AIP Diet Recipes: Easy Meals and a Sample Elimination-Phase Week

Quick answer: AIP recipes are built from meat, fish, seafood, non-starchy vegetables, fruit in moderation and non-seed oils such as olive oil. They leave out grains, legumes, nightshades such as tomatoes and peppers, dairy, eggs, nuts and seeds during the elimination phase. Simple meals work best: a protein, two vegetables and a herb-based sauce. Plan the AIP with your clinician.

This is the cooking companion to our AIP diet guide, which covers the full food list, the three phases and what the studies found. The autoimmune protocol is meant to be temporary: the GI Nutrition Foundation says the elimination phase "must be followed for a minimum of 30 days, but may require longer use", after which foods are reintroduced one at a time. The recipes below are written for that elimination phase. This guide is general information, not medical advice.

How to build an AIP meal

Most AIP meals follow one simple template, which makes the elimination phase much easier to cook for:

• A protein: fish, seafood, poultry or unprocessed red meat. The GI Nutrition Foundation encourages organ meats too.
• Two vegetables, avoiding nightshades: leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, carrots, asparagus, cabbage or mushrooms.
• A fat that isn't an industrial seed oil, such as olive oil or avocado oil. See our guide to oils that aren't seed oils.
• Flavor from herbs, garlic, ginger, turmeric, lemon and salt instead of pepper-based spices.
• Fruit on the side, in moderation.

If your plan includes starchy roots such as sweet potato or squash, they make meals more filling. Sweet potatoes are not nightshades, but the GI Nutrition Foundation's list highlights non-starchy vegetables, so ask your dietitian how much starch fits your plan. The full list of removed and allowed foods is in our AIP diet guide.

AIP breakfast ideas (without eggs)

Eggs are removed during elimination, which is why breakfast is the meal people struggle with most. It helps to stop thinking of breakfast foods and simply eat a smaller version of lunch or dinner.

• Homemade sausage patties: ground pork or turkey with garlic, sage, thyme and salt, pan-fried in olive oil, with sautéed spinach.
• Leftover dinner: roast chicken and vegetables from the night before, reheated in a pan.
• Salmon and greens hash: flaked cooked salmon with zucchini, onion and kale, finished with lemon and dill.
• Breakfast soup: a mug of chicken and vegetable soup made from homemade broth.
• Fruit alongside any of these, in moderation.

Store-bought sausages and bacon often contain paprika, other pepper-based spices, sugar or seed oils, so check labels carefully or make your own.

AIP lunch and dinner recipes

These are short, everyday recipes. Each serves about four, and most keep well for two or three days in the fridge.

Sheet-pan lemon chicken with broccoli and carrots

You need 1.5 lb chicken thighs, a head of broccoli cut into florets, 4 carrots in batons, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 3 garlic cloves, the zest and juice of a lemon, dried oregano and salt. Toss everything with the oil, garlic, lemon zest, oregano and salt. Roast at 425°F for about 35 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Squeeze over the lemon juice to serve.

Beef and vegetable soup

You need 1 lb stewing beef, an onion, 3 carrots, 3 celery sticks, 2 garlic cloves, 2 cups of chopped kale, fresh thyme, salt and about 6 cups of water or homemade broth. Brown the beef in olive oil, add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic for five minutes, then add the liquid and thyme. Simmer for about 1.5 hours until the beef is tender, and stir in the kale for the last five minutes.

Baked salmon with garlic greens

You need 4 salmon fillets, olive oil, a lemon, fresh dill, salt, 2 bunches of chard or spinach and 2 garlic cloves. Bake the salmon, brushed with oil and salt, at 400°F for 12 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, wilt the greens in a pan with olive oil and sliced garlic. Serve with lemon and dill.

Turkey, zucchini and herb skillet

You need 1 lb ground turkey, 2 zucchini, an onion, 2 garlic cloves, a handful of chopped parsley and basil, olive oil and salt. Brown the turkey with the onion and garlic, add diced zucchini and cook until just soft, then season with salt and stir in the herbs. It works well over cauliflower rice.

Slow-cooker shredded pork with herb sauce

You need a 3 lb pork shoulder, an onion, 4 garlic cloves, salt and a cup of homemade broth. Cook on low for 8 hours, then shred. For the sauce, blend a big handful of parsley and cilantro leaves with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt. Serve with roasted vegetables or wrapped in large lettuce leaves.

Shrimp and vegetable stir-fry

You need 1 lb shrimp, broccoli, snap peas or green beans if your plan allows them, mushrooms, ginger, garlic, olive or avocado oil and salt. Stir-fry the vegetables in the oil with ginger and garlic, add the shrimp for the last three minutes and season with salt and a squeeze of lime. Soy sauce is out, because soy is a legume.

AIP snacks and treats

• Fruit, such as berries, apple slices or a pear, in moderation.
• Leftover protein: a few slices of roast chicken or pork.
• Vegetable sticks, such as carrot, cucumber and celery, with an olive oil, lemon and herb dip.
• A mug of homemade bone broth.
• For an occasional treat, baked apple with cinnamon and a drizzle of honey or maple syrup.

The GI Nutrition Foundation lists artificial sweeteners as excluded, and honey, date sugar and maple syrup among the sweeteners it allows. Keep treats occasional.

Easy AIP swaps for everyday ingredients

A sample AIP meal plan for one week

Batch cooking keeps this manageable. On Sunday, roast a whole chicken and a big tray of vegetables, make a pot of soup and a batch of sausage patties. That covers most of the first half of the week. Needs vary, and an elimination diet can leave gaps in nutrients, so plan yours with a clinician or registered dietitian.

Pantry staples and packaged ingredients to check

Broths, sausages, bacon, spice blends and dried fruit are where elimination-phase ingredients slip in: pepper-based spices, seed oils, added sugars and starches such as maltodextrin. Artificial sweeteners such as sucralose are excluded too. Our AIP guide's section on checking labels while you eliminate explains what to look for.

Foodsage builds personalized weekly meal plans that include AIP-diet recipes. When you buy something packaged, scan it: Foodsage checks the ingredients against the sensitivities you chose, such as nightshades, gluten and soy, plus avoid lists such as industrial seed oils and added sugars, and shows which ones matched.

Before you start

The research on the AIP is small. A 2019 pilot study of 16 women with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, with no control group and diet combined with coaching, found improvements in symptoms and quality of life but "no statistically significant changes" in thyroid function. A 2019 substudy of 4 people with ulcerative colitis found changes in gut gene expression, and its authors name "a very small sample size and lack of control group" as important limitations. The AIP is not a treatment or cure. Our AIP diet guide explains who should be careful. For condition-specific ingredient guides, see IBD and Hashimoto's.

If you want meals that are less strict, our anti-inflammatory recipes, anti-inflammatory meal plan and global-flavors recipes follow a broader anti-inflammatory pattern. Many of those recipes are not AIP as written.

Foodsage and the other MetricPoint apps are educational tools, not medical devices or medical advice. For decisions about your health, an elimination diet or a specific condition, talk to a qualified doctor or registered dietitian.