Foods High in Vitamin D: Table with µg per Serving

Fatty fish like herring, salmon, mackerel and trout are pretty much the only foods with a lot of vitamin D, plus cod liver oil. A 150 g serving of salmon brings 16.5 to 24 µg, depending on which nutrient table you look at. On that one day, you already have roughly the 20 µg (800 IU) that the German Nutrition Society (DGE) sets as an estimated value for when your skin makes no vitamin D at all. On average, though, people in Germany only get 2 to 4 µg a day from food, simply because fish isn't on the plate every day.

Part of the reason is that vitamin D actually isn't a typical food vitamin. If you spend time outdoors regularly, according to the DGE you make 80 to 90% of your vitamin D yourself in your skin, and food only adds the smaller rest. And since nobody eats 100 g of cod liver oil, but plenty of people put two slices of smoked salmon on their bread, we calculate everything here per serving. Everything else vitamin D does is covered in our basics article on vitamin D3 and K2.

Which foods are high in vitamin D?

Per serving, the most vitamin D comes from herring, salmon, trout and mackerel, plus cod liver oil and white button mushrooms that were treated with UV light after harvest. Eggs, liver, cheese, butter and milk only bring 0.1 to just under 3 µg per serving.

The values per 100 g come from three tables: the nutrient table the DGE publishes in its questions and answers on vitamin D (DGE in the table), the German Nutrient Database (Bundeslebensmittelschlüssel) as cited by Germany's Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) (BfR), and the database of the US Department of Agriculture, for example for mackerel or farmed salmon (USDA). For fish, unfortunately, these tables are far apart, for mackerel by a factor of four. That's why you'll find a range there instead of a single number that looks more precise than it is. We set the serving sizes ourselves, the way they end up on the plate in a normal household. Fresh fish is weighed raw, and 1 µg equals 40 IU.

How much vitamin D is in herring, salmon and mackerel?

For a 150 g serving, herring comes to 6.3 to 37.5 µg depending on the table, mackerel to 6 to 24 µg and salmon to 16.5 to 24 µg. A farmed rainbow trout lands right at the top of that range with 23.9 µg.

The wide ranges come from the fish itself, because its vitamin D content depends on species, fishing ground, season and feed, and varies a lot even within one species. With salmon, origin matters too: in a Boston University analysis from 2007, farmed salmon had only about a quarter of the vitamin D of wild salmon. So wild salmon is usually the stronger source, even though the gap in the newer US data is much smaller, at 11.0 versus 14.1 µg per 100 g.

Smoked or canned, things often look more modest. According to the BfR table, smoked salmon comes to 4.2 µg per 100 g, so two to three slices on your bread bring around 2 µg. Light tuna, drained, ranges from 1.2 µg packed in water to 6.7 µg packed in oil. A smoked mackerel brings clearly more, at 6.9 µg per fillet. That cod brings almost nothing at 0.9 µg per 100 g fits the picture nicely, because vitamin D is fat-soluble, and the DGE explicitly names fatty fish as the suppliers.

How much vitamin D is in an egg?

A chicken egg has 2.0 to 2.9 µg of vitamin D per 100 g, so two eggs, together around 100 g without the shell, bring 2 to just under 3 µg. Most of it sits in the yolk, which has a good twice as much per 100 g as the whole egg.

For breakfast, that's a decent contribution, after all ten to 16 times as much as in a glass of milk. To reach the 20 µg of the DGE, however, you would have to eat 14 to 20 eggs every day, and even the biggest breakfast fan won't keep that up for long.

Do mushrooms have vitamin D, and what does UV light do?

Regular white button mushrooms have only a little vitamin D, at 0.2 to 1.9 µg per 100 g, chanterelles a bit more at 2.1 to 5.3 µg. Mushrooms treated with UV light after harvest are where it gets really interesting: since 2018, they may contain up to 20 µg of vitamin D per 100 g in the EU.

Basically, the same thing happens in the mushroom as in your skin in the sun. At the end of their shelf life, they still have to contain at least 5 µg per 100 g. You can recognize these mushrooms by the mandatory note that their vitamin D content was increased by UV light. Mushrooms make vitamin D2, though, and not D3 like your skin and fish. D2 also raises the 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) level in your blood, just a little less: in an analysis of 24 studies with 1,277 healthy participants, D3 came out ahead by around 16 nmol/l on average, and with small amounts the difference was smaller. For anyone who doesn't eat fish, UV mushrooms are really a genuine option.

Milk, butter, cheese: how much vitamin D do they contain?

Dairy products contain only a little vitamin D. A glass of whole milk brings around 0.2 µg, 30 g of Gouda around 0.4 µg and the butter on your bread just 0.1 µg. Together, that's not even a twentieth of the 20 µg.

Margarine fortified with vitamin D brings a bit more. In Germany, according to the DGE, that's 2.5 to 7.5 µg per 100 g, with the higher values allowed by special permit. On a slice of bread with 10 g, that adds up to 0.25 to 0.75 µg. The DGE itself, however, considers fortifying foods with vitamin D "not advisable". And how much is actually in your margarine, only the label will tell you anyway.

Vegan vitamin D: where do you get it without fish and eggs?

Without fish and eggs, you're mostly left with the sun, UV-treated mushrooms and fortified foods, and in the winter months usually a supplement. Fruit and regular vegetables provide practically none.

The most important source is vegan anyway, namely your own skin. On the plate, UV mushrooms are the strongest plant-based option. According to the BfR, the EU has also approved other foods whose vitamin D content is increased by UV light, for example baker's yeast and bread baked with that kind of yeast. In the winter months, though, the sun isn't enough, and then an explicitly vegan supplement is the most reliable route.

Can you get enough vitamin D from food?

On individual days yes, on average almost never. Germany's National Nutrition Survey II asked more than 15,000 people between 14 and 80 about what they eat. Men got a median of 2.9 µg of vitamin D a day from food, women 2.2 µg.

To reach the 20 µg with salmon alone, you would have to eat 125 to a good 180 g of it every day, which is six to a good eight large servings a week. So we wanted to know how far a really solid week gets you, with two fish meals, which is the upper end of what the DGE and BfR recommend:

• Two servings of salmon at 150 g each: 33 to 48 µg
• Four eggs, around 200 g without the shell: 4.0 to 5.8 µg
• A glass of whole milk every day: 1.3 to 1.4 µg in total
• 30 g of Gouda every day: 2.7 µg in total
• 10 g of butter every day: 0.8 µg in total
• Total: around 42 to 59 µg a week, so 6 to 8.4 µg a day on average.

That's at least twice the median from the survey, but also not even half of the 20 µg. With magnesium, by the way, it looks completely different: there, a normal day with oatmeal, lentils and a cheese sandwich already gets close to the reference value, as you can read under foods high in magnesium.

In the summer months, the sun takes care of the rest, and just a few minutes several times a week are enough for that. From October to March, your body then lives off what it stored in fat and muscle tissue over the summer. Why the sun isn't enough in winter is explained in our article on vitamin D in winter. How much you can safely add is covered under safe vitamin D dosage. And whether you're actually running low, in the end only your vitamin D level in a blood test can show you.

What your body needs all that vitamin D for

Your body needs vitamin D for bones and muscles and for your immune system to work normally, whether it comes from your plate or your skin. In the EU, this is set down in several reviewed and authorized claims, in the finest bureaucratese, for example "Vitamin D contributes to the maintenance of normal bones", "Vitamin D contributes to the maintenance of normal muscle function" and "Vitamin D contributes to the normal function of the immune system". On top of that comes "Vitamin D contributes to normal absorption/utilisation of calcium and phosphorus", which simply means that without vitamin D, your body can't really make use of the calcium from milk and cheese. What studies show beyond that, for example on tiredness or mood, is put in context in our guide.

For the gap between your plate and the sun

So when it comes to vitamin D, your plate doesn't get you very far, and the sun only plays along for half the year. For the gap in between, there's RISE by Fifty Five. Each micro capsule contains 50 µg (2,000 IU) of vitamin D3 plus K2 as MK-7, and you take one every two days in the morning or at midday with a meal. On average, that's 25 µg (1,000 IU) a day, roughly as much as in 160 to 230 g of salmon. Except that every capsule contains exactly the same amount, while with fish it comes down to species, origin and feed, as the ranges in the table above already show. And since the micro capsule, shell included, is vegan, it also works for anyone who doesn't eat fish at all.

Which foods supply the vitamin K2 that sits next to the D3 in RISE, you can read under vitamin K2 from cheese and natto.

FAQ

Which fruit has vitamin D?

Practically none: bananas, oranges and also avocados are each listed at 0 µg of vitamin D per 100 g in the US nutrient database. Among plant foods, mushrooms are the only notable exception, and only white button mushrooms treated with UV light supply really a lot.

Is cod liver oil a good source of vitamin D?

Yes, cod liver oil is a real concentrate: 5 g, about one teaspoon, contains around 12.5 µg (500 IU) of vitamin D according to the US nutrient database. More isn't better, though. The same 5 g also bring 1,500 µg of vitamin A, and that's already half of the upper limit of 3,000 µg that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has set for adults. As a source of vitamin K2, on the other hand, cod liver oil is not supported by evidence.

Is vitamin D lost during cooking?

How much is lost during cooking has been studied surprisingly little for fish, as even the researchers from Boston write in their fish analysis. In the US nutrient database, the values for cooked herring and salmon are calculated from the raw ones and therefore show no measured loss. In our view, how often fish ends up on your plate matters more in the end than whether you steam, bake or fry it.

Does vitamin D from food need fat?

Vitamin D is fat-soluble and is absorbed better with a little fat in the meal, but without fat as well. Fatty fish brings its own fat along anyway. How much difference that makes with supplements is covered in our article on when to take vitamin D, and what fat-soluble means beyond that is explained in the article on vitamin E and the fat-soluble vitamins.

Is vitamin D from a supplement as good as vitamin D from food?

Yes, vitamin D3 is the same molecule in fish, in your skin and in a supplement. How well even a small daily amount gets through is shown by a British winter study with 335 women: those who got 15 µg (600 IU) of vitamin D3 every day for twelve weeks, added to juice or a biscuit, saw their blood level rise by around 42 nmol/l more than the placebo group. With the same amount of D2, it rose clearly less. A supplement has the big advantage that it doesn't depend on what happens to be on your plate.

Disclaimer:

This article is for informational purposes only and does not replace medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment by a physician or pharmacist. The information provided here should not be used for self-diagnosis or self-treatment. Food supplements are no substitute for a balanced, varied diet and a healthy lifestyle. For any health questions or complaints, please always consult a doctor you trust. Fifty Five accepts no liability for any inconvenience or harm resulting from the use of the information presented here.

Sources

1. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung (DGE) [German Nutrition Society]: Referenzwerte für die Nährstoffzufuhr, Vitamin D (reference values for nutrient intake, vitamin D). Derivation as of 2012. dge.de
2. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung (DGE) [German Nutrition Society]: Ausgewählte Fragen und Antworten zu Vitamin D (selected questions and answers on vitamin D), with a table based on Souci/Fachmann/Kraut 2008. Last updated September 30, 2025. dge.de
3. Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung (BfR) [German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment]: Ausgewählte Fragen und Antworten zu Vitamin D (selected questions and answers on vitamin D), table based on the German Nutrient Database (Bundeslebensmittelschlüssel) 3.02. As of December 30, 2025. bfr.bund.de
4. U.S. Department of Agriculture: FoodData Central, SR Legacy. Entries mackerel, salmon, farmed, salmon, sockeye, herring, rainbow trout, farmed, cod, sardines in oil, tuna in water, tuna in oil, egg, egg yolk, white button mushrooms, chanterelles, cod liver oil, avocado, banana, orange (accessed October 1, 2026)
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