Reduction of subclinical inflammation is a potential target for chronic disease management. Adiposity is a known modifier of meta-inflammation, however the influence of dietary factors is less clear. This review examines the evidence from human trials evaluating effects of wholefoods or dietary patterns on circulating inflammatory markers in weight stable overweight and obese adults. It is the first review to investigate the effect of diet on inflammation, independent of changes in adiposity. This review was conducted using the Cochrane Collaboration Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions, and data sources included Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and Cochrane. Quality of studies was evaluated using the Cochrane Collaboration’s Risk of Bias Assessment tool. Twenty-eight studies were included assessing the effect of 17 different foods and dietary patterns over 38 inflammatory markers. Overall, wholefoods and dietary patterns were not found to have significant effects on inflammatory markers in weight stable overweight and obese adults. While wholegrains, soy, dairy, citrus fruits, nuts and chocolate, ginger and high total antioxidant capacity diets showed potential to improve inflammatory profiles, inconsistent findings made it difficult to produce definite conclusions. Study design characteristics contributing to these inconsistencies are discussed and recommendations for future research in this area are presented.