he falls a little behind the 'rabe.

    **2 spears

    6. BRUSSELS SPROUTS (Health Score: 247)

    simplyrecipes.com / Elise Bauer

    Roasted Brussels Sprouts

    Daniel_Saxlid/Daniel_Saxlid

    Not sure how these guys got such a bad rep, considering they're easy to cook, insanely healthy, and also kind of adorable.

    7. PEAS (Health Score: 173)

    loveandlemons.com

    Lemony Pea Pesto

    Flickr: chiotsrun / Chiot's Run

    Carrots are great, but peas have enough nutrients, including iron (great for your muscles), folate (aka folic acid, a vitamin especially important for women before and during their pregnancies), to hold their own.

    8. TOMATOES (Health Score: 136**)

    marthastewart.com

    Blood Thirsty Marys

    Matthew O'Shea/Matthew O'Shea

    With all that Vitamin A (boosts your immunity, vision, and reproductive health) and C, you should probably toast yourself for having some.

    **1/3 cup

    9. ASPARAGUS (Health Score: 134**)

    iamafoodblog.com

    Asparagus with Egg & Miso Butter

    zhekos/zhekos

    All that magnesium (an excellent energy booster) makes the smelly pee totally worth it.

    **6 spears

    10. GREEN BELL PEPPER (Health Score: 113)

    enjoyyourcooking.com

    Eggs Fried with Tomato in Bell Pepper

    "Oh hey, what's up, I'm just chillin' over here with all my Vitamin C and other nutrients. NBD."

    — Every green bell pepper ever

    11. OKRA (Health Score: 94)

    onetomato-twotomato.com

    Spicy Pickled Okra

    Get your Vitamin K! Get your Vitamin K right here, folks! Vitamin K, going fast!

    12. SCALLIONS (Health Score: 91**)

    buzzfeed.com / Macey Foronda

    Spaghetti Scallion Pancakes

    LiliViter/LiliViter

    Scallions, healthier than zucchini: Who knew?

    **1/3 cup, raw

    13. ZUCCHINI (Health Score: 88)

    smittenkitchen.com

    Zucchini Bread

    Sorry zucchini, you're great too. I really do appreciate all the lutein.

    14. GREEN BEANS (Health Score: 83)

    browneyedbaker.com

    Fresh Green Bean Casserole

    This mean, green, lutein machine also provides fiber, Vitamin K, and a touch of Vitamin C to top it all off.

    15. CAULIFLOWER (Health Score: 77**)

    food52.com

    Dan Barber's Cauliflower Steaks with Cauliflower Purée

    nop16/nop16

    Folate? Check. Fiber? Check. Vitamins C and K? Check check.

    **5 florets

    16. AVOCADO (Health Score: 75**)

    cookingstoned.tv

    Avocado Fried Egg

    So much more fiber and Vitamin K than toast could ever offer.

    **1/2 an avocado, raw

    17. POTATOES (Health Score: 64**)

    leitesculinaria.com

    Tater Tots

    EccentricCanvas/EccentricCanvas

    With all that iron, Vitamin C and potassium, is it any surprise Sam Gamgee was looking for some on the road to Mordor? I think not.

    **1 small potato with skin

    18. CORN (Health Score: 58)

    tameek/tameek

    Should I make fun of how non-nutritious high-fructose corn syrup is or would that be too corny?

    19. ICEBERG LETTUCE (Health Score: 54**)

    saveur.com

    Iceberg Slaw

    Enough iron to bring down a teeny-tiny, miniature Titanic.

    **2 cups, raw

    20. BEETS (Health Score: 43)

    alexandracooks.com

    Salt Roasted Beets with Goat Cheese & Toasted Walnutes

    Still enough potassium and fiber to inspire a band.

    21. SUNCHOKES, AKA JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES (Health Score: 41**)

    mymansbelly.com

    Sunchokes with Orange Hazelnut Gremolata

    mymansbelly.com / jacqueline

    Sunchokes: Ugly, confusing, and apparently, not that nutritious. It's not all bad, though: they have a bit of potassium of fiber buried underneath that bumpy exterior.

    **1/2 cup, raw

    22. CUCUMBERS (Health Score: 27**)

    chow.com

    Creamy Cucumber Salad

    So what if cukes aren't all stars on the nutrition front? They still provide a decent amount of Vitamin K AND they make a killer salad.

    **1/3 medium, raw with peel

    23. PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS (Health Score: 24**)

    simplyrecipes.com

    Portobello Mushroom Burger

    You say portobello, I say portabella, we both get a decent 5g of protein per cup.

    **2/3 cup

    24. EGGPLANT (Health Score: 21**)

    taste.com.au / Ben Dearnley

    I am so disappointed in you, eggplant. All that time I spent substituting you for meat and the best you can give me is fiber. But I don't blame you. Really, I don't. I blame myself.

    **3/4 cup

    25. RADISHES (Health Score: 13**)

    giovanna_l/giovanna_l

    Not a ton of nutrients, but more Vitamin C than a regular rose anyway.

    **3 large, raw radishes

    26. ONIONS (Health Score: 9**)

    simplyrecipes.com

    Caramelized Onion Tart with Gorgonzola and Brie

    Shutterstock

    Great for flavor, aroma and pizza, but sadly, not so great for nutrition. Whatevs. They don't HURT.

    **3 Tbsp. raw

    *Food Day explains how the vegetables were scored and ranked:

    "We calculated a score for each vegetable by adding up its percentage of: (1) the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) or Adequate Intake (AI) for seven nutrients, (2) the Daily Value (DV) for fiber, and (3) the daily targets that we've devised for lutein (plus zeaxanthin) and carotenoids other than lutein...

    We counted calcium, iron, folate, and magnesium in our scores but they're not in the chart. Ditto for carotenoids other than lutein, which include alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, and lycopene. We included lutein in the chart because of growing evidence that it may help prevent cataracts. There is no RDA or AI for lutein, so we set our own (3,000 micrograms) based on studies on cataracts. (The RDAs and AIs—daily targets set by the Institute of Medicine—vary slightly by age and gender. We picked the highest level for adults, excluding pregnant and lactating women.)"

    For more information on the methodology behind the rankings, click here.