Warning: you may have to revert to babyhood at some point.

If you have had any type of oral surgery, your dentist may prescribe a soft-food diet — in other words, food a baby would eat.

In this guide, we’ll be covering when exactly you’ll need a soft-food diet, what types of food you can and cannot eat, and how to prepare your meals.

When You Should Eat A Soft Food Diet

Eating only soft foods comes in handy in many situations. Typically, this diet is good if you have had any type of mouth, tooth, head, neck, or stomach surgery. Also, you may need to follow this diet if you have a chronic issue that makes it difficult to chew and swallow.

For example, if you have gotten a dental implant placed or any type of oral surgery (wisdom teeth, braces, tooth extractions, etc.), your dentist may recommend a soft food diet. That’s a smart option because, first of all, you’ll have pain and discomfort in your mouth after the procedure. Secondly, it allows the surgical sites to heal better and quicker.

If you’ve had any type of oral surgery (like dental implants, root canal, wisdom teeth removal), your dentist will most likely advise that you eat a soft food diet.

What Foods To Eat

Before you groan at the idea of a soft food diet, you should know there are plenty of soft foods you can eat.

Here are just a few ideas for this type of diet:

Grains

Bread, some cereals, muffins, pancakes, or waffle

Some cereals (soft and/or moist)

Pasta/noodles, rice

Saltine crackers in soup

Fruits and vegetables

Applesauce

Canned fruit

Cooked/baked fruits

Soft fruits with no skin (bananas, peaches, watermelon)

Soft, cooked veggies

Proteins

Eggs (poached, scrambled, or hard/soft boiled)

Easy to chew meat, like fish, chopped/ground poultry

Small pieces of meat in soup

Tofu

Baked beans

Dairy

Cheese (thinly sliced, melted)

Cottage or ricotta cheese

Milk and milkshakes

Ice cream

Yogurt

You should eat food that have a soft texture and are nutritious while on the soft food diet.

What Foods To Avoid

Yes, there are also plenty of foods you shouldn’t eat. And you should be aware of what they are before you bite into anything.

Here are some off-limits foods for those on a soft food diet:

Starches

Toast, crackers, and hard cereal

Anything with dried fruits, nuts or other seeds

Corn on the cob, uncooked potatoes, hard chips

Bagels, French bread, sourdough bread

Popcorn

Vegetables

Corn on the cob

Peas

Hard, unmashed, raw vegetables

Fruits

Hard fruits, like whole apples, raw carrots

Stringy fruits, like pineapple and mango

Any skin of a fruit

Proteins

Steak

Beef jerky

Bacon

Sausage

Hot dogs

Peanut butter (both creamy and crunchy)

You should avoid any food that’s tough, crunchy, hard, or sticky while on the soft-food diet. You should also avoid eating foods that are spicy, these can upset your stomach and cause bloating.

How To Prepare Soft Foods

So now that you have the list of foods to eat and not to eat, how can you prepare these foods?

Below are some ideas for how to do just that:

Cut food into small pieces.

Use broth, gravy, or sauce to moisten food. Soup is a healthy and safe option in a soft food diet.

Grind or puree foods.

Mash foods, like potatoes, veggies, and fruits.

While on the soft-food diet, cut up or mash your food so the chewing process is as easy and minimal as possible.

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Recipes For The Soft Food Diet

If you’re feeling overwhelmed with this new diet, that’s normal with anyone who begins eating only soft foods.

But don’t worry. This is not the end of the world.

In fact, it’s the perfect time to try something new. Here’s the ultimate list of soft food recipes.

These are hand-picked, absolutely the best recipes I could find online.

You will be able to swallow most of this food without chewing, including meat. Just shred it into tiny pieces using a good food processor.

Your teeth will love this food – guaranteed!

This page will be updated with new recipes, so make sure to pin it for your further reference.

Mashed

Slow cooker buttery garlic herb mashed potatoes

Sweet Potato & Cauliflower Mash

Heavenly mashed potatoes

Protein-packed mashed potatoes & gravy

Spinach Mashed Potatoes

Irish Mashed Potatoes with Kale and Butter

Cheesy Leftover Mashed Potato Pancakes

Loaded Skillet Mashed Potatoes

Eggs

Eggs are super soft and easy to make. Here are some of the most delicious recipes.

Scrambled Eggs with Kale and Mozzarella

Rainbow veggie kale scrambled eggs

Baked Egg Potato Bowls

Rice

Cheesy Rice Balls Recipe

Cheesy zucchini rice

Very Veggie Fried Rice

Yellow rice with peas

Texas Hash

Cheddar Chive Rice

Baked casseroles, lasagnas and more

Twice baked cheese and bacon mashed potato casserole

Cheesy cauliflower bake

Shepard’s Pie

Classic Lasagna

Baked Ravioli

Soups

Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup

Roasted garlic potato soup

Homemade Tomato Soup

Egg Drop Soup

Creamy caramelized leek soup with maple glazed bacon

Creamy tortellini soup

Cheesy chicken enchilada soup

Cold-Fighting Couscous Chicken Soup

Cream of chicken soup

Rosemary chicken noodle soup

Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana

Pasta

Everyone can make good pasta. So do you!

Spaghetti fra diavolo

Creamy garlic herb mushroom spaghetti

One Pot Garlic Parmesan Pasta

Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti

Bacon-Parmesan Spaghetti Squash

Salads

Mashed chickpea salad

Avocado Egg Salad

Tomato, mozzarella, and basil quinoa salad

Honey Lime Quinoa Fruit Salad

Avocado Tuna Salad

Moist Breads

Carrot apple bread

Moist Pumpkin Bread

Apple-Zucchini Bread

Apple-Zucchini Bread

Almond Milk Bread

Meat and fish

Classic Meatloaf

Perfect pulled pork

Baked Salmon with Parmesan Herb Crust

Lemon and Garlic Tilapia

Pancakes and omelettes

Blueberry cottage cheese pancakes

Cinnamon buttermilk pancakes

Greek Yogurt Pancakes

Oven Baked Denver Omelet

Spanish tortilla with ham

Moist cakes

Cinnamon swirl loaf

Blueberry sour cream coffee cake

Moistest Vanilla Mug Cake

Sticky Lemon Cake

Kentucky Butter Cake

Lemon and poppy seed loaf

Fruits and vegetables

Cider Vinaigrette Roasted Root Vegetables

Brown Sugar Baked Peaches

Mango caprese with basil vinaigrette

Homemade applesauce

Mousses

Lemon Mousse

Chocolate Avocado Mousse

Blackberry cheesecake mousse

Smoothies

Vanilla mint green smoothie

Healthy banana cream pie smoothie

Mango vanilla smoothie

Cherry Mango Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie

Peach green tea smoothie

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Sherbets

Raspberry Sorbet

Rainbow Sherbet Cupcakes

Lime sherbet freeze

References and credits

Make sure to visit our homepage for a full list of dental guides!

Summary

You shouldn’t be ashamed if you have to go on the soft-food diet. It’s the smartest thing to do after any type of oral, head, neck, or stomach surgery. Anyone who has that type of surgery most likely goes on this diet, so you’re not alone.

And remember, it’s only temporary. You’ll be eating steak and corn on the cob in no time.

The soft-food diet is pretty self-explanatory, but hopefully, this article gave you some ideas and painted a picture of what you can expect.