These Whole 30 recipes or Whole30 recipes, it seems to change on if it is one word or two, are centered around blissfully tasting every ingredient in each bite. I love recipes that let you taste what you can smell and feel as you cook. Whole30 allows you to enhance your taste buds as you get back to natural and the more rounds I do the more I can taste. We amplify this process by creating recipes with just a few ingredients that are so easy they teach you how to cook and how to personalize recipes to your tastes.
What is Whole 30?
Whole 30 is definitely what it sounds like. You eliminate everything but whole foods. Whole 30 is similar to paleo in that there’s no grains or dairy, and then you also eliminate alcohol and any sweetener whatsoever. After 30 days of elimination, you add things back one by one then hop back into Whole 30 for two days. After those two days introduce another thing. You learn you.
It’s a personal experience that can really challenge all the foodie emotions that you carry and it’s a great healing opportunity.
Tools You Need to Kickstart Your Whole 30
When I first started Whole30 a friend told me the basics of it basically being paleo with no added sweeteners. I may have just run with that and not added fat to meals or known to avoid MSG. They pushed me to go to the website and actually read the book because just hearing about it isn’t going to give you all the tools you need. Seriously, the book is super important to read so all of you, emotionally, physically, and mentally know what you’re doing and why. By about the 6th day you’ll really need to know why.
What Essentials Do You Need to Start Whole30?
Outside of the It Starts with Food book, I’ve created a list of my top Whole30 staples of what I consider essential and cannot survive a Whole30 without, which is mostly mayo. Also, the things I use just to take my mouth to flavor town.
Whole30 Tips and Tricks
After completing five rounds of Whole30 this is the advice I would have given myself from the start. The main thing is to be gentle and loving with yourself. Whole30 can quickly become a diet if you scold yourself or say “I can’t have this” which all can be harmful to your mind and body. Redirecting into self-love and saying “I’m choosing not to eat this right now so my body can heal back to its natural state of health” will heal you even more than food.
If you’re doing a Whole 30 lettuce know how it’s going in the comments!
Whole 30 Recipes
Whole 30 30 Second Mayo
To start this list of recipes we have to start with the condiment I use daily. Mayo. Mayo is super delicious when you make it yourself, and I mean lick it off the blender delicious. Fresh eggs with just squeezed lemon juice is filled with flavor that you have to make to experience. If you aren’t down to make it then check out our list of Whole30 store-bought mayos here (we tried 6 to find the best one).
And now for a drumroll filled with the sound of butterfly wings in the distance. It’s time to celebrate the flavors of herbs and brightness with these recipes. Fill yourself with fresh tomatoes, just-picked herbs, and bright flavors. This first round of recipes is to show off how fresh and easy Whole 30 recipes can be.
Easy As Bread Lettuce Wrapped Sandwich
Although I love more complex recipes it’s always a bliss to go back to basics. Lettuce sandwiches are bright, filling, and leave you feeling you can dance all day in the sun. We laid out four different lettuces and all the innards one day as a picnic and feasted on it all day. It was magically delicious. The burst of heirloom tomatoes and the pop of basil or chives really shows off the herbs in the simplest of ways.
In this lettuce-wrapped sandwich guide you just layout let lettuce like bread, add your meat and dressings, then cut it in half. This way you don’t need to do a full-on lettuce wrap with paper and rolling, you can make life as easy as a sandwich. Lettuce leaves are strong enough to hold up tons of toppings, and you feel so refreshed all day from eating this Whole 30 sandwich lettuce style.
Protip: You can easily use lettuce wraps for burgers or hot dogs as well.
Whole30 Bell Pepper Taco Bowls
These Whole30 bell pepper taco bowls taste like everything I love about tacos. When it comes to tacos the best part is the beef bursting with the spices of cumin, chipotle, and a hint of cayenne. Top the beef with nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor. You can either make your own blend of spices or use pre-packaged spice blends like Siete’s or Primal Palate.
If you aren’t a fan of bell peppers feel free to sub the base for lettuce and create a salad or use sweet potatoes for a taco-filled sweet potato bowl. Sometimes I just eat the whole pound of beef straight from the bowl. My favorite food is tacos and growing up I petitioned my family to eat them every day. My identical twin on the other hand hated tacos and loved bean soup (my least favorite meal). Crazy times. Now I live in Austin, TX and well….we’re actually famous for tacos.
Whole 30 BBQ Chicken
As a Texan BBQ is life. I grew up with BBQ from Cooper’s and now live in Austin. I live about fifteen minutes from Franklin’s BBQ and ten from LA Barbecue (female-owned and in my opinion more epic than Franklin’s). So basically, I spent a lot of time on this recipe experimenting with a BBQ sauce that honors my BBQ life and lets you taste variations of what BBQ can be.
I’m working on a separate post for BBQ sauce because the variety of sauce is what can really make BBQ sing. In Texas, we have espresso BBQ sauce, pepper BBQ sauce, vinegary BBQ sauce, and also mild. All shine in their own way and usually, you get about five sauces and switch it up throughout the meal.
We used the grill rack and oven to craft up this Whole 30 BBQ chicken. Feel free to use the grill or check out the air fryer recipe below. The BBQ glaze is sweetened by coconut aminos and is made tangy by apple cider vinegar. Salty, sweet, tomatoey by ketchup, and tangy are everything you need for BBQ.
Sidenote: We also added ways to personalize the sauce so you can adjust it to your taste. If you want a tangier BBQ glaze up the apple cider vinegar etc.
Whole 30 Salsa Verde
I only recently learned that salsa verde just uses green tomatoes rather than red, which have a more zest citrusy taste to them. This salsa verde uses tomatillos, jalapeno, roasted garlic, and onion and can be created in less than thirty minutes. We use roasted garlic for that extra umami and it’s freaking delicious. Now that I’ve made my own salsa I’m never going back because it’s so easy and adding sea salt just bursts all the flavors forward.
Tomatillo salsa is super fresh so make sure to consume it within a week.
Whole 30 Tilapia with Salsa Verde
After you create salsa verde here’s what to create next, and then create it again and again. Addictively delicious Whole30 tilapia is an amazing Whole 30 summer recipe because it combines buttery, ghee filled fish with fresh roasted salsa. If you’ve never tried fish and salsa together make sure you cannot say that a year from now. It’s life-changing.
Besides using tilapia try this with any white fish like mahi-mahi or cod. We haven’t tried it with salmon yet so if you wish to be bold and go where we haven’t before let us know in the comments how your mouth adventure went.
Peaches and Lavender Pork Chops with Fresh Basil – One Pan & Whole 30
Lavender is so incredible in meat recipes. If you’ve only had it in baked goods then give it a go anywhere from steak to chicken to fish. Adding lavender to beef burgers is so so delicious. Start with a pinch as lavender is so strong. The floral flavor is incredible and it pairs beautifully with seared peaches and pan-seared pork chops. We sear the pork then simmer the chops in some broth to get really juicy, flavor-filled pork.
Whole 30 Cilantro Lime Turkey Burgers
I freaking love turkey. Turkey is so moist and it takes on flavor wayyy more than beef. For these burgers we use fresh lime zest and cilantro. You can roast the tomatoes in the pan after crafting the burgers for extra flavor. We use butter lettuce for the buns and it absorbs so much flavor.
Instead of bread we use butter lettuce leaves for the base and honestly the more you use lettuce and get that extra flavor the less you’ll want to use buns. I’ve been using lettuce for years now and it compliments the burger where bread actually hides it.
Not a fan of cilantro? Use parsley instead.
Simple Baked Eggs and Broccoli
Simple recipes are my favorite. You get to taste each ingredient and really know it’s flavor. In this recipe, you get to really taste how well broccoli and egg go together. If you want a snack then go for this because you’ll get fat, protein, and veggie all in one.
Whole30 Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi Easy Chicken Soup
For deliciously warm and comforting 4 ingredient soup turn to our chicken soup recipe. We keep it simple for comfort and for those days you need some healing and don’t feel like cooking. Feel free to change out the veggies from carrots and potatoes to any roots you like or simmer softer veggies at the end.
Whole 30 Drinks
Whole30 drinks are that delicious mouth time that you need when craving all of the cupcakes. Adding flavor to your life however you can is what can easily get you through a Whole30. When you crave sugar have a flavor-filled drink instead. We also have a full list of Whole 30 recipes for drinks that includes DIY and also store-bought for on the go options.
Cold Brew Coffee Tutorial
For a guide on how to make cold brew coffee check out the link above. The best thing about cold brew coffee is that you can a whole batch of it in bulk, condensed, and then drink it for days.
Whole30 Coffee Smoothie
Freeze some of the coffee into cubes and blend them up into this delicious smoothie. Affectionally termed the hangover smoothie this smoothie is really filling and ah-mazing. Obviously you won’t be having alcohol on Whole30 but this smoothie is amazing at all times and makes a great breakfast.
Whole 30 Slow Cooker Apple Cider
I blissing love apple cider. I remember every Christmas we would travel to a mysterious place (because I never asked where we went to keep it that way) and after a walk along the Christmas lights we would happen upon a cabin. The cabin was filled with the smell of cookies and warm cider from a large pot. A kind old lady would fill our glasses, hand us cookes, and we would walk in the dark, guided by a fire for light then sit around it and listen to stories. The stories always changed and so did the people so it felt like times of old that my soul longs for.
So naturally as I got older and still haven’t asked where that place was, because as an adult the magic might leave, I’ve learned to make my own cider and fill my home with the smells of cinnamon and times of old.
Whole30 Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi Apple Cider
Pressure cooker apple cider takes only an hour to make, compared to the slow cooker way that takes four hours. The flavor is freaking amazing and filled with apple bliss, and cinnamon, and whole spices.
Whole30 Chai Latte
Speaking of warmth and spices, this chai latte is incredibly easy to make and is naturally sweet from the coconut milk. I love how soothing and warm and spicy this drink is and the chai I used lasts for a very long time.
Sweet and Spicy Immunity Turmeric Latte
The healing properties of turmeric are an ancient wisdom that we’re finally learning about here in the states. When I need the full power of healing I down this latte every morning for a week and it feels so freaking good. My body feels the affects immediately and it tastes wonderfully sweet. The pepper adds the spice and is needed to activate the turmeric powers within you.
Slow Cooker Pear Cider
If you love the sweet earthiness of pears like I do then try a twist on apple cider. Pear cider has a different type of sweet juiciness that also pears 😉 amazingly with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
Whole30 Air Fryer Recipes
These Whole 30 recipes are made in the air fryer and celebrate the art of the crisp. We got the Ninja Foodi a year ago, a pressure cooker air fryer combo, and now we air fry nearly every day. The air fryer isn’t just brilliant for frozen chicken nuggets or fries. Air fryers are amazing for veggies, burgers, homemade sweet potato fries, and even zoodles. The air fryer also saves money since you aren’t heating up an entire oven to cook. All the magic happens in a hug-sized air fryer. I have hugged the Foodi before, it felt amazing. I’m very much in love.
Air fryers are bliss at reheating food too. You can take a casserole, veggies, or meat and just air fry them at 350 for 5-10 minutes and the food has that fresh cooked texture with minimal effort.
What is the Ninja Foodi?
The thing about the Ninja Foodi is that it was designed to be wide and hold things like entire turkey thighs. You can pressure cook something and then broil, bake or air crisp it (they’re trying to change the fried wording since it’s pretty myth like as it is more crispy than fried tasting). Read our one year review of the Ninja Foodi here.
I used the instant pot for a year and while it created delicious food I really started to miss crispy food, especially when doing a Whole 30. The Ninja Foodi can bake, broil, air crisp, steam, dehydrate and make yogurt just like the Instant Pot can. Instead of taking a full chicken to the oven to broil and having to energize the whole oven with heat, you just dump out the water, put the basket back in, and air fry or broil it in the same device.
While we used the Ninja Foodi for these recipes any air fryer will work. Only cook as many ingredients in your air fryer as you can fit into the air fryer without them touching. You want the circulation of heat in the air fryer to be able to move between the ingredients for maximum air crisping.
Best Air Fryer Equipment to Keep it Easy
Meat Thermometer – Because air fryers can vary in size, the best way to know when meat is ready is to do it with a thermometer. We use them often in recipes.
Oil Spray Bottle – Investment that then saves a blisston. Oil spray bottles with the oil already in them are double the price of just buying the oil so make this one time investment then fill it with oil for years to come.
Silicone Tongs – To avoid scratching your air fryer grab these tongs to flip your dishes with.
Why Air Frying is Amazing for Cooking Meat
For crispy air fried chicken, turkey, or any meat we use the air fryer for rapid convection. The heat in the air fryer crisps the skin and as the fat renders it self-bastes the meat and it becomes extra juicy with barely any work. Just spray the thighs, breasts, legs, or wings with oil, salt them, herb them, and walk away. You can also dance away if you’re feeling it.
List of Whole30 Air Fryer Recipes
Whole30 Air Fryer Turkey Thighs
Watch our Video on How to Make Air Fried Turkey Thighs:
These deliciously crispy thighs were one of the first Whole30recipes we tried in the air fryer and they were mouth changing. The crispiness on the skin with the juice locked inside was like the perfect harmony of crunch, salt, and turkey, You can add any herbs you want to these, from Italian seasoning to rosemary.
If available try using fresh rosemary and taste how incredibly the herb infuses into the meat just by laying it over the top. Thyme also tastes brilliant. I made chicken for my dad once and only used fat, salt and fresh rosemary and he kept trying to add more. “Trust”, I said. He walked away with a skeptical face but once he ate I saw respect at first bite. He now knows you can get all the flavor you need from one herb. I find just using one herb means you get to fully appreciate and understand the full flavor of that flavor.
Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
I love bacon-wrapped everything. If there were a bacon-wrapped cake, I would eat it. I consulted Google and Betty Crocker does have a bacon-wrapped cake. I must also say that chocolate-covered bacon became my favorite thing after Rule.me showed me the true world of chocolate possibilities.
Our air fryer bacon-wrapped asparagus is superior to using the oven because you don’t have to flip it or heat up a whole oven. Even without a flip, the air fryer circulates hot air and crisps the whole thing. You can watch Netflix the whole time the asparagus is cooking while breathing in bacon-filled air. It’s like a bacon sauna.
Whole30 Air Fryer Chicken Recipes
Considering “it tastes like chicken” is a way of saying “it’s safe and delicious” here in the US it’s pretty obvious how much we love it here. These Whole30 air fryer chicken recipes celebrate my childhood and Texan life. There’s chicken nuggets, BBQ chicken and even buffalo wings, because that’s the chicken I grew up on.
Better than Childhood Whole30 Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets
I honestly thought when making these chicken nuggets that I would be disappointed and crave those frozen packaged ones instead. Oh my bliss was I wrong. The chicken is so freaking plump and juicy and the almond flour crisps up so well in the crust that it’s just epic.
Aun tried one nugget and then we devoured a pound in about five minutes, with looks of shock and happiness on our faces because neither of us believed they would be so good. Try these for yourself to know how amazing Whole30 air fryer recipes can be. Fresh chicken tastes so much better.
Whole30 Air Fryer Buffalo Wings
I’m a little obsessed with wings in the air fryer. I never tried deep frying anything so epically crispy at home is a whole new world of yum. The way the skin crisps on the outside and then soaks up buffalo sauce is so delicious and a bit like magic. Magic buffalo chicken wings could be a band name. To make these chicken wings Whole30 we use ghee instead of butter and stick with the classic cayenne pepper sauce since it is Whole30 compliant and why change from the classic when it’s so blissing good? If you’re not feeling like making your own sauce then the New Primal buffalo sauce is also delicious. We also using baking powder (oh yeah, it’s a legit thing) to really crisp up the skins.
Sweet and Tangy Whole30 Air Fryer BBQ Chicken
That BBQ char you get from grilling with delicious sauce can be done in an air fryer and this Whole 30 air fryer BBQ chicken lets you taste it. The sauce is slightly sticky in true BBQ fashion. In the end, we use the cooking sauce from the Ninja Foodi to create an epic dipping sauce and you can easily make one without a Ninja Foodi as well.
Whole30 Air Fryer Zoodles
Not all of our Whole30 air fryer recipes are meat because besides meat being epic air fried, zoodles and tons of veggies fry up incredibly well in the air fryer. Although I think zoodles cooked in a pan are okay, they aren’t able to cook long enough to get crisp. In the air fryer, these zoodles crisp up so well that I’m never going back to the pan. The Whole30 alfredo sauce is super delicious and uses nutritional yeast for that epically cheesy flavor.
Seasonal Whole 30 Recipes
Instant Pot Poached Pears
Pears are a summertime fruit that has such a short season on it. Stone fruit is finicky and has to be eaten quickly but not too quick. I love stone fruit and love the adventure that it is. Poaching the pears removes some guesswork because you can poach them at any time. Instead of using sugar just use water and let the peaches do their own sweet thing.
Also, drink the water. The water tastes like pear juice and it is magically delicious. On another note we torched these once…it really did not work. I recommend not torching.
For these poached pears we used the pressure cooker function on the Ninja Foodi. Feel free to use the Instant Pot or poach them on the stove.
Whole 30 Summertime Baked Salmon with Cherries and Mint
Cherries are so plump, juice and remind me of wine that tastes like the sun. Salmon and fruit is an unusual but beautiful pairing. The salmon compliments the cherries and you get to try a whole new way of eating salmon.
Dandelion Greens Salad for Uplifting Mind Tingles
This was the very first recipe I ever created on this blog. I was feeling wibbly-wobbly for days and eating dandelion greens perked my mind back to bliss. This was back when I was struggling to understand food and how it affected the mind. It’s crazy and beautiful to see my journey since then and where it is now. I still love this salad and will make it with a lot of affection for the journey. Next, we’ll have Whole 30 summer recipes that use my favorite way of cooking, air frying.
Whole30 Food Tips
Make Fresh Food Visible
For your fridge put anything that is about to expire front in center. Out of sight out of mind definitely comes to play with the fridge. If you get lettuce and chard put it in a bowl with water and place it on the bottom shelf of the fridge so it is clearly visible. If you have a crisper door for veggies and get new veggies place the ones that need to be used in the main part of the fridge so you see them first.
If I have veggies that are going bad that day I’ll put them on the counter and leave them there all day so that I eat them for breakfast lunch or dinner.
Common Whole 30 Questions
Does the Whole 30 Help Me Lose Weight?
While you can lose weight on Whole 30 that is not the goal. In fact, the guidelines say to not look at your scale and if you do to start over. The mentality of Whole 30 is to feel good on a much deeper level than a number can show. According to the website: “The scale maintains control of your self-esteem. This is perhaps the most important reason of all to break up with your scale. It’s psychologically unhealthy to allow a number—any number—to determine your worth, your value, or your self-confidence.” Check out the full article on Why to Break Up With Your Scale. With these Whole 30 summer recipes, you’ll also get a lot of energy from fresh food, and summer is such an easy time to do Whole 30 because there’s tons of sun and outside distractions. Feel free to work out on Whole 30. Just listen to your body.
Is the Whole 30 Hard?
Whole 30 can be dependent on several factors and everyone’s experience is different. Your attachment to food, and how long you’ve been eating foods that your body struggles to digest, can directly affect your experience. The Whole 30 isn’t for everyone just like nothing is. Do what works for you.
If you wind up not completing the Whole 30 the first time you try maybe wait a few months and try again. I have done a Whole 30 that only lasted five days and then tried again four moths later and completed 35 days.
Support is crucual on the Whole 30 so try searching #whole30 or #whole30 recipes on Instagram. There’s also a Whole 30 forum where you can share your daily journey with others that are doing a Whole 30 as well. You can also check out this article by Melissa on Whole 30 support groups. My main recommendation is to purchase or borrow from your library It Starts With Food so you can let your logical mind understand the purpose and science behind the Whole30.
Finally, you can get friends to do the Whole30 with you. I’m a little pushy and have learned that it’s not for everyone and I really can’t, and should avoid, forcing others into it. You can easily make friends on the Whole30 forum if your IRL friends are not wanting to do the thing.
How Do I Know if _____ Is Compliant?
Honestly you can just Google it and an answer will pull up. The Whole 30 forum, linked above has the most answers on what is complaint.
How Do I Know If Whole 30 Is Right For Me?
The Whole 30 is something I recommend simply trying to see if it is right for you. Even if you think bread is easy to digest you won’t really know the answer to that, on a personal level until you eliminate it for a while.
Whole 30 is what I recommend for those looking to learn more about their body. If you’re experiencing brain fog, tiredness, insomnia, pain that you don’t understand. The Whole 30 can actually bring out systems as your body heals back to its natural state of health, such as described in the Is This Normal Post by Melissa: “
- Headaches (dull)
- Lethargy
- Sleepiness
- Crankiness
- Brain fog
- Cravings
- General malaise
- Breakouts
- Mild digestive issues (bloating, irregularity)
These are particularly common if, pre-Whole30, you’ve been eating a Standard American Diet (S.A.D.), are coming off a major Carb-a-Palooza binge (starring Sugar ‘n Gluten), or have been following conventional health and fitness recommendations to eat lots of whole grains and low-fat-everything every two hours, six times a day.
In addition, if you have an autoimmune or chronic health condition, it’s not unusual for your specific symptoms (arthritic joints, psoriasis, fatigue, etc.) to get worse before they get better. (This usually happens around the third week of the program; again, we explain why in The Whole30.)”
In reality you won’t get to know how amazing your body can feel unless you reset it. I never knew how much sugar and whatever was affecting me until I felt how beautiful it was to be free of them. Know I can consciously choose if a cupcake is worth it or if my sugar dragon has taken the reigns.
Is Whole 30 Expensive?
Honestly, it does not have to be. First of all, you DO NOT have to buy organic. Do what works for you. Besides buying the book It Starts With Food there’s no supplement or health drink pack you need to buy. Whole 30 is very different from Weight Watchers or programs that require you to buy food.
When I was growing up my mom would randomly do a diet, throw out everything in the house that wasn’t part of her diet, and buy so much food it filled up a whole pantry. I think she would spend $500 every six months on food that she wound up throwing out half of. It was insane to watch and turned me off of dieting forever.
Whole 30 is incredibly delicious and can be way cheaper than other types of eating. As long as you aren’t buying loads of collagen and compliant jerky and snacks that are triple the price as the regular stuff, Whole 30 can be cheaper than usual. If you live on pasta and rice (guilty) then eating three meals a day of fresh veggies and meat can add up. Aun and I together spend around $450 a month on food, and if we cut out sparkling drinks and fruit it would be less.
The main trick to keeping Whole 30 cheap is to save leftovers and I mean all of them. If you have half a chicken thigh and two pieces of broccoli left on your plate then save it. Eat it the next day on top of lettuce. Batch cook meatballs, freeze half of them, and defrost two for each meal. Learning to save money by not wasting food is a skill that can save money for a lifetime.
If you like to eat frozen meals then Walmart now has compliant Whole30 meals. The Whole 30 summer recipes above all cost us around $5 to make.
Thrive Market is another way to save money. They sell high-quality products for cheaper by having a membership model.
Do I Have to Cook All of My Meals?
You can but you don’t have to. Another option is to buy freezer meals from places like Thrive Market. As stated above Walmart even has meals now. When eating at a restaurant you can ask if they know what paleo is and then just ask to avoid any sweeteners. If they haven’t heard of paleo look through the menu and find something that is already compliant or just ask for a salad with a side of bacon and eggs. If they have a cobb salad then you’re good to go, just ask what oil is in the dressing and if there’s any added sugar. You can also bring your own dressing and even ghee for added fat. For more tips check out this article.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this mix of Whole 30 recipes and Whole 30 questions. The whole 30 is so life-changing because it is so personal. Lettuce know about your experience and your favorite recipes in the comments.
Have a bliss full one!