This is a FREE resource. In lieu of paying for a cookbook, please instead donate to Dysautonomia International.
Free Recipes
This is a growing collection of free recipes that are low in histamine. Click the photos below to view them. The goal here is to not feel totally deprived, though making some of these might be for more spoon-plentiful days.
Substitutions
Omit pepper where listed! Of course, know each person with a mast cell disease is unique with their specific food sensitivities, so alter any recipe as needed. Chances are you will need to alter or even skip some of these altogether… I do myself. Your diet and therefore your recipes are by the very nature of mast cell disease going to be highly individualized and tailored to YOU. This is why there may be little sense in buying a cookbook, when you’ll essentially need to curate your own recipe collection. Seasonings can always be omitted, the recipe might just be a little blander. Butter can easily be swapped out for your olive oil, coconut oil or other grease of choice. For most recipes dairy milk can be replaced with your milk of choice. Also know that many of these recipes are high in salicylates, which is an additional sensitivity for some with mast cell disease.
More Info
These recipes are selected for their ingredients based on the popular Swiss histamine list by SIGHI. More information about the diet and resources are at the Low Histamine Diet Page! For basic shopping and really simple meal ideas… see the Low Histamine Grocery List. For even more recipe inspiration, you can also check out SIGHI’s free preview of their ebook!
Breakfast
Slow Cooker Blueberry Oatmeal
Cinnamon Roll Oatmeal
Fig Currant Toast with Whipped Mascarpone
Pumpkin Pancakes
Tropical Oatmeal,
Zucchini Bread
Mango Mint Smoothie
Chia Seed Pudding
Blueberry Mango Carrot Smoothie
Chia Seed French Toast (egg-free)
Lazy Microwave French Toast (can use egg yolks only)
Main Dishes
Asparagus and Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken
Beet Soup
Mozzarella Mac N Cheese
Butternut Squash Bisque
Chicken Pot Pie
Radish and Butter Sandwich
Honey Garlic Chicken with Rosemary
Perfect Steak
Mozzarella Apple Panini
Ricotta Pea Sandwich
Pumpkin Cream Chicken Pasta
Broccoli Soup
Cauliflower Alfredo
Chicken Nuggets with Apricot Sauce
Roasted Red Pepper and Mozzarella Grilled Sandwich
Sides
Basil Dipping Sauce
Roasted Radishes
Quinoa Side with Parsley & Thyme (omit onion and lemon)
Roasted Turmeric & Ginger Cauliflower
Coconut Rice
Steamed Buttered Broccoli
Roasted Butternut Squash
Garlic Butter Quinoa
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Corn Bread
Garlic Roasted Asparagus
Simple Cranberry Sauce (can add optional ingredients except pecans, orange zest & allspice)
Honey Roasted Carrots
Snacks
Kale Chips (couldn’t find kale specifically listed on the SIGHI Swiss list, but other vegetables in its same brassica/cabbage family are listed as no/low histamine so it’s included here)
Perfect Popcorn
Popovers
Beet Chips
Sweet Potato Fries
Ricotta Honey Spread
Bavarian Pretzels
Cantaloupe Mint Popsicles
Apple Chips
Microwave Sweet Potato Chips (it works!)
Desserts
French Apple Bread Pudding
Carmel Apple Pie Oatmeal
Layered Mango Cheesecake Parfait
Whipped Cream
Pumpkin Pie for POTSies
Thai Coconut Black Rice Pudding
Mascarpone Apple Panini
Grilled Peaches with Mascarpone and Honey
Blackberry Peach Sorbet (use milk of choice)
Scottish Shortbread Cookies (great with jam or made with cookie cutters for holidays)
For really simple meal ideas see the Low Histamine Grocery List
Last updated January 4th, 2019
Id’m confused – many of these recipes have cinnamon, vanilla, sugar, bread with yeast; how are they low histamine?
Hi, Deb! Cinnamon and sugar are actually listed as a “zero” on the extensive Swiss Interest Group for Histamine Intolerance list all my posts are based on. The list includes vanilla and bread as “one.” I try to reference it everywhere… please check it out! https://www.mastzellaktivierung.info/downloads/foodlist/21_FoodList_EN_alphabetic_withCateg.pdf
My POTS doc has said that they’re seeing some POTS patients that do feel better after eliminating wheat despite not testing positive for celiac. I gave it go and didn’t see a marked improvement myself. Processed sugar is of course something we should all aim to keep to a minimum in our diets, but a lot of us still want that sense of normalcy if our body allows it.
Hi do you have a recipe book with all these yummy recipe .
Hi! No, but this page itself is basically the recipe book. Thanks!
Thank you for sharing without charging! This wealth of information is such a blessing.
This is such a spectacular collection! Thank you so much.
Hi and thanks! So glad it’s being useful!
Thank you for finding these recipes. I fell like I will have some normal back in my life instead of picking around and checking all the foods out for what is in them.
I’m so glad, thanks for letting me know! It’s been a few months.. hope it went well!
I have been reading to use the freshest meats. Any tips on how to do this? I don’t have a butcher close.
Also do you freeze your leftovers? Or eat them within 24hrs? I have found some I can eat and others give me instant red face.
I was just recommended to try this way of eating but I’m confused on the egg part. I have my own chickens so the eggs are fresh can I still use them?
Hi, Leah! SIGHI now lists that egg whites are histamine liberators (regardless of whether they’re cooked or raw), but that the egg yolk is “low histamine.” Sounds fun to have your own chickens and fresh eggs!
According to the SIGHI Food Intolerances app, the conclusion that egg white is a histamine liberator is from experiments in 1952 (probably in conjunction with testing for the measles vaccine) where it was injected into serum of another animal. As the protein is unlikely to enter your bloodstream directly, egg white should be fine to eat as long as you don’t have a leaky inflamed gut.
The app lists eggs (even whole ones) as a zero.
Thanks for the details! They do seem to keep changing the list over time, and I’m not sure how successful I’ll be at updating the site alongside it. Guess it’s a testament to trust the feedback your body’s giving you to find what works for you.
I am new to the MCAS and a low histamine diet and have been searching around for recipes. So glad I came across this! I have been craving chicken pot pie or chicken and dumplings but thought chicken broth would be a no no. I see you have a recipe for pot pie included here. Is it okay to use store bought organic chicken broth?
Thanks!
Hi Catherine! Sorry for the late reply… first off, I’d recommend reviewing the ingredients of the broth! For me, canned foods are fine. I’m a little more discerning with in-store packaged foods with shorter sell-by dates.
Thank you so so much. I just found out that I have to follow a low-histamine elimination diet for a few weeks and was feeling so overwhelmed by what I can and cannot eat. This is such a huge huge help.
Thanks! Combing through diet is so personalized and definitely overwhelming. Hope you’ve found what works for you and are feeling a bit better!
Hello i would like to make french toast for breakfast but i thoight bread esoecially sourdough was not allowed? Wich bread is fine to eat thanks
Hi, Jaime. Check out the SIGHI list so you can review the specific foods & ingredients you’re interested in.
I’m just learning about Histamine Intolerance and feel I need to try this. I have suffered all my life and I’m hoping it helps. Thank you for simple recipes to start this journey.
I think that this resource may have been made into a book illegally. The book is called MCAS Disease Cookbook: nutritious meals and recipes for mcas sufferers and other mast cell distorders. Published by iPRESS publishers. Its on amazon. I got the book hoping to find more recipes, but did not. All of the recipes in this article are in the book, in the exact same order. The book also has a lot of typos in the beginning. I’m not sure what you could do about it, but I figured I would let you know. Its so sad that someone would abuse a resource just to make money. I love the work being done with you guys!
Haha wow, thanks for sharing that! Thankfully the reviews are making it quite clear. They’re not just stealing from my site, but all the wonderful content creators linked here. Classic internet life. Anyway, hope you’ve found plenty of foods and recipes that are working for you by now!
THanks very much for sharing these recipes and resources. It’s been eye opening to see that a significant percentage of us who have a mast cell disorder, also have dysautonomia, which often times can include multiple, overlapping conditions such as Sjogrens/lupus.
Hi and thanks! Given how everyone is so individual around food with these conditions, I’ve found the idea of a recipe collection so tricky, but it’s been an interesting challenge. Yes, it’s really interesting these overlapping conditions are common. Really excited to see the huge surge in research funding, it can only help accelerate any answers that are on the horizon. Hope you’re managing well!
I am new to MCAS and working my way through the elimination diet. I used to always eat canned beans, but am now seeing they may not work for me. Wondering if buying dried beans and cooking them in a pressure cooker or stovetop would be better tolerated. Has anyone had success with this?
Thanks for having such an amazing website!
Hi and thank you! I’m not sure it’s the freshness of the beans that’s the issue, but if you can tolerate them well them that’s wonderful! I personally eat black beans nearly every week these days (in modest amounts actually)… love them myself!