Vegetables & salad
Leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, tomatoes, carrots, onions, mushrooms, courgettes, aubergine, green beans, peas and mixed frozen vegetables are all practical choices.
Why plant foods matter →A grocery guide you can adapt
Fatty liver shopping list: what to put in your trolley
There is no magic list of foods that treats fatty liver. A useful MASLD shop makes a Mediterranean-style eating pattern easier: plenty of vegetables and fruit, wholegrains and other higher-fibre staples, pulses and suitable protein foods, plus mostly unsaturated fats.
This is general food information, not an individual prescription. If you have diabetes treated with medication, kidney disease, advanced liver disease, allergies, pregnancy, significant unplanned weight loss or another condition that affects what you should eat, follow your clinical advice.
The quick answer
What should I buy for fatty liver?
Current EASL–EASD–EASO guidance recommends improving diet quality towards a Mediterranean-style pattern. That pattern is characterised by vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds, legumes, wholegrains, fish and seafood, with olive oil as a prominent fat source. NHS MASLD guidance gives a very similar practical direction: plant foods, wholegrains, pulses, fish, leaner proteins and unsaturated fats.
That does not mean every item below must be in your trolley every week. Use the list as a set of categories, choose foods you actually enjoy and can afford, and buy them in quantities that match the meals you intend to make.
Keep the intent clear: this page explains what can go on a grocery list. The Shopping List Builder owns the interactive list-making job, while the Shopping hub covers the broader plan-shop-prep workflow.
The core list
Build your shop from these food groups
Pick from each section according to your meals. Fresh, frozen and tinned options can all be useful.
Whole fruit
Apples, pears, oranges, bananas, berries and seasonal fruit can provide variety. Whole fruit is generally a more useful everyday default than fruit juice.
Bananas & fatty liver →Wholegrain & higher-fibre staples
Oats, wholegrain bread, brown or mixed rice, wholewheat pasta, barley and other higher-fibre grains can form the starchy part of meals. Potatoes can also fit a balanced pattern.
Wholegrain bread guide →Beans, lentils & pulses
Chickpeas, lentils, cannellini beans, kidney beans, butter beans and mixed beans are flexible sources of fibre and protein for soups, curries, chilli, salads and traybakes.
Beans & fatty liver →Fish & other protein foods
Fish, eggs, skinless poultry, tofu and other minimally processed protein foods can be rotated across the week. Oily fish such as salmon is one option rather than a compulsory purchase.
Salmon & fatty liver →Plain dairy or alternatives
Plain yoghurt, milk and other lower-sugar dairy choices can be useful if you eat dairy. Unsweetened fortified alternatives may suit people who do not.
Yoghurt & fatty liver →Fats & flavour
Choose mostly unsaturated-fat foods — in sensible amounts
Olive oil, rapeseed oil, nuts, seeds and avocado fit a Mediterranean-style pattern and can replace some foods higher in saturated fat. They are energy-dense, so the goal is substitution and balance rather than adding unlimited amounts on top of everything else.
Cooking oils
Olive or rapeseed oil for cooking and dressings.
Nuts & seeds
Unsalted walnuts, almonds, mixed nuts, pumpkin seeds or other favourites.
Avocado
Useful in salads, on toast or in homemade guacamole when it suits your budget.
Flavour builders
Herbs, spices, garlic, lemon, vinegar and lower-salt seasonings can reduce reliance on creamy or sugary sauces.
Cupboard & freezer
Useful staples for weeks when plans change
A good list includes foods that make a reasonable meal possible even when the fresh ingredients have run out.
Tinned pulses
Beans, chickpeas and lentils are quick to rinse and add to meals. No special “liver” product is needed.
Tinned tomatoes
A flexible base for soup, stew, pasta sauce, curry and chilli.
Frozen vegetables
Useful for reducing waste and getting vegetables into meals without extra chopping.
Tinned or frozen fish
Can make fish easier to keep available. Compare flavoured products if sugar or salt varies substantially.
Oats & wholegrains
Longer-lasting staples such as oats, brown rice, barley and wholewheat pasta make meal planning easier.
Herbs, spices & acids
Garlic, paprika, cumin, dried herbs, lemon juice and vinegar can add flavour without relying on heavily processed sauces.
Less routine
What does not need to dominate the trolley
This is not a forbidden-food list. It is about which products are better kept as occasional rather than everyday defaults.
Sugary drinks
Current European MASLD guidance specifically advises avoiding sugar-sweetened beverages. Water and unsweetened drinks are better routine choices.
Processed meats
Bacon, sausages, salami and similar products need not be the default protein source when less processed alternatives are available.
Foods high in saturated fat
Frequent pastries, creamy sauces, fatty processed foods and large amounts of butter or similar fats can push the overall pattern away from guideline recommendations.
Ultra-processed sweet snacks
Biscuits, sweets, cakes and heavily sweetened snack foods are easier to keep occasional when they are not the automatic household backup.
For the deeper intent, see Foods to Limit with Fatty Liver.
Packaged-food check
Use labels as a comparison tool
You do not need to calculate a perfect score for every item. Labels are most useful when comparing two similar breads, yoghurts, breakfast cereals, sauces or ready meals.
- 1Compare saturated fat.
If two otherwise similar products differ substantially, the lower-saturated-fat option can be a useful routine choice.
- 2Check sugars.
Pay particular attention to sweetened drinks, flavoured yoghurts, cereals, desserts and sauces.
- 3Look at fibre and ingredients.
Wholegrain or higher-fibre breads and cereals can be useful defaults where they fit your meals.
- 4Notice salt.
Tinned, cured, ready-made and sauce-based foods can vary considerably, so compare like with like.
Keep the shop realistic
A budget-friendly list can still fit the pattern
You do not need premium “health foods” to build a useful trolley.
Use frozen produce
Frozen mixed vegetables, spinach, berries and other produce can reduce waste and make portions easier to use.
Lean on pulses
Beans and lentils can stretch meat-based meals or replace meat in some meals altogether.
Buy seasonal fruit
Berries are not mandatory. Apples, pears, oranges, bananas and other affordable whole fruit can do the same basic job in the pattern.
Choose the oil that works
Olive oil is prominent in Mediterranean eating, but rapeseed oil is also an unsaturated cooking fat and may suit some budgets better.
For a complete worked week built around cost and reducing waste, use the Budget Fatty Liver Meal Plan.
Worked example
A small example shop for ordinary meals
Suppose your rough plan includes porridge breakfasts, wholegrain-toast lunches, a bean chilli, salmon with vegetables, chicken traybake and yoghurt/fruit snacks. Your list might include:
Produce
Onions, peppers, carrots, courgettes, broccoli, salad leaves, tomatoes, bananas and apples.
Staples
Oats, wholegrain bread, brown or mixed rice, tinned tomatoes and potatoes.
Protein
Beans, salmon, chicken, eggs and plain yoghurt.
Fats & flavour
Olive or rapeseed oil, unsalted nuts, garlic, lemon, herbs and spices.
That is an example of turning meals into groceries, not a prescribed seven-day diet and not a claim that those exact foods are necessary for MASLD.
Common questions
Fatty liver shopping-list FAQs
Is there an official fatty liver shopping list?
No single official grocery list fits everyone with MASLD. Current guidance focuses on the overall dietary pattern rather than prescribing one exact basket. Use the food groups on this page as a framework and adapt them to your needs.
Do I need special liver foods or detox products?
No. Ordinary foods can support a balanced Mediterranean-style pattern. No individual food, juice, tea, powder or supplement is required to “cleanse” the liver, and this site does not recommend detox products as treatment.
Can frozen and tinned foods go on the list?
Yes. Frozen vegetables and fruit, tinned beans and lentils, tinned fish and other simple convenience foods can make meals easier and reduce waste. Where relevant, compare similar products for added sugar, saturated fat and salt.
Should I remove all bread, rice, pasta or potatoes?
No blanket rule requires that. Wholegrain or higher-fibre versions of bread, rice and pasta can be useful defaults, while potatoes can fit as a starchy carbohydrate. Portion, preparation and the rest of the meal still matter.
Next steps
Turn the guide into a week you can actually use
This guide owns the shopping-list information intent. These pages handle the interactive or meal-planning jobs.
Shopping List Builder
Create an editable, grouped grocery list and add the quantities your household needs.
Meal Planner
Choose the meals first so the shopping list is driven by an actual week.
Recipe ideas
Find breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack options that give each grocery item a purpose.
Meal Prep Guide
Use the groceries efficiently with a practical prep, storage and batch-cooking workflow.
Shopping & Meal Prep
Return to the hub for broader planning, label-reading and preparation guidance.
Evidence checked 18 August 2026
Primary and public-health sources used
- EASL–EASD–EASO — 2024 Clinical Practice Guidelines on MASLD
- York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust — Diet and MASLD
- Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust — MASLD guidance
- Mayo Clinic — Fatty liver disease (MASLD) diet
- NHS — The Eatwell Guide
See our editorial policy, evidence policy and medical disclaimer.