Foods High in Selenium: Top 30 per 100 g & per Serving

Highest in selenium per 100 g

30 of 337 ranked foods, most selenium first. % = share of the FDA Daily Value. n/r = not reported.

Most selenium per typical serving

The same foods ranked by what one typical USDA portion gives, which is what you eat.

Most selenium per 200 kcal

Nutrient density: selenium for the same 200 calories of each food.

Best by food group

The top three of each group per 100 g (rank within the group).

• Fruits

  1. 1. Apples (dried, sulfured, uncooked): 1.3 µg
  2. 2. Banana (raw): 1 µg
  3. 2. Orange peel (raw): 1 µg

• Vegetables

  1. 1. Mashed potatoes (ready-to-eat): 27 µg
  2. 2. Portabella mushrooms (raw): 19 µg
  3. 3. Garlic (raw): 14 µg

• Legumes

  1. 1. Tofu (fried): 29 µg
  2. 2. Tofu (raw, firm, prepared with calcium sulfate): 17 µg
  3. 3. Tofu yogurt: 13 µg

• Nuts and Seeds

  1. 1. Sunflower seed butter (without salt): 104 µg
  2. 2. Chia seeds (dried): 55 µg
  3. 3. Sunflower seed kernels (dried): 53 µg

• Grains

  1. 1. Egg noodles (dry, enriched): 79 µg
  2. 1. Egg noodles (dry, unenriched): 79 µg
  3. 3. Pasta (dry, enriched): 63 µg

• Dairy Foods

  1. 1. Egg (yolk, raw, frozen, salted, pasteurized): 57 µg
  2. 2. Egg yolk (raw): 56 µg
  3. 3. Parmesan cheese topping (fat free): 43 µg

• Meats

  1. 1. Turkey liver (raw): 69 µg
  2. 2. Chicken giblets (raw): 55 µg
  3. 3. Turkey giblets (raw): 49 µg

• Fish and Seafood

  1. 1. Tuna (yellowfin, fresh, cooked, dry heat): 108 µg
  2. 2. Tuna (light, canned in water, without salt, drained solids): 80 µg
  3. 3. Tuna (white, canned in water, without salt, drained solids): 66 µg

Plant-based (vegan) sources

Fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds, grains and oils with no animal ingredient, ranked among themselves per 100 g.

Concentrated forms (not ranked)

Flours, powders, concentrates, sugars and fortified foods with selenium, listed by value per 100 g but left out of the rankings above.

Which foods are ranked

• The 358 foods on CalorieExplorer with a reported selenium value. They are generic USDA FoodData Central rows (Foundation Foods and SR Legacy) with a plain name: no branded products, restaurant items, survey mixed dishes, baby foods or regional specialty rows.
• Only foods with more than 0 µg are ranked (337 foods); a food with no reported value is left out, never counted as 0.
• Flours, crude brans, powders and dehydrated foods, juice concentrates, mixes, sugars and fortified foods are not ranked: per 100 g they beat every food eaten as is. They are listed separately below.
• Ties share a rank: foods with the same value per 100 g get the same number, and the next number is skipped.
• Typical portion = USDA's own serving weight for that food (a medium fruit, 1 cup, 1 oz…), as on its food page. Per 200 kcal shows how much you get for the same calories; foods under 5 kcal per 100 g are not ranked that way (–).
• % DV = share of the FDA Daily Value for selenium, 55 µg a day for adults and children 4 and older.
• FDA lets a label call a food “high in” a nutrient when one reference serving gives 20% of the Daily Value or more, and a “good source” at 10–19% (21 CFR 101.54). We apply it to the typical USDA portion, which is not always the label's reference amount.