Octopus stifado over bulgur. 54 g protein at 607 kcal per plate, and every ingredient is fasting-friendly.
By Frixos Dimitriadis · Published November 3, 2026 · Updated November 3, 2026
4 servings · Prep 20 min · Cook 90 min · Total 110 min · Per serving: 607 kcal, 54.2 g protein, 67.2 g carbs, 14.2 g fat
The Christmas fast is where protein usually drops. Meat, dairy, eggs and fish are off the table, and what is left is mostly bread, pasta and legumes. Seafood is the exception, and octopus is the best of it.
Each plate of this stifado carries 54.2 g of protein for 607 calories, with 14.2 g of fat and 11.1 g of fibre. That is a training-day plate of food from a dish that is completely fasting.
Octopus, squid, shrimp and mussels are allowed on fasting days, and octopus is the leanest of them: roughly 15 g of protein per 100 g raw and almost no fat. The recipe uses 1.2 kg for four plates, so each person gets about 300 g.
That is where most of the protein comes from. The bulgur adds a little more, plus the carbs and fibre that make this a full meal rather than a bowl of seafood.
The octopus goes into a dry pot, covered, with no water at all. In ten minutes it releases its own liquid, which you pour off and keep.
That liquid is your stock. It carries far more flavour than water, and cooking the octopus without added water first is what stops the sauce from turning thin and watery later.
A real stifado is as much about the onions as the main ingredient. This one uses 600 g of baby onions or shallots, browned whole so they hold their shape through more than an hour of simmering and turn sweet.
That sweetness balances the vinegar, and the cinnamon, allspice and cloves give the sauce its warm, festive depth. Keep the heat low the whole time: a gentle simmer is what makes the octopus tender.
You do not need a fresh octopus from the harbour. Frozen octopus works just as well, and it often turns out more tender, because freezing breaks down some of the tough fibres. That is why many Greek cooks freeze even a fresh octopus before cooking it. Frozen octopus is also usually cheaper, and you can find it all year.
Thaw it in the fridge the night before. If it is not already cleaned, cut out the beak at the centre of the tentacles and empty the head, or ask your fishmonger to do it. Weigh it after thawing: the 1.2 kg in the recipe is the raw, thawed weight, and that is what the macros are based on.
Do not be surprised by how much it shrinks. Octopus is mostly water and loses a large part of its weight in the pot. Four generous plates from 1.2 kg is right.
Yes. During the Orthodox fast, meat, dairy, eggs and fish are left out, while seafood such as octopus, squid, shrimp and mussels is allowed, along with olive oil. Everything else in this stifado is vegetables, spices, vinegar and bulgur, so the whole plate fits. Bulgur and the rest of the ingredients hide no animal products, so there are no labels to check.
That is why octopus stifado has always been a fasting favourite in Greek and Cypriot homes. The traditional stifado is made with beef or rabbit. On fasting days, octopus takes their place, and the onions, vinegar and spices stay exactly the same.
Customs vary between families and parishes, so if you keep a stricter fast, follow the rules you know.
We chose bulgur because it adds fibre and soaks up the sauce without turning mushy. Each plate gets 50 g of dry bulgur, which supplies a big part of the 11.1 g of fibre.
White rice works too, with similar calories but less fibre. Orzo takes it closer to a giouvetsi. If you would rather have a slice of crusty bread to mop up the sauce, skip the bulgur and log the bread separately in the app so your numbers stay right.
Serve it with a big bowl of horta or a green salad with lemon and you add volume for very few calories. On a rest day or a cut, cauliflower rice is the lightest option, as you will see below.
Stifado is one of those dishes that is better on day two, once the onions and spices have settled into the sauce. Cook it on Sunday and you have lunches until Wednesday. Keep the bulgur in a separate container so it does not soak up all the sauce, and reheat the stifado gently in a pan with a splash of water. It also freezes well for up to two months, without the bulgur.
If you are cutting, serve it over cauliflower rice instead of bulgur: each plate drops by about 135 calories and 30 g of carbs and still stays above 50 g of protein.
For the rest of the week, pair it with our shrimp giouvetsi, the vegan pastitsio and a protein rizogalo for dessert. Log any of them in the DietSync app and the macros are already done for you.
Keep the lid on and the heat low for the full hour. A hard boil tightens the octopus; a gentle simmer is what makes it tender.
Brown the baby onions whole. They hold their shape through the long simmer and turn sweet, which balances the vinegar.
Give the vinegar a full minute to evaporate before the tomato goes in. The sharp edge goes and only the flavour stays.
Keeps 3 days in the fridge in an airtight container and tastes even better the next day. Store the bulgur separately and reheat the stifado gently in a pan with a splash of water. Freezes well for up to 2 months, without the bulgur.
Yes. Octopus, squid, shrimp and mussels are allowed on fasting days, which makes them the easiest way to keep protein high while you fast. This plate gives 54 g, roughly what you would get from 175 g of cooked chicken breast.
Octopus is mostly water. Cooking it dry and covered for 10 minutes draws out its own liquid, which you keep and use as the stock. It has far more flavour than plain water and stops the sauce turning watery.
Frozen works just as well and often turns out more tender, because freezing breaks down the fibres. Thaw it in the fridge overnight and weigh it after thawing so the macros stay accurate.
Serve it over cauliflower rice instead of bulgur. Each plate drops by about 135 kcal and 30 g of carbs, and the protein stays above 50 g.