25 Easy Ultra Processed Food Swaps
A practical, swap-by-swap guide to reducing ultra-processed food in your diet. Each replacement is designed to be simple, affordable, and close enough to the original that you will actually stick with it.
Why Swaps Work Better Than Elimination
The most common mistake people make when trying to reduce ultra-processed food is attempting to eliminate entire food categories overnight. They clear the pantry, stock up on ingredients they have never cooked with, and burn out within two weeks. Research on dietary behavior change consistently shows that gradual, swap-based approaches produce more durable results than abrupt overhauls. A 2019 study published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity found that participants who made incremental substitutions maintained their new eating patterns at six-month follow-up at nearly twice the rate of those who attempted wholesale dietary changes.
The reason is straightforward: swaps preserve the structure of your existing meals. You are not learning to cook an entirely new cuisine or giving up foods you enjoy. You are finding a less-processed version of the same thing. The breakfast still looks like breakfast. The snack still satisfies the same craving. The difference is in the ingredient list, not on the plate.
The 25 swaps in this guide are organized by meal occasion -- breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and beverages -- so you can target the area where you consume the most ultra-processed food first. Each swap lists what to replace, what to replace it with, and why the alternative is a meaningful improvement. For the science behind how foods are classified, see our guide to ultra-processed foods.
higher adherence with gradual swaps vs. cold turkey
swaps per week is the recommended starting pace
of US adult calories currently come from UPFs
Breakfast Swaps (1-5)
Breakfast is where most Americans consume their highest concentration of ultra-processed food. Sugary cereals, flavored instant oatmeal packets, toaster pastries, and bottled smoothies dominate morning routines. The good news is that breakfast swaps are among the easiest to implement because the less-processed alternatives require minimal extra preparation. For detailed data on whether oatmeal is ultra-processed and how different brands compare, see our dedicated analysis.
| # | Instead Of | Try This | Why It’s Better |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sugary cereal (Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops) | Plain oats with sliced banana and a drizzle of honey | Eliminates artificial colors, HFCS, and BHT. Plain oats have one ingredient; most sugary cereals have 15+. |
| 2 | Flavored instant oatmeal packets | Steel-cut or rolled oats with cinnamon and fresh fruit | Removes added sugars, natural flavors, and maltodextrin found in flavored packets. Cooks in 2-5 minutes for rolled oats. |
| 3 | Commercial granola with coatings and oils | Homemade granola (oats, nuts, honey, coconut oil) | Store-bought granola often contains soy lecithin, rice syrup solids, and natural flavors. Homemade uses 4-6 recognizable ingredients. |
| 4 | Pop-Tarts or toaster pastries | Whole-grain toast with nut butter and sliced fruit | Pop-Tarts contain 30+ ingredients including TBHQ, artificial colors, and HFCS. Toast with nut butter has 5-6 ingredients total. |
| 5 | Bottled fruit smoothies | Homemade smoothie (frozen fruit, plain yogurt, banana) | Commercial smoothies often contain added sugars, juice concentrates, and natural flavors. Homemade uses only whole ingredients. |
Breakfast Swap Tip
The single highest-impact breakfast swap for most people is replacing sugary cereal with plain oats. It takes the same amount of time (instant oats cook in 90 seconds in the microwave), costs less per serving, and reduces your morning ingredient count from 15-20 industrial additives to one: oats. Add your own toppings -- fruit, nuts, a small amount of honey or maple syrup -- and you control exactly what goes in.
Lunch Swaps (6-10)
Lunch is often built around convenience -- sandwiches with deli meat, instant soups, packaged crackers with cheese spreads, and fast food. These items are quick, but they tend to be heavily processed with preservatives, nitrates, emulsifiers, and flavor enhancers. The swaps below maintain the convenience factor while reducing the additive load substantially.
| # | Instead Of | Try This | Why It’s Better |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Packaged deli meat (turkey, ham) | Leftover roasted chicken or canned tuna | Deli meat contains sodium nitrate, phosphates, and carrageenan. Leftover roasted chicken has one ingredient. Canned tuna typically has 2-3. |
| 7 | Commercial sliced bread (20+ ingredients) | Bakery bread or sourdough (4-5 ingredients) | Most commercial bread contains DATEM, calcium propionate, and HFCS. Bakery bread uses flour, water, salt, and yeast. |
| 8 | Instant ramen with seasoning packet | Rice noodles with homemade broth and vegetables | Instant ramen seasoning packets contain MSG, TBHQ, and artificial flavors. Rice noodles with broth and fresh vegetables are Level 1-2. |
| 9 | Lunchbox cracker packs with cheese spread | Whole-grain crackers with real cheese slices | Processed cheese spread is an industrial formulation. Real cheese and simple crackers (3-5 ingredients) provide the same satisfaction with far fewer additives. |
| 10 | Commercial canned soup (15+ ingredients) | Homemade soup or jarred soup with a short ingredient list | Many canned soups contain modified food starch, MSG, and soy protein isolate. Look for jarred soups with 8 or fewer recognizable ingredients. |
Lunch Prep Strategy
The biggest barrier to less-processed lunches is time. The most effective workaround is Sunday batch cooking: roast a whole chicken or a sheet pan of chicken thighs, cook a pot of rice or quinoa, and wash and chop vegetables. With these three components ready, assembling a lunch each morning takes under five minutes. Pair with bakery bread, a simple vinaigrette, or leftover soup, and you have eliminated the need for most packaged lunch products.
Dinner Swaps (11-15)
Dinner is often where ultra-processed convenience foods step in after a long day -- frozen pizzas, boxed macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets, and jarred sauces loaded with high-fructose corn syrup. The swaps below are designed to be realistic for weeknight cooking, requiring 20-30 minutes of active time at most.
| # | Instead Of | Try This | Why It’s Better |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Frozen pizza (commercial brands) | Homemade pizza on store-bought fresh dough | Frozen pizza averages 25-35 ingredients including modified starches and artificial flavors. Fresh dough from the bakery section has 4-6 ingredients. Add sauce, cheese, and your own toppings. |
| 12 | Boxed macaroni and cheese | Pasta with real cheese, butter, and a splash of pasta water | The cheese powder in boxed mac and cheese contains sodium phosphates, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, and artificial flavors. Real cheese melted into pasta takes the same 10 minutes to prepare. |
| 13 | Frozen breaded chicken nuggets | Baked chicken tenders (bread with panko, egg, and seasoning) | Commercial nuggets contain mechanically separated chicken, sodium phosphates, and dextrose. Homemade tenders use chicken breast, egg, breadcrumbs, and salt. |
| 14 | Jarred pasta sauce with HFCS and additives | Simple sauce: canned tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and basil | Many commercial sauces add sugar, soybean oil, natural flavors, and citric acid. A basic tomato sauce from canned San Marzano tomatoes cooks in 15 minutes with 4 ingredients. |
| 15 | Instant mashed potatoes | Real baked or boiled potatoes with butter and salt | Instant mashed potatoes contain mono- and diglycerides, sodium bisulfite, and artificial butter flavor. A real potato takes 5-8 minutes in the microwave. |
The 20-Minute Rule
Every dinner swap on this list can be executed in 20-30 minutes of active cooking time. The key is keeping simple pantry staples on hand: olive oil, garlic, canned tomatoes, dried pasta, rice, and basic spices. With these in the pantry, you are never more than 20 minutes from a meal that scores Level 1-2 on processing metrics -- without needing a recipe or advanced cooking skills.
Snack Swaps (16-20)
Snack foods represent one of the most heavily ultra-processed categories in the supermarket. Flavored chips, candy bars, commercial cookies, and coated granola bars routinely contain 15-30 ingredients including artificial colors, hydrogenated oils, and emulsifiers. Replacing even two or three of your regular snacks with less-processed alternatives makes a measurable difference in your daily additive intake.
| # | Instead Of | Try This | Why It’s Better |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Flavored potato or corn chips | Roasted nuts or seeds (almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds) | Flavored chips contain maltodextrin, artificial flavors, MSG, and artificial colors. Roasted nuts with salt have 2 ingredients and provide protein and healthy fats. |
| 17 | Candy bars | Dark chocolate (70%+ cacao) -- 2-3 squares | Candy bars average 20+ ingredients with HFCS, PGPR, and artificial vanillin. Quality dark chocolate has 3-5 ingredients: cacao, cacao butter, sugar, and sometimes vanilla. |
| 18 | Commercial packaged cookies | Bakery cookies or simple homemade cookies | Packaged cookies use hydrogenated oils, HFCS, artificial flavors, and soy lecithin. Bakery cookies use flour, butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla -- ingredients you recognize. |
| 19 | Flavored yogurt with mix-ins | Plain yogurt with honey and fresh berries | Flavored yogurt contains modified corn starch, artificial sweeteners, carrageenan, and artificial colors. Plain yogurt has 2-3 ingredients. Add your own sweetener and fruit. |
| 20 | Protein bars with coatings and syrups | Trail mix with nuts, seeds, and dried fruit | Most protein bars contain soy protein isolate, sugar alcohols, palm kernel oil, and artificial sweeteners. A simple trail mix of almonds, walnuts, raisins, and sunflower seeds provides sustained energy with 4 whole-food ingredients. |
Snack Prep Tip
The reason people reach for packaged snacks is availability -- they are already portioned and ready to grab. Create the same convenience with less-processed options: portion nuts and trail mix into small containers on Sunday, keep washed fruit visible in the refrigerator, and store dark chocolate squares in a visible spot. When the less-processed option is just as easy to reach for, it wins. You can also explore more ideas in our food categories to find minimally processed snack products.
Beverage Swaps (21-25)
Sweetened beverages are among the most ultra-processed items in the typical American diet, and they are also among the easiest to replace. Soda, energy drinks, and bottled sweetened teas and coffees routinely contain high-fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, phosphoric acid, and preservatives like sodium benzoate. Beverage swaps often deliver the largest immediate reduction in daily UPF consumption because people drink these products multiple times per day.
| # | Instead Of | Try This | Why It’s Better |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Regular soda | Sparkling water with a squeeze of lemon or lime | Soda contains HFCS, phosphoric acid, caramel color, and caffeine. Sparkling water with citrus has zero additives and provides the same carbonation satisfaction. See our Coke vs Pepsi comparison for processing details. |
| 22 | Energy drinks | Green tea or black coffee | Energy drinks contain taurine, glucuronolactone, artificial sweeteners, and synthetic vitamins. Green tea and coffee provide natural caffeine with zero or one ingredient. |
| 23 | Sports drinks (Gatorade, Powerade) | Water with a pinch of salt and splash of orange juice | Commercial sports drinks contain artificial colors (Yellow 5, Blue 1), modified food starch, and sucralose. A simple homemade electrolyte drink works equally well for casual exercise. |
| 24 | Fruit juice cocktail or fruit punch | Whole fruit or 100% fresh-squeezed juice (small glass) | Juice cocktails are often less than 10% real juice, with the rest being water, HFCS, and artificial flavors. Whole fruit provides fiber and nutrients without added sugars. |
| 25 | Flavored coffee drinks (bottled or blended) | Plain coffee with real cream or whole milk | Bottled coffee drinks contain sugar, sodium caseinate, dipotassium phosphate, and carrageenan. Brewed coffee with a splash of cream has 2 ingredients and costs a fraction of the price. |
Beverage Transition Strategy
If you currently drink two or more sodas per day, a direct switch to plain water can feel like deprivation. Instead, try this graduated approach: Week 1, replace one soda with sparkling water (flavored with fruit if needed). Week 2, replace a second. Week 3, try unflavored sparkling water. By Week 4, most people find they have lost the craving for the sweetness. The carbonation is what most soda drinkers actually miss, not the sugar.
Quick Reference: All 25 Swaps
Use this table as a shopping companion. Photograph it on your phone or bookmark this page for quick access at the grocery store. The difficulty column indicates how much extra effort the swap requires compared to the ultra-processed original.
| # | Category | Ultra-Processed | Swap | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Breakfast | Sugary cereal | Plain oats + fruit + honey | Easy |
| 2 | Breakfast | Flavored instant oatmeal | Steel-cut oats + cinnamon + fruit | Easy |
| 3 | Breakfast | Commercial granola | Homemade granola | Medium |
| 4 | Breakfast | Pop-Tarts | Toast + nut butter + fruit | Easy |
| 5 | Breakfast | Bottled smoothies | Homemade smoothie | Easy |
| 6 | Lunch | Deli meat | Leftover roasted chicken | Medium |
| 7 | Lunch | Commercial sliced bread | Bakery bread (4-5 ingredients) | Easy |
| 8 | Lunch | Instant ramen | Rice noodles + broth + vegetables | Medium |
| 9 | Lunch | Cracker packs + cheese spread | Whole-grain crackers + real cheese | Easy |
| 10 | Lunch | Commercial canned soup | Homemade or simple jarred soup | Medium |
| 11 | Dinner | Frozen pizza | Fresh dough + own toppings | Medium |
| 12 | Dinner | Boxed mac and cheese | Pasta + real cheese + butter | Easy |
| 13 | Dinner | Frozen chicken nuggets | Baked chicken tenders | Medium |
| 14 | Dinner | Jarred sauce with HFCS | Canned tomatoes + olive oil + garlic | Easy |
| 15 | Dinner | Instant mashed potatoes | Real baked potatoes | Easy |
| 16 | Snack | Flavored chips | Roasted nuts or seeds | Easy |
| 17 | Snack | Candy bars | Dark chocolate (70%+) | Easy |
| 18 | Snack | Packaged cookies | Bakery cookies | Easy |
| 19 | Snack | Flavored yogurt | Plain yogurt + honey + berries | Easy |
| 20 | Snack | Protein bars | Trail mix (nuts + dried fruit) | Easy |
| 21 | Beverage | Soda | Sparkling water + lemon | Easy |
| 22 | Beverage | Energy drinks | Green tea or black coffee | Easy |
| 23 | Beverage | Sports drinks | Water + salt + OJ splash | Easy |
| 24 | Beverage | Fruit juice cocktail | Whole fruit or fresh juice | Easy |
| 25 | Beverage | Flavored coffee drinks | Plain coffee + real cream | Easy |
Tips for Making Swaps Stick
Knowing what to swap is only half the challenge. The other half is building the new habits into your routine so they become automatic. These four strategies, drawn from behavioral science research on habit formation, will help you maintain your swaps over the long term.
Start With 2-3 Swaps Per Week
Do not attempt all 25 swaps simultaneously. Pick two or three from the categories where you consume the most ultra-processed food and focus exclusively on those for the first week. Once they feel automatic -- typically after 7-14 days -- add two or three more. At this pace, you will have adopted all 25 within about two months without any single week feeling overwhelming.
Meal Prep on Sundays
The number one reason people revert to ultra-processed convenience foods is lack of time during the week. Spending 60-90 minutes on Sunday preparing basics -- cooking a batch of rice, roasting chicken thighs, washing and chopping vegetables, portioning trail mix into containers -- eliminates the time barrier for Monday through Friday. When the less-processed option is already prepared and waiting in the refrigerator, it becomes the path of least resistance.
Keep Alternatives Visible and Accessible
Behavioral research consistently shows that food visibility and convenience drive consumption more than preference does. Put the fruit bowl on the counter instead of in the crisper drawer. Store nuts and trail mix at eye level in the pantry. Keep sparkling water in the front of the refrigerator. Move the less-processed options to the easiest-to-reach spots, and the ultra-processed products to less convenient locations. This environmental design change requires zero willpower and has an outsized effect on daily choices.
Do Not Aim for Perfection
The goal is progress, not purity. If you eat a frozen pizza on a Thursday night because you had no time to cook, that does not erase the 20 other meals that week where you made better choices. The research is clear that even modest reductions in ultra-processed food intake -- moving from 60% to 40% of calories -- correspond to meaningful improvements in overall diet quality. Perfection is not the target. Consistent, imperfect improvement is. For more strategies, see our comprehensive guide to reducing ultra-processed food.
Your First Week Plan
If you are unsure where to start, here is a concrete first-week plan: (1) Replace your morning cereal or instant oatmeal with plain oats and fruit. (2) Switch one daily soda or sweetened beverage to sparkling water. (3) Buy bakery bread instead of commercial sliced bread on your next grocery trip. These three swaps alone cover breakfast and beverages -- the two highest-impact categories -- and require zero cooking skill. Build from there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to make all 25 swaps at once?
No. Trying to change everything at once is a reliable path to burnout. Start with two or three swaps that feel easiest -- most people begin with beverages and breakfast because those categories require the least cooking skill. Add one or two more swaps each week. Within two to three months you will have adopted the majority of the list without it ever feeling overwhelming. The research on habit formation consistently shows that small, sequential changes outperform large simultaneous overhauls.
Will these swaps cost more money?
Most swaps are cost-neutral or cheaper. Plain oats cost less per serving than branded instant oatmeal packets. Sparkling water is cheaper than soda or energy drinks when bought in bulk. Homemade trail mix costs roughly half of what a commercial protein bar does. The swaps that may cost slightly more -- bakery bread instead of commercial sliced bread, for example -- typically add only $1-2 per week. Dried beans, rice, plain yogurt, and frozen vegetables are among the cheapest foods in the grocery store and form the backbone of many swaps on this list.
Are all ultra-processed foods equally bad?
No. Ultra-processed is a spectrum, not a binary. A commercial whole-grain bread with 8 ingredients and one preservative is very different from a candy bar with 25 ingredients including artificial colors, HFCS, and hydrogenated oils. The NOVA classification groups them together, but our Processing Score system differentiates: a product scoring 8.5 is technically ultra-processed but far less concerning than one scoring 18. Focus your swaps on the most heavily processed items first -- those with the longest ingredient lists and the most industrial additives.
What if my family resists the changes?
Start with swaps that are nearly invisible. Switching from commercial pasta sauce to one with a simpler ingredient list, or replacing flavored yogurt with plain yogurt that you sweeten yourself with honey, changes the product without changing the meal. Most people cannot taste the difference between sparkling water with lemon and a lemon-lime soda after a two-week adjustment period. For children, the gradual approach is particularly important -- introduce one new swap at a time and let them adjust before adding another.
How do I know if a swap is actually less processed?
Use the ingredient list as your primary tool. Count the total ingredients and scan for items you would never find in a home kitchen -- high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, artificial colors like Red 40 or Yellow 5, emulsifiers like polysorbate 80, or preservatives like sodium benzoate. A good swap should have noticeably fewer ingredients, and those ingredients should be recognizable whole foods. You can also use our product search tool to compare Processing Scores between the original item and its replacement.
Continue Learning
Reducing Ultra Processed Food →
A comprehensive guide with meal planning, pantry audits, and budget strategies for cutting UPFs
Shopping Guide →
Store-by-store strategies and label-reading tips to find less-processed products
Ingredients to Avoid →
The specific additives, preservatives, and industrial ingredients to watch for on labels
Disclaimer: All tools and data visualizations are provided for educational and informational purposes only. They are not intended as health, medical, or dietary advice. Product formulations change frequently — always check the actual label for current ingredients and nutrition facts before making purchasing decisions. Consult healthcare professionals for personalized dietary guidance.