A Month of Whole30 Recipes | Easy Whole30 Meal Plan
The New Year is the perfect time to work on a new YOU – which is why so many people choose to do some type of reset like the Whole30 in January. But in order to succeed, Whole30 takes some serious planning ahead. That’s why I’m here to help you (and myself) with a month of Whole30 recipes!
That’s right – I’ve done all the hard work! Well, except for the cooking.
If you don’t already have them, make sure you pick up the Whole30 guide and the Whole30 Slow Cooker books. These are invaluable. Did you know there’s a Whole30 Fast & Easy cookbook? Me neither (until just now)!
My Best Tips for Whole30 Success
There are a few things to remember if you want to be successful with the Whole30:
- keep your meals simple
- keep meals inexpensive and budget friendly
- make food that the rest of your family will eat
- plan/prep/cook in advance when possible
I am a busy mom, so easy meals are KEY to keep me sane. I try to use my slow cooker when I can, and many of my dinners are repurposed for breakfast or lunch. Read ahead and cook extras! Save time in the kitchen so you can do other things.
Choosing Your Meals for Whole30
I’m going to provide you with 30 days of recipes (or at least plenty of recipes so you can choose the foods you want to eat for 30 days). You can choose to use all the recipes as I have them laid out, or you can pick your favorites and eat the same foods over and over.
Whatever you do – DON’T MAKE THIS TOO DIFFICULT! You CAN do this if you really want to.
If I have a recipe that calls for Brussels sprouts (omg yum, roasted Brussels are so good), and you absolutely refuse to even look at them in the grocery store, then don’t cook them! Mix and match your veggies. Swap them for broccoli or raw cucumbers or a simple salad.
Sometimes I am very generic in my plans and just meal plan to include veggies as a side. That’s because I typically buy whatever is in season and on sale. It may be cabbage, broccoli, squash, zucchini, peppers, or just a salad. You want to have a veggie with every meal, but it doesn’t need to be something found on the south side of a Chilean mountain that you can’t pronounce!
You also don’t need to go broke trying to buy groceries. Get what you like and what you can afford. Even frozen or canned is fine, just read the labels!
In a perfect world, you will eat organic food, grass-fed/organic meat, and a variety of veggies that make a rainbow jealous of the colors. But make this work for you and do eat what you will – as long as it’s within the rules.
How to Follow Whole30 with Picky Eaters
My family isn’t too incredibly picky, but I definitely have a wide range of likes and dislikes in my house.
What I refuse to do is cook multiple meals.
Or more accurately, my husband refuses to cook multiple meals, because he cooks the majority of the time when he’s not traveling.
And I don’t want him to! It’s a waste of time and money, so I’d rather keep it simple.
If the Whole30 meal calls for bunless burgers with sweet potato fries and a side salad, I’ll most likely add buns to my family’s plate to keep the complaining to a minimum. While I’d love for my 9 year old and husband to eat what I eat, I know it won’t always happen. I may also add some macaroni and cheese for the kids to eat because I know my 2 year old won’t eat a salad. She will, however, eat some fruit, so I make sure to add in whatever healthy options I know she will like.
See? Still just one meal, but with options for everyone.
Also, if paleo chili is on the menu and I know my family will hate it, I just skip it. OR I make cook up a small pot of the chili because I know I’ll love it, and serve them a small portion with a baked potato and a side that I know they will like.
Keep it simple. Do what works.
Sample Whole30 Meal Plan for 1 Week
Again, I am giving you a variety of meal ideas here. Feel free to mix and match what you like.
Day 1
- Breakfast – Breakfast Burrito Bowl
- Lunch – Paleo tuna salad with spinach and apple slices (I prefer Safe Catch low mercury tuna)
- Dinner – Baked chicken with Sweet Potato, Apple & Cranberry bake
Day 2
- Breakfast – Leftover chicken, Sweet Potato, Apple & Cranberry bake
- Lunch – Salad (mixed greens and veggies) with leftover chicken
- Dinner – Whole30 Zuppa Toscana
Day 3
- Breakfast – Banana slices with almond butter and unsweetened coconut (add a veggie!)
- Lunch – Leftover Whole30 Zuppa Toscana
- Dinner – Bunless turkey burgers with lettuce, tomatoes, dill pickles, and jalapenos – serve with oven fries
Day 4
- Breakfast – Boiled eggs over salad greens with fresh fruit
- Lunch – Hamburger salad (leftover hamburger, crumbled over salad)
- Dinner – Oven roasted beef (omit Worchestershire sauce) with crash hot potatoes (omit parmesan) and roasted cabbage wedges
Day 5
- Breakfast – Sweet Potato “toast” topped with avocado
- Lunch – Leftover roast beef with crudites (that’s a fancy word for raw veggies like baby carrots and broccoli)
- Dinner – (Bake lots of chicken), shred half and toss with Frank’s Red Hot. Side of roasted broccoli, avocado, carrots, celery.
Day 6
- Breakfast – Runny egg over riced cauliflower and sauteed kale with compliant breakfast sausage
- Lunch – Chop/shred leftover chicken, sprinkle with curry, and saute in some coconut oil for a crisp. Eat over salad greens.
- Dinner – Salmon, roasted brussels, diced sweet potatoes
Day 7
- Breakfast – Apple slices, almond butter, celery
- Lunch – Roasted brussels, soft boiled egg with smoked paprika, riced caulflower with sausage, wilted tomatoes and peppers
- Dinner – Basil chicken and coconut curry sauce (omit the cornstarch and serve over cauli rice)
Want this meal plan in chart form? Click HERE.
A few important notes:
- I buy riced cauliflower frozen at Sprouts. It tastes just fine and I don’t have the time or energy to make it fresh.
- Franks’ Red Hot original, Tessemae’s Buffalo Sauce, and Primal Kitchen Avocado Mayo are all Whole30 approved.
- Cooking on weekends can help save time and keep you on track! Boil those eggs, cook up some chicken or steak, and save it to eat through the week.
- I love glass Pyrex containers for storing leftovers, but these from Rubbermaid are great too.
A Month of Whole30 Recipes
Quick and easy Whole30 pulled pork is perfect for batch cooking and meal prep. With the Instant Pot, dinner will be ready in a fraction of the time. It's also keto-friendly, gluten free, dairy free, and Paleo too!
This Instant Pot paleo chili recipe made in the pressure cooker is a quick and easy family friendly meal! Yummy Whole30 chili will warm you up on a cold day!
It seems like many people love to start the Whole30 in January. But winter is not when I want to eat a ton of salads! I want warm, hearty meals like soup – and I was so happy to make a paleo Zuppa Toscana! Have you tried the version at Olive Garden? This is like that, but even better.
Buffalo chicken for breakfast?!! I’m in! Including plenty of variations to appeal to picky kids, these make a quick and easy low carb breakfast that you can prep in advance.
This Paleo/Whole30 flank steak recipe is keto, dairy free, and quick and easy to make!
This Whole30 compliant side dish is perfect for winter meals.
I can’t resist an easy and healthy crockpot recipe, especially when it requires almost zero prep. Buffalo chicken lettuce wraps are always a favorite – and they make the perfect meal on game day too!
This quick & easy one pan dinner combines Paleo Tzatziki Sauce with Greek sheet pan chicken and veggies - a healthy option for a busy weeknight family meal!
This Whole 30 Beef Barbacoa Recipe in the Slow Cooker is a delicious clean eating recipe that gives you all the restaurant feels at home!
This easy ground beef recipe uses harissa, a spicy African pepper paste, to create flavor. You make from scratch or buy it premade at the store for a fast weeknight meal.
This recipe for Italian chicken is bursting with flavor thanks to an easy lemon and herb marinade. Works great on any chicken pieces whether you bake, broil, or grill.
Delicious cherry tomatoes are slow roasted in garlic, thyme, and extra virgin olive oil. A bit of salt sets everything off perfectly. This is the ultimate condiment.
This delicious Mediterranean soup with sausage and vegetables is low carb and Whole30 compliant.
Whole30 doesn't mean your veggies have to be boring and bland. Lemony Green Beans have lemon juice and lemon zest, and these are a perfect quick and easy side dish for a healthy meal!
Turkey Lettuce Wrap Tacos are a perfect easy dinner the whole family will love. Try the homemade salsa recipe too, or you can serve the tacos with an approved purchased Pico de Gallo or Guacamole to make it easier if you like!
This easy, 5-ingredient Garlic Lime Chicken will wow your tastebuds and have dinner ready in a flash.
This easy Pork and Sauerkraut recipe (aka German Pork Chops) is a delicious, cozy dinner your whole family will enjoy! It’s made with super simple, delicious ingredients — boneless pork chops, sauerkraut, potatoes, apples and caraway seeds, and it’s baked in a Dutch Oven for ultra tender pork and easy cleanup!
This unbelievably flavorful Asian Steak Kebabs with Asparagus and Mushrooms recipe is a total home run, plus it’s Whole30 and Keto friendly! It’s an easy, flavor packed dinner recipe that’d be perfect for a weeknight dinner or for entertaining friends!
A comforting and nourishing winter soup. Delicious broth of garlic, ginger, and turmeric and heaps of kale.
Shakshouka is a popular Israeli dish made of poached eggs in a spicy pepper and tomato stew. This dish only takes about 25 minutes to throw together, making it perfect for busy weekend mornings. Or, since breakfasts always make the best dinners, a weeknight meal!
Looking for the perfect lemon garlic asparagus side dish? Enter this garlic roasted asparagus. Once you make it once, you'll want it with every meal!
It doesn’t get any better or easier than a sheet pan meal! Toss everything in the oven for a quick and easy Whole30 meal you hardly even have to think about.
These delicious and creamy whole30 mashed potatoes are made with almond milk and ghee. Choose from two easy cooking methods, microwave or boiling, and make these mashed potatoes with or without skin.
Quick and easy Roasted Beets and Carrots cooks up in just 20 minutes and 5 minute prep time for the perfect weeknight side dish. These are also meal prep and freezer friendly.
Easy and quick delicious salmon. Cooked in the air fryer with yummy seasonings.
If your summer harvest is exploding with zucchinis, these Lemon Garlic Zoodles are going to be your favorite go-to recipe. The lemon and garlic really make the flavor pop. This super healthy zucchini noodle recipe is Whole30, Paleo, and Vegan. PS – it only takes 10 minutes to make!
You only need 5 ingredients and 5 minutes to put these chicken leg quarters together. This recipe is ridiculously easy and the result is way more flavorful and delicious than you would imagine.
This pecan-crusted salmon is an easy way to transform salmon into something extra delicious! It’s also Whole30-friendly, paleo and keto.
Air Fryer Chicken Fajitas. How to prep and air fry chicken fajitas to make a delicious air fryer chicken fajitas dinner. These fajitas are cooked with 3 different peppers, red onion and chicken breast.
Learn how to cook air fryer tuna steaks either from fresh or frozen. A perfect low carb healthy Mediterranean lunch served with seasoned cherry tomatoes and inspired by a Gordon Ramsay recipe.
This classic French recipe for ratatouille is vegan, gluten free but uses the best of seasonal vegetables and is bursting with flavor.
Love chicken? Then you have got to try this slow cooker Jamaican style coconut curry chicken. Succulent chicken thighs (boneless and skinless) are marinated, seared and braised in the crock pot for several hours.
Are you on the hunt for a low carb, grain free recipe? Then try this Cajun inspired shrimp with zucchini noodles. A delicious, flavoursome one pan seafood meal that's loaded with a medley of vegetables, so light and nutritious.
Naturally sweet, flavorful, full of nutrition, this Whole30 salmon with sweet potato and beets is delicious!
Filled with lean chunks of tender chicken, carrots, broccoli, and cabbage, this Low Carb Chicken Cabbage Stir Fry Recipe is a quick and easy one-pot meal everyone will love! Ready in under 30 minutes, this delicious recipe is easily modified to be Whole30 (just omit the honey, trade the soy sauce for coconut aminos, and whip up a homemade sriracha).
For a brightly colored dinner, make healthy chicken stir-fry for a delicious Asian inspired Whole30 meal!
Just because you are eating Whole30 doesn't mean you can't enjoy the taste of burgers! Try this Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole with the dairy-free cheese sauce for a Whole30 approved comfort dish the whole family will love!
Seriously, this keto hamburger soup tastes like you threw a burger in a blender. It’s got all the savory, juicy, fatty, saucy, tangy taste.
A low carb, protein-packed, bowl with crispy broccoli and an amazing sauce, what’s not to love?
All the robust flavors you remember from eating Sloppy Joes, with none of the refined sugars. Bonus, eat them over potatoes and they are gluten free!
This super quick Cuban ground beef recipe is filled with flavor from the garlic, tomatoes, fresh cilantro, and added saltiness from the green olives.
Please feel free to comment, email, or message me on social media if you have any questions or if you have a great idea to share! When we are supporting each other through this, we are much more successful!
Excited to start
Love these and cant wait to make some of them! Anxiously awaiting week 2!
Do you have a fool-proof, doesn’t taste like a shoe, method for baking your chicken?
Lol tastes like a shoe. Arien makes amazing chicken thighs (with bone and skin) by just sprinkling Adobo (find it in the Hispanic aisle) on them and baking until done. I LOVE THEM. If I’m cooking breasts and don’t want them to dry out, I’ll brush the tops with oil or ghee before seasoning. I’ll sprinkle with whatever seasoning – Italian, cayenne and garlic, or cover in some buffalo sauce. We will also bake or boil a bunch of breasts kind of plain and then shred and cook in a pan to get it crispy. That way it’s kind of “fresh” at each meal. Hope that helps!
Thank you! Baked chicken is my nemesis. I end up over cooking the hell out of it because I’m paranoid about raw chicken and instant read thermometers hate me.