The Whole30 Cookbook: 150 Delicious and Totally Compliant Recipes to Help You Succeed with the Whole30 and Beyond

by Melissa Urban

Still think the Whole30 is a diet? Not with recipes like these.

The groundbreaking Whole30 program has helped countless people transform their lives by bringing them better sleep, more energy, fewer cravings, weight loss, and new healthy habits that last a lifetime. In this cookbook, best-selling author and Whole30 co-creator Melissa Hartwig delivers over 150 all-new recipes to help readers prepare delicious, healthy meals during their Whole30 and beyond.
 
More than 150 recipes for main dishes, sides, dressings, and sauces
Tips to simplify, plan, and prepare meals to save time and money
Variations to turn one easy dish into two or three meals


Whether you’ve done the Whole30 once or five times—or just want to make a variety of satisfying, nourishing meals—this book will inspire you to change your life in 30 days with the Whole30 program.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Food, Health, Reference, Adult

320 pages, Hardcover

First published December 6, 2016

About the author

Melissa Urban is CEO of the Whole30 and an authority on helping people create lifelong healthy habits. She is a six-time New York Times bestselling author (including the #1 bestseller The Whole30); and has been featured by Dr. Oz, Good Morning America, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and CNBC. She lives with her husband, son, and a poodle named Henry in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are a lot of great recipes in this book. They are written in a way that's easy to follow. Every one was a hit. They don't sound too impressive by the names alone but they are balanced, full of flavor and satisfying. I didn't fully appreciate them until I started trying other Whole30 or Paleo recipes from the internet. My favorites from this book include Bistro Breakfast Salad, Sausage-Mushroom Frittata, Asian Beef Zoodle Soup, and Asian Sesame Chicken Salad. A few of the recipes can be used as a base for several recipes, such as Classic Pork Meatballs with Asian Sesame Noodles or with Italian Meatball Soup. Plus Melissa Hartwig introduced me to the joy that is homemade mayo with Basic Mayonnaise.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this cookbook! Most of the recipes are wins, several have made their way into my favorite dishes to make (North African Chicken with roasted carrots? ❤️ Forever and ever. Pork tenderloin and apple carrot sauerkraut is my new favorite way to eat pork and cabbage ), and I still have a bunch of pages marked for more winter appropriate dishes. I can’t recommend this book enough. Everything is so tasty! Highly recommend trying this if you’re looking to cut out processed sugar. Everything is so flavorful and amazing! I’m a fan! It’s easy to keep on Whole 30 with these recipes.

[Christine Comito · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've marked lots of recipes that look tasty!

[Vonnie Jeffers · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the recipes sound wonderful. Very well written and the photos are fantastic!

[Lagobond · Rating 5 out of 5]

We've been cooking our way through this book, and what a delicious journey it's been. So far we've made:

Good Stuff
Piquillo Pepper Chicken Patties on Grilled Eggplant with Caramelized Fennel Mayo; Bison Burgers with Roasted Shaved Brussels Sprouts and Crispy Shallots. These two recipes were reasonably tasty, but too fussy for the result and therefore not worth a repeat. The "confetti" chicken patties were very pretty. Only the fennel mayo and the crispy shallots have been added to our family cookbook.

Great Stuff
Apricot-Stuffed Pork Chops with Arugula Pesto (we took the "spicy" out of the recipe and added a side of sauteed cabbage); Jicama Street Tacos with Barbacoa (this tastes died-and-gone-to-heaven-good), Salmon-Avocado Salad; Asian Sesame Chicken Salad (who knew raw cabbage could turn into manna from heaven); Thai Red Beef Curry; Classic Pork Meatballs/Italian Meatball Soup (both of these are perfect comfort food). The Pork and Tomatillo Stew also made it into our recipe collection, however we use half a habanero because jalapeños aren't our thing; also we remove the habanero before blending the flavorings because the stew is inedibly (!) spicy otherwise.

If you've read this far, you might find it interesting that we chose our recipes randomly (by picking a page number or just opening the book to a random page). So there's no pre-screening happening, and yet everything we've made (except for the weapon of mass-destruction that was round 1 of the "Blended Habanero Soup") has been tasty. Fun cookbook with nice little intros of the various contributing cookbook authors. Mouthwatering photos, too.

This is a keeper, and I can't wait to check out Melissa Hartwig's other cookbooks.

Update (January 2022): The Asian Sesame Chicken Salad and the Classic Pork Meatballs/Italian Meatball Soup have become staples at our house. Always delicious. We are now on round 2 of recipe-testing. Results below.

Churrasco Skirt Steak with Grilled Tomatoes and Cilantro Sauce: way too much clean-up for what's basically steak with garnish. Also, the whole thing tasted noticeably bitter. The bitterness came partly from the meat itself and partly from the cilantro sauce (I'm guessing because the recipe calls for using olive oil in a food processor, which can cause the oil to become bitter; but perhaps it had something to do with the parsley). The grilled tomatoes were yummy and really added to the other flavors, but overall this recipe wasn't good enough for a repeat.

Pan-Seared Scallops with Bacon over Braised Swiss Chard: The dark, heavy flavor profile completely overpowers the poor scallops. Overall this dish was edible, but certainly nothing to write home about.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have made many recipes from this book, and every one has been very good. We especially like the Thai Coconut Chicken Soup, Autumn Hash, Italian Meatball Soup, and Cuban Spiced Pork Tenderloin.

The organization of the book and photographs are very good. The "Introduction" and additional tips for each recipe are very informative. In looking for "substitutes" for many things while eating Whole 30 and Paleo, I found the "Sauces and Dressings" and "Basics" sections to be extremely helpful. The extensive "Resources" section provides links to many websites with even more tasty recipes. I highly recommend this book.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will be starting the whole30 revolution in January! Wish me luck :)

[Linda Cain · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book. Lots of great recipes .... we are continuing try out new ones.
I really like the Whole 30 cooking method for people with different sensitivities and diet needs. After years of dealing with and cooking for family members with food allergies, sensitivities ( grains,dairy, sulfites, etc.) it is refreshing to find a cookbook like The Whole 30 Cookbook with healthy appealing recipes to help people feel better through becoming more aware of common "food triggers" which affect their well being.

[Leona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whole 30 compliant

This is an updated cookbook, with a few new recipes tacked on at the end and some changes to make it more respectful of origin cultures in the recipes - the original cookbook is just fine and I am glad I own it. This is a stand alone book but of course the other books support the program and each book contributes to understanding the concepts and how to apply it in your life. I like that there are many online resources now and that this book introduces recipes from other chefs. I recommend this book.

[Diane Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of interesting recipes. I bought this and the Whole30 book at the same time because I was starting the Whole30 with two friends in just a couple of days. I really did not need this book as I am a fairly accomplished cook and can easily determine what I could make that would be compliant. But for someone who is not used to cooking and avoiding processed foods, there are some great tips and recipes in this book.

[Katrin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love cook books but this one is ok I guess.
Really wish photography was better. With the amount of great food photographers and bloggers out there this is kind of disappointing. I get that they were going for the clean look but it just ended up being so...bland looking?

And not all recipes have photos. Idk, I guess it’s just me, but I can’t get into a cook book that doesn’t show each recipe.

[Nikki Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love cookbooks and I checked this one out of the library and really enjoyed flipping through it. A lot of the recipes work for my eating restrictions and others are easily modified. I saw some other reviews saying that recipes were complicated but I only saw a few out of 150 that seemed like they would take extra work. But I love cooking and cook daily. I look forward to working through the recipes. I haven't cooked any yet but I feel confident that they will be great!

[Ginger · Rating 3 out of 5]

These recipes are a little more fancy than the original book. They take a little more time. Some ingredients are hard to find. Sometimes I feel that when I'm cooking these things that I'm missing the point of whole30. Just eat Whole Foods. It doesn't have to be difficult.

That being said, there are lots of yummy things things here.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can’t really say that I would make the majority of these recipes. Most are beyond my skill, comfort, or budget level. However, it gives you ideas of ways to cook in the whole 30 style, and especially helpful for me, are the many different spice combinations you can use in a lot of recipes. That is an area where I struggle.

[Sidney · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you prefer holding a book vs reading online, or are in the mood to create more labor intensive meals, make the investment. The introduction/philosophy behind the whole30 concept was helpful, but most of it is also available on-line. I found the recipes to be a good jumping off point for easier recipes, but I preferred recipes that I found on-line.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

want to try:
moroccan cauliflower rice
salt and vinegar smashed potatoes
asian sesame chicken salad
sautéed plantains
broiled shrimp gremolata
coconut crusted fish w/ stir fried veggies
cauliflower poblano pilaf
asian seared scallop salad
easy greek style lemon potatoes
smoky barbecue spiced kale chips
spicy cacao orange almonds

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

You can tell she isn’t a chef, or even a great cook. So many basic prep, cooking techniques, seasoning is just not present. Found much better whole30 recipes on Pinterest and online that are more flavorful. Interesting cleanse to do once but not the life changing experience some have had IMO. If you want to do a real elimination diet for health reasons, find a health professional.

[Sandra Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrific book that is filled with recipes that make everyone at our table happy. With all our food sensitivities we have managed to be satisfied with the Whole 30 meals.
Love this book and just purchased the fast and easy version of this Whole30.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very nice cookbook. Pretty, too! And it includes ingredients that I've actually heard of, which helps. Still not sure why it's okay to serve cauliflower rice if you're trying to avoid things that the brain can substitute as a grain, but it's delicious, so who cares.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was going to give this book a four star, but I love the section on making sauces and condiments such as mayonaise, salad dressing, etc. Some of the recipes I would "dumb down" because they are labor intensive.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this gem in my Little Free Library! Love it! Great recipes, color pictures, decent variety. Really the only thing missing is some coordinated meal plans that help take the legwork out of getting Whole 30 to fit your life.

[Nancy G / alovelybookishlife · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received as a goodreads giveaway!! Just in time for the new year!! Thank you, I cannot wait to try some of the yummy recipes!!

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved it and want to buy this cookbook! i borrowed from the library.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good variety of dishes. Simple to understand each recipe.

[Suzanne Ferro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not care for many of the recipes in this book.

[Jane Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on self-care and how to definitively determine what your food allergies are for optimal health.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful recipes that make following Whole30 tastier and easier.

[Kylene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great recipes!

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

My go to cookbook!

[Ale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good recipes that worked out, others were just ok.