Low FODMAP Cheesy Bacon Potato Bake

Sometimes comfort food is where it’s at. This simple dish of cheese and bacon topped roasted potatoes is homey and satisfying. Though this dish is more of a side dish, I have been known to eat it as a main course. (Accompanied by a vegetable of course.) It is best served immediately from the oven and all in one sitting so that the cheese is melted. Add more cheese if reheating.

Did you know that bacon can be cooked in the oven? If you wish to skip frying, line a baking tray with parchment, then place the bacon side-by-side on the tray. Bake for 10-20 minutes at 400F. Start checking on the bacon around 10 minutes and watch closely until the desired crispness is reached. If baking bacon at the same time as the potatoes, be sure the bacon is above the casserole as it splatters and can get grease on it.

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Low FODMAP Cheesy Bacon Potato Bake

Makes ~6 servings.

Ingredients

• 2.5 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 8 oz shredded cheddar cheese or Mexican cheese blend
• 4 slices uncured sugar free bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 3-4 scallions, chopped (green parts only)
• 2 teaspoons garlic-infused olive oil
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp paprika

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a casserole dish with butter or oil.
2. Add potatoes, salt, pepper and paprika to a large mixing bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and toss until potatoes are well coated. Pour potato mixture into a casserole dish. Potatoes should be in a single layer or close to it.
3. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until potatoes are fork tender. Remove potatoes from oven and sprinkle with the cheese. Return dish to oven. Broil for about 5-7 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from oven and top with bacon crumbles and scallions.

Low FODMAP Basil BLT Pasta Salad

Get all the flavor of a gourmet BLT with this easy pasta salad. Cook the bacon on the stovetop or in the oven – both work great. This salad is best when freshly made so try to eat everything the same day. If planning on making enough for leftovers, add the bacon and lettuce as it is served so as not to become limp.

The basil-mayo dressing can also be used as salad dressing or sandwich spread. Up to two tablespoons per serving of dressing alone should be tolerated by most.

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Low FODMAP Basil BLT Pasta Salad

Makes ~3 servings

Ingredients

• 1 ¼ cups uncooked gluten free spiral pasta
• 3 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 2-3 scallions, chopped (green parts only)
• 8 sugar-free bacon strips, chopped and fried crisp
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• 1.5 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste
• 1 tsp garlic-infused olive oil (optional)
• 2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• Parmesan cheese, grated, to taste (optional)

Instructions

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions, strain and then rinse under cold water. Drain well.
2. In a small bowl, make the dressing by whisking together the mayonnaise, balsamic vinegar, black pepper, basil and garlic-infused olive oil.
3. In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, tomatoes and pasta. Add the dressing. Toss the salad well to coat evenly. Add in the bacon and briefly toss. Top with parmesan cheese.

Low FODMAP Twice Baked Potatoes

Makes 1 full potato serving or two half-servings.

Baked potatoes are among the easiest foods to prepare. Elevating them to a delicious meal or side dish is nearly as easy. Twice baked potatoes are essentially regular potatoes with the cooked flesh scooped out, turned into mashed potatoes and eventually returned to the potato skin to be baked a second time. You can flavor the mashed potatoes however you like. In this case I’ve chosen the classic combo of cheese, scallions and garlic. In this case I’ve used a blend of cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses for a good melt with a lot of flavor.

Don’t wrap the potatoes in foil. Place the lightly oiled ‘taters directly on the oven rack during the first bake. This will give the skin an excellent crispy texture. To make half-portions, cut the potatoes into halves instead of slicing off the top and serve the halves individually. When preparing several potatoes at once, combine all the scooped potato flesh from all the potatoes and make the mash all at once to save time.

Ingredients

• 1 russet potato
• 1 tbsp lactose free milk
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 tsp garlic-infused olive oil plus more for coating potatoes
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp shredded cheese blend plus more for serving
• 1 scallion, sliced (green parts only)
• 2 strips bacon, fried and crumbled (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Scrub, rinse and dry potato. Pierce the skin several times with a fork. Lightly coat potato with 1/8 tsp garlic oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Place directly on oven rack and bake for an hour.
2. Carefully remove potato from oven with tongs. When it has cooled slightly, slice a hole in the top big enough to easily remove the flesh. Without damaging the skin, scoop out potato flesh and place in a bowl. Add milk, butter, garlic oil, a pinch of salt, a few cracks of pepper, shredded cheese and half of the scallions. Mash with a fork or potato ricer until even.
3. Place the empty potato skin on a baking sheet. Return the mashed potato mixture to the potato skin using a spoon. Leave a slight indentation for the cheese to sit in. Top with cheddar cheese. Bake 10-15 minutes until heated through and cheese melts. Top with remaining scallions and bacon. Serve immediately.

Low FODMAP Loaded Baked Potatoes

In terms of actual effort, baked potatoes are among the easiest foods to prepare. They are not necessarily the quickest* meal to prepare. But when you have a lot of time but only a few spoons, they make an ideal dinner. (New cooking method added for microwave users! See the Time Saving Tip following the recipe to learn how to bake a potato in half the time.)

You can fry the bacon or it can be prepared by placing on a parchment-lined baking sheet in the oven and baking for 10-20 minutes at 425F. Broccoli florets can be chopped and steamed/boiled for about 2 minutes or microwaved. Both broccoli and bacon do contain FODMAPs so limit your intake to 2 broccoli florets and two strips of bacon, according to Monash.

Makes 2 servings.

Ingredients

• 2 russet potatoes
• 1 scallion, sliced (green parts only)
• olive oil or garlic-infused olive oil
• sea salt
• shredded cheddar cheese or Mexican cheese blend
• 4 strips sugar-free uncured bacon, fried crisp and crumbled (optional)
• 4 broccoli florets, cooked and chopped (optional)
• lactose free sour cream (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Scrub potatoes as necessary and dry. Pierce the potatoes a few times with a fork and lightly oil with olive oil. Lightly salt the potatoes and place directly on oven rack and bake for 45-60 min, until tender.
2. Remove potatoes from oven and cut open the top. Place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle shredded cheese over the top of the potatoes. Return potatoes to oven until the cheese melts – about 3-5 minutes.
3. Remove potatoes to serving plates. Top with crumbled bacon, broccoli and scallions. Serve with sour cream if desired.

*Time Saving Tip

In a hurry and have a microwave? Try this hybrid cooking method for the first portion of cooking. It reduces the cooking time by about half. Be sure to use the oven only to melt the cheese.

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Pierce the potatoes with a fork, then microwave until easily pierced but slightly firm in the center, about12 minutes.
2. Brush with olive oil and bake directly on the oven rack until tender with crisp skins, about 10 minutes.

Low FODMAP Bacon Cheeseburger Salad

Makes one serving.

One dish I’ve been in love with ever since I had it at Black Bear Diner in California has been Cheeseburger Salad. It’s basically a low carb version of a cheeseburger – meat patty, onions, tomatoes, pickles and cheese on a bed of lettuce with dressing. As it turns out, a local bar here in Seattle called Loretta’s makes their own slightly different version that I love just as much.

My version, based on the Black Bear Diner version, has been created to be low FODMAP, easy and delicious. It’s a ‘composed salad’, meaning the ingredients are arranged on the plate or in the bowl in mounds or lines instead of being tossed. Dress with your choice of low FODMAP dressings – a simple vinaigrette or indulgent thousand island. (Recipes below).

Just a note – Most supermarket hamburger pickles and sweet relishes are not low FODMAP as they contain garlic. I have found that in spite of that, I tolerate them well, probably because I keep the serving size small. If you are concerned, you can make your own low FODMAP refrigerator pickles or simply leave them out. Choose the vinaigrette dressing to avoid issues with sweet relish.

Salad Ingredients

• 1 1/3 lb frozen burger patty
• 3 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
• up to 2 cups chopped Romaine lettuce
• up to 1.5 oz of either blue cheese crumbles -OR- shredded cheddar
• up to 2 strips uncured bacon, cooked* and crumbled
• 1 scallion, sliced (green parts only)
• 3-4 hamburger dill pickle slices (optional)
• up to 2 oz sliced black olives (optional)

Salad Instructions

1. Heat a cast iron pan over medium heat. When it’s hot, cook frozen burger patty until the patty begins to leak juices. Flip and repeat. Cooking it this way will result in a medium or medium rare burger. Add more time if you want a more done patty. Remove from heat and set aside to rest.
2. Add the lettuce to a salad bowl or plate. Add tomatoes, scallions, black olives, pickles, bacon and cheese in separate piles on top of the lettuce, leaving room for the burger.
3. Slice the cooled hamburger patty into 1” wide strips and set onto the salad.
4. Drizzle dressing over the top or serve on the side. Allow about 2 ounces of dressing per serving.

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Basic Low FODMAP Vinaigrette Ingredients

• 2 tbsp garlic-infused olive oil
• 2 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• a pinch of dried oregano or thyme
• a pinch of sea salt
• a few cracks of black pepper

Easy Thousand Island Dressing Ingredients

• 1/4 cup real mayonnaise
• 1 tsp low FODMAP ketchup
• 1 tsp sweet relish
• 1/4 tsp yellow mustard

Dressings Instructions

1. Select the dressing you wish to make. Combine the ingredients for that dressing in a small bowl and stir until will mixed.
2. Assemble the salad in a bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad. Serve immediately.

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For the Loretta’s version, use mesclun greens and sliced beefsteak tomatoes. Melt a slice of cheddar on the patty and don’t slice it. Skip the bacon and olives.

Low FODMAP BLT Lettuce Wraps

All of the bacon-y goodness and sweet juiciness of a BLT, none of the bread!  Heck, ‘bread’ isn’t even in the name.  Why’s it required for a BLT?  It’s not!  Fill lettuce cups with tomato salad filling and top with crunchy bacon bits for a flavor and texture explosion that’s totally low-FODMAP friendly.

The best tomatoes to use are those ripened in the sun at the peak of summer, but you can use grape or cherry tomatoes in the winter – they have much better flavor and color than their larger brethren. Pick tender lettuce whose leaves form natural cups that will hold filling. Usually I make 4 lettuce wraps from this recipe.

Please note that Monash recommends limiting tomatoes to 1/2 of a medium tomato or 3 cherry tomatoes per serving.

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Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients

• 1 cup tomatoes, chopped
• 2 scallions, sliced (green parts only)
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 small head of green leaf, red leaf, bib or butter lettuce
• 4-8 strips of cooked bacon*
• black pepper

Instructions

1. Crumble or chop the bacon into bits.
2. Combine the tomatoes, scallions, black pepper and mayonnaise in a mixing bowl and gently toss until tomatoes are well coated.
3. Scoop the tomato mixture into lettuce leaves as if the were tacos.  Top with a generous amount of crumbled bacon bits.  Serve immediately.

* Bacon is best cooked for this dish by baking it in the oven on a baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or so at 400F.