75 PCOS Recipes: Easy + Healthy Meals from a Dietitian (2024)

If you need easy PCOS recipes that taste good and will also make you feel better, I’ve got you covered!

As a registered dietitian, who also lives with and specializes in PCOS, I have certain things I look for in a recipe. Aside from needing to have the proper nutrients to actually improve PCOS symptoms, it needs to be easy and it needs to taste delicious.

This blog post will outline how a healthy PCOS diet can help you and what constitutes a balanced meal. Then, I’ll provide you with 75 of my favorite PCOS-friendly recipes!

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Table of Contents hide

1 PCOS: Why Your Diet Matters

2 PCOS: What’s The Best Diet To Follow

3 Balanced Meals for PCOS

PCOS: Why Your Diet Matters

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a common hormonal disorder that affects up to 20% of women worldwide. While a PCOS diagnosis may be new to you, your symptoms probably aren’t new.

Common symptoms of PCOS include:

Irregular periods
Weight gain
Carb cravings
Hair loss
Hirsutism (aka unwanted facial or body hair growth)
Acne
Fatigue

If you’ve experienced weight gain as a symptom of PCOS, particularly in the belly area, you’ll want to read this post: What Is PCOS Belly? A Dietitian’s 8 Tips To Reduce It.

While the exact cause of PCOS isn’t known, it’s linked to insulin resistance, chronic inflammation, and high androgen levels (aka high testosterone levels). One (or a combo) of these factors are likely playing a part in your symptoms.

Unfortunately, insulin resistance and inflammation increases your risk of developing certain health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes in pregnancy, heart disease, high blood pressure, and fatty liver.

I know, I know. That sounds really scary, right?

The good news is that a PCOS-friendly diet and sustainable lifestyle changes are powerful tools and can drastically lower insulin resistance and inflammation, and in turn, manage your PCOS symptoms.

PCOS: What’s The Best Diet To Follow

There is a lot of buzz and conflicting information around the internet and social media about which diet is the best diet for PCOS. Some people recommend the ketogenic diet (aka keto diet) or intermittent fasting, while others recommend low carb or plant-based diets.

The truth is that there has not been one specific diet identified as being the best way to manage PCOS.

I base my diet recommendations off of the current research and my clinical experience working with hundreds of women with PCOS to manage their condition.

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That said, I recommend a balanced diet approach for PCOS. I usually don’t recommend cutting out gluten, dairy, soy, caffeine, or sugar right off the bat, unless you have a known allergy or intolerance.

Everyone is unique and there just isn’t any evidence to support that everyone with PCOS needs to or should cut these foods out of their diet. And honestly, I’ve witnessed close to a thousand women manage their PCOS symptoms without restrictive dieting.

Are there some women who do benefit from limiting or avoiding certain food components like dairy or gluten? Sure, of course! In my experience though, the amount of people who need these types of dietary restrictions to manage symptoms are far and few between.

Now, let’s dive into how to make a balanced meal that promotes blood sugar stability and lowers inflammation.

Balanced Meals for PCOS

A balanced meal combines nutrients that raise your blood sugar slowly and prevent it from going too high. This allows your body to react accordingly and release an appropriate amount of insulin to slowly bring that blood sugar level back down.

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Eating balanced meals consistently will improve insulin sensitivity, meaning your body will become less insulin resistant.

How To Build a Balanced Meal for PCOS

To make a balanced meal, you should combine:

Protein. Protein maintains muscle mass, promotes satiety and balanced blood sugar levels. Put an emphasis on lean protein sources and plant-based proteins more frequently. Examples include chicken, turkey, lean red meat, fish, seafood, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and protein powder.

Complex carbohydrates. Complex carbs contain fiber to slow down the blood sugar rise, keep you feeling full, and improve your gut health. Examples include fruits, vegetables, beans, chickpeas, lentils, edamame, and whole grains such as oats, rice, quinoa, and whole grain bread.

Healthy Fats. Healthy fats are necessary for hormone production, the absorption of certain vitamins, inflammation regulation, and satiety. Examples include olive oil, avocado, nuts, seeds, and fatty fish.

Additionally, including anti-inflammatory foods routinely is a great way to lower inflammation. Some examples of anti-inflammatory foods are salmon, oysters, olive oil, berries, chia seeds, flaxseeds, walnuts, beans, garlic, ginger, herbal teas, and plenty of vegetables like cruciferous vegetables, tomatoes, dark leafy greens, and bell peppers.

For more ideas and guidance on how to pull these diet principles together, be sure to check out this meal plan that is ideal for managing your PCOS: A Dietitian’s 7-Day PCOS Diet Plan (PDF Included).

Ok, now that we’ve covered that, let’s dive into those amazing recipes I promised you!

These PCOS recipes are designed to be easy and use ingredients that you can find in most grocery stores. The recipe categories are broken down by meal. Then, the lunch and dinner recipes are even further broken down by protein source to make it as easy as possible for you to find what you like!