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Want to try Paleo but not quite sure what to cook first? We’ve got you covered! Here are 10 super-easy Paleo recipe ideas to help get you off the ground.
1. Frittatas
Eggs are one of the easiest Paleo foods to prepare, and frittatas take “simple but delicious” up to 11. The basic concept is simple: just beat some eggs and pour them into a pan with your favorite vegetables; then bake in the oven until it smells too good to resist!
Here’s a quick and easy recipe for an Italian-themed frittata to get you started. And if that’s not quite your style, try this zucchini and sweet potato frittata instead.
2. Crock-Pot Roasts
Roasts make it easy to stretch a tight budget (especially if you’re feeding a crowd). And slow-cookers make it easy to cram home cooking into even the busiest of schedules. Together, they’re a match made in heaven!
Here’s a quick recipe for balsamic roast beef, and if you’re not feeling the beef today, here’s one just as simple for a pork roast.
3. Roast Chicken
It’s a classic for a reason – affordable, low-effort, and delicious! Many people are intimidated at the thought of cooking a whole bird instead of just the breasts or drumsticks, but it's really not complicated or difficult. Once you do it for the first time, you'll be amazed that you were ever worried about it.
Here’s a very simple recipe for a whole roast chicken to get you started.
4. Baked Chicken
Don’t have a whole chicken handy? No problem: just grab whatever chicken parts you have and make a quick baked chicken recipe.
A few ideas: spice rubbed chicken is great for the heat-lovers, and lemon and thyme chicken has a slightly more delicate flavor, perfect for salads.
5. Chili
A big bowl of chili is just the thing to warm up a cold afternoon. It travels well; it freezes well; it reheats beautifully – is there anything it can’t do? You can adjust the spice level up or down, depending on your tastes, and you can throw in just about any kind of meat you can think of!
Here’s a classic chili with beef and tomatoes, here’s a spicy version with pork, and here’s a recipe for turkey chili (using leftover meat).
6. Coleslaw
Paleo isn’t just about huge hunks of meat all the time: your plate should be at least half-full of vegetables! Per serving, cabbage is one of the cheapest vegetables you can buy, and it’s also very easy to prepare. You can fry it, roast it, throw it in a soup…or make coleslaw out of it!
Here’s a recipe for fruity coleslaw, and here’s one for a buffalo ranch version.
7. Chicken soup
Chicken soup is “soul food” after a long day. It’s a time-honored home remedy for a sniffle or a flu, and it’s an ideal way to use up any vegetables loitering in your fridge about to go bad. Plus, it’s a perfect vehicle for bone broth.
Here’s a very basic chicken soup recipe that you can modify almost infinitely to suit your particular tastes.
8. Roasted Vegetables
The easiest way of dealing with almost any vegetable is to just toss it on a tray with some Paleo cooking fat and roast it until it’s soft and delicious. Roasting more assertive vegetables like broccoli or Brussels sprouts brings out their inner sweetness and makes them much more palatable for kids.
Here’s a basic recipe for oven-roasted cabbage to get you started, but remember: you can apply the same technique to almost anything!
9. Guacamole
Guacamole is a perfect vehicle for healthy fats and all the other good stuff that you’ll find in an avocado. It’s delicious scooped over a salad, used as a dip for raw vegetable slices, or simply eaten straight off the spoon.
Here’s a recipe for quick and easy guacamole.
10. Hamburgers
Burgers don’t have to come on a bun! They’re incredibly versatile and a guaranteed dinner favorite, so it’s well worth your time to find a Paleo recipe.
Here’s a basic recipe for Portobello burgers – with a mushroom stepping in as the bun. And just for fun, here are some fries to go with them.
Did we miss anything? What's your favorite super-simple beginner recipe? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter!
