✔ Updated · 40 red foods: fruits, vegetables, beans, grains + seafood
Here are 40 foods that are red, from strawberries and watermelon to beets, radishes and ruby-red tuna. I've grouped them so you can find the red food you need fast.
Common red foods include strawberries, raspberries, cherries, cranberries, pomegranates, watermelon, red apples, red grapes and blood oranges, plus tomatoes, red bell peppers, chili peppers, beets, radishes, red onions, red cabbage and rhubarb. Red kidney beans, red lentils, raw beef, ahi tuna and sockeye salmon are red too, and lobster turns red when cooked.
- Reddest fruits: strawberries, raspberries, pomegranate seeds and red currants.
- Dark red foods: beets, Bing cherries, red kidney beans and radicchio.
- Why they're red: natural pigments like lycopene, anthocyanins and betalains.
Red Fruits and Berries
Fruit is where red really shines. These are the red fruits you'll find most often, plus a few tropical ones worth hunting down.
1. Strawberries
Glossy, bright red berries with tiny seeds on the outside. Sweet and juicy in summer, and the star of shortcake, jam and glazes.
Get the recipe →2. Raspberries
Soft, hollow little berries in a vivid ruby red, sweet-tart and fragrant. Lovely on yogurt, in tarts or folded into whipped cream.
3. Red Cherries
Sweet Bing cherries are deep red; tart Montmorency cherries are bright red and the classic choice for cherry pie.
4. Cranberries
Hard, very tart crimson berries that pop when cooked. Mostly eaten as sauce, dried, or juiced, especially around Thanksgiving.
5. Pomegranate
A leathery red fruit packed with jewel-like ruby seeds (arils) that burst with sweet-tart juice. Great over salads and roasted vegetables.
6. Watermelon
Green outside, bright red and crunchy-juicy inside. A cold wedge is pure summer, and it blends into amazing slushies and popsicles.
Get the recipe →7. Red Apples
Red Delicious, Gala, Fuji and Honeycrisp all wear red skins over crisp, creamy-white flesh. Perfect for snacking, crumbles and pies.
8. Red Grapes
Red seedless grapes like Crimson and Flame are sweet, crisp and bite-size. Freeze them for a cold little snack.
9. Red Plums
Smooth red skins over juicy flesh that ranges from yellow to deep red. Wonderful baked into cakes or simmered into jam.
10. Blood Oranges
An orange with a red-blushed rind and dramatic crimson flesh. The flavor has a hint of raspberry; in season in winter.
11. Red Currants
Tiny, translucent scarlet berries on long stems, very tart. Classic in jellies and summer pudding.
12. Lingonberries
Small, tart red berries from Scandinavia, usually served as a sweet jam next to meatballs and potatoes.
13. Goji Berries
Small, oblong orange-red berries, usually sold dried. Chewy and mildly sweet-tart, like a cross between a cranberry and a raisin.
14. Red Dragon Fruit
A bright pink-red fruit with green-tipped scales. Red-fleshed varieties are magenta inside with tiny black seeds and a mild, kiwi-like taste.
15. Lychee
A rough, red shell that peels away to reveal juicy, translucent white flesh with a floral, grape-like flavor.
16. Rambutan
A red fruit covered in soft, hair-like spines. Inside is sweet, juicy white flesh similar to lychee.
17. Prickly Pear
The fruit of the nopal cactus. Red varieties have deep magenta flesh with a sweet, melon-like taste. Handle with gloves; the skin has tiny spines.
Red Vegetables
From sweet peppers to earthy beets, these vegetables bring a big pop of red to the plate. For even more, see my full guide to red vegetables.
18. Tomatoes
Technically a fruit, but cooked like a vegetable. Ripe red tomatoes are sweet, tangy and the base of countless sauces.
Get the recipe →19. Red Bell Peppers
Sweet, crunchy and fully ripened, so they're milder and sweeter than green peppers. Great raw, roasted or blended into soup.
Get the recipe →20. Red Chili Peppers
From mild Fresno to fiery Thai bird chilies, red chilies bring heat and color. Dried, they become paprika, cayenne and chili flakes.
Get the recipe →21. Beets
Earthy, sweet roots with deep red-purple flesh that stains everything it touches. Roast them, pickle them or grate them raw into salads.
22. Red Onions
Purple-red layers with a sharper, sweeter bite than yellow onions. My go-to for salsas, salads and quick pickles.
23. Radishes
Crisp, peppery little roots with bright red skins and white insides. Slice them thin over tacos or eat them with butter and salt.
24. Red Cabbage
A dense, purple-red head with a slightly peppery crunch. Brilliant in slaw or quick-pickled, when it turns a vivid magenta.
Get the recipe →25. Radicchio
A burgundy-red Italian chicory with white veins and a pleasantly bitter bite. Lovely grilled or tossed into salads.
26. Rhubarb
Pink-to-red stalks that are very sour, so they're cooked with sugar into crumbles, pies and jams. Only the stalks are eaten; the leaves are not edible.
Get the recipe →27. Red Potatoes
Thin red skins over waxy white flesh that holds its shape. Ideal for potato salad and skin-on smashed potatoes.
28. Red Leaf Lettuce
Soft, ruffled leaves with deep red-burgundy tips and a mild, sweet flavor. A pretty base for any salad.
29. Red Swiss Chard
Dark green leaves on bright ruby-red stems. Sauté the stems first, then the leaves, with garlic and olive oil.
30. Red Amaranth
Sometimes sold as red spinach: tender leaves streaked with magenta. Cook it like spinach in stir-fries and curries.
Red Beans, Lentils and Grains
31. Red Kidney Beans
Large, deep red beans with a creamy center, the heart of chili and Louisiana red beans and rice. Always boil dried kidney beans hard for 10 minutes before simmering.
Get the recipe →32. Adzuki Beans
Small, reddish-brown beans with a sweet, nutty flavor, cooked with sugar into the red bean paste used in many Asian desserts.
33. Red Lentils
Sold as small coral-red split lentils (they cook up golden). They melt into a creamy texture in about 15 minutes, perfect for dal and soup.
34. Red Rice
Whole-grain rice with a reddish-brown bran layer and a nutty, chewy bite. Cook it like brown rice.
35. Red Quinoa
A red-brown variety of quinoa that holds its shape a little better than white quinoa. Great in grain salads.
Red Meat and Seafood
36. Beef
Raw beef is red from a protein called myoglobin. Steaks, roasts and ground beef all start out red before cooking.
37. Ahi Tuna
Raw yellowfin or bigeye tuna is a deep ruby red. Sear it on the outside for steaks, or slice sushi-grade tuna for poke.
38. Sockeye Salmon
The reddest salmon there is, with deep red-orange flesh and a rich flavor. It cooks fast, so watch it closely.
39. Red Snapper
A white-fleshed fish with bright pinkish-red skin. Lovely roasted whole or pan-fried with lemon and herbs.
40. Lobster
Live lobsters are dark blue-green; cooking turns the shell bright red. Sweet, tender meat that loves melted butter.
Get the recipe →Why Are Some Foods Red?
Red color in food comes from a few natural pigments. Lycopene makes tomatoes and watermelon red. Anthocyanins color strawberries, cherries, red cabbage and red onions, and they shift from red to purple to blue depending on acidity, which is why red cabbage turns bright pink when you pickle it. Betalains give beets and red dragon fruit their intense magenta.
In meat and fish, the red comes from proteins: myoglobin in beef and tuna, and a pigment called astaxanthin in salmon, which the fish get from the tiny crustaceans they eat. Lobster shells contain astaxanthin too, bound to a protein that hides the red until heat releases it.
Fun Ways to Cook With Red Foods
- A red salad: radicchio, red leaf lettuce, sliced radishes, pomegranate seeds and a few strawberries with a balsamic dressing.
- Valentine's dinner: roasted red pepper soup, seared ahi tuna and a raspberry dessert.
- Natural red coloring: a spoonful of beet juice or freeze-dried strawberry powder tints frosting pink-to-red without artificial dye.
- Kids' color game: build a plate where everything is red. Cherry tomatoes, watermelon cubes and red grapes make it easy.
More Foods by Color
Working through the rainbow? See my lists of foods that are blue, foods that are black, white foods and pink vegetables.
Frequently Asked Questions
What food is red?
Strawberries, cherries, raspberries, cranberries, pomegranates, watermelon and red apples are the most familiar red foods. Red vegetables include tomatoes, red bell peppers, chili peppers, beets, radishes and red onions. Raw beef, ahi tuna and cooked lobster are red too.
What foods are dark red?
Dark red foods include beets, Bing cherries, red kidney beans, radicchio, pomegranate seeds, red currants and raw tuna. Blood oranges and sockeye salmon have deep red flesh, and dried cranberries and goji berries darken to a dark ruby color.
What vegetables are red?
Red vegetables include tomatoes (botanically a fruit), red bell peppers, red chili peppers, beets, radishes, red onions, red cabbage, radicchio, rhubarb, red potatoes, red leaf lettuce, red Swiss chard and red amaranth.
Are there red foods for a color-themed party?
Yes, lots. Strawberries, raspberries, cherry tomatoes, watermelon cubes, red grapes and red pepper strips make easy finger food. For sweets, try strawberry desserts, red velvet cupcakes or anything topped with fresh raspberries.
Is red velvet cake naturally red?
Not usually. Old recipes got a reddish-brown tint from cocoa reacting with buttermilk and vinegar, but most red velvet cakes today use red food coloring. Some bakers use beet juice for a natural red.
