Cricket Protein and Iron: The Micronutrient Edge Hiding in Your Snack

We talk a lot about protein when it comes to crickets — and rightly so. But there is a quieter story worth telling: the micronutrients packed into cricket protein. Iron, zinc and vitamin B12 are three nutrients many people don't get enough of, and it turns out crickets carry surprising amounts of all three. If you have ever wondered whether a snack can pull double duty, this one is for you.

Why iron, zinc and B12 deserve your attention

Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency in the world, and women, growing kids, vegetarians and frequent blood donors are especially prone to it. Low iron leaves you tired, foggy and short of breath. Zinc quietly supports your immune system and wound healing, while vitamin B12 keeps nerves and red blood cells healthy — and B12 is notoriously hard to get from plants alone. For anyone eating less red meat, these three can slip through the cracks.

What the research says about crickets and micronutrients

A 2025 systematic review in Nutrition Research Reviews looked across dozens of studies and concluded that edible insects are generally either "sources of" or "rich in" iron, zinc and vitamin B12 — and that their levels are often comparable to or higher than lean beef, pork, poultry and kidney beans. In other words, gram for gram, crickets can hold their own against the classic iron-rich foods.

An earlier review, Insects as sources of iron and zinc in human nutrition, made a similar case: crickets and other insects can meaningfully contribute to iron and zinc intake, and the authors highlighted intervention studies where cricket-enriched foods improved iron status in at-risk groups such as young children.

The numbers back it up. Analyses of cricket powder report iron in the region of roughly 5 to 8 mg per 100 g and zinc around 12 to 25 mg per 100 g, according to a comprehensive overview of edible crickets published in Food Materials Research. Those are respectable figures for a food that also happens to be high in protein.

But is that iron actually absorbed?

Great question — and it is the one nutrition scientists care about most. Iron in food is only useful if your body can take it up. A randomised, crossover stable-isotope study in humans (the gold standard for measuring absorption) tested iron uptake from edible house crickets and found it was measurable and broadly in line with conventional dietary sources, though not identical to the iron in beef. Laboratory (in vitro) work has gone further, reporting that iron bioaccessibility from house crickets can be comparable to sirloin beef.

The honest takeaway: crickets are a genuinely promising source of well-absorbed minerals, and researchers are still fine-tuning how processing affects that absorption. This isn't hype — it's an area of active, credible study.

A note on B12

Vitamin B12 is the one that stumps most plant-forward eaters, because reliable plant sources are rare. Crickets are interesting here: the systematic review found insect B12 levels that rival or exceed those in beef, likely produced by the microbes living in the crickets' gut. It is one more reason edible insects are being studied as a tool against micronutrient deficiencies worldwide.

Where HexaCrunch fits in

Here's the honest framing: a 30g pack of HexaCrunch is a snack, not a supplement, and we would never dress it up as one. But that's rather the point. Instead of reaching for chips that give you nothing but salt and oil, you can reach for baked cricket protein rice crackers that bring protein and a dose of the minerals your body quietly needs — all in flavours like Charred Ember BBQ, Siam Blaze Tom Yum and Crimson Burn Paprika.

Small swaps add up. Trade one boring snack for a smarter one, a few times a week, and you are nudging your intake of iron, zinc and B12 in the right direction without thinking about it.

Curious to taste the crunch behind the nutrition? Our Try-All 3-Pack lets you sample all three flavours in one go — a low-commitment way to see which one earns a permanent spot in your snack drawer.

The bottom line

Cricket protein isn't just about protein. The research increasingly points to crickets as a credible source of iron, zinc and vitamin B12 — nutrients that are genuinely hard to get enough of, especially as more of us cut back on red meat. It won't replace a balanced diet, but as far as snacks go, it is a rare one that gives something back.

Sources

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