The Mediterranean diet · October 2026
25 Mediterranean diet dishes to live for
Photos: Diane Kochilas, OliveTomato, The Mediterranean Dish, Feel Good Foodie, Spain on a Fork, Blue Zones. Each is the creator’s own.
The Mediterranean diet keeps coming out on top as the healthiest way to eat. What nobody says enough is that it's also the best food. Beans cooked in good olive oil. Fish on the grill. Soups that taste better the next day. Here are 25 dishes I'd happily eat for the rest of my life, each one from a cook I'd follow anywhere. Click through, make them, and tell them I sent you.
— B.
- 1
Photo: Diane Kochilas Black-eyed peas with fennel and greens
Ikaria, GreeceDiane has spent years on Ikaria, the island where people forget to die. This is what they actually eat: beans, wild greens, a lot of olive oil.
By Diane Kochilas · @dianekochilas
Recipe: Black-eyed peas with fennel and greens, Diane Kochilas
- 2
Photo: OliveTomato Cretan dakos
Crete, GreeceBarley rusk, grated tomato, feta, oregano, oil. Elena is a dietitian and calls this the Mediterranean diet on a plate. She's right.
By Elena Paravantes at OliveTomato · @authenticmediterraneandiet
Recipe: Cretan dakos, OliveTomato
- 3
Photo: The Mediterranean Dish Shakshuka
North Africa and the LevantEggs poached in peppers and tomato. Suzy's is the one I'd make for anyone who thinks eating well means eating boring.
By Suzy Karadsheh at The Mediterranean Dish · @themediterraneandish
- 4
Photo: Feel Good Foodie Lebanese fattoush
LebanonThe salad with fried pita in it, so nobody complains. Sumac and pomegranate molasses do the rest.
By Yumna Jawad at Feel Good Foodie · @feelgoodfoodie
- 5
Photo: Spain on a Fork Gazpacho andaluz
Andalusia, SpainRipe tomatoes, good oil, a blender. Albert makes it the way they do in the south of Spain. Drink it from a glass.
By Albert Bevia at Spain on a Fork · @spainonafork
- 6
Photo: Blue Zones Sardinian minestrone
Sardinia, ItalyThe soup the longest-lived men on earth eat almost every day. Dan Buettner has spent twenty years finding out why.
By Dan Buettner at Blue Zones · @bluezones
Recipe: Sardinian minestrone, Blue Zones
7Photo: Kalofagas Grilled octopus with Santorini fava
GreeceThe taverna dish you think you can't make at home. Peter puts it on a yellow split-pea purée. You can make it.
By Peter Minakis at Kalofagas · @kalofagas
8Photo: Emiko Davies Ribollita
Tuscany, ItalyBean and cavolo nero soup, cooked twice and thickened with yesterday's bread. Emiko went looking for the real one in Florence.
By Emiko Davies · @emikodavies
Recipe: Ribollita, Emiko Davies
9Photo: RecipeTin Eats Greek chicken
Greece, by way of SydneyLemon, garlic, oregano, olive oil. Nagi's marinade works every time, like everything she writes.
By Nagi Maehashi at RecipeTin Eats · @recipe_tin
Recipe: Greek chicken, RecipeTin Eats
10Photo: My Greek Dish Briam
GreeceEvery summer vegetable in one pan, roasted soft in olive oil. Even better the next day, cold, with feta.
By My Greek Dish · @mygreekdish
Recipe: Briam, My Greek Dish
11Photo: Pasta Grannies Orecchiette with tomato
Puglia, ItalyMaria makes the little ears by hand. Vicky films women like her before the know-how disappears. Follow her for that alone.
By Vicky Bennison at Pasta Grannies · @pastagrannies
12Photo: Love and Lemons Baked falafel
The Middle EastHerby, crisp, baked instead of fried. Stuff a pita with pickled onions and tahini and that's dinner.
By Jeanine Donofrio at Love and Lemons · @loveandlemons
Recipe: Baked falafel, Love and Lemons
13Photo: Mia Kouppa Gigantes plaki
Greece and CyprusGiant beans baked in tomato and dill. The sisters behind Mia Kouppa write down their parents' cooking so it doesn't get lost.
By Helen and Billie at Mia Kouppa · @miakouppa
Recipe: Gigantes plaki, Mia Kouppa
14Photo: Sip and Feast Pasta e ceci
ItalyChickpeas and little pasta, half of it mashed so it eats like it has cream in it. It doesn't. Perfect on a Tuesday.
By Tara and Jim at Sip and Feast · @sipandfeast
Recipe: Pasta e ceci, Sip and Feast
15Photo: My Moroccan Food Sardine tagine with chermoula
MoroccoSardines baked in chermoula and tomato. Cheap, fast, and about as good for you as dinner gets. Nada cooks the food she grew up on.
By Nada Kiffa at My Moroccan Food · @mymoroccanfood
16Photo: David Lebovitz Socca
Nice, FranceChickpea flour, water, olive oil, a very hot pan. David chased the socca from the market in Nice for years and finally got it.
By David Lebovitz · @davidlebovitz
Recipe: Socca, David Lebovitz
17Photo: Cooking with Ayeh Hummus
The LevantSilky, the kind you finish with a spoon. Make a batch on Sunday and the week's lunches are handled.
By Ayeh Manfre at Cooking with Ayeh · @cookingwithayeh
Recipe: Hummus, Cooking with Ayeh
18Photo: Özlem's Turkish Table Red lentil soup
TurkeyThe soup every Turkish kitchen makes. Özlem finishes it with pul biber oil. Breakfast, lunch or dinner.
By Özlem Warren at Özlem's Turkish Table · @ozlems_turkish_table
19Photo: Dimitra's Dishes Village spinach pie
GreeceSpanakopita horiatiki, with homemade phyllo, and it happens to be vegan. Dimitra makes rolling the dough look easy. Mostly it is.
By Dimitra Alfieris at Dimitra's Dishes · @dimitras.dishes
20Photo: Adeena Sussman Lemony salmon with fennel and orange
Tel Aviv, IsraelAdeena cooks from the market in Tel Aviv. Salmon, citrus, shaved fennel. Tastes like somewhere warmer than here.
By Adeena Sussman · @adeenasussman
Recipe: Lemony salmon with fennel and orange, Adeena Sussman
21Photo: Feasting at Home Farro salad with zucchini and chickpeas
The MediterraneanChewy farro, zucchini, chickpeas, a pile of herbs. Better at room temperature, which makes it the perfect thing to bring.
By Sylvia Fountaine at Feasting at Home · @feastingathome
Recipe: Farro salad with zucchini and chickpeas, Feasting at Home
22Photo: Downshiftology Mediterranean quinoa salad
The MediterraneanLisa says she makes it every spring and summer. It keeps for days in the fridge, which is the whole point.
By Lisa Bryan at Downshiftology · @downshiftology
23Photo: Smitten Kitchen Braised chickpeas with zucchini and pesto
Deb's New York kitchenChickpeas and zucchini braised soft, pesto stirred in at the end. Eat it with bread and a spoon.
By Deb Perelman at Smitten Kitchen · @smittenkitchen
Recipe: Braised chickpeas with zucchini and pesto, Smitten Kitchen
24Photo: Minimalist Baker Mediterranean baked sweet potatoes
Dana's kitchenSweet potatoes stuffed with roasted chickpeas and a garlicky herb sauce. About 30 minutes. Dana's specialty.
By Dana Shultz at Minimalist Baker · @minimalistbaker
Recipe: Mediterranean baked sweet potatoes, Minimalist Baker
25Photo: Rainbow Plant Life Mediterranean lentil and grain bowls
Nisha's kitchenLentils, grains, crunchy vegetables, pickled onions. Build the parts on Sunday and eat well all week.
By Nisha Vora at Rainbow Plant Life · @rainbowplantlife
Recipe: Mediterranean lentil and grain bowls, Rainbow Plant Life
Want to eat this way all week?
Chef Amazing will lay out seven Mediterranean dinners for you, with full recipes, and fit them around what you like and what you already cook.
Every photo is the creator’s own, from the recipe it goes with, and every recipe is theirs. Save one and Chef Amazing lays it out the way we cook: the timeline, the mise en place, and what you have versus what to buy. Then go see more from the cook. Who did I miss? Tell me at hello@chefamazing.com.
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