Fatty Liver Dinner Ideas: Healthy, Liver-Friendly Recipes

I’m continuing my series of recommended food ideas for those diagnosed with fatty liver disease, and today I’m focusing on healthy, liver-friendly dinner ideas.

We have talked in the past about a recommended diet and I’ve even suggested breakfast, lunch, and snack ideas for you (I’ll offer links to those suggestions at the bottom of this article), but now it’s time to look at what to eat for dinner if you have NAFLD / MASLD.

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Homemade Hummus

First, leave 1 cup of chickpeas in 4 cups of water overnight (ideally, 12 hours). Throw the water away, rinse the chickpeas and transfer them in a large pot, then cover them with water (about 8-9 cups).

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and let them simmer until they are cooked – about 1 hour. Add more water if needed and stir occasionally.

When done, drain the chickpeas and transfer them to a food processor. Add 1 cup of the cooking water (add half a cup first, then add the rest if more is needed).

Puree the chickpeas, then add salt to taste (half a teaspoon to one teaspoon), 4 tablespoons tahini, 2 garlic cloves, the juice from half a lemon and half a teaspoon pepper flakes or paprika – you can add more if you want extra flavor. Puree again until you get your creamy hummus ready.

Transfer it to a bowl and enjoy it. You can sprinkle some extra paprika on top, but don’t add any extra oil as the tahini itself holds enough fat and we don’t need extra fat in our diets right now!

You can eat the hummus with whole wheat bread (homemade), a bunch of healthy tortilla chips, or use various vegetables as a base: cucumber, zucchini, green salad leaves, kale – anything that you enjoy!

Greek Salad

Quick, easy to make and delicious. Simply cut the vegetables (2 medium sized tomatoes, 1 cucumber, onion, half a ball pepper) and mix them with 7-8 kalamata olives, a bit of Feta cheese (don’t add too much, though) and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Easy to make, yet absolutely delicious!

When it comes to vegetable salads, you can simply go wild and have all combinations you can think of.

Just make sure that the dressing you are using is simple and home made, using only one or more of the following: olive oil, apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and mustard. No mayo and no store-bough stuff!

Tuna Salad

You can mix light tuna from a can with various vegetables and get some delicious salads in turn. Ideally, use tuna in Brine or water and not in oil. If you only have tuna in oil, drain the oil!

When I have more time on my hand, I prepare this tuna salad for the entire family (make sure you don’t add any extra oil as it is not needed and leave the hard boiled eggs for the rest of the family).

Also, this one is really healthy and tastes great – plus it’s easy to make. I would recommend, though, to skip adding the tahini as you don’t need any extra fat (and it’s still delicious)!

Minestrone Soup

Even though it’s a soup we’re talking about, it’s a hearty dinner that tastes great and is surprisingly enjoyable. It fills you up pretty well, too!

You have to prepare this once and try it if you haven’t done so already – I am sure you will fall in love with this Italian soup immediately! Here are the ingredients needed for about 6 servings:

– 2 large onions, chopped
– 2 cloves of garlic, minced
– 2 cups chopped celery
– 3 large carrots, diced
– 1 cup of green beans (cut in half an inch pieces)
– 1.5 cups kidney beans, dried
– 1 large bell pepper, diced
– 1 cup frozen peas
– 1 can diced tomatoes
– 2 cups tomato sauce (make sure it’s 100% tomato content)
– 2 tablespoons fresh basil (or 1 teaspoon dried basil)
– 6 cups water
– salt to taste
– 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese for topping

Add the onions, carrots and celery into a large stock pot and boil at medium heat in the 6 cups of water.

When the water starts to boil, add the green beans, bell pepper, frozen peas and diced tomatoes and let the soup boil for about 30 minutes. Add extra water if necessary: it needs to be thick, but not too thick, like a stew.

After 30 minutes, add the tomato sauce and basil then salt to taste. Let it simmer for 5-10 more minutes then add the garlic. Let it simmer for 5 more minutes (or longer if the vegetables are not cooked – but they should be by now).

When serving, add the Parmesan cheese over the Minestrone soup. It’s absolutely delicious!

Note: you can make it even tastier by adding 1 cup of whole wheat cooked pasta, but I prefer not to in order to keep those carbs in check.

If you want to add it, add the cooked pasta (seashell or elbow pasta) at the end, when you add the garlic.

Chicken Vegetable Skillet

Add one teaspoon oil in a skilled and cook half a pound chicken cut into strips, on all sides until it gets brown and the juices are cleared.

Remove the chicken and keep warm in a bowl, then add in the same skillet 1 small chopped onion, half a cup chopped or minced carrots, 1 sliced zucchini and half a ball pepper (chopped) and cook for 5-10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. If there’s not enough liquid there, you can add 2 tablespoons of water.

When the vegetables are done, return chicken to the skillet, add salt and mix everything for one more minute before serving.

Spinach Quesadillas

I love Quesadillas and even though you shouldn’t eat those too often since they’re not really the best choice if you have a fatty liver, they are delicious and a lot better than regular Quesadillas. And they’re easy to make too:

In a skillet, cook 4 cups of spinach, 4 chopped green onions (ore one regular onion, although the green ones are preferred), o large chopped tomato, the juice from half a lemon, 1 teaspoon cumin, a bit of garlic powder and salt (you might skip salt completely since you will add cheese later).

Cook and stir until spinach is wilted, then move to a bowl and add 1 cup of shredded cheese (whichever is your favorite).

You will get enough to fill 4-6 tortillas: simply place the spinach & cheese mixture on half of the tortilla, fold the other half over, then cook them for 2 minutes on each side on a griddle. Serve them immediately!

For the tortillas, always buy those made from whole wheat and with as little ingredients as possible. Tortillas are usually full of chemicals and preservatives and not healthy.

Beans Salad – Mediterranean Style

Quick and easy to make, you can basically add or remove any vegetables you want. I personally mix 1 can garbanzo beans with 1 can red beans (all drained and rinsed), 1 chopped tomato, half a red onion (chopped), the juice from half a lemon and 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus salt to taste.

Sometimes, I go crazy and add 4 tablespoons sweet corn and mustard. You get 2-3 portions out of it and it’s really good. You can also add all sorts of other greens if you want to.

Garlic Salmon with Vegetables

You will need a 2 lb salmon fillet, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, 4 cloves of garlic (minced), 2 tablespoons water and salt (about half a teaspoon).

Place the salmon in a baking tray, on a baking sheet. Mix the parsley, garlic, salt and water and brush the mixture all over the salmon.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (200 degrees Celsius) and cover the tray with a cap or aluminum foil.

Let it cook until the salmon is ready, for 15-20 minutes. You can remove the cover after 10-15 minutes and let the salmon for five more minutes if you prefer it to be darker and crispier. Serve with vegetables or just the salmon.

Lemon Herb Chicken with Steamed Vegetables

Ingredients (for two portions):

• 1 chicken breasts, fillet
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 1 small bunch of fresh herbs (like parsley, thyme, and dill)
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• 1 bell pepper, sliced
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Water

Place the chicken breast, together with half a lemon (sliced) and the fresh herbs in a large pot and cover everything with water.

Bring the water to a gentle simmer and let it boil for around 25 minutes, until the chicken is cooked.

Steam or sauté the vegetables (carrots, zucchini, and bell pepper) until tender, but crisp. This means around 5-7 minutes of cook time. I usually do this (the cutting of the veggies and their preparation) while the chicken is cooking.

When everything is cooked, take the chicken out and place it on plates, together with the vegetables and juice the remaining lemon over the food.

If you don’t like the taste of the boiled chicken, you can bake everything in an over for a better mixture of flavors.

Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli

Ingredients (two portions, or more if you use it as side):

• 1 cup of cauliflower, chopped into florets
• 1 cup of broccoli, chopped into florets
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Juice of 1 lemon

This might not sound like the yummiest thing ever, but it does taste good and is healthy.

To prepare, preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).

In a large bowl, combine the cauliflower and broccoli florets with all the other ingredients – the minced garlic, paprika, thyme, and the salt and pepper.

Spread the vegetables on a baking sheet in a single layer and cook for around 30 minutes (around 25 if you want them crispier). Serve with freshly squeezed lemon juice on top.

Note: You can add your favorite flavorings to the mix, as well as other vegetables.

Other things to eat for dinner

If you want even more recipes for fatty liver, as well as a well laid out plan on how to reverse your fatty liver, make sure to check out my favorite program out there - The Fatty Liver Remedy. 

It is not free, but something you have to pay for, but it is complete and it will guide you through all the steps that you need to follow to reverse your fatty liver (and it includes over 180 liver-friendly recipes!).

The recommendations above are just some of the delicious options that you have when it comes to eating a fatty liver friendly dinner.

But there are even more options that you can create, following some of the principles below:

Eat a lot of vegetables and fruits. Make vegetables your main thing. Combine with whatever meat you enjoy, as long as it is lean: chicken breast is the best choice, but lean fish and lean pork meat can work every now and then.

Grilled chicken with grilled vegetables are always easy to make. Just grate a carrot for a salad and you’re all set!

Just try to get creative and mix all the vegetables, rotating them in your diet so that you won’t get bored eating the same thing over and over again.

That Greek Salad will be good when you first have it, but if eat it daily, it will get old. But if you have it once or twice per week, it remains enjoyable.

So as you can see, there are a lot of options that we have when it comes to eating a healthy, light and good for the liver dinner.

Do you want even more recipes and suggestions regarding what to eat if you have fatty liver? Check out more articles I’ve written:

– Breakfast Ideas
– Lunch Ideas
– Snack Ideas
– Desserts for fatty liver
– Meal plan for 7 days
– Christmas menu Ideas

Got any other suggestions and go-to dishes for dinner? Let us all know about them in the comments section below!

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