A Complete Guide to Hypoallergenic Foods
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A List of Hypoallergenic Foods

These options can help lower your risk of having an allergic reaction.

A List of Hypoallergenic Foods
Everyday Health
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Updated on August 6, 2025
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Have you ever walked around a grocery store and overheard people talking about hypoallergenic foods? Well, you might be wondering what they really are. As the name suggests, hypoallergenic foods are those that have a minimal chance of provoking an allergic reaction.

Healthcare providers typically recommend hypoallergenic foods as part of an elimination diet to help determine whether any of the foods a person is eating eating are causing an allergic reaction. People with active allergies may also require hypoallergenic food options to lower their risk of experiencing a reaction.

Eating a hypoallergenic diet can be challenging at times, since common foods like wheat, eggs, milk, and soy all have allergens in them. However, with some planning, you can find a pleasing variety of hypoallergenic foods that are both delicious and nutritious. Here’s a list of hypoallergenic options for each food group.

Fruit

There are lots of fruits out there, and it’s possible to develop an allergy to any of them. But, there are some fruits that tend to be safer than others. Some of the most common fruits that have a lower risk of allergens are:

  • Apples
  • Pears
  • Apricots
  • Bananas
  • Plums
  • Melons
  • Pineapple
  • Peaches
  • Raisins
  • Prunes

Vegetables

Like fruits, some people may have allergies to specific vegetables. However, certain veggies are less allergenic than others. These include:

  • Cucumbers
  • Carrots
  • Broccoli
  • Brussels sprouts
  • Cauliflower
On the other hand, vegetables like celery, corn, potatoes, and mushrooms are more likely to cause allergic reactions. People with ragweed allergies should also avoid artichokes, iceberg lettuce, sunflower seeds and oil, safflower oil, dandelion, chamomile, and chicory.

Meat

It’s well known that fish and shellfish are common allergens, so foods like shrimp or lobster may not be the best idea if you’re looking for hypoallergenic meats. However, meats that have lesser risk of allergies include:

  • Lamb
  • Organically raised beef
  • Organically raised chicken
  • Turkey bacon
  • Ham

Grains

While wheat is not hypoallergenic, there are alternative grains that are less allergenic, including:

  • Amaranth
  • Buckwheat
  • Quinoa
  • Millet
  • Rice
  • Sorghum

Legumes

Peanuts and soybeans are the legumes that have the highest risk of allergies. However, there are other types of legumes that tend to be less allergenic, including:

  • Peas
  • Chickpeas
  • Lentils
  • Lima beans
  • Black beans
  • Pinto beans
  • Garbanzo beans
  • Kidney beans

The Takeaway

  • Hypoallergenic foods are those that have a low risk of causing an allergic reaction.
  • Eating a hypoallergenic diet can be difficult at times, because common foods like wheat, eggs, milk, and soy contain allergens.
  • However, there are many delicious, nutritious foods that have a low risk of causing an allergic reaction, including lamb, quinoa, pears, cucumbers, rice, and many more.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Pecoraro L et al. Main Processed Hypoallergenic Foods: A Potential Tool to Improve Informed Dietary Choices in Children With IgE-Mediated Food Allergies. Children. July 11, 2025.
  2. Low Allergy Items to Stock the Pantry. Healthy Eating Advisory Service. June 8, 2023.
  3. Vegetables. University of Nebraska–Lincoln: Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
  4. Ragweed Allergy. American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. January 22, 2024.
  5. Truitt KW. Strategies for Serving Top Nine Allergen-Free Meals. American Camp Association. May 3, 2021.
  6. Jarvinen-Seppo KM. Grain Allergy: Allergens and Grain Classification. UpToDate. January 23, 2024.
  7. Legumes. University of Nebraska–Lincoln: Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
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Kayli Anderson, RDN

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Kayli Anderson has over a decade of experience in nutrition, culinary education, and lifestyle medicine. She believes that eating well should be simple, pleasurable, and sustainable. Anderson has worked with clients from all walks of life, but she currently specializes in nutrition therapy and lifestyle medicine for women. She’s the founder of PlantBasedMavens.com, a hub for women to get evidence-based, practical, and woman-centered guidance on nutrition and cooking, hormone health, fertility, pregnancy, movement, mental well-being, nontoxic living, and more.

Anderson is board-certified in lifestyle medicine and serves as lead faculty of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine’s (ACLM) "Food as Medicine" course. She is past chair of the ACLM's registered dietitian member interest group, secretary of the women's health member interest group, and nutrition faculty for many of ACLM's other course offerings. She is the coauthor of the Plant-Based Nutrition Quick Start Guide and works with many of the leading organizations in nutrition and lifestyle medicine to develop nutrition content, recipes, and educational programs.

Anderson frequently speaks on the topics of women’s health and plant-based nutrition and has coauthored two lifestyle medicine textbooks, including the first one on women’s health, Improving Women's Health Across the Lifespan.

She received a master's degree in nutrition and physical performance and is certified as an exercise physiologist and intuitive eating counselor. She's a student of herbal medicine and women's integrative and functional medicine. She lives with her husband in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, where you’ll find her out on a trail or in her garden.

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