Foods high in vitamin B6, ranked by milligrams

The RDA is 1.3 mg a day for most adults, and chickpeas, tuna, salmon, and chicken breast each cover a third to half of it per serving. The mg-per-serving ranking, why the vitamin is spread across animal and plant foods, and why the supplement upper limit matters.

1. 01

   Chickpeas: ~1.1 mg per cup, the plant leader

   A cup of cooked chickpeas carries ~1.1 mg of vitamin B6, close to a full day's target and the richest common plant serving (USDA FoodData Central). Canned or cooked from dry, they are cheap, shelf-stable, and versatile, which makes them the single most practical source for anyone eating less meat. They also bring fiber, plant protein, and folate, so a regular chickpea habit quietly covers several targets at once, the recurring theme of legumes on this site.

2. 02

   Beef liver and other organ meats: ~0.9 mg per 3 oz

   Beef liver leads the animal foods at ~0.9 mg of B6 per 3 oz, part of its across-the-board density in B vitamins, vitamin A, and iron (NIH ODS). It is eaten in small amounts and not to everyone's taste, but a single modest serving covers most of the daily target. For anyone who does eat it, it is one of the most nutrient-dense foods available; for everyone else, the fish and legumes lower on this list do the same job in more familiar servings.

3. 03

   Tuna, salmon, and other fish: ~0.6-0.9 mg per 3 oz

   A 3 oz serving of tuna or salmon supplies ~0.6 to 0.9 mg of vitamin B6, so a single fillet clears half the daily target or more (USDA). Fish is the most reliable animal source outside organ meats, and it pairs the B6 with omega-3 fats and complete protein. This is why regular fish eaters rarely fall short, and why the fish on this list overlap with the ones we rank for omega-3 elsewhere.

4. 04

   Chicken breast, potatoes, and starchy vegetables: ~0.4-0.5 mg per serving

   A 3 oz chicken breast carries ~0.5 mg of B6 and a medium potato with skin ~0.4 mg, with sweet potato and winter squash close behind (NIH ODS; USDA). These are the quiet workhorses: eaten in large, familiar servings across many meals, they add up faster than their per-100-gram numbers suggest. Much of a potato's B6 sits near the skin, so eating it skin-on keeps more of the vitamin.

5. 05

   Bananas, fortified cereals, and everyday plants

   A banana supplies ~0.4 mg of B6, and fortified breakfast cereals can carry a full day's target in a single bowl, while smaller amounts come from avocados, spinach, and nuts (USDA). None is a standout except the fortified products, but together they form the background intake that keeps most diets above the requirement. Fortification is the main reason clinical deficiency is rare in countries that enrich their grains.

6. 06

   The supplement ceiling: why 100 mg matters

   Vitamin B6 is the rare water-soluble vitamin with a tolerable upper intake level, 100 mg a day for adults, because chronic high doses cause sensory neuropathy, numbness and unsteadiness that is only partly reversible (NIH ODS). High-dose B6 is sold for nausea, PMS, and carpal tunnel on thin evidence, and some multivitamins and energy products already carry large amounts, so it is worth reading labels. Food-form B6 carries none of this risk, which is the whole argument for getting it from the plate.