What is a soft food diet? List of foods to avoid and the best recipes

Warning: you may have to revert to babyhood at some point.

If you have had any type of oral surgery, your dentist may prescribe a soft-food diet — in other words, food a baby would eat.

In this guide, we’ll be covering when exactly you’ll need a soft-food diet, what types of food you can and cannot eat, and how to prepare your meals.

When you should eat a soft food diet

Eating only soft foods comes in handy in many situations. In fact, this diet is good if you have had any type of mouth, tooth, head, neck, or stomach surgery. Also, you may need to follow this diet if you have a chronic issue that makes it difficult to chew and swallow.

For example, if you have gotten a dental implant placed or any type of oral surgery (wisdom teeth, braces, tooth extractions, etc.), your dentist may recommend a soft food diet. That’s a smart option because, first of all, you’ll have pain and discomfort in your mouth after the procedure. Secondly, it allows the surgical sites to heal better and quicker.

What foods to eat

Before you groan at the idea of a soft food diet, you should know there are plenty of soft foods you can eat.

Here are just a few ideas for this type of diet:

Grains

• Bread, some cereals, muffins, pancakes, or waffle

• Some cereals (soft and/or moist)

• Pasta/noodles, rice

• Saltine crackers in soup

Fruits and vegetables

• Applesauce

• Canned fruit

• Cooked/baked fruits

• Soft fruits with no skin (bananas, peaches, watermelon)

• Soft, cooked veggies

Proteins

• Eggs (poached, scrambled, or hard/soft boiled)

• Easy to chew meat, like fish, chopped/ground poultry

• Small pieces of meat in soup

• Tofu

• Baked beans

Dairy

• Cheese (thinly sliced, melted)

• Cottage or ricotta cheese

• Milk and milkshakes

• Ice cream

• Yogurt

You should eat food that have a soft texture and are nutritious while on the soft food diet.

What foods to avoid

Yes, there are also plenty of foods you shouldn’t eat. And you should be aware of what they are before you bite into anything.

Here are some off-limits foods for those on a soft food diet:

Starches

• Toast, crackers, and hard cereal

• Anything with dried fruits, nuts or other seeds

• Corn on the cob, uncooked potatoes, hard chips

• Bagels, French bread, sourdough bread

• Popcorn

Vegetables

• Corn on the cob

• Peas

• Hard, unmashed, raw vegetables

Fruits

• Hard fruits, like whole apples, raw carrots

• Stringy fruits, like pineapple and mango

• Any skin of a fruit

Proteins

• Steak

• Beef jerky

• Bacon

• Sausage

• Hot dogs

• Peanut butter (both creamy and crunchy)

You should avoid any food that’s tough, crunchy, hard, or sticky while on the soft-food diet. You should also avoid eating foods that are spicy, these can upset your stomach and cause bloating.

How to prepare soft foods

So now that you have the list of foods to eat and not to eat, how can you prepare these foods?

Below are some ideas for how to do just that:

• Cut food into small pieces.

• Use broth, gravy, or sauce to moisten food.

• Soup is a healthy and safe option in a soft food diet.

• Grind or puree foods.

• Mash foods, like potatoes, veggies, and fruits.

Recipes for the soft food diet

If you’re feeling overwhelmed with this new diet, that’s normal with anyone who begins eating only soft foods.

But don’t worry. This is not the end of the world. In fact, it’s the perfect time to try something new.

You will be able to swallow most of this food without chewing, including meat. Just shred it into tiny pieces using a good food processor.

Here’s the ultimate list of soft food recipes. These are hand-picked, absolutely the best recipes I could find online.

This page will be updated with new recipes, so make sure to pin it for your further reference.

Your teeth will love this food – guaranteed!

Mashed

Heavenly mashed potatoes

Cheesy spinach mashed potato cups

Spiced sweetpotato cauliflower mash

Herb and garlic mashed potatoes

Potato pancakes

Irish Colcannon

Loaded smashed potato skillet

Cheesy mashed potato casserole

Eggs

High protein egg scramble with quinoa

Italian egg scramble

Baked egg potato bowls

Rice

Cheesy rice balls

Fried rice

Cheesy zucchini rice

Simple turmeric rice with peas

Texas Hash

Cheddar chive rice

Baked casseroles, lasagnas and more

Broccoli chicken casserole

Shepherd’s pie

Classic Lasagna

Baked ravioli

Cauliflower casserole

Soups

Creamy chicken soup

Slow cooker split pea soup

Zuppa Toscana

Roasted garlic soup

Homemade tomato soup

Egg drop soup

Creamy tortellini soup

Chicken noodle soup

Creamy potato leek soup with bacon

Cheesy chicken enchilada soup

Chicken with herbs soup

Pasta

Creamy garlic herb mushroom spaghetti

Baked spaghetti

Cheesy bacon broccoli spaghetti squash

One-pan bucatini fra diavolo

Instant pot garlic parmesan noodles

Salads

Tomato quinoa salad

Avocado tuna salad

Spicy mashed buffalo chickpea salad

Avocado egg salad

Quinoa mint fruit salad

Moist breads

Apple and carrot loaf

Super moist pumpkin bread

Banana bread

Zucchini apple bread

Milk bread

Meat and fish

Classic meatloaf

Pulled pork with BBQ sauce

Baked parmesan crusted salmon

Baked lemon garlic tilapia

Pancakes and omelettes

Cottage cheese pancakes with blueberries

Buttermilk pancakes with cinnamon apples

Fluffy greek yogurt pancakes

Oven baked Denver omelet

Spanish tortilla with ham

Moist cakes

Homemade cinnamon swirl bread

Blueberry-sour cream coffee cake

Moist vanilla mug cake

Lemon drizzle cake

Kentucky butter cake

Lemon poppy seed loaf

Fruits and vegetables

Cider vinaigrette roasted root vegetables

Peach mango caprese salad

Baked peaches

Homemade applesauce

Mousses

Lemon mousse

Chocolate avocado mousse

Blueberry mousse

Smoothies

Vanilla mint green smoothie

Healthy banana cream pie milkshake

Mango banana smoothie

Easy cherry smoothie

Green tea matcha smoothie

Strawberry banana smoothie

Sherbets

Homemade raspberry sorbet

Lime sherbet

Sherbet cupcakes

You shouldn’t be ashamed if you have to go on the soft-food diet. It’s the smartest thing to do after any type of oral, head, neck, or stomach surgery. Anyone who has that type of surgery most likely goes on this diet, so you’re not alone.

And remember, it’s only temporary. You’ll be eating steak and corn on the cob in no time.

References and credits

• http://www.dentalfearcentral.org/faq/soft-foods/

• https://www.facebook.com/AuthorityDental-779960528793116/

Make sure to visit our homepage for a full list of dental guides!

Published June 30, 2021. Updated June 01, 2022.