For the person doing the cooking
Cooking for someone with IBS
You’ve watched them push food around the plate and say they’re not that hungry. You’ve seen them cancel again, or go quiet an hour after dinner, or eat before they come over so they don’t have to explain. And now you’re the one standing in the kitchen, scared that the meal you love making is the thing that hurts them.
Here’s the truth that takes the pressure off: you can’t fix their gut. You can make dinner safe. That’s a smaller, kinder job, and you can absolutely do it. This page is the whole thing on one screen: the handful of foods that are almost always fine, the three ingredients that quietly ruin everything, and a printable cheatsheet for your fridge.
The 5-minute version
If you read nothing else, read this. IBS is often triggered by a group of fermentable carbs called FODMAPs, and the low-FODMAP approach is the best-researched way to eat around them. You don’t need to memorize the science. You need two lists.
Foods that are almost always safe
- ✓Rice, oats, quinoa, potatoes, polenta
- ✓Plain chicken, beef, pork, fish, eggs, firm tofu
- ✓Carrot, zucchini, cucumber, spinach, green beans, bell pepper, bok choy
- ✓Strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, oranges, firm (barely ripe) bananas
- ✓Hard cheeses, lactose-free milk and yogurt
- ✓Olive oil, garlic-infused oil, salt, pepper, most fresh herbs
Portion still matters — even safe foods add up — but build a plate from these and you’re on solid ground. Check any specific food in the food database.
The three ingredients that ruin everything
Onion, garlic, and honey are among the highest-FODMAP foods there are — and the reason home cooks get caught out is that they hide in things that don’t look like onion, garlic, or honey.
- Onion hides in: stock cubes, gravy, marinades, spice blends, “natural flavoring,” pasta sauce, ready meals, salad dressings.
- Garlic hides in: the same list as onion, plus garlic salt, garlic powder, hummus, pesto, most jarred sauces.
- Honey hides in: glazes, dressings, granola, marinades, “healthy” snacks and yogurts, some breads.
The single best trick: garlic-infused oil. The flavor dissolves into the oil but the FODMAPs don’t, so you get the taste of garlic with none of the trouble. Green tops of spring onions, chives, and fresh herbs do the same job for onion.
Free printable
The IBS-safe kitchen cheatsheet
One page for your fridge: the always-safe staples, a sneaky-ingredient checklist to scan labels against, and five dinner formulas you can rotate forever. It’s printed right below — drop your email if you’d also like it sent to you, along with more cook-for guides.
IBS-safe kitchen cheatsheet
Stick this on the fridge. From phasediet.com/cooking-for-ibs
Always-safe staples
- ✓ Rice, oats, quinoa, potatoes, polenta
- ✓ Plain chicken, beef, pork, fish, eggs, firm tofu
- ✓ Carrot, zucchini, cucumber, spinach, green beans, bell pepper, bok choy
- ✓ Strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, oranges, firm (barely ripe) bananas
- ✓ Hard cheeses, lactose-free milk and yogurt
- ✓ Olive oil, garlic-infused oil, salt, pepper, most fresh herbs
Check the label for
- ☐ Onion (incl. powder, “flavoring,” stock)
- ☐ Garlic (incl. powder, salt, in sauces)
- ☐ Honey, agave, high-fructose corn syrup
- ☐ Inulin / chicory root fiber
- ☐ Wheat as the main ingredient
- ☐ Apple / pear juice concentrate
- ☐ Sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol (sweeteners)
Five dinner formulas
- • Protein + rice + a safe veg (roast chicken, white rice, roasted carrot)
- • Sheet-pan: firm protein + potatoes + green beans, olive oil, salt, herbs
- • Stir-fry: beef or tofu + rice noodles + bok choy, garlic-infused oil, soy sauce
- • Bowl: grilled protein + quinoa + cucumber + spinach + lemon-olive oil
- • Comfort: baked fish + mashed potato + sautéed zucchini
Tolerances are personal — the person you’re cooking for knows their own limits best. When in doubt, ask them, or check a food at phasediet.com/foods.
Keep reading
What can I cook for someone with IBS? A partner's guide
Safe default dinners, the sneaky-ingredient checklist, and how to talk about it without making them feel like a burden.
Low-FODMAP family dinners everyone will eat
One-pot and sheet-pan dinners for the whole table — no separate “sick person” meal, no two dinners a night.
Hosting someone on the low-FODMAP diet
A dinner-party and holiday menu that happens to be safe, the one question to ask beforehand, and what not to say at the table.
Frequently asked questions
What can I cook for someone with IBS?
Build meals from naturally low-FODMAP staples: a plain protein (chicken, fish, eggs, beef, or firm tofu), a simple carbohydrate (rice, potato, quinoa, or polenta), and a couple of well-tolerated vegetables like carrot, zucchini, or green beans. Flavor with olive oil, garlic-infused oil, herbs, salt, and pepper. The safest approach is a normal, uncomplicated dinner that simply leaves out onion, garlic, and honey rather than a special “sick person” meal.
What ingredients should I avoid when cooking for someone with IBS?
The three biggest culprits are onion, garlic, and honey, and they hide in far more than the obvious places — stock cubes, gravy, marinades, spice blends, jarred sauces, dressings, and many ready meals. Garlic-infused oil is the easy win: the flavor dissolves into the oil but the FODMAPs don't, so it's safe. Everyone's tolerances differ, so the person you're cooking for is the final word on their own diet.
Do I have to make a separate meal for them?
Almost never. Most one-pot and sheet-pan dinners are already low-FODMAP or become so with one or two swaps — leave out the onion and garlic, add flavor with garlic-infused oil and herbs, and put anything optional (extra sauce, bread, dressing) on the side. Cooking one dinner everyone eats is kinder for them and easier for you.
This page is for general information only and is not medical advice. The low-FODMAP diet is a tool for the person managing IBS, ideally with a doctor or registered dietitian — nothing here is a reason to change anyone’s treatment. FODMAP tolerances vary between people, so the person you’re cooking for is always the final word on what works for them.