The Mediterranean way of eating is the only one I have ever stuck with, mostly because it never felt like a diet. Lots of vegetables, beans and olive oil, fish a couple of times a week, and meat in smaller amounts than most of us grew up with.

Mediterranean diet recipes are everyday dishes built on vegetables, pulses, whole grains, fish and olive oil, with very little red meat or processed food. Nothing here is restrictive and nothing needs a special shop.
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My Mediterranean Recipes
These are mine, and they are the ones on rotation in my own kitchen.
Mediterranean Bowl
Dense Bean Salad (Mediterranean Style)
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
20-minute Roasted Potato Salad (With Pesto!)
Easy Israeli Couscous
Red Lentil Soup Recipe
Greek-Style Lemon Chickpea Stew
Easy Bulgur Pilaf With Lentils
Roasted Garlic-Parmesan Zucchini, Squash and Tomatoes
Creamy Tomato Salmon Skillet (Low Carb Dinner)
Best Baked Cod In Foil With Vegetables and Chimichurri Sauce
Mediterranean Cucumber Salad
Mediterranean Salmon Salad
Juicy Mediterranean Chicken Recipe (In Oven!)
15 Minute Greek Rice Bowl With Turkey Meatballs
5-Minute Greek Yogurt Dressing
Lemon Greek Potatoes
Greek Lemon Chicken
Greek Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs with Vegetables
Mediterranean Pasta Salad With Chickpeas
Mediterranean Lentil Bread
5 Minute Greek Yogurt Dip (Tzatziki)
Quick Roasted Eggplant (With Sesame Oil & Cheese)
Easy Baba Ganoush
Easy Hummus Without Tahini (5-Minute Recipe)
Mediterranean Salads
Salads do the heavy lifting in this way of eating. These are the ones worth making a meal of.
Chickpea Avocado Salad
Mediterranean Diet Arugula Pasta Salad
Greek Pasta Salad With Feta
Roasted Chickpea Salad With Feta
Big, Colorful Spinach and Arugula Salad
Creamy Tzatziki Cucumber Salad
Cretan Dakos Salad
Keto Greek Salad Recipe
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad with Feta
Mediterranean Chicken, Cucumber And Tomato Salad
Mediterranean Bean Salad Recipe
Kale Salad with Tahini Dressing
Vegan Couscous Salad
Octopus Salad With Potatoes
Lupini Bean And Caper Salad
Mediterranean Lentil Salad
Classic Tuna Carpaccio with Arugula, Capers and Pine Nuts
Shirazi Salad
Chicken Fattoush Salad With Garlic-Yogurt Sauce
Vegan Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
Easy Chopped Greek Salad
Farro Salad
Roasted Beet and Greek Yogurt Salad
Maroulosalata
Air Fried Halloumi with Chopped Mediterranean Salad
Italian Antipasto Salad with Lupini Beans
Moroccan Style Orange Salad with Dates and Pomegranates
Fish and Seafood
Fish twice a week is the one rule I actually keep. Most of these are done in under half an hour.
Mediterranean Salmon Tray Bake
Mediterranean Baked Fish with Artichokes and Olives
Gluten Free Shrimp Scampi
Branzino Recipe
Sheet Pan Mediterranean Cod
30-Minute Mediterranean Shrimp Linguine
Tomato And Garlic Poached Fish
Fresh and Flavorful Baked Cod in Parchment Paper
Soups and Stews
Bean and vegetable soups are the cheapest, easiest way into this style of cooking.
Cioppino
Kale Potato Soup With Shiitake Mushrooms
Green Olive Soup With Olive Oil
Nourishing Stracciatella Soup
Smoky Mediterranean Chickpea Soup
Fasolada-Greek White Bean Soup
Easy Courgette Stew
Mediterranean Vegetable Stew
Hearty Plant-Based Minestrone Soup Sardinian Style
Mediterranean Chickpea Soup
Vegetarian Mains and Beans
Pulses do the work of meat here, and they are what make these meals filling.
Lemony Greek Chickpeas
Mediterranean Diet Eggplant Caponata
Fasolakia
Sauteed Spinach and White Beans
Greek Baked Lima Beans Casserole
Mediterranean Hummus Veggie Flatbread
Mediterranean Grain Bowls
Mediterranean Chickpea Skillet
Tomato Basil Butter Beans
Mediterranean Couscous Stuffed Peppers
Cauliflower Steaks with Harissa Tahini Sauce
Chicken and Meat
Meat appears, just in smaller amounts and usually alongside a pile of vegetables.
One Pan Chicken Piccata Cheesecake Factory Copycat
Sheet Pan Roasted Greek Chicken with Garlic Potatoes
Ras El Hanout Chicken
Pasta and Bread
Carbs are not the enemy here, the portions and what goes on top are what change.
The Ultimate Vegan Bagel Sandwich
Halloumi Pasta
Dips, Small Plates and Breakfast
The mezze end of the table, plus the eggs I make most weekends.
Burrata Caprese
MUHAMMARA
Shakshuka
Beet Hummus
How To Start Eating This Way
- Put a pulse in one meal a day. A tin of chickpeas or white beans in a salad or soup is the single biggest change.
- Cook fish twice a week. Sheet pan cod or salmon takes fifteen minutes and needs almost no attention.
- Swap butter for olive oil as the default cooking fat, and use more of it than feels right on vegetables.
- Keep meat, but make it the smaller part of the plate rather than the centre of it.
- Finish plates with lemon, herbs, olives or feta instead of heavy sauces.
My Best Tips
- Buy good olive oil and use it raw. A drizzle over the finished dish does more for flavour than anything you cook into it.
- Keep tinned beans, tuna and tomatoes stocked. Nearly every meal on this list can be built from a cupboard plus something fresh.
- Salt your vegetables early. Tomatoes and cucumbers need a little time with salt to release their juice, which then becomes the dressing.
- Do not skip the herbs. Parsley, dill and mint are ingredients here, not garnish, and they are what make these dishes taste Mediterranean rather than just healthy.
What can you eat on the Mediterranean diet?
Vegetables, fruit, beans and lentils, whole grains, nuts, fish and seafood, olive oil, and moderate amounts of yoghurt, cheese, eggs and poultry. Red meat and sweets are occasional rather than daily.
Is the Mediterranean diet good for weight loss?
It is not designed as a weight loss plan, which is probably why people stay on it. The fibre from beans and vegetables keeps you full, and there is nothing to cut out entirely.
What is a typical Mediterranean breakfast?
Usually something savoury. Eggs with tomatoes, yoghurt with nuts and honey, or bread with olive oil and olives. Shakshuka is my weekend version.
Do you have a Mediterranean meal plan?
Several. Start with my 5-day Mediterranean meal plan for beginners, or read the Mediterranean diet explained first if you are new to it.
Mediterranean Meal Plans
If you would rather be told what to cook, I have written the week out for you.
Before You Go
For more in this style see my Mediterranean chickpea salad and my collection of the best salad recipes.
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