Feeding yourself as an adult is difficult sometimes. Here are 10 easy recipes for autistic adults.
Simple recipes for autistic adults
Feeding yourself as an autistic adult is an important daily task. If you struggle to feed yourself because the recipes call for “too much” (whether that’s ingredients or executive function) skip it or opt for shortcuts.
For example, fresh veggies can be replaced with precut, frozen or canned veggies no matter what the recipe says. The goal here is feeding ourselves — not being the healthiest eater on the block — and enjoying home-cooked meals, even if that’s a little premade.
A kinda homemade dish is still homemade.
Unless you’re harvesting and cooking veggies from your garden, and butter is from a cow you just milked, nothing is completely homemade that most people eat in today’s modern world.
I know this is a huge stretch decades back, but it’s what I tell myself when someone tells me my homemade chocolate mousse pie isn’t homemade if I used premade store ingredients.
Click here for easy dinner recipes for autistic kids (and adults!).
Easy Recipe – No appliances necessary
This recipe works well with leftovers or things you have on hand. You can use appliances but they’re not required.
California Chicken Salad
I LOVE this recipe. I have a nut-allergy, so I don’t include them. If you want the crunch, you can substitute sunflower or pumpkin seeds. The grapes add a pleasant juiciness, but can be excluded if you don’t like them. I use store-bought rotisserie chicken or pre-cooked chicken so I don’t have to shred it myself.
Bonus: Pair this chicken salad with brioche buns or croissant rolls + fruit or chips on the side for a tearoom feel. Cut the grapes into quarters if you want more control over them in the recipe as well.
Simple Air Fryer Recipes
My air fryer recommendation is Pampered Chef (or another air fryer with flat trays) because it utilizes trays instead of baskets. The trays are dishwasher-safe, and adding a silicone mat won’t affect air fryer cooking. Unlike the basket air fryers, you need not flip food over midway through cooking
Air Fryer Bananas
My go-to bananas snack is chocolate-covered bananas, but they’re often too cold for my sensitive teeth. I also tend to forget about bananas before they lose their yellow.
These air fryer bananas make the most of bananas that are starting to brown, they are healthy, and they taste like a dessert.
Air Fryer Flaky Salmon
I love salmon, but I’m also afraid to cook it in the oven. (Same as cooking raw chicken outside a slow cooker or Instant Pot.) The only mixing required is for the glaze. Pair this flaky salmon with veggies and rice for a well-rounded meal.
Air Fryer Polenta Slices
These polenta medallions are sliced from a tube, which means no mixing is necessary. When you pop them into the air fryer, they’re akin to French fries, which makes this the perfect side dish to burgers, or whatever else you eat fries with.
Air Fryer Squash and Zucchini Rounds
Fried squash was a childhood favorite, but then I grew up and had a lot of cooking accidents. I’m afraid of frying in oil because it splashes and pops. I’m excited to try this recipe one day, which doesn’t require a vat of oil.
Instant Pot
My cousin got me into Instant Pot cooking. Meal planning is easier with the Instant Pot as your primary cooking tool. It cooks most anything and functions as multiple cooking appliances. It is perhaps the cheapest when you also have access to a Sam’s, Costco, or similar store.
Please factor into your meal wait time the time the Instant Pot takes to build pressure and steam, in addition to the listed cook time.
Pressure Cooker 5-Ingredient Mac & Cheese
No meals list is complete without at least one macaroni and cheese recipe. This Instant Pot mac and cheese recipe is only five ingredients and fairly simple. It’s a lot like the boxed version, but with ingredients you know how to pronounce.
Microwave Recipes – Fast & Easy
Buy a couple of ramekins or small bowls for small microwave recipes. Seeing a small recipe take up all the space of a small bowl, instead of barely any in a regular bowl, is much more satisfying. Coffee mugs also work!
Mini Microwave French Toast
Have you ever made French toast from complete scratch? I have. It’s both rewarding and exhausting. My least favorite part is cooking them all in a skillet, and I haven’t yet nailed baking them in the oven without drying them out.
I’ll have to try these — you pop ’em in the microwave after prep, and they’re ready in two minutes.
Microwave Grilled Cheese
I never thought to put a grilled cheese sandwich in the microwave until now. You will need to toast the bread, which you can do beforehand if you’re taking this to lunch or want a snack on standby.
Slow Cooker
For simpler slow cooking, I recommend skipping the liners or using your Instant Pot as a slow cooker. I transfer leftovers to containers right after dinner, rinse the bowl, and put it straight into the dishwasher.
My experience with CrockPot liners is that they melt or add a plastic taste/smell to the food. I know the liners are helpful for many. If they work for you and get you eating, then keep using them since they do make clean-up easier.
Crock Pot Dairy-Free Chicken Tortilla Soup
Chicken Tortilla Soup is one of the simplest, heartiest soups I’ve ever made. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are best for recipes where chicken cooks for a long while because the bit of extra fat keeps the meat tender, and they’re often cheaper, too.
This recipe is forgiving, so if you want less meat or tomatoes (not the sauce, though), add a can of black beans or corn.
Chicken Wild Rice Soup (Slow Cooker)
Chicken and rice canned soup is my go-to sick food, but the price has gone up and there’s so little in a can. A better alternative would be making and freezing it in advance, so I just have to thaw my supply and microwave.
If cutting veggies is a no-go for you, opt for pre-cut celery (or cut a lot and freeze them yourself when you feel up to it) and frozen or shredded carrots. Add toast or seasoned bread served on the side to this chicken wild rice soup, and you have a complete meal.
What are your favorite easy recipes as an autistic adult?
More Easy Recipes for Autism, Picky Eaters and Sensory Issues
10 Easy Recipes for Autistic Adults (Your child will like these recipes, too.)
8 Easy Dinner Recipes for Autistic Children (and adults)
10 Simple Breakfast Recipes for Autistic Children (and adults)
8 Easy Recipes for Autistic Picky Eaters
10 Simple Lunch Recipes for Autistic Children
5 Healthy Snack Recipes for Autistic Kids
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Autism Nutrition Library – Want more help with recipes for the autistic person in your life? Check out this library of resources by a Registered Dietician (RD) and autism expert.
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Introducing new foods definitely takes time. Introducing new food with some of their favorites may help a bit. I learned that I like eating adding foods with color. Since I like crunch I eat veggies that offer a crunch by roasting. And if soup very smooth soups. This is coming from a person who only ate chicken nuggets and fries then chicken and broccoli and rice for years. Now I’m plant based vegan and it have given me a chance to honor my sensory needs.