30 Favorite Whole30 Recipes

Thinking about doing Whole30? Whether it’s your first time or your 5th time, you’ll find plenty of favorites from this list of 30 recipes.

Originally I had planned on sharing a gluten-free pizza dough recipe today, but it needs more tweaking before it can be unveiled. In the meantime, I’m finally going to make good on my promise to share with you some of our favorite recipes from doing Whole30 for the first time. I didn’t do Whole30 because of any dietary problems or weight loss goals, I was mostly trying to convince myself that I don’t need dessert every day and to create healthier eating habits. The biggest thing I learned? So many food items have sugar in them!

As for the recipes, I didn’t buy any cookbooks, instead I took to the internet (mostly pinterest) and printed off a bunch. From that stack we would select recipes to make for each week, buy all the groceries on the weekend and then be set for the rest of the week. Added bonus of Whole30? Meal planning and never having to figure out weeknight meals on the fly! We also were cooking together more often which was nice as I tend to take over with my blog-stuff.

At first Bob and I always felt hungry. Apparently dense, heavy foods take up less space in your stomach and it takes a minute (or 3 days) for your stomach to realize that it actually is full. Once we got over that hump, and found suitable replacements for certain items, it was easy peasy. It helped that the recipes we found we delicious and have made post-Whole30. Here are 30 of our favorites that we plan on making again, if we haven’t already!

Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin – This is the recipe Bob that rubbed in a coworkers face when they made fun of him for being on a diet. For the record, his coworker had a sad looking salad for lunch. Also, this was before I discovered homemade sugar-free bacon (pictured above) which is much cheaper and easier than hunting it down in stores.

Breakfast Bowl – This recipe originally struck me as odd and I imagined it to be something awful in consistency but it was an instant hit! We had this one a few times and plan to make again and again. My favorite way to eat it was using the apple slices to scoop it up!

Breakfast Casserole – Definitely a weekend breakfast recipe but when you are cooking for two, it lasts through the week as well. When weekend breakfasts ran out we usually depended on eggs with homemade sugar-free bacon or dairy-free smoothies.

Buffalo Chicken Casserole – When making this, I worried that it was going to be too much Buffalo sauce for me, and I was right. I like spicy things but not too spicy. Bob on the other hand devoured it.

Buffalo Chicken Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes – I brought these to game night at a friends house and they were a huge hit (and had the right amount of hot sauce for my tastes)! I did alter the recipe a bit based on how I make twice baked potatoes. Hopefully I’ll get around to making these again to take photos and share the actual recipe.

Butternut Sausage Bake with Kale – In my opinion, almost any recipe utilizing roasted butternut squash is a winner.

Chicken Avocado Lime Soup – Soups were a common favorite during the 30 days. They pack so much flavor, are easy to abide by Whole30 rules, and often come together quickly.

Chimichurri Chicken Wings with Ranch Dressing – Guys, I may like these better than “real” wings. Chimichurri on wings is awesome! And hunting down avocado mayo proved to be worthwhile by the addition of the homemade Ranch dressing. I tried making my own mayo, but it was an epic fail.

Coconut Pistachio Larabars – After stock piling on Larabars, I finally got around to making our own and let me just say, Larabar needs to take notes.

Creamy Carrot and Ginger Soup – This was my first experience with carrot soup and it was awesome! I actually have already made this soup twice (the second time I added 1/2 tsp turmeric). It pairs perfectly with a Kale, Pomegranate, and Avocado Salad with Zesty Tahini Dressing (the second time I made the salad I used baby kale and cranberries instead of pomregranate).

Crock Pot Turkey Bolognese Sauce – Bob immediately requested that this be in our regular rotation. Fine by me cause it’s crazy easy! We served this over zoodles.

Garlic Bacon Avocado Burgers – I was kind of impressed with how quickly we didn’t miss buns on our burgers. Guess it helps when the burger and toppings are so yummy.

Harvest Stew with Smoked Sausage – Parsnips are totally underused in soups and stews. You need this in your life and belly.

Jalapeno Turkey Burgers – Bob loved these and I enjoyed them but next time I make them (and there will be a next time), I am going to reduce the amount of lime. They were just a bit too limey.

Lamb Burgers with Rosemary Pesto Sauce – Adding rosemary to pesto? Winner! I want these burgers again, like right now. The recipe suggested serving it with strawberries and sauteed peppers on top. We did lemon potatoes instead.

Lemon-Rosemary Chicken & Potatoes – I actually made this right before we started Whole30 and only realized afterwards that it followed the rules. Hooray!

Mango Chicken with Coconut Cauliflower Rice – So much flavor! Definitely need to make this again soon, especially since it only takes 30 minutes.

Moroccan Chicken Skillet – This recipe was probably the one with the most unique flavor. Bob wasn’t a huge fan but I loved it.

One-Pan Crispy Bacon Wrapped Chicken – Bacon wrapped chicken, what more do you need to know? Serve this with a side of potatoes and it’s a done deal.

One-Sheet Roasted Sausage & Brussels Sprouts Dinner – We actually made this a couple days post-Whole30 because we were loving the recipes so much we couldn’t stop!

Pesto Bacon Chicken – Pesto is such a simple thing and yet makes such delicious meals! The addition of bacon certainly didn’t hurt either.

Rosemary Balsamic Sheet Pan Chicken with Bacon and Apples – The only thing I would change about this is to put the bacon on top so that it can get nice and crispy.

Sausage & Kale Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust – I adapted this recipe from 2 or 3 others and now am so in love with using sweet potato as a crust for quiche. Who needs a flour crust?

Sausage, Potato, and Kale Soup – Yet another awesome soup. Guess doing Whole30 in the winter makes sense because it’s definitely soup season.

Sheet Pan Chicken with Red Potatoes and Sage – Another theme during Whole30 was sheet pan meals. This is yet another that you cannot go wrong with. Using chicken thighs with the skin still on results in juicy chicken with a crispy exterior.

Sloppy Joe Bowls – This is another that we made post-Whole30. How can you deny a sloppy joe serve in a potato?

Spicy Ground Turkey and Green Bean Stir-Fry – I’ve never had a stir-fry with ground meat before but I was pleasantly surprised! Sad we didn’t have more leftovers of this one. Guess we’ll just have to make it again, darn.

Sweet Potato Apple Breakfast Bake – This is another surprising breakfast recipe as it seems a bit strange at first but ends up being delicious.

Zucchini Carbonara – Hello dairy-free cream sauce served over zoodles and topped with bacon!

Zuppa Toscana – Last but not least another great soup recipe! Seriously, soups on Whole30 rock.

Have you ever done Whole30? If not, after reading my list of favorites do you think you’d be more willing to try it? I just gave you one recipe per day so you’re already 1/3 of the way there!

Two years ago: Cream Cheese Chicken Enchilada Stuffed Squash

Two years ago: Giant Peanut Butter Snickerdoodle Cookie For One

Five years ago: S’mores Molten Lava Cake

Six years ago: Chocolate Chip-Peanut Butter Layer Pie