I love cooking from scratch, but some evenings I just want an easy tea. A jar of pesto and some plain chicken slices can help me get dinner on the table, and I like to keep frozen berries on hand for breakfast. Here are some of the UK supermarket finds and cupboard staples I’ve found handy while following a low-FODMAP diet.
My own experience of following a low-FODMAP diet inspired me to start Bakerbee Bakery, where I make brownies and cookies by hand. If you’re curious about what I bake, I’ve put a little about Bakerbee at the end of the guide.
Before you shop
I’ve checked the online ingredient lists for the specific packs linked below. Recipes change, so check the pack you pick up, especially if the flavour or pack size is different. I’ve left products that list onion powder or garlic powder out of my picks.
An ingredient check tells you what’s listed on the label. A tested low-FODMAP serving tells you how much of a food was found to be low in FODMAPs. Most of the finds below are based on ingredient lists. I’ve flagged certification where I’ve been able to verify it.
Use the Monash FODMAP app for serving guidance and follow any advice your dietitian has given you. A gluten-free label alone doesn’t tell you the FODMAP content. Lactose-free dairy still contains milk and is unsuitable for a milk allergy.
What can I make for tea?
If you’re just getting started, here are a few ideas for the evenings when you want something easy. You’ll find the exact packs in the sections below. Check the portions of the ingredients you choose.
Pesto gnocchi — ASDA Free From Green Pesto and Ciemme spinach gnocchi
Pizza straight from the freezer — Crosta & Mollica Frozen Gluten Free Margherita
A quick homemade pizza — Mutti Classic Pizza Sauce and a base you already know works for you
Takeaway-style lemon chicken — M&S Sweet & Zesty Lemon Chicken, served with rice
A mild curry — Bay’s Kitchen Korma Stir-in Sauce, with chicken or firm tofu
Fish and waffles — M&S lemon-and-pepper salmon and Birds Eye Potato Waffles
A jacket potato with a quick topping — M&S peppered mackerel or pulled Wiltshire ham hock
ASDA
Free From Green Pesto, 190g. This is one of my favourite finds. The Free From jar lists basil, sunflower oil, potato and pine nuts among its ingredients, with no onion or garlic listed. Look for Free From on the label. ASDA’s standard Green Pesto lists garlic powder.
Free From Penne, 500g. This maize-and-rice pasta is handy if you’d rather have penne with your pesto. Add plain chicken slices for a quick tea, and check the portions of the pasta and sauce separately.
Marks & Spencer, via Ocado
Sweet & Zesty Lemon Chicken. Battered chicken with a separate lemon, ginger and lemongrass sauce. Neither part lists onion or garlic. The batter contains wheat flour, and I haven’t verified a tested low-FODMAP serving. If this works for you, it’s an easy takeaway-style tea with rice.
Salmon Fillets with Lemon & Black Pepper Butter. A ready-to-cook main with the flavouring already sorted. The ingredients include butter, lemon, chives, parsley and black pepper, with no onion or garlic listed. It contains milk. Serve it with potato waffles or roasties if you fancy an easy side.
Collection Hot Smoked Peppered Mackerel. Handy for an evening when you barely want to cook. Flake it over a jacket potato or into a potato salad. Ocado lists mackerel, rapeseed oil, black peppercorns and salt.
Pulled Wiltshire Ham Hock, 130g. This is handy for adding to a baked potato or salad. Ocado lists ham hock and curing salt, with no onion or garlic listed.
M&S Hollandaise Sauce. A ready-made sauce to spoon over poached eggs or fish. This pack lists butter, egg yolk, lemon juice and mustard among its ingredients, with no onion or garlic listed. The similarly named Cook With M&S Hollandaise Sauce lists shallots, so the exact pack matters.
Collection Goose Fat Roasting Potatoes. Handy if you want roasties without peeling and parboiling. I checked the dressing sachet too. It lists goose fat, butter, sunflower oil, salt and black pepper. It contains milk.
Italian Diced Pancetta. Fry a little until crisp and toss it through pasta with courgette and Parmesan, checking your portions. The listing names the individual spices in the cure, with no onion or garlic listed.
Other Ocado finds
Crosta & Mollica Frozen Gluten Free Margherita Pizza. An oven-ready pizza for the nights when you want an easy tea. The topping includes tomato purée, mozzarella, aged hard cheese and oregano, with no onion or garlic listed. The brand matters here. The Goodfella’s Gluten Free Margherita I checked lists garlic purée. I haven’t verified a tested low-FODMAP serving for the Crosta & Mollica pizza.
Ciemme Gluten Free Potato Gnocchi with Spinach. These are made with potato, spinach, and maize and rice flours, with no onion or garlic listed. Toss them with the ASDA Free From Green Pesto for a quick tea.
Biona Organic Passata with Basil. This has just sieved tomatoes and basil. It’s a handy head start on a tomato pasta sauce. Check the portion guidance for passata.
Bay’s Kitchen Korma Stir-in Sauce. A mild coconut cream sauce with ginger, turmeric and spices. Bay’s Kitchen makes it specifically for low-FODMAP shoppers and lists it as certified. The brand suggests half a jar per serving. Stir it into cooked chicken or firm tofu for an easy curry.
Waitrose
Mutti Classic Pizza Sauce. A ready-to-use sauce for pizza night. Waitrose lists tomatoes, water and salt for the Classic tin. Another Mutti pizza sauce listing includes onion, so check the name and ingredients before you pick it up. Use a base you already know works for you and check your tomato portion.
Tesco
Birds Eye Potato Waffles, 10 pack. A freezer shortcut for tea. The ingredients include potato, rapeseed oil, salt and white pepper, with no onion or garlic listed. Try them with a fried egg on top or alongside the lemon-and-pepper salmon.
Sainsbury’s
Chargrilled British Chicken Breast Slices, 180g. I like having these to hand for a quick lunch or to add to pesto pasta. This pack lists chicken, salt and stabilisers. Check flavoured versions separately.
Cupboard and freezer favourites
Comptons Gravy Salt. One of my cupboard standbys, also listed at Morrisons. It lists salt, cornflour and caramel. Check the stock or seasoned meat juices you’re adding as well.
Plain cornflour and Arborio rice. Cornflour is handy for thickening a sauce, and plain Arborio rice is my starting point for risotto. Check the stock and any ready-made seasoning too.
Plain tinned plum tomatoes and tinned button mushrooms. Choose tomatoes without added onion or garlic, and look up guidance for the tinned version. Monash has tested canned champignon mushrooms. Drain and rinse them and check the app for current portion guidance.
Plain frozen raspberries or blueberries. I keep a bag in the freezer to add to breakfast. Check the guidance for the fruit you’ve chosen and follow the pack’s preparation instructions.
Dark chocolate. Check the ingredients and portion for your particular bar. If you need to avoid milk for allergy reasons, read the allergen information too.
KETTLE Lightly Salted crisps. This flavour lists potatoes, vegetable oils and sea salt. Check each flavour separately, as the seasonings vary.
Massel 7’s stock cubes. Massel identifies the 7’s range as Monash-certified. UK specialist retailer FODMarket lists Vegetable, Chicken Style and Beef Style. Look for the exact range, follow the preparation and serving guidance, and check allergens. The Vegetable and Beef Style listings include celery.
Earlier favourites I’d check again
PizzaExpress Gluten-Free Margherita. This was one of my original supermarket finds for an easy pizza night. I haven’t found a current listing for the same supermarket pack, so check the ingredients if you spot it.
Sainsbury’s lactose-free Greek-style yoghurt. I found two similar 450g listings with different ingredients, so check the exact pack.
Tesco Garlic Infused Oil. Tesco lists this as olive oil with garlic extract. I haven’t confirmed a tested low-FODMAP serving for this product.
Seasoned vegetables, sausages and fish pies. Some versions I checked contained onion, garlic or onion powder. Read the label on the exact pack, even if you’ve bought something similar before.
Tesco Free From chocolate chip cookies. I used to love dunking these in my tea. I haven’t confirmed the original pack, and the mini cookies use a different recipe.
A little about Bakerbee
If you fancy something handmade, you can browse my brownies and cookies. My Best Sellers box has two each of my Salted Caramel, Chocolate Orange and Triple Chocolate brownies. Please check the ingredients and allergy information on each product page before ordering.
See what’s in the Best Sellers box
Happy shopping!
Laura x
