Must-Have Meals: 8 Easy, Healthy Dinner Ideas That Aren’t Salad
Looking for an easy, healthy dinner? You've come to the right place. After a long day, we understand the last thing you want to do is rack your brain trying to come up with dinner ideas then spend hours in the kitchen mastering them.
Thankfully, these tasty dinner recipes will have you saying farewell to frozen food, disappointing delivery, and less-than-tasty takeout and saying hello to healthy meals in 40 minutes or less. As for the flavor, let's just say they'll taste so good you'll swear they're bad for you.
Sheet Pan Bruschetta Chicken
Time: 40 minutes
Feel like an Italian feast without the fuss? This sheet pan chicken recipe is just the ticket.
Simply throw some chicken breasts (or chicken thighs) on a sheet pan along with fingerling potatoes tossed in olive oil, garlic, basil, and grated Parmesan and bake for 20–25 minutes. Add low-calorie mozzarella slices during the last 10 minutes of cooking time and top with cherry tomato bruschetta for a healthy dinner that tastes as good as it looks.
Grilled Asparagus and Shiitake Tacos
Time: 20 minutes
You can't go wrong with tacos on a Tuesday night—or any night for that matter—so fire up these grilled asparagus and shiitake tacos when you want a healthy, vegan-friendly take on Mexican.
The recipe calls for grilling, but you could just as easily cook it in an oven, broiler, or sauté pan. If you don't have shiitakes, creminis, portobellos, or button mushrooms will work just as well. Serve with a side of black beans for added protein that keeps your clean eating plan in tact.
Citrusy Shrimp-Stuffed Avocados
Time: 15 minutes
No need for toast when you have this low-carb, gluten-free dish that makes for a fantastically easy weeknight dinner. Just grab a pound of precooked, shelled shrimp and mix it with a handful of ingredients and a few spoonfuls of lemon and orange juice before filling avocado halves.
The result is a creamy, citrusy, and refreshing meal that also makes for a healthy lunch idea. Did we mention it only takes 15 minutes to make? Easy recipe, indeed.
Lemon-Dijon Pork Sheet-Pan Supper
Time: 40 minutes
Colorful, flavorful, and loaded with nutrients, this healthy dinner recipe dresses up basic pork chops with a lemon-Dijon dressing that you can make with just a few ingredients. While this dish pairs cubed sweet potatoes and quartered Brussels sprouts, you can just as easily substitute butternut squash, delicata squash, or any other hearty vegetables that are in season.
Bonus: This meal is 516 calories per serving and the one-pan prep makes cleanup a breeze.
Easy Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Time: 20 minutes
For an easy dinner recipe that's better than takeout, try these cashew chicken lettuce wraps. Offering a tasty Asian twist on those everyday chicken recipes, this one-pan dish combines chopped chicken breast with a yummy DIY dressing made from chicken stock, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, cornstarch, and rice vinegar.
Lettuce cups cut down on carbs while offering a deliciously crisp finish. If you're not counting carbs, add a side dish of brown rice or fried rice. You could also serve it with a side of cauliflower rice or quinoa.
Easy 5 Ingredient Baked Salmon
Time: 20 minutes
This flaky, flavor-filled baked salmon will be your go-to seafood recipe when you're short on time but want to stay on track with your healthy eating habits. All you need are five ingredients—salmon, butter, lemon juice, garlic, and fresh dill.
Cook it in a foil-lined baking sheet, and dinner is served. The salmon is a meal on its own, but green beans, broccoli, or any other veggies you have hiding in the crisper will make an excellent side dish.
Quick Healthy 15 Minute Stir-Fry Chicken and Veggies
Time: 15 minutes
Winner, winner, chicken dinner. Here's a supremely versatile and healthy dinner idea that takes less time than it does to order delivery. Most of the work is simply chopping the chicken and veggies, so if you want to save even more time, try buying everything pre-cut.
Chicken is an obvious choice for a healthy meal, but you can easily switch out the protein for steak, pork, shrimp, tofu, or tempeh. Broccoli florets, zucchini, onion, and colorful yellow and red peppers step up the visual appeal while boosting the nutritional content. Try serving it on top of lettuce for a great chicken salad that works for lunch or dinner.
Pistachio-Crusted Fish
Time: 20 minutes
For a light but mouthwatering Mediterranean meal, you can't miss with this healthy recipe for pistachio-crusted fish. Loaded with good-for-you ingredients including quinoa, spinach, pistachios, and probiotic-rich Greek yogurt, this low-carb dish can be made with your choice of white fish—think cod, tilapia, halibut, or even trout.
To add a tantalizing but simple side dish, stir together drained and rinsed canned chickpeas with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and kalamata olives tossed in olive oil, lemon, and salt.
Easy, Healthy, Done
When it's the end of the day and you're getting hangry, having these easy and healthy dinner ideas on hand will ensure you don't compromise a nutritious meal for the sake of convenience. But when you're ready to take effortless to a whole (and wholesome) new level, give Tovala Meals a try.
Unlike most meal kits that require at least 45 minutes of prep and cooking, Tovala Meals are exactly what you need when you're too busy (and too tired) to cook. Each chef-crafted creation takes just 60 seconds of meal prep for a truly effortless experience that even the busiest gourmand can handle.
