70+ Whole30 Comfort Food Recipes (Cozy, Creamy, and Actually Familiar)

I’m a meat and potatoes girl. Always have been.

I grew up in Texas on biscuits and gravy. I can enjoy a good salad — but what I actually want at the end of a long day is warm and familiar. Something cozy.

So the first time I did a Whole30, the hardest part wasn’t the rules. It was the missing.

You take out sugar, grains, dairy, and legumes all at once, and what’s left can feel like a list of things you’re not allowed to have. That’s the moment most people quit — not because they ran out of willpower, but because dinner stopped feeling like dinner.

I was one of the first Whole30 Certified Coaches, I ran their coaching program, and I wrote a Whole30-endorsed cookbook. Which mostly means I’ve watched a LOT of people hit day twelve and start looking for the exit.

Comfort food is what keeps them in. Not a sad substitute — actual creamy, saucy, breaded food you’d make on purpose. Like my Whole30 Marry Me Chicken, the most-made recipe on this site.

That’s what these recipes are. All Whole30-compatible, all tested on my kids, and not one asks you to cook a second meal for everybody else.

And if you’re doing your Whole30 while something hard is going on in your life, this is the best way I know to hand you a hug.

Bookmark this page. You’re going to want it in week two.

Why You’ll Love This Collection

• Every recipe is Whole30-compatible. No cross-referencing, no guessing, no reading nine labels to find out the answer is no.
• This is real comfort food. Creamy sauces, breaded chicken, casseroles, mashed potatoes, gravy, fries. Not grilled chicken and steamed broccoli with a new name.
• One meal, whole family. I absolutely do not believe in making two separate meals. It just empowers kids in their pickiness, which I did for far too long. Every recipe here feeds everybody.
• Almost all of them are budget-friendly. We most often shop at Walmart. I encourage everyone to get the highest quality meat they can afford — and also, there’s no shame in getting budget-friendly whole foods and cooking from scratch, whatever quality you can afford.
• Dietary tags on every single recipe so you can find nut-free, egg-free, or keto at a glance.
• These work past day 30 too. Nothing here is a diet recipe. They’re just dinner.

How to Get It Creamy Without Dairy

This is the part that took me the longest, so let me save you the trouble.

Creamy sauces without dairy are hard. It is genuinely tricky to get the consistency smooth and right instead of tacky or lumpy or weird, and it’s the thing I work hardest on in my own recipes.

Two things do the heavy lifting.

Fat comes from coconut. Canned full-fat coconut cream is my go-to dairy cream replacement — it has the fat content to make a sauce rich instead of thin. Full-fat coconut milk does the job too. I use Thai Kitchen unsweetened, and I specifically buy the cans with the twist-off top so I’m not throwing away half a can when a recipe doesn’t use it all.

Thickness comes from the right starch, and they are NOT interchangeable. This is where most dairy-free sauces go wrong.

• Arrowroot or potato starch for anything you want smooth and silky. Gravy, cream sauce, a creamy skillet. This is the default. My Whole30 Marry Me Chicken and my Dairy-Free Country Gravy both use it.
• Tapioca flour only when you WANT a little tack — that stretchy, cheese-pull quality. It’s the right call for a nacho-cheese style sauce and the wrong call for gravy. My Whole30 Chili Con Queso Dip uses tapioca on purpose for exactly that reason.

Use tapioca where arrowroot belongs and your gravy will be gummy. Use arrowroot where tapioca belongs and your queso won’t have that pull. That’s the whole rule.

If you want to go deeper on which flour does what, I wrote a whole guide: Paleo Pantry 101: Flours.

The Recipes

A few of these don’t look Whole30 at first glance — you’ll see pasta, or puff pastry, or parmesan in the recipe itself. Those recipes have a Whole30 version written into the notes, and I’ve flagged each one so you know to look.

Creamy Dairy-Free Mains

If you miss cream sauce, start here. This is the section I’m proudest of.

Whole30 Marry Me Chicken

The most popular recipe on my entire site, and for good reason. Tender chicken in a rich sun-dried tomato cream sauce built on coconut cream — it tastes like something you’d order out, and it comes together on a weeknight.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Garlic Butter Chicken

Garlicky, buttery, glossy sauce over chicken with almost nothing in the ingredient list. When you want comfort food but you also want dinner done, this is the one.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Creamy Chicken and Rice

Creamy chicken and rice is the flavor a lot of us grew up on out of a can. This is that, made from scratch, with no dairy anywhere in it.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Skillet Lasagna

All of the lasagna feeling, none of the layering and none of the hour in the oven. It cooks in one skillet.
See recipe notes for Whole30 modifications.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Vegan option · Kid-friendly

Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Skillet Chicken Pot Pie

Creamy chicken pot pie filling in a skillet, which is the part everyone actually wants anyway. Cozy, filling, and a genuine one-pan dinner.
See recipe notes for Whole30 modifications.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Kid-friendly

Whole30 Marry Me Chicken Meatballs

The Marry Me sauce, but with meatballs. Great over mashed potatoes or cauliflower rice, and the leftovers reheat better than most saucy dishes do.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Garlic Chicken

Simple, garlicky, and the kind of thing you can put on the table without a plan. A good one for the nights when you have no ideas left.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Chicken Parmesan

Breaded chicken, marinara, melty dairy-free cheese. It’s the dish most people assume is completely off the table, and it isn’t.
See recipe notes for Whole30 modifications.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Chicken Cauliflower Alfredo

Alfredo built on cauliflower and coconut milk instead of cream and parmesan. Rich enough that it doesn’t feel like a workaround.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Creamy Chicken Fajita Bake

Fajita flavors in a creamy bake, which means all the peppers and onions but a much cozier finish. Good for a crowd.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Meatballs and Creamy Marinara

Meatballs in a creamy marinara with hidden veggies blended right into the sauce. Nobody has ever noticed at my table.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Zucchini Lasagna Roll-Ups

Zucchini strips standing in for noodles, rolled up with filling and baked. It scratches the lasagna itch without a single grain.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Keto

Whole30 Soups, Stews, and Chili

Fourteen reasons to be glad it’s cold outside.

Marry Me Chicken Soup

Everything people love about Marry Me Chicken, in a bowl. Creamy, garlicky, and easily the most-requested soup I’ve ever put on this site.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Budget Beef Stew

Beef stew is the original comfort food and this one is built to be affordable. Long, slow, deeply savory, and it feeds a crowd for very little.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 White Chicken Chili

Creamy white chicken chili without the beans or the dairy, which sounds impossible and isn’t. This one converts people.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Hamburger Soup

Ground beef, vegetables, savory broth. It’s cheap, it’s fast, and it’s the soup my kids will eat without any negotiating.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Cauliflower Soup

Silky and rich with no cream and no potatoes. This is a good one to keep in your back pocket when you want something warm and light at the same time.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Vegan · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Chili

Chili without beans, which is genuinely how a lot of people prefer it anyway. Thick, meaty, and better the next day.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Budget-friendly

Salsa Chicken Stew

Three or four ingredients doing a lot of work. When I have nothing planned and need something hot on the table, this is what happens.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Budget-friendly

Loaded Potato Soup

Thick, creamy potato soup with all the toppings. Potatoes are comfort food to my soul, and this is the purest version of that.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Vegan option · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

White Chicken Lasagna Soup

Creamy, herby, and lasagna-adjacent in the best way. One of those soups that feels much fancier than the effort it takes.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Buffalo Chicken Soup

All the buffalo chicken dip flavor in a soup you can call dinner. Creamy, a little spicy, and very hard to stop eating.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Tomato Chicken and Basil Soup

Tomato basil soup with chicken in it so it actually holds you until morning. This is my grilled-cheese-and-tomato-soup feeling, minus the grilled cheese.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Egg-free · Keto · Budget-friendly

Panera Whole30 Autumn Squash Soup

A copycat of the Panera soup people get genuinely attached to. Sweet, creamy, and squash-forward.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Vegan · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Taco Soup

Taco night in soup form, no beans required. Set out the toppings and let everyone build their own bowl.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Gluten-Free Chicken Noodle Soup

The soup you want when you’re sick, when it’s raining, or when nothing else sounds good.

See recipe notes for Whole30 modifications.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Casseroles and Bakes

Whole30 Shepherd’s Pie

Savory meat and vegetables under a blanket of mashed potatoes. If you only make one thing off this whole list, I’d point you here.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Chicken and Rice Casserole

The creamy chicken-and-rice casserole from childhood church potlucks, rebuilt without the canned soup.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Casserole Enchilada Dip Bake

Somewhere between a casserole and a hot dip, which is exactly as good as that sounds. Scoop it with plantain chips or eat it with a fork.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Meatballs and Meatloaf

Whole30 Chicken Meatballs

The workhorse meatball recipe on this site. Make a double batch — they freeze well and they turn into three different dinners.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Pineapple Chicken or Turkey Meatballs

Sweet and savory meatballs that kids reliably go for. Serve them over cauliflower rice or straight off the toothpick.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Salisbury Steak Meatballs

This is my personal favorite thing on the list. Salisbury steak meatballs over a bed of creamy mashed potatoes is comfort food, full stop.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Mini Meatloaves

Meatloaf, but in single portions so it cooks in a fraction of the time. Easier to freeze and easier to pack for lunch.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Sweet BBQ Meatballs

Sticky, sweet-savory BBQ meatballs with no added sugar anywhere. These disappear at gatherings.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Breaded and Fried Favorites

Yes, you can have breaded chicken on a Whole30. This is the section that surprises people most.

Paleo Chick-fil-A Chicken

A copycat that gets close enough to make the drive-thru feel optional. Pair it with the Chick-fil-A sauce further down this page.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Chicken Nuggets with Hidden Veggies

Real chicken nuggets with vegetables blended in where nobody has to see them. A staple in my freezer.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Ground Orange Chicken

Orange chicken flavor using ground chicken, which is faster and considerably cheaper than the takeout version.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Chicken Zucchini Nuggets

Another nugget, another vegetable smuggled in. These bake up tender and hold together well for lunchboxes.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Chicken Fried Chicken

This is the Texas in me. Crispy breaded chicken that wants my Dairy-Free Country Gravy poured over the top of it.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Copycat Chicken Fries

Chicken in fry form, which for some reason makes all the difference to a seven-year-old. Great for dipping.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Crispy Chicken Wings

Actually crispy, no flour required. Game day food that happens to be compliant.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

5-Ingredient Chicken Strips

Five ingredients, no fuss, and the shortest path to dinner on this page.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Salt and Pepper Wings

The simplest wing there is, and honestly one of the best. Salt, pepper, and a hot oven.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Beef Puffs

Savory little beef bites that eat like an appetizer and fill you up like a meal.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Keto · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Slow-Cooked Dinners and Roasts

Whole30 Pot Roast

Sunday dinner. Fall-apart beef with vegetables and a rich pan sauce, and the house smells like it all afternoon.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Instant Pot Shredded Chicken

Not glamorous, but it’s the base of about ten other dinners. Make it Sunday and stop thinking about protein all week.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Brisket

Low and slow brisket with no sugar in the rub or the sauce. Worth the wait, and the leftovers are the whole point.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Sweet Salsa Pork

Two ingredients and a slow cooker, more or less. Shred it into bowls, lettuce wraps, or over potatoes.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Tangy Chicken

Bright, tangy, set-it-and-forget-it chicken. A nice change of pace when everything else has started tasting the same.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Sloppy Joes and Burgers

Whole30 Sloppy Joes

Sweet-savory sloppy joe filling with no sugar and no bun required. Pile it on a baked potato and thank me later.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Out-N-In Burger Bites

All the burger flavor in a bite-size, bunless form, sauce included. Fun food that doesn’t break anything.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Potatoes and Cozy Sides

Potatoes are comfort food to my soul, and my kids especially love homemade fries. This section is the heart of the whole post.

Creamy Whole30 Mashed Potatoes

Genuinely creamy mashed potatoes with no butter and no milk. This is the bed I want my Salisbury steak meatballs on.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Crispy Roasted Potatoes

Crunchy outside, fluffy inside. The side dish that goes with almost every main on this page.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Vegan · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Breaded Potato Wedges

An all-time favorite in my house. Breaded, seasoned, crispy potato wedges that my kids ask for by name.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Garlic Fries

One of my sons has requested these for his birthday dinner every year for about ten years running. That’s the review.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Egg-free · Vegan · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Matt’s Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Caramelized edges, soft middles, and a seasoning combination that makes people ask what’s on them.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Vegan · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Crispy Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet potato fries that actually crisp instead of going limp, which is the whole battle.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Vegan · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Veggie Fritters

Crispy little vegetable patties that get eaten by people who claim not to like vegetables.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Whole30 · Nut-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Crispy Smashed Brussels Sprouts

Smashing them before roasting is the difference between fine and great. Crispy edges everywhere.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Vegan · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Curly Fries

Seasoned curly fries at home. Worth owning a spiralizer for, if we’re being honest.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Vegan · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Zucchini Wedges

Breaded zucchini wedges for when you want something crispy that isn’t a potato.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Keto · Vegan · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Hash Brown or Cauliflower Waffles

Crispy hash browns made in a waffle iron, which is both faster and more fun. Works with cauliflower too.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Loaded Breakfast Potatoes

Crispy potatoes loaded up until they’re a full meal. Breakfast-for-dinner territory, and very welcome there.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Easy Whole30 Hash

A skillet hash you can build from whatever’s in the fridge. This is my clean-out-the-crisper dinner.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free

Dairy-Free Country Gravy

I grew up in Texas on biscuits and gravy, so this one is personal. Smooth, peppery, dairy-free country gravy — pour it over the chicken fried chicken and you’ll understand.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Creamy Dips and Dipping Sauces

The sauces are what make all that breaded chicken and all those fries feel like a real meal instead of a plain one.

Whole30 Chili Con Queso Dip

Warm, cheesy-textured queso with no dairy in it at all. This is the tapioca-flour recipe I mentioned above, and it’s the closest thing to real queso I’ve made.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Vegan option · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Ranch

Ranch is a food group in my house. Homemade, compliant, and better than anything in a bottle.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Keto · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Raising Cane’s Sauce

If you know, you know. Make this for the chicken strips and watch it disappear.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Egg-free · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Chick-fil-A Sauce

The sauce that makes the copycat chicken feel like the real thing. Sweet, tangy, smoky, no sugar.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 BBQ Sauce

Sweetened with dates instead of sugar. Use it on the brisket, the meatballs, or anything else that needs it.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Egg-free · Vegan · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Date Mustard

My honey-mustard stand-in, sweetened with dates. It’s the dip that turns chicken strips into a meal my kids get excited about.

Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Paleo · Whole30 · Nut-free · Kid-friendly · Budget-friendly

Whole30 Comfort Food FAQ

Can you really eat comfort food on a Whole30?

Yes, and I’d argue you should. The program takes out sugar, grains, dairy, legumes, and alcohol — it does not take out flavor, richness, or a warm bowl of something on a cold night. Most people who quit a Whole30 quit because their food got boring, not because the rules were too hard.

What do you use instead of cream or milk?

Canned full-fat coconut cream is my main dairy cream replacement, with full-fat coconut milk close behind. I use Thai Kitchen unsweetened, and I buy the cans with the twist-off lid so I’m not wasting half a can.

If you’re allergic to coconut, this gets harder and I won’t pretend otherwise. A blended cauliflower or potato base gets you creamy without any coconut, and it’s what my Whole30 Cauliflower Soup is built on. It won’t be as rich. It will still be good.

Why is my dairy-free sauce gummy or stringy?

Almost always the wrong starch. Tapioca flour gives you a slightly tacky, stretchy texture — perfect for a nacho-cheese style dip, wrong for gravy. Switch to arrowroot or potato starch and the same sauce goes silky. There’s more on this in Paleo Pantry 101: Flours.

Some of these recipes have pasta and cheese in them. How are they Whole30?

Four of the recipes on this page are written for a gluten-free dairy-free audience first, with the Whole30 version living in the recipe notes: the skillet lasagna, the skillet chicken pot pie, the chicken parmesan, and the chicken noodle soup. Each of those is marked. Open the recipe, scroll to the notes, and follow the Whole30 modifications there.

Can I feed these to my family if they’re not doing a Whole30?

That’s the entire point. I absolutely do not believe in making two separate meals — it just empowers kids in their pickiness, which I did for far too long. Everything here is food my family eats whether anyone’s on a Whole30 or not. If you want more in that vein, my 40 Kid-Approved Whole30 Recipes roundup is built around exactly that problem.

Which recipes should I make first?

Start with the Marry Me Chicken, the Shepherd’s Pie, and the Creamy Whole30 Mashed Potatoes. Those three will convince you and everyone at your table that this is going to be fine.

How do I keep this up when I’m tired?

Prep the pieces, not the meals. Shredded chicken, a batch of meatballs, a jar of ranch, mashed potatoes in the fridge. Once your blood sugar dips it’s really hard to make good decisions, no matter how motivated you were on day one — so the fix is having something cozy already halfway made. Not willpower.

Other Whole30 Recipes You’ll Love

If this collection was your speed, these are the ones to open next.

• 40 Kid-Approved Whole30 Recipes — the recipes that pass the pickiest test in my house
• The Best Whole30 Potato Recipes — every potato on this site in one place
• Whole30 + Paleo Soups — more bowls for cold nights
• 25 30-Minute Whole30 Meals — for the nights when cozy has to also be fast
• Easy Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Dinners: 80+ Family Recipes — the big dinner hub, Whole30 and beyond