Low FODMAP Greek Food Guide: How to Eat Greek Cuisine with IBS

Low FODMAP Greek Food Guide: How to Eat Greek Cuisine with IBS

By Dr. Onikepe Adegbola, MD PhD — Johns Hopkins-trained physician-scientist and founder of Casa de Sante

Safest Greek Restaurant Orders

Appetizers (Meze)

• ✅ Greek salad (Horiatiki): Tomatoes, cucumbers, kalamata olives, bell peppers, feta cheese, olive oil, oregano. A perfect low FODMAP dish. Ask for no onion.
• ✅ Grilled halloumi: Semi-hard cheese, grilled until golden. Very low lactose. Served with lemon. Excellent appetizer.
• ✅ Grilled octopus: Octopus, olive oil, lemon, oregano. Simple, safe, and a classic Greek appetizer.
• ✅ Dolmades (stuffed grape leaves): Rice wrapped in grape leaves with herbs and lemon. Usually safe — some recipes include onion in the rice. Ask.
• ⚠️ Tzatziki: Yogurt, cucumber, garlic, dill. The garlic is the problem. Some restaurants use a lot. Ask for it without garlic, or accept that the yogurt/cucumber portion is soothing for the gut.
• ❌ Hummus: Chickpeas = high GOS. The #1 Greek appetizer to avoid with IBS.
• ❌ Spanakopita: Spinach + feta in phyllo dough (wheat). Usually contains onion. High FODMAP on multiple levels.

Main Courses

• ✅ Souvlaki: Skewered, grilled meat (chicken, pork, or lamb) with herbs and lemon. Usually marinated in olive oil, oregano, and lemon — garlic varies. Ask for no garlic. Served with rice or on a plate with salad. One of the safest orders.
• ✅ Grilled lamb chops: Simple preparation — lamb, olive oil, lemon, oregano, salt. No FODMAP issues.
• ✅ Grilled fish: Whole fish (usually sea bass or sea bream) grilled with olive oil and lemon. Classic Greek preparation. Always safe.
• ⚠️ Gyro: The meat is safe (seasoned lamb/beef blend roasted on a spit), but the pita is wheat, the tzatziki has garlic, and the tomato-onion topping has raw onion. Request: gyro meat on a plate with rice, no pita, no tzatziki, no onion.
• ⚠️ Moussaka: Layered eggplant + ground meat + béchamel. Contains onion in the meat layer and wheat flour in the béchamel. Difficult to modify at a restaurant.
• ⚠️ Pastitsio: Greek pasta bake. Wheat pasta + meat sauce (with onion) + béchamel. Avoid.

Sides

• ✅ Rice (pilafi): Greek rice pilaf cooked in broth with butter. Ask about onion in the preparation.
• ✅ Roasted potatoes (patates): Potatoes roasted with olive oil, lemon, and oregano. A Greek staple. Always safe.
• ✅ Grilled vegetables: Zucchini, eggplant (small portion — moderate FODMAP in large amounts), bell peppers. Drizzled with olive oil.
• ✅ Feta cheese: Aged cheese, very low in lactose. Slice with olive oil and oregano.

Dessert

• ⚠️ Baklava: Phyllo dough (wheat) + nuts + honey. Small piece may be tolerated. Nuts and honey are low FODMAP in appropriate portions.
• ✅ Greek yogurt with honey and walnuts: If you tolerate small amounts of regular yogurt (or the restaurant has a thick, strained variety — lower in lactose), this is a classic safe-ish dessert. Use lactose-free yogurt at home.