Whole plant foods, no added oil, no added sugar, no refined flour, little added salt. Italian recipes only. 2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z https://eathealthyandcheap.com/cuisine/italian/ Eat Healthy and Cheap https://eathealthyandcheap.com/recipes/acquacotta-tuscan-vegetable-soup/ 2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z

Tuscan cooked water, a thin bean and vegetable soup built on onion, tomato, and chard, with the egg and bread left out but the soul kept in.

https://eathealthyandcheap.com/recipes/caponata-sicilian-sweet-and-sour-eggplant/ 2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z

Roasted eggplant simmered with celery, tomato, raisins, and rinsed capers, then balanced sweet and sour with red wine vinegar, Sicilian caponata with no oil.

https://eathealthyandcheap.com/recipes/cipolline-in-agrodolce-sweet-and-sour-onions/ 2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z

Small onions glazed slow in vinegar and raisins until sweet and sour and glossy. An Italian side that stands in for a relish, made without sugar.

https://eathealthyandcheap.com/recipes/datteri-ripieni-sicilian-almond-stuffed-dates/ 2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z

Soft Medjool dates split and stuffed with a whole toasted almond, brightened with orange zest and cinnamon, then rolled in sesame. A two bite sweet.

https://eathealthyandcheap.com/recipes/fagioli-alluccelletto-tuscan-beans-sage-tomato/ 2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z

Tuscan white beans simmered in tomato with whole sage leaves and garlic until thick and savory. A five ingredient side that tastes cooked all day.

https://eathealthyandcheap.com/recipes/farro-salad/ 2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z

A chewy Italian grain salad of hard-roasted zucchini, peppers, and bursting cherry tomatoes over farro, finished with lemon juice instead of olive oil.

https://eathealthyandcheap.com/recipes/farrotto-alla-zucca-butternut-farro/ 2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z

Farro cooked risotto-style until creamy, folded with roasted butternut squash and sage, made savory with nutritional yeast in place of the usual cheese.

https://eathealthyandcheap.com/recipes/fave-e-cicoria-puglian-fava-puree-with-greens/ 2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z

The Puglian pairing of a silky dried-fava puree with sharp sauteed greens, brought together with lemon and a pinch of chile instead of olive oil.

https://eathealthyandcheap.com/recipes/fennel-orange-salad/ 2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z

Shaved raw fennel and orange segments with paper-thin red onion, mint, and toasted walnuts, dressed in orange juice and red wine vinegar. A bright Sicilian winter salad.

https://eathealthyandcheap.com/recipes/giardiniera-italian-pickled-vegetables/ 2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z

Italian pickled vegetables, cauliflower and carrot snapped crisp in vinegar with garlic and chile. A make-ahead condiment with no salt and no oil.

https://eathealthyandcheap.com/recipes/granita-al-limone-sicilian-lemon-granita/ 2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z

Fresh lemon juice sweetened with a strained date syrup, frozen in a shallow pan and scraped into icy crystals, the Sicilian granita with no sugar and no dairy.

https://eathealthyandcheap.com/recipes/granita-di-mandorla-sicilian-almond-granita/ 2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z

Granita di mandorla, the Sicilian almond ice: raw almonds blended with dates and water, then frozen and scraped into sweet, icy flakes.

https://eathealthyandcheap.com/recipes/insalata-di-rinforzo-neapolitan-cauliflower-salad/ 2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z

The Neapolitan Christmas salad of blanched cauliflower with capers, pickled peppers, and vinegar, sharp and crunchy and better the next day.

https://eathealthyandcheap.com/recipes/macedonia-italian-fruit-salad/ 2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z

Chopped apple, orange, and banana macerated in their own citrus juice with plumped raisins, toasted walnuts, and torn mint. The Italian fruit salad, sweetened by nothing but the fruit.

https://eathealthyandcheap.com/recipes/melanzane-a-funghetto-neapolitan-eggplant/ 2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z

Neapolitan eggplant cut small and cooked down with tomato, garlic, capers, and basil until silky, the cheap side that eats like a sauce.

https://eathealthyandcheap.com/recipes/minestrone/ 2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z

An everyday Italian vegetable and bean soup, thickened with whole-grain farro instead of pasta, built on a slow soffritto sweated in water, not oil.

https://eathealthyandcheap.com/recipes/pasta-e-ceci-whole-grain/ 2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z

A brothy Roman-style chickpea and tomato soup, thickened with pureed chickpeas and whole wheat pasta instead of oil, cream, or a parmesan rind.

https://eathealthyandcheap.com/recipes/pasta-e-fagioli/ 2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z

Whole wheat short pasta and cannellini beans in a thick tomato-rosemary base, half the beans blended in so the whole pot turns creamy without a drop of oil.

https://eathealthyandcheap.com/recipes/pasta-e-patate-neapolitan/ 2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z

The Neapolitan pot of potatoes and short pasta simmered into one starchy, savory bowl, thickened by the potato and finished with nutritional yeast.

https://eathealthyandcheap.com/recipes/peperonata-italian-stewed-peppers/ 2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z

Sweet peppers and onions stewed slow with tomato, garlic, and basil until jammy, then sharpened with a splash of red wine vinegar. A make-ahead Italian side that is better the next day.

https://eathealthyandcheap.com/recipes/pesto-genovese-oil-free/ 2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z

Genoese basil pesto without the oil or cheese: basil, toasted walnuts, garlic, and nutritional yeast blended into a bright green sauce with lemon.

https://eathealthyandcheap.com/recipes/polenta-dolce-italian-breakfast-polenta-with-apples/ 2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z

Stone-ground polenta simmered creamy in soy milk, topped with apples and raisins cooked down with cinnamon, an Italian sweet breakfast with no butter or sugar.

https://eathealthyandcheap.com/recipes/polenta-with-mushroom-ragu/ 2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z

Creamy stone-ground polenta topped with a dark, oil-free mushroom ragu built on dry-seared cremini, toasted tomato paste, and a splash of vinegar.

https://eathealthyandcheap.com/recipes/polpette-di-fagioli-italian-baked-white-bean-balls/ 2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z

White beans mashed with oats, garlic, and basil, rolled into balls and baked firm without oil, an Italian antipasto snack you dip in lemon or marinara.

https://eathealthyandcheap.com/recipes/tuscan-white-bean-and-kale-soup/ 2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z

A ribollita in spirit, thickened by blending some of the beans instead of by bread or oil. The soffritto sweats in water and the flavor comes from time.