35 Soft Foods For People Who Don’t Have Teeth (Or Whatever)

Hello and welcome to this thing we’re doing where we help you figure out what you’re gonna put in your mouth this week. Some of these are recipes we’ve tried, some of these are recipes we’re looking forward to trying, all of them are fucking delicious. Tell us what you want to put in your piehole or suggest your own recipes, and we’ll talk about which things we made, which things we loved, and which things have changed us irreversibly as people. Last week, we used confused your mouth via fusion foods

food list rachel hansen crop

About a year and a half ago, I suddenly found myself down a dozen teeth. You don’t realize it until you don’t have them, but teeth are pretty essential for a wide variety of activities, including: whistling, biting your nails, making “s” and “z” sounds, flashing non-horrifying smiles… and oh yeah, chewing.

For a month or so, I laid on the couch while my sister made stuffing, my Dad sliced avocados, my Mom baked strawberry rhubarb pies, and my girlfriend took a knife to every kernel of corn attached to a cob. That was lovely. But eventually, I had to return to my adult life and figure out how to feed myself. I did! And now I’m here to share.

So whether you’re nursing a mouth injury, harbor a gigantic cold sore, have an upset stomach, recently had oral surgery, or just want something to nosh on that texturally reminds you of baby food but isn’t actually baby food (because ew), here are some soft food recipes to try.


1. White Chocolate and Passionfruit Mousse


2. Magnolia Bakery Pudding

This tastes just like the real thing, you guys.

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3. Plum Cake
fall-spice-cake


4. Avocado Pie

via {Get Baked with Autostraddle}


5. Peach and Blueberry Greek Yogurt Cake


6. The Best Pumpkin Pie
best-pumpkin-pie-ever


7. Chocolate Avocado Pudding

via {Get Baked with Autostraddle}


8. Salted Caramel Brownies


9. Pineapple Banana Bread


10. Apple Bread Pudding
apple bread pudding1


11. Hazelnut Layer Cake with Fig Compote and Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting


12. Vanilla and Rum Crème Brulée


13. Leche Flan

You can also make the chicken on this page, but you’ll have to cut it into bite size pieces before eating.

Leche flan


14. Pichi-Pichi


15. Pavlova
pavlova final


16. Panna Cotta with Orange Blossom Jelly & Blood Orange Salad


17. Basically Anything That Has Gone Through A Blender

Because blenders are basically teeth that live outside your body. So that’s cool.

Check these out: 26 Recipes With Which to Blend Your Way to a Better Life
Pictures


18. Steamed Cinnamon Honey Pears


19. Grilled Pineapple


20. Savory Crepes


21. Spinach and Goat Cheese Ravioli

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22. Not A Fancy Quiche
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23. Any variety of Mac N’ Cheese

I mean, I’ve never encountered mac n’ cheese that I couldn’t eat. Maybe there are recipes out there that put like, tiny knives in the food. I hope not.

These recipes are all tiny-knife-free: 40 Ways to Say Yes Please to Mac n’ Cheese

mac_Collage


24. Corn Chowder

Make the full size and freeze it in small portions. Then when you can’t cook dinner because you’re sad about not having teeth, you can eat this!

Corn chowder


25. Creamy Tomato Soup Shooters With Grilled Cheese Sticks

Via howsweeteats.com.

Via howsweeteats.com.


26. Bitchin’ Soup

There are many varieties.

sb10067199n-001


27. Curried Carrot, Apple, and Peanut Soup

When I first found this recipe, the blog was titled “The Law Student’s Wife,” and I felt conflicted about linking to it. Because that’s kind of an unfortunate way to identify, right? Solely in relation to the person you’re in a relationship with? Anyway, the blog has been renamed since then. So good for her, and good for all of us, because now we get this tasty soup!


28. Chilled Strawberry Soup


29. Carrot Ginger Soup

carrot-soup-2


30. Other types of soup

I mean, you get the idea.

See: 60 Winter Soups That Will Warm Your Heart, Soul, and Universe

soup collage


31. Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

FYI if you toast the buns, it can make for sharp edges. So maybe skip that. And try to cut the onions small.


32. Other Crock Pot Things

Crock pots forever.

Check it: 49 Crock Pot Recipes That Keep It Slow, Low and Delicious

slowcooker


33. Fresh Tomato Salad

Just dice the tomatoes small you can just swallow them whole.

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34. Green Mashed Potatoes


35. Roasted Beet Hummus

Bonus for no-teeth people: you don’t ever have to worry about staining your pearly whites with red wine, roasted beets, or artificial dyes! Hahahaha life is so great for us.

roasted beet hummus

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Laura Mandanas

Laura Mandanas is a Filipina American living in Boston. By day, she works as an industrial engineer. By night, she is beautiful and terrible as the morn, treacherous as the seas, stronger than the foundations of the Earth. All shall love her and despair. Follow her: @LauraMWrites.

Laura has written 210 articles for us.

44 Comments

  1. Oh my god this is so relevant to my life right now (broken partial denture that must stay in unless I wanna go around with a big ole gap in my teeth prohibiting me from chewing my food properly). I’ve been cutting up pancakes into teeny little pieces and soggifying them in syrup to drown my sorrows and lisping my way through life.
    How does Autostraddle always know what we need?
    Thanks for the list love. I’m so happy for you that you had such a wonderful support base throughout your recovery. Wishing you the very best. <3

      • Thanks! Actually just waiting for my appointment to get an implant. Exciting times. Congratulations, now you know more about my dental situation than my new partner who I’m pretty sure thinks I have massively disordered eating habits. :)

    • The desserts look nice but what about real food recuperation can puree and eat with no teeth soup is high in sodium and you get tired of soup every day. What if you can’t eat eggs and have high blood pressure you can’t eat soup every day for months till you heal and they make your dentures.

    • I know how it feels. All by top are gone, but right now it hurts horribly. It’s been awhile since I had them removed. Why all the pain?

    • So hungry want but I’ve got no teeth at. And about nine teeth at bottom I’ve got dentures but it’s all new to me and my come hurts alot when I put them in at the bottom ok with top but not at bottom feel sick cause not eating good

  2. This is so helpful! My mom has lost or broke about half of her teeth in the last year and has a severely damaged jaw due to multiple chronic conditions. Coming up with recipies for her has proved to be an unexpected struggle. Thank you so much for posting this.

    • I’m trying to find new meal ideas!! No top teeth,,a few bottom teeth. Can’t chew pasta.LOVE fish.HELP

  3. I wish I had this post two months ago when I had wisdom tooth surgery. ‘Luckily’ I’ll have another tooth surgically removed this spring so I bookmarked this page for the occasion. ILU AS.

    I also wish all the best for you & your mouth, Laura.

    • I’m trying to find new meal ideas!! No top teeth,,a few bottom teeth. Can’t chew pasta.LOVE fish.HELP

  4. GRACIAS. Currently recovering from intense jaw surgery and am running out of recipes! A girl can only eat mushy lentils and soup for so long before she loses it.

  5. I’m here to confirm the deliciousness of avacado pie! P:

    And also to warn you all not to improvise the avacado chocolate pudding, you WILL make it too hot, and not in the fun eye watering way, in the too many tastes competing with chocolate way

    Learn from my mistakes. Follow your arrow, but also maybe the recipe.

  6. How is this website so incredibly timely? I have a sore throat that is making swallowing the worst thing in my life right now…. I’m also really weak and in bed, so if you could just send over a cute human to make me all of these, that’d be great.

  7. Bookmarked for when I can finally afford my dental work. After my wisdom teeth removal I developed an aversion to yogurt, hummus, and cottage cheese. This is a much happier list of ‘things you can eat when between a drug induced drawl and no teeth you sound like you’re from the Appalachians and should be blue.’

  8. Wish I had this when I had lockjaw and couldn’t get my teeth close enough to chew! I was traveling for work and they had bought a meal plan that couldn’t be refunded so I ended up taking tiny bits of the sandwiches and swallowing them with the beverage like pills.

    Also good for conditions like this: oatmeal. and eggs in nearly any form.

  9. Hi Laura,

    I have a chronic medical condition that requires a low fiber diet. The soups and pies will be so fun to try…thank you!!

    • Me too – all my back teeth are broken making it very difficult to eat – I live on Sustagen tetra packs, Up & Go tetra packs, milk, mashed veggies with butter & milk & gravy, potato bake, pumpkin bake, sweet potato bake, soups, ice cream, custard, jelly, mouse, yoghurt and anything that is soft enough.

  10. Relevant and timely – just had my braces adjusted and now everybody I speak to thinks I have a lisp LOL thank you! Love it, not just 1 but 2 Filipino food in the list! But ofcourse, it’s The Laura Mandanas! Astig! ^_^ For soft foods, I also like “maja blanca” aside from mashed potatoes and soup. Now I feel hungry again, and I just had lunch. LOL Thanks for this list! ^_^

  11. never thought I’d see so much positive teeth talk, love it! AS adding yet another intersection to the junction. all the best everybody!

  12. This will become so helpful to me over the next few months as I am about to be without my natural teeth. To know I don’t have to live off of yogurt is a great thing.

  13. I’m a 77 year young lady with c.o.p.d. and other goodies.. tons of medications have cost me numerous teeth(note I’m a gourmet cook) and with all my wisdom it’s tough to keep up new and different foods since I’ve decided thousands of dollars which I don’t have to spend on tooth replacement.. I’m. mostly confined to my bed with so. Many attacks… so no one sees me except the firemen and the 911 HUNKS who are always rescuing me. S O. I. T H A N K Y O U FOR ALL THE COMMENTS AND RECIPIES.Kathlay’N Morgaret Toronto Ontario Canada

  14. Having all your teeth out is bad enough, looking to find soft diet to enjoy, thanks this page has enlightened me much, 3 months to wait for dentures I will certainly be trying these

    • I really thought i was the only one induring this situation. Feeling sorry for myself it seems. These recipes really help give me hope if i eat one more egg im going to cluck lol. Sorry this is happening to others but nice to know im not alone. Last 3 weeks have not been fun!

    • I’m having all my teeth pulled out soon due to a very dentist that ruined my teeth. Now I’m having to wear dentures may I ask you what it’s like to wear them?

  15. I’m only 30 and had to have all my teeth pulled due to periodontal, and this made my day. I love cooking and eating so eating mush sounded like a fuckin’ nightmare. Score! Thank you ladykins!

    • I am 30 and had all mine pulled as well and found out today it will be 3-4 months till I get my dentures I am STARVING and so embarrassed this post alone made me feel better

  16. I almost burst into tears while reading this. This is what I really need right now, having no molar teeth… my last wisdom tooth was taken out last week. And no one from my family and friends understand my situation. They cooked hard food or bought KFC crunchy chicken and all I can eat was the mashed potato, then they even eat it for themselves! I was so sad and emotional… Until I bumped into this article, saving me from future heartaches. Thanks! I will try these recipes the soonest!

  17. I am awaiting a partial denture. I’m missing 4 molars – 2 top, 2 bottom on one side and two on the other top side. And I have an open bite in the front making those teeth useless. Thank you for these recipes.

  18. just had all my upper teeth removed. Had already had lower teeth removed over a period of time, Blimey now I have to think about what I can eat,
    Thank god for this site.

  19. I just had all my teeth pulled yesterday!! This is overwhelming as I’m starving I want meat so bad plz helppppp!!

  20. This is a bit of a rant…and, I wont apologize….Why, or Why does every converstation have to involve the F word…It is SOO unnecessary and is a waste of good words….especially in such a kind posting..

  21. All those delicious dishes, gave me many ideas, to eat healthy and taste.
    What kitchen machines I need to make taste mash of chicken, fish, meat, vegetables. cooked and row, fresh fruit mash, etc.
    Thank you so much! for your amazing advice and help, when there is NO teeth.

  22. Wow; you are encouraging people to poison their insides by eating a buch of junk; nothing but sugar, syrup, cream, more sugar and powder that gets turned into cake. How can you be this irresponsible.

    What you should be encouraging us to eat is foods that will cleanse our bodies, not poison it.

    Eat mashed red potatoes, blended veggies paird with spaghetti sauce, steamed/bouled potatoes, mushy rice, wheat farina, malted barley, bananas, backed or stir fried (or boiled) portabello mushrooms, eggs, grits, beef strogonuff with blended ginger more blended veggies, healthy stuff… but no u wanna encourage people to eat junk! I bet your insides is loaded with sticky syrup and tar!

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