During the first trimester, eating well can feel complicated. Some days, all you want is comfort food. Other days, nausea, fatigue, or food aversions can make it hard to know what sounds good.
When my wife became pregnant for the first time, I wanted to make meals that felt comforting, nourishing, and realistic. Instead of focusing only on what she could not eat during pregnancy, I started creating trimester-specific recipes that helped her feel good about what she was eating.
Here are a few of my wife’s favorite first trimester meals. They are satisfying, flavorful, and full of ingredients that can support both mom and baby.
Key Takeaways
- First trimester meals can be both comforting and nourishing.
- Ingredients like sweet potatoes, spinach, chicken, eggs, pasta, and dairy can add important nutrients during pregnancy.
- Pregnancy food safety still matters, so meat, poultry, and eggs should be fully cooked.
- Use pasteurized cheese and dairy products when cooking during pregnancy.
- These recipes are written by a professional chef and can be adjusted based on cravings, aversions, and your provider’s guidance.
Related: 25 Best Foods To Eat During Pregnancy for a Healthy Baby
Nutritious and Delicious First Trimester Recipes
These recipes focus on comforting, flavorful meals with ingredients that can add protein, fiber, folate, iron, calcium, and other nutrients during early pregnancy.
Food safety note: During pregnancy, cook meat, poultry, and eggs thoroughly, choose pasteurized dairy products, and follow your provider’s guidance about foods that may need extra caution.
Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
A satisfying dish for when you just want carbs, carbs, carbs, but with the addition of a fantastically healthy vegetable to make you feel less guilty about just eating carbs, carbs, carbs. My wife ate this often during her first trimester.
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash
- 5 cups of macaroni
- ½ stick of butter
- 1/2 cup white flour
- 1 ¼ cups milk
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- 1 slice of toasted brioche bread
- Chives
Method
- Slice the butternut squash into 1-inch squares, place on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, and roast at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until soft. Meanwhile, boil the macaroni in salted water for 2 minutes less than the packet instructions.
- On the stove, melt the butter in a pan and then add the flour. Allow to cook for 30 seconds or so before whisking well. Remove from the heat and slowly add the milk, whisking continuously until you have a thick sauce. Cook on the stove for a further 2 minutes without stirring. Add the cheddar to the pan and mix well.
- Drain the macaroni and add it to an oven dish. Pour the cheese sauce over the macaroni and mix well. In a hand blender, mix the parmesan and one slice of toasted brioche bread. Sprinkle the crumb over the top of the macaroni. Cook in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 mins.
- Remove from the oven, place in a bowl with a few pieces of squash on top, and sprinkle chives over.
Why is this good for mom and baby?1
| Cheese | Protein, calcium, vitamin B, D, potassium |
| Pasta | Folate, magnesium, vitamin B, fiber |
| Milk, butter | Protein, calcium, magnesium, vitamin A, B, E, D, K |
| Butternut Squash | Vitamin A, B, C, folate, magnesium, fiber, phosphorus, and potassium |
Preparing for Birth? Start Here.
Pesto, Feta, and Olive-Stuffed Chicken
Lots and lots of healthy nutrients and vitamins are packed into the pesto, which is, quite literally, hidden in the chicken.
The zucchini and spinach are rich in folate, which is important for the baby’s development in the first trimester.
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 handful of chopped spinach
- 1 inch or so of feta, crumbled
- 2 shallots
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 zucchini
- handful of mushrooms
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 3 spoonfuls of pesto
Method
- In a bowl, mix together two spoonfuls of the pesto, the feta (use pasteurized feta during pregnancy2), and spinach. Cut a little pouch in the underside of each chicken and fill with the mixture. Pan-cook on high heat, skin-side down, for 10-15 minutes.
- While that’s cooking, slice the shallots, garlic, zucchini, and mushrooms. Turn the chicken over, add the stock to the pan, and cook for an additional 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked completely. Remove the chicken from the pan to rest.
- Add the shallots, then the garlic, zucchini, and mushrooms to the same pan. Stir in the remaining spoonful of pesto and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Arrange the vegetables on a plate, slice the chicken, and place it on top.
Why is this good for mom and baby?
| Chicken | Protein, Vitamin B, zinc |
| Feta | Protein, calcium, Vitamin B, D |
| Spinach | Calcium, iron, Vitamin A, B, C, K, folate, magnesium |
| Zucchini | Folate, potassium, magnesium, Vitamin C |
| Onion | Fiber, Vitamin B, C, D, K, zinc, iron, folate, magnesium, potassium |
| Garlic | Vitamin B, C, calcium, potassium, iron |
| Mushroom | Iron, fiber, Vitamin B, D |
Related: Pregnancy Diet: What To Eat for a Healthy Pregnancy
Sirloin Steak With Sweet Potato Mash and Chimichurri
In the first trimester, you are creating rather than growing a life, so you need food that gives you energy. To get some energy-rich food in you, swap your mash for sweet potato mash (also extra vitamins, iron, fiber, and so on).
Swirl in some feta (use pasteurized feta during pregnancy2) for extra calcium and finish it off with a spicy yet refreshing chimichurri packed with vitamins. Goes perfectly with a steak for that extra energy boost.
Ingredients
- (2) 8-ounce steaks
- 3-4 sweet potatoes
- Half a pack of feta
- Splash of milk, a pat of butter
- For the chimichurri: olive oil, parsley, coriander, salt, one shallot, one green chili
Method
- Peel and slice the sweet potatoes, then boil them in a pan of water for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the chimichurri: Add half a bunch of coriander and parsley to an onion, a de-seeded chili, a splash of olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt, and blend well.
- Get a hot pan and season the steak. Cook until it reaches a pregnancy-safe internal temperature of at least 145°F, then allow it to rest for 3 minutes before slicing. Use a food thermometer to check doneness rather than relying on cooking times alone.
- Drain the sweet potato and mash it along with the milk and butter. Add half of the feta (use pasteurized feta during pregnancy2) to the mash.
- Top the mash with the remaining feta, then pour chimichurri over everything!
Why is this good for mom and baby?
| Beef | Protein, iron, Vitamin B, zinc |
| Sweet Potato | Vitamins A, B, C, D, E, iron, fiber, magnesium, potassium |
| Feta | Protein, calcium, Vitamin B, D |
| Coriander | Vitamin C, K, calcium, fiber, iron, magnesium |
| Onion | Fiber, Vitamin B, C, D, K, zinc, iron, folate, magnesium, potassium |
| Green chili | Vitamins A, B, C, K, potassium |
| Milk, butter | Protein, calcium, magnesium, Vitamin A, B, E, D, K |
Chorizo, Red Pepper, and Sweet Potatoes With Egg
The brighter the vegetable, the more vitamins it contains, so a red pepper is right up there as one of the best things you can eat.
If you’re not feeling it in the first trimester, surround it with some carbs, spicy chorizo, and a protein and iron-rich egg.
Hiding vegetables amongst eggs and potatoes was something that seemed to go down well in our house!
Ingredients
- 2-3 Sweet potatoes
- A pack of chorizo
- 2 red peppers
- Parsley
- Onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- Cumin, paprika
Method
- Peel and cube the potatoes, then boil in salted water for 5 minutes. Remove and drain.
- Dice the onion and cook on low heat, add the chopped garlic and a spoonful each of cumin and paprika. Mix well.
- Add the potatoes to the pan and toss to coat everything in the spices. Cook for an additional 2 minutes. Slice the chorizo and cook it until steaming hot.
- Slice the peppers and add to the pan. Then, separately fry an egg until the yolk and white are firm. Spoon the mixture into a bowl, and top with the egg and chopped parsley.
Why is this good for mom and baby?
| Sweet Potato | Vitamins A, B, C, D, E, iron, fiber, magnesium, potassium |
| Egg | Protein, iron, folate, vitamin A, B, D, E, K, zinc |
| Chorizo | Protein, iron, Vitamin B, zinc |
| Red pepper | Vitamin A, C, E, K, folate, fiber, potassium |
| Onion | Fiber, Vitamin B, C, D, K, zinc, iron, folate, magnesium, potassium |
| Garlic | Vitamin B, C, calcium, potassium, iron |
| Cumin | Fiber, Vitamin A, B, C, E, iron, zinc, potassium |
Related: 7 Foods to Avoid During Pregnancy
The first trimester can be a strange mix of cravings, aversions, and trying to eat well when you may not always feel your best. These recipes are meant to offer comfort, flavor, and nourishing ingredients without making pregnancy meals feel boring or restrictive.
As always, listen to your body and follow your provider’s guidance about food safety and nutrition during pregnancy. Even small, satisfying meals can help you feel more cared for during this early stage.
