gut-health · 2 min read
High fiber vegetables, ranked by fiber per cup
The highest fiber vegetables are green peas at about 9 g a cup and artichoke at roughly 7 g each, followed by winter squash, broccoli and collard greens at 5 to 6 g. Most other vegetables land between 3 and 5 g per cooked cup.
Written by Lifebar Desk · Checked against the sources listed below
Published 20 Sept 2026
Key takeaways
- Green peas lead common vegetables at roughly 9 g of fiber per cooked cup.
- Artichoke is the densest single vegetable, at about 7 g for a medium globe.
- Leafy salad greens are low in fiber by volume, a large bowl of lettuce contributes about 1 g.
- Cooking does not destroy fiber, it collapses volume, so a cooked cup holds far more than a raw one.
Vegetables are the food group people most associate with fiber and most overestimate. The good ones are very good. The salad most people picture is not one of them.
The ranking
| Vegetable | Serving | Fiber |
|---|---|---|
| Green peas, cooked | 1 cup | ~9 g |
| Artichoke, cooked | 1 medium | ~7 g |
| Winter squash, cooked | 1 cup | ~5.7 g |
| Broccoli, cooked | 1 cup | ~5 g |
| Collard greens, cooked | 1 cup | ~5 g |
| Spinach, cooked | 1 cup | ~4.3 g |
| Brussels sprouts, cooked | 1 cup | ~4 g |
| Sweet potato, with skin | 1 medium | ~4 g |
| Corn, cooked | 1 cup | ~4 g |
| Carrots, raw | 1 cup | ~3.6 g |
The cooked-versus-raw illusion
Raw spinach looks like more food and delivers less fiber, because a cup of raw leaves weighs about 30 g while a cup of cooked spinach weighs closer to 180 g. Nothing was created by cooking. The volume simply collapsed, and more of the vegetable now fits in the measure.
Why peas sit at the top
Green peas are botanically a legume, which is exactly why they outperform the rest of the vegetable drawer. The same pattern shows up everywhere in fiber tables: anything in the bean and pulse family carries several times the fiber of a comparable vegetable serving.
Building a realistic day
Three generous vegetable servings gets most people to roughly 12 to 15 g. Combined with fruit and a whole grain, that lands near the 25 g mark for women. Reaching 38 g without legumes means eating a genuinely large volume of food, which is the practical argument for beans rather than an ideological one.
One caveat
Skins matter here as much as with fruit. Peeling potatoes, squash and carrots removes a meaningful fraction of their fiber, and in the case of a potato most of it. Scrubbing rather than peeling is the cheapest upgrade available.
Frequently asked
Which vegetable has the most fiber?
Green peas top the list of everyday vegetables at roughly 9 g per cooked cup, which is technically a legume. Among vegetables proper, a medium globe artichoke leads at about 7 g.
Does cooking destroy fiber?
No. Fiber is not heat sensitive the way vitamin C is. Cooking softens the structure and collapses volume, so a cooked cup of spinach contains several times the fiber of a raw cup simply because far more spinach fits in the cup.
Are salads a good source of fiber?
Less than people expect. Lettuce is mostly water, and a large bowl contributes roughly 1 to 2 g. Salads become useful fiber sources when you add beans, seeds, avocado or shredded raw vegetables.
Sources
Educational content, talk to your clinician before changing treatment.
