Paleo Grubs
Paleo Grubs -
The Whole30 is a month-long period during which you eat completely paleo, and also cut out sweeteners and baked good substitutes. Even maple syrup and honey! The idea is to eat well and feel good, and reset your body. For your Whole30, try these perfect paleo and Whole30 friendly recipes for dinners, snacks, breakfasts, and side.
1. 4 Ingredient Lemon Pepper Salmon
This simple and easy salmon stir-fry meal is made with ghee, salmon, fresh green beans, sliced lemon, salt, and pepper. You wouldn’t believe how just a handful of totally-unfancy ingredients can create such a fantastic lunch or light dinner for your family.
Photo: Pancake Warriors
2. Asian Salmon Cakes
These fish fritters have a few adjustments in the recipe list to make them Whole30 friendly, all of which are outlined in the post. You’ll want to leave out the GF bread (obviously) and replace it with a bit more coconut flour. Add chia seeds and use coconut aminos instead of tamari.
3. Chipotle Lime Marinated Grilled Pork Chops
These pork chops are easy and juicy with plenty of spicy flavor. Leave yourself at least a few hours of time (if not a full day), because you’ll be marinating these babies with chipotle chilis in adobo sauce, Italian spices, garlic, olive oil, lime juice, fresh cilantro, and sea salt.
4. Creamy Spaghetti Squash With Shrimp Scampi
Leave the optional parmesan cheese out of these recipe and it becomes an awesome Whole30 approved dinner that’s veggie-heavy and also has a dose of meaty protein from the shrimp. If you use homemade bone broth, you’ll be getting an extra healthy serving of gelatin.
5. Loaded Sweet Potato Fries
Speaking of sweet potatoes, these fries are totally delicious and piled on with healthy and yummy toppings like tomato, scallions, homemade guacamole, ground turkey, romaine lettuce, and seasonings. I wouldn’t hesitate to serve this for dinner on a busy weeknight.
Photo: The Urban Poser
6. Pear and Walnut Prosciutto Chicken Salad
You have options with this recipe. For your Whole30, you’ll need to leave out the maple syrup as directed. No big deal, as this chicken salad is amazing anyway. Then it’ll be your choice whether you want to eat this dish plain, or serve it on paleo buns (recipe linked).
7. Garlic Green Beans
With such simple ingredients, these green beans come together for an easy side dish or snack that’s full of garlic flavor. Rice vinegar and clarified butter add extra flavor, with sesame oil and coconut aminos create an Asian-inspired taste. Serve with just about anything!
8. Thai Ground Chicken Salad
This salad is flavored with fish sauce, lime juice and zest, fresh cilantro and mint, and green onions. Chicken broth and ground chicken are a perfectly seasoned base for these wraps, while romaine lettuce serves as a crunchy “cup” standing in for taco shells. Nice and green, and extra tasty.
9. Watermelon Gazpacho
I’m keeping this recipe in the wings for a busy weeknight when I’ve just come in from a sweaty bike ride home from work and it’s too hot to cook. This watermelon gazpacho comes together in only a few minutes and uses wholesome ingredients like red onion, cucumber, and hot peppers.
Photo: Margaret’s Dish
10. Cauliflower Chive Bread
This bread should be used sparingly, because substitutes for non-approved foods (like breads and baked goods) are discouraged on the Whole30. But for an occasional healthy sandwich stuffed with greens, veggies and/or nourishing meats, this cauliflower/coconut flour bread is just the ticket.
11. Summer Squash and Tomatoes With Basil
This easy side dish comes together in about 20 minutes, and features the fresh and light tastes of summer in the form of yellow summer squash, ripe tomatoes, and fresh basil leaves with a hint of extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
12. 30 Minute Chicken Puttanesca
This easy chicken puttanesca is ready in a little more than half an hour, and it’s super tasty as well as healthy. With just chicken breasts, olive oil, sliced onion, garlic, crushed tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, and fresh basil, you can have a delicious Italian dinner at home.
13. Deconstructed Moroccan Chicken Tagine
Tagine is a Moroccan dish traditionally cooked and served in a clay pot filled with vegetables, meats, and plenty of aromatic spices. This one is “deconstructed” and filled with cumin, black pepper, paprika, ginger, cardamom, cilantro, lemon, red onion, and chicken. Yummy!
Photo: Jessi’s Kitchen
14. Breakfast Taco Bowl
Taco bowls for breakfast? You got it. This healthy bowl really could be served for lunch or dinner also, and is sure to fill you up with healthy goodness in the form of grass-fed beef, lettuce, bell pepper, avocado, sauerkraut, and other options like eggs and fried plantain.
15. Lebanese Flatbread
The same goes for this Lebanese flatbread—don’t use it as a crutch! But the ingredients are all Whole30 friendly, so allow yourself a slice if you wish. The best part of this lemon and olive oil drizzled bread is the za’aatar spice blend, which is unique and made with sumac.
16. Fresh Peach Basil Salad
This basil peach salad would be absolutely lovely on chicken, salmon, or with vegetables for a fresh, fun, unique flavor. It’s easy to make in just a few minutes with sweet onion, lime juice, sea salt, fresh peaches, and chopped fresh basil. Basil and peach are a match made in heaven.
17. Chicken Souvlaki With Dairy Free Avocado Tzatziki
This amazing souvlaki version is paleo, Whole30-approved, and absolutely delicious. You’ll use avocado to make a flavorful dairy-free tzatziki you can drizzle over your seasoned chicken, peppers, and onions. There’s a recipe included for paleo tortillas, but feel free to just enjoy the chicken, veggies, and sauce unwrapped if you’d rather!
Photo: Audrey’s Apron
18. Lemon Herb Salmon Patties
These easy salmon patties are held together with eggs and almond flour, and mixed with onion, parsley, basil, garlic, marjoram, and other seasonings. They have a lemony flavor with plenty of fresh herbs, and would make a lovely lunch or light dinner with some greens.
19. Creamy Orange Avocado Smoothie
This smoothie uses a modest amount of fruit along with avocado, making it acceptable for the Whole30 and a great breakfast choice or morning/afternoon snack when you just can’t make it to the next meal. The healthy fats in avocado keep you full!
20. Homemade Hemp Milk
This hemp milk would be a fine addition to smoothies or other drinks for a dose of protein and some added creaminess, and it’s Whole30 approved. You’ll need hemp seeds and water, as well as a cheesecloth or something very fine to strain your hemp milk through.
21. Gazpacho
This traditional recipe for gazpacho uses large tomatoes, cucumbers, bell pepper, garlic, onion, tomato juice, olive oil, fresh herbs, and sherry vinegar. It lacks the sweetness of the watermelon version, and would make a lovely summer dinner or starter dish.
Photo: Goodie Godmother
22. Tom Kha Gai Soup
This spicy and nourishing Thai soup is made with lemongrass, coconut milk, chicken stock, garlic, chili paste, fish sauce, vegetables, fresh lime juice, and more. It’s super flavorful and will wake you up! Make sure whatever coconut milk you choose has no additives, as carrageenan and other ingredients aren’t allowed.
23. Shrimp Alfredo With Zoodles
Alfredo? But that’s cheese! Not this alfredo, actually. This creamy sauce is made from cauliflower, chicken broth, and garlic powder, making it a healthy topping for your zucchini noodles and shrimp.
24. Dehydrator Kale Chips
These kale chips are perfectly snackable and easy to make in your dehydrator—I’ve used a similar recipe when it was just too hot to use the open, and we enjoyed our chips with the seasonings listened, such as garlic, jerk seasoning, cayenne pepper, cayenne, and more.
25. Spicy Romesco Sauce
This Whole30-approved veggie sauce would be perfect over zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash, or even meat! Make it yourself with raw almonds, roasted bell peppers, garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, paprika, red chili flakes, sea salt, and pepper.
Photo: One Lovely Life
26. Slow Cooker Lemon Rosemary Chicken
Being on the Whole30 can be a little bit stressful—your diet is at lest a little bit different than usual and requires more advance planning, and you still have the rest of your busy day to contend with! Make it easier with this slow cooker chicken meal with simple seasonings.
27. Roasted Cauliflower With Mint-Basil Chimichurri
This roasted cauliflower dish is amazing no matter whether you have purple, white, or green cauliflower (although I admit the purple is prettiest). You’ll cook it up with olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper, and dip or top it with a homemade mint and basil chimichurri.
28. Mahi Mahi With Chili Lime Butter
Need a simply-dressed mahi mahi recipe? This one with chili-lime butter will be your best friend. You’ll want to use ghee or clarified butter as your base, and add lime zest and chili powder for the best flavor that will glaze your fish and make it irresistible.
29. Egg Wraps
For this recipe, leave off the cheese as a potential topping and enjoy your healthy paleo egg wraps made with coconut cream, sea salt, spinach, and nitrae-free bacon. Feel free to fill these wraps with anything else you like—avocado, anyone?
Photo: Jay’s Baking Me Crazy
30. Easy Paleo Chili
Everyone loves chili, and this paleo and Whole30-compliant chili recipe is super simple with grass-fed beef, onion, fire roasted tomatoes, and plenty of seasonings. You could serve this over zucchini noodles, or even baked sweet potatoes. Tasty and full of nutrients.
31. Pan Roasted Chilean Sea Bass With Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Roasted red pepper is one of my favorite sauces, so I’m excited about this recipe. You’ll need Chilean sea bass, garlic, shallot, red pepper, balsamic vinegar, red pepper flakes, olive oil, and maybe a few dinner guests you’re looking to impress. Everyone will love this recipe!
32. Cauliflower Soup
This vegan, paleo, Whole30 creamy soup is made with coconut oil, onions, cauliflower, veggie stock, and a dairy-free cream of your choice. I’d recommend simply substituting coconut milk. If you don’t need the soup to be vegan, use bone broth for extra nutrition.
33. Curried Sweet Potato Noodles
With a few adjustments, this amazing recipe becomes Whole30 friendly. Substitute almond or cashew butter for the peanut butter, as suggested. Use coconut aminos or the tamari, and leave out the maple syrup/date. This recipe is simple and delicious.
Photo: Tastes Of Lizzy T’s
34. Antipasto Salad
This awesome paleo and Whole30 friendly salad is made with diced Roma tomatoes, red onion, cucumber, sliced olives, pepperoni, onion, and a delicious red wine vinegar dressing with garlic and fresh herbs. It’s crunchy, savory, refreshing, and so good for your body. Enjoy for lunch or a dinner side dish.
35. Ginger and Spring Onion Egg Drop Soup
Give this nourishing soup a try next time you’re in need of a simple and nutritious meal. It comes together with organic chicken stock (better yet—use any kind of homemade bone broth), coconut aminos, minced ginger, red chili flakes, fish sauce, eggs, zucchini, and spring onions.
36. Five Spice Sweet Potato Soup
Chinese Five Spice Powder turns sweet potatoes into a luscious, seasoned soup with carrots, garlic, and other add-ins. To make sure you keep your soup Whole30 approved, use only toppings that are allowed. No Greek yogurt or chopped peanuts—try coconut yogurt and almonds instead!
37. Mini Spiralized Scallion Hash Brown Cake
This hash brown shouldn’t be your everyday breakfast, as it does use white potato—though you could use sweet potato, which is much more nutritious! The scallions and bacon give this cake and awesome flavor, while egg adds protein and holds the whole thing together.
Photo: The Iron You
38. Chopped BLT Salad
This salad is reminiscent of the favorite bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich, but without the bread! While the ingredients list includes feta cheese, you can certainly leave it off the salad and enjoy your bacon, lettuce, and tomatoes with the simple lime dressing.
39. Creamy Southwestern Coleslaw
You can make this coleslaw while on a Whole30 by leaving out the coconut sugar. You won’t miss it—the lime juice, cumin, dry mustard, garlic powder, cayenne, and other seasonings will perfectly flavor the carrots, cabbage, red pepper, and onion, wile homemade, paleo-friendly mayo makes it creamy.
40. Crock Pot Pulled Pork
Recipes like this one are great to have on hand during a Whole30 month, when sometimes you just can’t bring yourself to the kitchen to get a meal going. An easy and delicious pulled pork recipe that follows all the rules might be exactly what you need to get re-inspired.
41. Easy Chicken Piccata
This chicken piccata dish is made with chicken, oil of choice (either coconut or olive would work well), arrowroot starch, chicken stock, lemon juice, capers, thinly sliced lemons, and parsley. The arrowroot acts as a thickener for the silky, lemony sauce on the chicken.
Photo: The Simple Fare
42. Waldorf Salad
This easy Waldorf salad makes a quick side dish or picnic food anybody will enjoy, even if they aren’t doing a Whole30. You’ll want to make sure your mayo is paleo-friendly, so homemade is best. The shallots, grapes, walnuts, celery, and other ingredients make this chicken salad amazing.
43. Braised Chicken Thighs With Black Tea Blackberry Sauce
This amazing recipe has flavors of blackberries, tea, and fresh herbs over delicious and tender chicken, and it’ll become a new family favorite. Just leave out the honey in this recipe to make it Whole30-approved. The blackberries still add a sweetness balanced by the herbs and onions.
44. Almond Butter and Jelly Smoothie
This smoothie is made with frozen banana, strawberries, cherries, almond milk (you could use coconut milk, too), and almond butter. It’s creamy without any dairy, sweet without sweetener, and packs a dose of protein from the almond butter. Try it with cashew, too!
45. Easy Marinated Grilled Steak Tacos
These awesome steak tacos are made with a marinade of sea salt, black pepper, lime juice, and cumin, and served in romaine lettuce tops. Serve them up with your favorite Whole30 taco toppings, like chopped avocado, tomatoes, cilantro, and salsa.
Photo: Healthful Pursuit
46. Green Coconut Curry
This coconut curry dish is made with chicken, green curry pasta, coconut oil, coconut milk, fish sauce, tomatoes, cabbage, zucchini, green onions, and spaghetti squash. I’m feeling more energetic just talking about the nutrients packed into this dish.
47. Grilled Broccoli With Chili and Garlic
This is one of our favorite ways to enjoy broccoli, and you can enjoy it too, with olive oil, garlic, mild red chili, sea salt and black pepper, and sliced almonds and lemon. We’ve made this broccoli as a side dish and also served it up alone as a simple and healthy lunch.
48. Smashed Potatoes With Hatch Chile Tomatilla Crema
For this recipe, use the cashew sour cream option to blend with your Hatch chiles. This crema is the perfect topping for your delicious, slightly crispy-crunchy smashed potatoes with flaky sea salt and garlic. So yummy. This would make a great party dish!
49. Creamy Eggplant Tomato Soup
This magical soup is made creamy with cashews, and is full of vegetables and broth (bone broth would be perfect). To make it paleo and Whole30, use coconut aminos in place of the soy sauce/tamari, or just leave it out as the recipe lists this ingredient as optional, anyway.
Photo: Yurielkaim
50. Instant Mood Boost Smoothie
When you make this smoothie, leave out the honey or maple syrup. You don’t need it, anyway! The coconut water, raspberries, blueberries, banana, and other ingredients are enough to satisfy your sweet tooth in a way that’s still vitamin-rich and good for your body. And this one’s a rainbow, too!
51. Watermelon Mint Jicama Salad
This simple salad is a great way to enjoy jicama, and takes only a few minutes to throw together with fresh watermelon, lime juice, finely chopped mint, and cayenne pepper if you want to add a kick of spice. You could always add less than a teaspoon—it’s hot!
52. Burrito Bowls
These burrito bowls are easy to make with garlic, chicken, cauliflower rice, and other components, and they’re perfect for a date night dinner with your love. Rich in nutrients and bean-free, they’re paleo and Whole30 friendly and won’t leave you feeling stuffed.
53. Indian Spiced Flank Steak With Cilantro Pistachio Pesto
This unique pesto sauce is an amazing condiment for a perfectly tender and well-seasoned flank steak rubbed with ground chili powder, cumin, coriander, garlic, onion, ginger, cinnamon, and clove. When you make the pesto, just leave the sweetener out—it’s not necessary anyway.
Photo: Sew Simmer And Share
54. Summer Melon Smoothie
While desserts and sweet treats (even with “allowed” ingredients) are discouraged on the Whole30, fruit is a-okay as long as you aren’t eating too much of it, and this melon smoothie makes a lovely sweet-and-spicy drink to enjoy for a mid-morning or afternoon snack. It’s so pretty, too!
55. Curried Cauliflower Steaks
This recipe couldn’t be any easier. Slicing your cauliflower into “steaks” is a beautiful way to serve them that showcases their elegant shape, and the curry sauce is just curry powder, ginger, olive oil, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. So easy and tasty!
56. Kale Detox Salad
If you’re on a Whole30, you’re already doing an extra healthy form of detoxing. But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy this easy kale salad with sprouts (of your choice—they don’t have to be alfalfa), avocado, kale, and a yummy lemon and nutritional yeast dressing.
57. Easy Paleo Pho
In an ideal world, we would all be making our own bone broth every week. After all—it’s not that hard, right? But sometimes life gets the better of us, and we need a shortcut. You can use Bare Bones Broth to make this paleo pho, which is super tasty and spicy.
Photo: Strength And Sunshine
58. Italian Chicken Meatballs With Sweet Potato Spaghetti
These yummy and kid-friendly meatballs are served with a homemade and vegetable-rich sauce full of flavorful seasonings and over spiralized sweet potatoes for a “spaghetti” that’s healthy and packed with nutrients. No more pasta bloat after dinner!
59. Crispy Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries
We’ve all tried to make baked sweet potato fries and had them turn out limp and mushy, right? The secret is this mixture of tapioca and coconut flour that helps the sweet potatoes get a crispy crust on the outside of them, without any grains!
60. Sweet Potato Egg Scramble
Last but not least, I leave you with this awesome sweet potato and egg scramble made with sweet potato, eggs, coconut milk, sea salt, salsa, and butter (you’ll use ghee for the Whole30). This has all the flavors you want in a breakfast and is easy to make.
60 Best Whole30 Paleo Recipes of All-Time
Jess (Paleo Grubs)