22 Anti-Inflammatory Recipes You Can Feel Good About Eating (2024)

20 Recipes That Will Boost Your Gut Health, According to Registered Dietitians

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Brighten up your next meal with this fresh salad. Both strawberries and spinach are packed with antioxidants and vitamin C, which naturally tamp down inflammation. The combination of berries and feta is also divine, though you can leave out the latter to make this dish dairy-free.

Mixed Berry, Almond, and Chia-Seed Smoothie Bowl

You can make this colorful, nutritious smoothie bowl any time of the year; use frozen berries when it's not berry season. It's a dairy-free treat that's made with almond milk, chia seeds, and cinnamon.

Minty Margarita Guacamole

Of course, avocado is the star of this guacamole; be sure to use ripe fruits for the best flavor. What sets this guac recipe apart is that there aren't any tomatoes, but we've added orange zest and juice in addition to the usual lime juice for twice the pop of citrus—and plenty of fresh mint for a margarita-like fresh flavor.

Roasted Carrots With Oat Dukkah

Colorful carrots are tossed with olive oil, roasted, and sprinkled with an anti-inflammatory mix of nuts, oats, sesame and fennel seeds, and spices. Enjoy as an appetizer or side dish.

Turmeric and Lemon Tea

This quick and easy brew of turmeric, honey, lemon, and cayenne will soothe the body. It's simple to make and the lemon and honey balance out the strong taste of turmeric, which has long been used in traditional Indian and other Asian medical practices to treat inflammation. Turmeric also contains curcumin, which aids digestion.

Butternut Squash Soup With Coconut Milk and Ginger

This vibrant orange soup is prepared by blending butternut squash and coconut milk, resulting in a deliciously healthy dish. It also calls for fresh ginger, which offers a zesty punch and powerful anti-inflammatory properties. To make it a complete meal, add a plant-based protein (like lentils or beans) and whole grains (like quinoa or brown rice) to the soup.

Golden Dal With Gingered Tomatoes

A trifecta of anti-inflammatory spices—cumin, turmeric, and ginger—perk up the blistered tomato topping and add a sunny hue to this red lentil stew. In addition to being high in fiber, lentils are rich in magnesium which has been shown to reduce inflammation.

Wild Salmon and Romanesco Pilaf

Fatty fish, like tuna and salmon, promote the dispersal of inflammation in our bodies by balancing out the toxins in our diets. A bonus result: You feel less bloated. Here, Romanesco, a cruciferous vegetable similar to broccoli and cauliflower, is turned into a pilaf to create a complete meal.

Whole-Wheat Tagliatelle With Creamy White-Bean and Kale Sauce

Minimizing dairy consumption is a strong anti-inflammatory strategy, so we created this silky sauce, which comes together by blending cannellini beans rather than using heavy cream. It's paired with kale, one of the healthiest greens around, creating a full-bodied bright green sauce to coat whole wheat noodles.

Seared Beets With Turmeric-Tahini Broccoli and Salmon

This dish brings together three anti-inflammatory ingredients: broccoli, salmon, and beets, and in just the right amounts to ensure a balanced meal. Treating a vegetable like a steak, as we do here with the beets, is a genius idea. They are sliced thick and seared on both sides until crisp but tender.

Pinto-Bean Burgers

Turn beans, the ultimate pantry staple, into a healthy and budget-friendly burger—you won't miss the meat. Serve the burgers with more whole foods; atop a bed of greens with the healthy fat duo of avocados and almonds.

Berry-Banana Kefir Bowl

The berries and bananas in this bowl are naturally anti-inflammatory, though the kefir is especially noteworthy. As a source of probiotics, kefir will help support gut health—an important factor of managing inflammation. Unsweetened cocoa powder adds more flavor and nutrients, dark chocolate chunks would also work well.

Cauliflower Faux-Tato Salad

White potatoes spike blood sugar which can lead to an anti-inflammatory response in the body. Next time a potato salad craving hits, look to "the other" white vegetable, cauliflower. Another healthy choice is to opt for an olive oil-based dressing rather than mayonnaise. It's deemed one of the healthiest fats, olive oil is good for you both inside and out.

Bloody-Mary Tomato Salad

We love the refreshing juicy quality of a ripe tomato. Not only does this fruit taste juicy and deliciious, but it's also an amazing source of inflammation-fighting vitamin C. In this salad, we take flavor inspiration from a brunch classic, the Bloody Mary—but there's no alcohol. Beautiful heirloom tomatoes are dressed with oil, celery seeds, and horseradish, it's an unbelievably delicious combination.

Cashew-Chickpea Salad with Cabbage Slaw

This recipe is our meat-free version of the popular Chinese chicken salad, a fusion dish said to have been created in California in the 1980s. It relies on the powerful duo of nuts and beans to create a textured and satisfying topping. Combined with vitamin C-rich mandarins and cabbage, this salad is a real anti-inflammatory powerhouse.

Lemon-Herb Sardine Salad

High in inflammation-busting omega-3 fatty acids, sardines have a robust flavor that plays well with lemon and herbs. Serve the dish on a bed of greens or on top of whole grain crackers for an elegant upgrade on tinned fish.

Warm Spinach Salad With Shiitake Mushrooms and Red Onion

Whether you go for spinach, kale, or Swiss chard, basically any dark leafy green can help keep your body work more efficiently. The darker the green usually means the more chlorophyll, which helps the body detoxify. Here, a dueling combo of raw and cooked spinach come together in a salad with vitamin D-rich mushrooms.

Quick Pickled Beets

Adding more anti-inflammatory foods to your diet doesn't have to be complicated, as proven by these quick pickled beets. The recipe is simple: Boil fresh beets, cut them into slices or chunks, and add a light vinaigrette. Serve alongside an anti-inflammatory seafood entrée such as salmon, sea bass, or halibut, or on top of a fresh salad.

Kale, White Bean, and Farro Soup

Beans are​​ little power players, packed full of iron and magnesium, both of which help blood flow through your body and reduce inflammation. Plus, canned beans are great in a pinch, making it easy to incorporate anti-inflammatory foods into your routine. This hearty soup makes good use of canned white beans, along with antioxidant-rich kale and tomatoes.

Watercress, Strawberry, and Toasted-Sesame Salad

So fresh and so delicious, that's this savory salad. Juicy strawberries pair with peppery greens to create a dish that tastes as good as it looks. Not only do sesame seeds have anti-inflammatory properties, they're also anti-aging and loaded with antioxidants.

Avocado Deviled Eggs

On their own, eggs are anti-inflammatory due to their rich content of lutein and zeaxanthin—but adding avocado will add even more health benefits. In this recipe, creamy avocado is mixed with boiled egg yolks, resulting in a luscious upgrade on the classic appetizer. Consider your own mayonnaise for the most nutritious version of this dish.

No-Mayo Mediterranean Tuna Salad

Canned tuna gets a zesty transformation in this lightened-up version of tuna salad. The anti-inflammatory fish is tossed with lemon-caper vinaigrette instead of mayo, giving it a fresh and bright flavor that can't be beaten. Enjoy it on top of whole grain crackers, with vegetables, or simply by the spoonful.