Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsBenefitsWho Needs a Puréed Diet?How the Diet WorksWhat to EatTips
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Benefits
Who Needs a Puréed Diet?
How the Diet Works
What to Eat
Tips
A puréed diet is an eating plan where all the foods have a soft, pudding-like consistency. It is a texture-modified diet that is often recommended for people who can’t eat solid foods.
While a liquid diet can also be used for people who have trouble chewing or digesting food, a puréed diet provides more nutrition than aliquid diet. Since you’re getting more nutrients, it’s safer to stay on a puréed diet for longer than you could stay on a liquid diet.
This article will go over how a puréed diet works. It will cover the key points to know if your provider wants you to follow a puréed diet, including tips for shopping and cooking.
Angela Coppola / Getty Images
How Your Brain Controls Swallowing
When you eat food, digestion starts in your mouth as you’re chewing. The food gets broken down more as it moves through yourdigestive system.
If you’re not able to chew or parts of yourdigestive tract don’t work well, eating solid food can be a challenge. It could even be dangerous if you were to choke on a piece of food you weren’t able to chew well.
The main benefit of a puréed diet is that furéed foods are completely smooth. Since they don’t have to be chewed, puréed foods are easier (and safer) to swallow and digest than solid food.
Trouble Swallowing After a Head Injury
You may need to follow a puréed diet if you have trouble chewing or swallowing. This can happed for a variety of reasons.
Dysphagia
MS vs. ALS: What Are the Differences?
Gastroparesis
Gastroparesis, also known as delayed gastric emptying, is a disorder in which the stomach takes too long to empty food. Diabetes is the most common cause of this condition. However, other risk factors for gastroparesis include:
Chewing Difficulties
Other Issues
If you’re recovering from an illness or surgery, you might need to start out on a liquid diet. A puréed diet can be a bridge between aliquid dietand getting back to your usual diet. It can help prevent weight loss and give your body the nutrition it needs to heal.
Some additional reasons a person may need to use a puréed diet include:
What Causes Choking?
How a Puréed Diet Works
A puréed diet involves eating foods you don’t need to chew.
To be safe for a puréed diet, the food just has to be soft—it does not necessarily need to be puréed. This includes foods like pudding or yogurt, That said, most foods you normally eat can be easily puréed to a soft, smooth, consistency. You just need to cook them properly and have a good blender or food processor.
Once they’re soft, the next step is to make the foods smooth.
When you’re done, all foods should be completely smooth. The consistency should be like pudding, very smooth mashed potatoes, or hummus. There should be no solid chunks of food or lumps.
You can also purée and eat each food separately.
Puréed Diet vs. Mechanical Soft DietA puréed food diet does not require you to chew your food. A mechanical soft food diet requires less chewing than a regular diet.
Puréed Diet vs. Mechanical Soft Diet
A puréed food diet does not require you to chew your food. A mechanical soft food diet requires less chewing than a regular diet.
Most people only stay on a puréed diet until they can get back to eating solid food. However, the diet can also be a long-term solution if you cannot tolerate or manage eating solid foods at all.
Meals do not have to be eaten on a timed schedule when you’re following a puréed diet. You can stick to your typical meal times if that works for you.
Benefits of a Mechanical Soft Diet
Any food that can be blended smooth is fair game on a puréed diet. However, to make sure you are getting enough nutrients, a puréed diet should follow the 2020-2025 USDA Dietary Guidelines as closely as possible.
The diet should be based on nutrient-dense whole foods and include a variety of food groups, with plenty of fruits and vegetables.
Liquid meal replacement drinksor supplements, like Ensure or Boost, can also help you stay nourished when you’re on the go or don’t feel like cooking.
Fruits
You should include at least 1.5 to 2 cups of fruit in your diet each day—half of which should come from whole fruit.
Allfruitsget soft when they’re cooked. However, it’s easier to blend them to a smooth consistency if you peel fruits with skins (like apples) first. Also, before you eat fruits with seeds (like berries) or any fruits with tough membranes (like oranges or grapefruit), make sure you press them through a sieve to remove the solid parts.
Smooth applesauce or puréed fruit packets are convenient for when you want a quick snack that you don’t have to cook or blend. You can also drink juices or nectar with no pulp.
Vegetables
It’s recommended that you eat at least 2.5 to 3 cups of vegetables each day. Vegetables may be fresh, frozen, canned, or dried.
Anyvegetableswith tough skins need to be peeled before you cook them. Always press vegetables with seeds or “strings” through a sieve to remove the tough parts.
Vegetable juices with no pulp are another option.
What to Eat on a Low-Residue Diet
Grains
When eating grains, be sure to get at least 6 to 8 ounce equivalents (oz-equiv) per day. At least half the grains you eat should be whole grains. Grain products include wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley, or other cereal grains.
You can purée well-cooked rice or pasta, crackers, breads, and more into a pudding consistency using your liquid of choice. Cooked cereals (like Cream of Wheat or Cream of Rice) and blended oatmeal are other easy options.
Dairy
Make sure you get at least 3 cups of dairy every day. This includes milk, yogurt, cheese, lactose-free milk, fortified soy milk, and yogurt.If you need additional calories, choose full-fatdairyproducts like whole milk or yogurt. You’ll find a variety of dairy products that are already the right consistency for a puréed diet.
Not only are they a good source of calories and fat, but milk also contains protein. For example, a 6-ounce serving of Greek yogurt provides about 20 grams of protein.
Meats
It’s recommended that you get 6 to 7.5 oz-equiv of protein per day.Chicken, fish, and soft, ground meats are the easiest to purée. You can add gravy, stock, or cream sauce to make them smoother. Before you start cooking, press meats or fish through a sieve to remove any solid pieces.
Legumes
All legumes are high infiberandprotein, making them a healthy substitute for meat. They also purée easily. For example, silkentofuis already very soft. It makes a good base for creamy desserts or soups. Smooth bean dips or hummus are other options.
Peanut butter and other types of nut butter are smooth enough to include on a puréed diet, but they tend to be thick. If you have trouble swallowing, you’ll need to be careful with nut butter.
Fats
Eating healthy fats (unsaturated fats) is also important for a balanced diet. Foods that contain healthy fats include avocado, nuts, fatty fish, and certain oils.
It’s recommended that you limit your intake of less healthy fats (saturated fats) to no more than 10% of your total daily calories. Foods high in saturated fats include butter, high-fat meats, tropical oils (palm or coconut), and whole-fat dairy.
Soups
Soups are a flavorful and versatile meal option. Puréed soups are a great way to enjoy your vegetables and other food items, like protein.
Soups may consist of broth, puréed or strained vegetables, and cooked grains and meats. That said, you can even purée chicken noodle or chicken and rice soup.
How a Clear Liquid Diet Works
Desserts
Desserts may include ice cream, frozen yogurt, fruit ice, pudding, fruit whip, and custard. However, they shouldn’t include solid foods like coconut, nuts, or dried fruits unless they’re puréed.
To maintain a healthy diet, limit added sugars to less than 10% of total calories per day.
A Hospital In Israel Found a ‘Cool’ Way to Help Malnourished Patients
Extras
Most herbs and spices are fine to add to puréed meals. However, if your mouth or throat is sensitive (e.g., because you have sores), these additions could be irritating. In that case, be careful about using cayenne pepper and other hot spices or condiments.
Meal Replacement Options
Meal replacement products are nutrient-filled food supplements designed to replace a regular meal. Ensure, Carnation Instant Breakfast, and Boost are a few examples of liquid meal replacements you can get at most grocery stores and pharmacies.
Tips to Maintain a Puréed Diet
If you are looking to maintain a puréed diet, it’s important to keep it practical, flexible, and sustainable.
Here are some tips that may make it easier to stick to a puréed diet:
How to Thicken Liquids for a Medical Diet
Summary
A puréed diet includes soft, smooth foods. If you have trouble chewing, swallowing, or digesting, it may not be safe for you to eat solid food as you typically would. A puréed diet can be a safer way to get the nutrition you need. It’s important to talk to anutritionistand your regular healthcare provider about your personal goals and needs.
Most foods can be part of a puréed diet as long as they’re prepared the right way. That said, some people still find it hard to stick with a diet of only puréed foods. Even if it’s nutritionally sufficient, puréed foods can look odd and be unappetizing.
Learning different ways to prepare puréed meals can help make it easier to stick with the diet. It also helps to have the right tools, like a good blender.
What Causes Malnutrition?
12 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.Eating guide for pureed and mechanical soft diets.Stanford Medicine.Clear liquid diet guidelines.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Dysphagia (difficulty swallowing).MedlinePlus.Gastroparesis.Jastrzębska-Mierzyńska M, Ostrowska L, Wasiluk D, Konarzewska-Duchnowska E.Dietetic recommendations after bariatric procedures in the light of the new guidelines regarding metabolic and bariatric surgery.Rocz Panstw Zakl Hig. 2015;66(1):13–19.U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture.2020 – 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.MyPlate.Fruits.MyPlate.Vegetables.MyPlate.Grains.MyPlate.Dairy.MyPlate.Protein.Lepore JR, Sims CA, Gal NJ, Dahl WJ.Acceptability and identification of scooped versus molded pureed foods.Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research. 2014;75(3):145-7. doi:10.3148/cjdpr-2014-004
12 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.Eating guide for pureed and mechanical soft diets.Stanford Medicine.Clear liquid diet guidelines.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Dysphagia (difficulty swallowing).MedlinePlus.Gastroparesis.Jastrzębska-Mierzyńska M, Ostrowska L, Wasiluk D, Konarzewska-Duchnowska E.Dietetic recommendations after bariatric procedures in the light of the new guidelines regarding metabolic and bariatric surgery.Rocz Panstw Zakl Hig. 2015;66(1):13–19.U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture.2020 – 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.MyPlate.Fruits.MyPlate.Vegetables.MyPlate.Grains.MyPlate.Dairy.MyPlate.Protein.Lepore JR, Sims CA, Gal NJ, Dahl WJ.Acceptability and identification of scooped versus molded pureed foods.Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research. 2014;75(3):145-7. doi:10.3148/cjdpr-2014-004
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.Eating guide for pureed and mechanical soft diets.Stanford Medicine.Clear liquid diet guidelines.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Dysphagia (difficulty swallowing).MedlinePlus.Gastroparesis.Jastrzębska-Mierzyńska M, Ostrowska L, Wasiluk D, Konarzewska-Duchnowska E.Dietetic recommendations after bariatric procedures in the light of the new guidelines regarding metabolic and bariatric surgery.Rocz Panstw Zakl Hig. 2015;66(1):13–19.U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture.2020 – 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.MyPlate.Fruits.MyPlate.Vegetables.MyPlate.Grains.MyPlate.Dairy.MyPlate.Protein.Lepore JR, Sims CA, Gal NJ, Dahl WJ.Acceptability and identification of scooped versus molded pureed foods.Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research. 2014;75(3):145-7. doi:10.3148/cjdpr-2014-004
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.Eating guide for pureed and mechanical soft diets.
Stanford Medicine.Clear liquid diet guidelines.
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Dysphagia (difficulty swallowing).
MedlinePlus.Gastroparesis.
Jastrzębska-Mierzyńska M, Ostrowska L, Wasiluk D, Konarzewska-Duchnowska E.Dietetic recommendations after bariatric procedures in the light of the new guidelines regarding metabolic and bariatric surgery.Rocz Panstw Zakl Hig. 2015;66(1):13–19.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture.2020 – 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
MyPlate.Fruits.
MyPlate.Vegetables.
MyPlate.Grains.
MyPlate.Dairy.
MyPlate.Protein.
Lepore JR, Sims CA, Gal NJ, Dahl WJ.Acceptability and identification of scooped versus molded pureed foods.Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research. 2014;75(3):145-7. doi:10.3148/cjdpr-2014-004
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
