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Anti-Inflammatory Diet Recipes, Including Cooking Tips & Best Swaps

By Ethan Boldt

August 20, 2026

While some inflammation is necessary for a properly functioning body, too much (or “chronic”) inflammation is not good news for your health. It’s why most of us are searching for ways to lower inflammation, including eating the right foods and following certain lifestyle changes.

How does this extend to the kitchen? Below we discuss recipes to help lower inflammation, including following certain cooking tips as well as using certain ingredients and avoiding others.

Finally, a list of anti-inflammatory diet recipes is included, including suggestions for breakfast, lunch, snack time, dinner and dessert.

As always, you should consult your healthcare professional prior to starting any new dietary or lifestyle regimen.

Anti-inflammatory cooking tips

1. Make anti-inflammatory ingredients the focus of every meal

Vegetables, wild-caught fish, legumes, seeds and whole grains are examples of anti-inflammatory foods that should be in your weekly menu. In fact, an easy way to help lower inflammation is simply using more anti-inflammatory ingredients in your daily diet.

Anti-inflammatory breakfast options:

• Use fruits like berries, citrus fruits, stone fruits, apples, grapes, etc.

• Go with probiotic foods like yogurt and kefir

Anti-inflammatory lunch options:

• Make up salads with green leafy vegetables like spinach and baby kale and dress with an extra virgin olive oil dressing

• Serve fermented vegetables (like sauerkraut and kimchi) on the side, next to your sandwich (ideally on a wheat berry bread)

Anti-inflammatory dinner options:

• Use allium vegetables like onions, garlic, leeks, shallots and chives as part of your dishes

• Go with polyphenol-rich vegetables like kale, bok choy, Swiss chart, collard greens and cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, turnips, etc.)

• For proteins, use more fatty fish like wild-caught salmon

• Season these dishes with spices like turmeric, ginger, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, cumin and cardamom as well as herbs like oregano, parsley, cilantro, rosemary and basil

• Use nightshades — contrary to what you may have heard, there’s no evidence that nightshades cause inflammation in most people — like tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes and peppers

2. Avoid inflammatory ingredients

Certain foods may contribute to a chronic, low-grade inflammatory response in some people, especially when consumed in excess or as part of an overall unhealthy diet.

What foods can cause the most inflammation issues? Here are some inflammatory ingredients to avoid or at least limit:

• Added sugars and artificial sweeteners, as they can be hard to digest

• Processed meats like bacon, sausage and hot dogs

• Hydrogenated fats and some saturated fat, as well as high omega 6 oils, including corn, safflower, sunflower, soy and peanut oils

• Refined carbohydrates/white flour products, including most pasta and breads

• For some people, you may want to avoid gluten, which is found in wheat, barley and rye grains

• For others, dairy products may be difficult for some to digest

3. Swap out inflammatory processed foods for healthier options

Let's face it, we eat a lot of these inflammatory foods because they're convenient. They're packaged and ready to eat. So let's discuss some inflammatory, processed food swaps that you make and that are also relatively easy to produce.

Healthy swaps for breakfast:

• Swap out flavored yogurt for plain Greek yogurt and add organic berries

• Swap out cereal for steel-cut oatmeal or overnight oats

• Swap out commercial baked goods and make your own double chocolate donuts or banana nut muffins (both with collagen)

• When cooking eggs, swap out margarine for butter

• Swap out conventional coffee creamer for coconut milk or, if you can handle dairy, whole milk

Healthy swaps for lunch:

• When making a sandwich, swap out white bread for a wheat berry bread like Ezekiel or Alvarado Street Bakery

• Swap out processed deli meat for grilled chicken breast

• Swap out chips for roasted chickpeas or homemade popcorn with avocado oil

• Swap out French fries for baked potato or zucchini fries

• Swap out pasta salad for quinoa bowl

• Swap out macaroni salad or cole slaw for kimchi or sauerkraut

• In salad dressings, swap out canola oil and other seed oils for olive oil or avocado oil

Healthy swaps for snacks:

• Swap out French onion dip for guacamole

• When making a chocolate chip cookie, swap out chocolate chips for cacao nibs or dark chocolate chips with 70 percent cacao

• Swap out commercial protein bars for your own homemade protein bar

Healthy swaps for dinner:

• Swap out fried fish filets for grilled fish or canned sardines

• Swap out for hot dogs and sausages for grass-fed burgers or turkey burgers

• Swap out conventional pizza for cauliflower crust pizza

• Swap out processed sauces and excessive salt for the juice from lemons and limes as well as vinegar for marinades, dressings and sauces

Healthy swaps for dessert:

• When making a low-sugar dessert, swap out artificial sweeteners for stevia (powdered or liquid) or monk fruit

• Swap out store-bought cookies for cookies with real ingredients like strawberry oatmeal cookies

• Swap out commercial chocolate candy bar for a homemade chocolate candy bar

Healthy swaps for beverages:

• Swap out fruit juice for fruit-filled smoothie like a peach or cherry smoothie

• Swap out soda drinks for sparkling water

• Swap out sports drinks for Multi Collagen Advanced Hydrate or Rapid Hydration mixed with cold water

3. Use anti-inflammatory cooking techniques

For higher temperature cooking, use a fat like avocado oil. For lower temperature cooking, olive oil.

Avoid charring your meats (as that adds inflammatory compounds), deep frying (and using too much oil in general) and overcooking your recipes.

4. Reduce red meat consumption

Red meat, no matter how well it’s sourced, should be limited. Go with more fish (wild caught is best), chicken and plant-based proteins (like legumes, tofu and tempeh).

Anti-inflammatory diet recipes

1. Breakfast

• Breakfast bowl: Vitamin- and mineral-wise, nearly all are represented in this breakfast bowl. Each serving includes over six times the Daily Value* (DV) of vitamin A and nearly twice the DV of vitamin K.

• Green smoothie: This smoothie recipe only includes seven ingredients and delivers a delicious flavor and an outstanding nutritional profile.

• Avocado toast: Avocado toast with egg is one very popular recipe, as it's loaded with healthy fats and is delicious on a slice of crunchy bread.

2. Lunch

• Quinoa bowl: This quinoa bowl is loaded with plant-based protein and flavor, in part courtesy of a sublime miso tahini dressing.

• Avocado salmon salad: Mix wild-caught canned salmon with creamy avocado and lemon juice, then serve on a bed of spinach with cherry tomatoes and sliced cucumber.

• Chicken soup: This one is high in protein (42 grams of protein per serving) and loaded with nutrients, including over 20 percent DV of over 15 vitamins and minerals.

3. Snack

• DIY trail mix with almonds, dried cranberries, walnuts and sesame seeds

• Almond butter energy balls

• Handful of wild blueberries mixed with Greek yogurt

4. Dinner

• Grilled wild salmon with quinoa and broccoli

• Chicken fajitas with grilled bell pepper, avocado, goat cheddar, fresh salsa and almond flour tortillas

• Chili that’s high in protein and fiber; substitute ground turkey for beef

5. Dessert

• Chocolate chia seed pudding

• Square of dark chocolate

• Carrot cake bars