Yes, eggplant contains a small amount of vitamin K, averaging about 3.5 micrograms per 100 grams of raw eggplant.
Many people who watch their vitamin K intake wonder about eggplant. Maybe you love a tray of roasted eggplant, or you rely on it for plant-based meals and want to know how it fits into your daily vitamin K target. Eggplant does contain vitamin K, but the amount is low compared with leafy greens.
This guide walks through how much vitamin K eggplant has per serving, how it compares with spinach or broccoli, and what that means if you take a blood thinner or track vitamin K for bone health. You will also see simple ways to use eggplant alongside other vegetables.
Does Eggplant Have Vitamin K? Quick Answer For Cooks
Data based on USDA sourced tables show that raw eggplant provides about 3.5 micrograms of vitamin K per 100 grams, which equals roughly three percent of the daily value for an average adult. In simple terms, eggplant has vitamin K, but counts as a low vitamin K vegetable.
A typical cup of raw eggplant cubes weighs around eighty to ninety grams. That serving gives close to three micrograms of vitamin K. A full medium eggplant, peeled, can weigh over four hundred grams and delivers around sixteen micrograms of vitamin K, still only a small share of a full day’s target for most adults.
To see where eggplant sits in context, it helps to compare it with other common vegetables that people eat when they track vitamin K.
| Vegetable (Raw, Per 100 g) | Vitamin K (Approx. µg) | Vitamin K Category |
|---|---|---|
| Eggplant | 3.5 | Low |
| Zucchini | 4–5 | Low |
| Cucumber (with peel) | 15–20 | Moderate |
| Broccoli | 90–100 | High |
| Romaine lettuce | 100+ | High |
| Kale | 300–400 | Very high |
| Spinach | 400–500 | Very high |
In this comparison, eggplant sits near the bottom of the vitamin K range. That matters if you prefer to build meals around vegetables that keep vitamin K intake steady but not zero. Eggplant lets you add volume, fiber, and flavor without a large jump in vitamin K on any single plate.
Vitamin K In Eggplant: Amounts, Benefits, And Limits
When you look at vitamin K in eggplant more closely, the amounts stay small across common serving sizes. One cup of cooked eggplant, boiled and drained, usually lands in the range of eight to twelve micrograms of vitamin K. That comes from water loss concentrating nutrients as the vegetable softens.
For most adults, the daily suggested intake of vitamin K is around ninety micrograms for women and one hundred twenty micrograms for men, based on guidance from the National Institutes of Health. Eggplant contributes a slice of that goal rather than the bulk of it. Two cups of cooked eggplant might bring you to twenty or so micrograms, which still leaves a large margin for higher vitamin K foods on the same day.
People often ask whether eggplant vitamin K levels make it safe to eat freely on warfarin or similar medications. No single food is completely “free” of vitamin K, and that includes eggplant. The helpful way to think about it is consistency. Regular servings of low vitamin K vegetables such as eggplant can fit into a stable eating pattern because each portion adds only a small amount.
Eggplant provides fiber, small amounts of B vitamins, and minerals such as potassium and manganese with very low calories.
How Does Eggplant Vitamin K Compare With Leafy Greens?
A quick comparison makes the gap clear. Where one hundred grams of raw eggplant give about three and a half micrograms of vitamin K, the same weight of raw spinach can reach four hundred eighty micrograms or more. Broccoli lands around one hundred micrograms per one hundred grams, and kale can sit in the high three hundreds per one hundred grams.
If you build a stew or pasta sauce that mixes eggplant with spinach or kale, the greens supply nearly all of the vitamin K while eggplant mostly adds texture and flavor. Swapping some of the leafy greens for extra eggplant can trim the total vitamin K in a recipe, though the greens will still dominate the vitamin K side of the nutrition panel.
For someone who needs a lower vitamin K pattern, eggplant can replace part of a portion of kale, collards, or spinach while still keeping the dish colorful and satisfying.
Where Eggplant Fits In Daily Vitamin K Planning
Does Eggplant Have Vitamin K? The answer matters most for people who match their vitamin K intake to a medical plan. A single cup of cooked eggplant, at roughly ten micrograms of vitamin K, makes up a bit more than ten percent of a ninety microgram daily target and less than ten percent of a one hundred twenty microgram target.
That means you can usually fit eggplant into lunch or dinner without crowding out leafy greens, herbs, or other vitamin K sources you enjoy. It also leaves room for extras such as a side salad or a spoonful of pesto without large shifts in overall vitamin K intake.
Eggplant, Vitamin K, And Blood Thinners
The question about eggplant and vitamin K comes up often in clinics that manage warfarin dosing. Vitamin K interacts with this drug, so steady intake matters. Eggplant’s low vitamin K content makes it appealing for people who want vegetables that do not swing their intake wildly from day to day.
If you take warfarin or another vitamin K sensitive blood thinner, the general guidance is to keep vitamin K intake stable rather than extremely low. Leafy greens still have a place, but the portions need to stay fairly even from one week to the next. Low vitamin K vegetables such as eggplant, zucchini, peppers, onions, or mushrooms can fill out the rest of the plate.
Because one full eggplant has about sixteen micrograms of vitamin K, you would need several large servings in a single day before eggplant alone led to a large change in vitamin K intake.
People on warfarin should talk with their doctor or anticoagulation clinic before large shifts in eating patterns. That includes big increases or drops in eggplant based dishes if those meals appear every week.
For people who do not use blood thinners, eggplant vitamin K numbers rarely need special attention.
Cooking Eggplant And Vitamin K Retention
Cooking changes vitamin K content in small ways. Vitamin K dissolves in fat rather than water, so boiling eggplant in plain water can lead to tiny losses, while sautéing with oil may hold slightly more of the original vitamin K in the finished dish.
In practice, the differences stay modest because eggplant starts with such a small vitamin K load. The bigger swings in nutrition come from how much oil, breading, cheese, or sauce you add. A grilled eggplant slice brushed with a little olive oil keeps calories moderate and keeps vitamin K per serving close to the raw baseline.
The table below shows approximate vitamin K values for common eggplant preparations. Actual values vary with recipe, oil amount, and portion size, so treat these figures as broad guides rather than lab level numbers.
| Eggplant Preparation | Typical Serving | Vitamin K (Approx. µg) |
|---|---|---|
| Raw, cubes | 1 cup (85 g) | 3 |
| Boiled, drained | 1 cup cooked | 8–12 |
| Grilled slices | 4–5 medium slices | 6–10 |
| Baked eggplant cubes | 1 cup cooked | 8–12 |
| Eggplant in tomato sauce | 1 cup sauce | 6–10 |
| Breaded and fried slices | 2–3 slices | 6–10 |
Tomato based dishes with eggplant stay fairly low in vitamin K, because tomatoes contribute little vitamin K and the eggplant amount is modest. The same is true for eggplant dips such as baba ganoush when made without large amounts of parsley or other leafy herbs.
If you want to keep vitamin K down in a recipe, the main levers are the mix of vegetables and herbs, not the cooking method. Swapping a large handful of parsley or kale for extra eggplant has far more impact on vitamin K than choosing between baking or grilling.
Should You Eat Eggplant For Vitamin K?
Eggplant brings a lot to the table, but vitamin K is not its strong suit. It works better as a low vitamin K base that lets you control intake from stronger sources. Leafy greens, herbs, and some plant oils carry much higher vitamin K levels and will go on doing the heavy lifting in that part of your diet.
For someone who watches vitamin K numbers closely, eggplant is handy. You can pile it on a pizza, tuck it into sandwiches, or roast it with onions and peppers without moving vitamin K intake very far. As long as the rest of your plate stays steady from day to day, eggplant helps you keep meals interesting while your vitamin K intake stays predictable.
If you want more detail on vitamin K science and daily targets, the National Institutes of Health offers a vitamin K fact sheet that explains roles, suggested intakes, and supplement issues. USDA linked tools such as FoodData Central give nutrient values for specific foods.
In the end, the answer to Does Eggplant Have Vitamin K? is yes, but only a little. That small amount makes eggplant flexible. You can team it with high vitamin K greens when you want a bigger boost, or use it to build hearty low vitamin K meals that keep your intake on a steady, manageable path.