30 Healthy Whole30 Recipes

August 27, 2019
Lots of you are looking for healthy Whole30 recipes. While we agree with some Whole30 guidelines, like cutting out added sugars and eating whole foods, the diet is fairly restrictive. You could miss out on key nutrients from healthy food groups like whole grains, legumes and dairy. But, to help people who may be looking to try eating cleaner or cutting down on sugar, we’ve gathered some of our favorite healthy recipes that happen to be Whole30 compliant.
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Taco Lettuce Wraps

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Don't limit yourself to lettuce for this low-carb, gluten-free taco lettuce wrap recipe--any fresh green sturdy enough to wrap around 1/2 cup of filling works.

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Roasted Halibut with Tangerine & Olive Tapenade

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Sweet tangerines balance the briny olive tapenade in this quick and healthy fish recipe, making a flavor-packed topping for halibut. Try the tapenade on chicken or lamb too.

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Paprika Chicken Thighs with Brussels Sprouts

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In this healthy chicken recipe, paprika-rubbed chicken thighs are nestled into Brussels sprouts and shallots and roasted on a sheet pan in the oven for an easy, healthy dinner. As the chicken thighs roast, the garlicky drippings flavor the Brussels sprouts and shallots. Delicious one-pan cooking! Smoked paprika adds a touch of smoky flavor--look for it at well-stocked supermarkets or in the bulk-spice section at natural-foods markets. Regular paprika can be used in its place, but doesn't add the hint of smoke.

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Romaine Salad with Grapefruit & Shrimp

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The burst-in-your-mouth juicy sweetness of red grapefruit is a great partner for the slightly briny and chewy bite of cooked shrimp. In this healthy salad recipe, we use romaine lettuce and red cabbage, but a handful of peppery arugula or watercress would be a nice addition.

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Cauliflower Rice Pilaf

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You'll slash 131 calories and 19 grams carbohydrate when you trade in your brown rice for finely chopped cauliflower in this healthy cauliflower "rice" recipe. For an even faster "rice" pilaf, use 4 cups of purchased cauliflower rice instead of making your own. Look for it near other fresh or frozen prepared vegetables.

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Garlic Mashed Cauliflower

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Whir cauliflower into a creamy low-carb substitute for mashed potatoes. This easy recipe gets a kick of flavor from garlic-infused olive oil, making it a dairy-free (and vegan) vegetable side dish.

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Roast Chicken & Sweet Potatoes

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Caramelized sweet potatoes and red onion are the bed for chicken thighs that cook up fast in a very hot oven--perfect for a quick healthy chicken dinner. Serve with a fall salad of mixed greens, sliced apples and blue cheese.

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Baby Kale Breakfast Salad with Bacon & Egg

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Breakfast salad? Oh yes! Start your day off right with this healthy breakfast recipe. A bowl of good-for-you greens, such as baby kale, will knock out half of your daily veggie quota with the first meal of the day.

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Tuna & Bok Choy Packets

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Steaming fish and vegetables together in a tin-foil packet is a great way to keep the tuna moist and have little to clean up. If baby bok choy is not available, use 8 cups chopped mature bok choy for this quick fish recipe.

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Zucchini Noodles with Avocado Pesto & Shrimp

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Cut some carbs and use spiralized zucchini in place of noodles in this zesty pesto pasta dish recipe. Top with Cajun-seasoned shrimp to complete this quick and easy dinner.

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Pineapple & Avocado Salad

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This refreshing, simple Cuban salad recipe captures the flavors of the tropics. Serve alongside spiced chicken or pork, with rice and beans.

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Butterflied Grilled Chicken with a Chile-Lime Rub

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A quick and efficient way to cook a whole bird on the grill is to butterfly, or "spatchcock" it. When cooking a whole chicken on the grill, try searing the chicken first over direct heat then finish cooking over indirect heat (as instructed in this recipe). That way you avoid the all too common problem when grilling--chicken burned on the outside and raw in the center. For best flavor, let the chicken marinate in the rub overnight in the refrigerator. Serve with lime wedges and fresh salsa.

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Coriander-&-Lemon-Crusted Salmon with Asparagus Salad & Poached Egg

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Crushed coriander seeds and lemon zest give this quick salmon recipe praiseworthy flavor that pairs beautifully with a shaved asparagus and poached egg salad. Served with a glass of white wine, this healthy recipe makes the ultimate lunch or light dinner.

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts

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Chef Michael Symon loves Brussels sprouts because they can be cooked so many different ways. In this healthy recipe, the rich flavor of the walnuts, Dijon and capers is perfection with roasted meats.

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Fish with Coconut-Shallot Sauce

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This easy fish recipe with a flavorful garlic, thyme and coconut sauce is perfect for a healthy weeknight dinner. Serve with brown rice, to soak up the creamy sauce, and a green salad with vinaigrette.

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Peppercorn-Crusted Beef Tenderloin

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This super-simple recipe covers beef tenderloin in a blend of cracked black, white and green peppercorns. Though it takes moments to prepare, since it's beef tenderloin it's perfect for a special occasion. Look for peppercorns in the bulk spice section so you can buy just what you need. The recipe will also work with black ones only.

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Roasted Pumpkin-Apple Soup

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Apples add just a hint of sweetness to this velvety pumpkin soup. Try it as a delightful first course for a special meal.

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Vegetarian Thai Red Curry

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This flavorful vegetarian Thai red curry recipe matches sweet potatoes with fresh dandelion greens and asparagus, though you can substitute cauliflower florets, cubed Asian eggplant, squash or carrots. If you're using cauliflower or eggplant, add them earlier, when the potato is only partially cooked, as they will take longer to cook than asparagus. Classic Thai red curry is flavored with lime leaves and Thai basil. If you find them, use them, but even without them the vegetable curry will still be a knockout.

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Mediterranean Roasted Broccoli & Tomatoes

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This dish of roasted broccoli and tomatoes is tossed with bright Mediterranean ingredients just before serving.

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Almond-&-Lemon-Crusted Fish with Spinach

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Coating fish with nuts and baking it is an easy, foolproof way to cook it elegantly. And it is especially nice with a mild white fish like cod or halibut. The spinach turns a little yellowy because it's cooked with the acidic lemon juice, but what you lose in green color is more than made up for in great flavor.

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Cauliflower Rice

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When cauliflower is pulsed in a food processor, it magically turns into a vegetable that really resembles white rice. In this easy recipe, cauliflower rice is made into an herbed pilaf.

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Oven Sweet Potato Fries

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Making oven fries out of sweet potatoes brings out their inherent sweetness.

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Chimichurri Grilled Steak Salad

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Chimichurri sauce is a zingy Argentinean sauce made with garlic, parsley, vinegar and oil. Here chimichurri sauce doubles as marinade for flank steak and as salad dressing for this grilled steak salad recipe.

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Baked Eggs in Prosciutto-Hash Brown Cups

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Wow your brunch guests with this adorable muffin-tin recipe of baked eggs in a “nest” of prosciutto and hash browns. Make sure you really wring out as much liquid as you can from the potatoes before you bake them--it will prevent the cups from sticking in the muffin tin.

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Green Curry Soup

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This aromatic green curry soup is packed with spinach, mushrooms, green beans and broccoli stems (save the florets for another night). Green curry paste gives this soup a delicately spicy broth. The vegetables are cooked just enough to be tender, but retain their freshness and distinct textures.

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Chili-Rubbed Tilapia with Asparagus & Lemon

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Tilapia, a relatively plentiful fish, has the unfortunate reputation of being dull. All it needs is a spice rub, a familiar barbecuing technique that works just as well indoors. You could also use this rub on chicken breasts or toss it with lightly oiled shrimp before cooking.

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Poached Eggs

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There are lots of ways to poach an egg. We tried 'em all. This was the winning method.

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Broiled Ginger-Lime Chicken

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Flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and lime, this marinated chicken recipe is a favorite in the EatingWell Test Kitchen. Serve with rice or couscous and black beans.

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Oven-Roasted Squash with Garlic & Parsley

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Winter squash becomes tender and sweeter when roasted--a delicious side for a holiday dinner. Look for interesting squash like kabocha or hubbard at your farmers' market and try them in this recipe. Recipe adapted from Alice Waters.

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Chicken, Charred Tomato & Broccoli Salad

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This simple but substantial main-course salad gets its goodness from smoky skillet-blackened tomatoes and a dressing prepared right in the pan--maximizing all the flavor from the tomatoes.

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