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These easy healthy dinner ideas star the best lean proteins and fresh produce! These recipes will have everyone asking for more.
Need dinnertime inspiration? Try this list of 40 easy healthy dinner ideas! Healthy means something different to everyone. We take our definition from Mediterranean style eating, which echoes healthy diets from around the globe. Each plate has lots of fresh vegetables, healthy fats (like olive oil), lean proteins, and whole grains.
You’ll see no cheesy pastas or greasy burgers below: only pescatarian, vegetarian, and vegan recipes that are full of nutrients. All recipes are listed with total cook time so you have an idea of how long they’ll take to whip up. And keep reading after the list for our favorite healthy side dishes to pair with the meals listed here.
And now…40 easy healthy dinner ideas!
Sheet Pan Salmon and Asparagus
First up in our healthy dinner ideas: salmon on a sheet pan! This baked salmon and asparagus recipe is the definition of easy dinner! Throw it all on a sheet pan with lemon, and the flavor is unreal.
Total time: 20 minutes
Cozy White Bean Soup
This white bean soup is full of irresistible flavor, thanks to kale, lemon and tarragon! This healthy recipe will become an instant favorite.
Total time: 35 minutes
Mediterranean Bowl
Try thisMediterranean Bowl, a healthy dinner bursting with colorful veggies! It’s a simple “meal in a bowl” that stars spiced roasted vegetables, seasoned with an irresistible mix of cumin, coriander, garlic and a hint of cinnamon.
Total time: 45 minutes
Easy Black Bean Chili
This Black Bean Chili recipe is easy to make and full of big flavor! Cozy, hearty, full of vegetables, it's the ideal healthy dinner idea.
Total time: 30 minutes
Mac and Cheese with Broccoli
This mac and cheese is big on flavor with less cheese than standard recipes! It's also filled with fiber and nutrient-rich broccoli, which seals the deal.
Total time: 20 minutes
Smoked Salmon Salad
Smoked salmon salad is the ideal quick healthy dinner idea: no cooking involved! It’s fresh, healthy, and full of big flavor.
Total time: 15 minutes
Poke Bowl Recipe
Here’s how to make a poke bowl! This classic recipe stars ahi tuna marinated in a flavorful poke sauce, rice, and lots of veggie topping ideas.
Total time: 30 minutes (make it in half the time with pre-cooked rice)
Easy Shrimp and Rice Skillet
Love a good seafood dinner? Here’s one with your name on it: thistasty shrimp and rice skillet recipe! Succulent, juicy shrimp sit atop a bed of fluffy rice flavored with garlic, dill and spinach.
Total time: 30 minutes
Go-To Tofu Stir Fry
This tasty tofu stir fry recipe is our go-to for healthy plant based dinners! It’s got the best stir fry sauce, and you can use any veggies.
Total time: 35 minutes
Stuffed Zucchini Boats
These zucchini boats are packed with intensely savory flavor. This recipe makes azucchini loverout of anyone!
Total time: 45 minutes
Salmon Rice Crunch Bowl
This salmon bowl recipe with rice is the definition of an easy and healthy dinner! The chunks of tender fish are covered in an irresistible marinade, then combined with fluffy rice, fresh veggies,and crunchy fried onions.
Total time: 50 minutes (or use canned salmon for a shortcut)
5-Minute Seared Ahi Tuna
Looking for 5 minute recipes? Seared ahi tuna is a super quick, nutritious and filling 5-minute recipe; serve with leftover veggies and rice. For a fancier plating, lay slices over Sweet Potato Puree and accessorize with Parmesan Broccoli.
Easy Chickpea Curry
This chickpea curry is the ultimate easy and healthy weeknight dinner! It’s done in 20 minutes, totally plant based, and full of colorful vegetables and flavor.
Total time: 20 minutes
This shrimp bowl recipe gets 5 stars! An easy and healthy lunch or dinner, it stars cilantro lime rice, black beans and chipotle ranch dressing.
Total time: 25 minutes
Old Bay Steamed Shrimp
This succulent Old Bay steamed shrimp is fast and easy to make! Here’s how to steam shrimp until it’s tender and full-flavored: a healthy dinner idea cooked with almost no oil.
Total time: 15 minutes
Easy Eggplant Parmesan
This classic vegetarian dinner recipe is hearty, filling, and pleases just about everyone. Baked Eggplant Parmesan is faster and easier to make at home than most recipes and full ofincredibleflavor.
Total time: 1 hour
Easy Lettuce Wraps
We’re always looking for fun and healthy dinner ideas, and this one makes a splash:Lettuce Wraps! They’re bursting with zingy flavor and crunchy veggies.. See also: Shrimp Lettuce Wraps
Total time: 25 minutes
Here’s a healthy dinner with a total wow factor: thisBaked Tilapia! The tender, flaky fish is covered in a lemon garlic sauce, cozied up with burst cherry tomatoes, Mediterranean seasonings and gooey bits of feta cheese. If you think baked fish sounds boring, this recipe is for you! Each bite is savory with just the right pop of brightness.
Total time: 35 minutes
5 Minute Cajun Shrimp
This easy Cajun shrimp recipe takes just 5 minutes on the stove for a big payoff in flavor! Whip it up as a quick and healthy weeknight dinner.
Total time: 5 minutes
Quick Chickpea Tacos
Garbanzo beans might not strike you as a taco filling. But they make a flavorful filling coated in cumin, chili powder, and smoked paprika, punched up with a hit of zesty lime.
Total time: 20 minutes
Salmon Tacos with Avocado Sauce
Here’s a favorite healthy dinner idea: Salmon Tacos! These tacos are bursting with fresh, zingy flavor, pairing blackened salmon with pineapple pico and a creamy greenavocado sauce. It’s aneasy healthy dinnerthat tastes restaurant-style, but you can whip it up in about 30 minutes. Dinnertime win!
Easy Vegan Meatballs
This vegan meatballs recipe is easy to put together, full of protein, and packed with flavor! A perfect go-to plant based dinner made using the plant-based protein, tempeh.
Total time: 30 minutes
Classic Salmon Burgers
Need healthy dinner ideas? Salmon burgers are calling your name! They’re easy and have the best flavor: each bite is perfection slathered with remoulade sauce. For an even healthier sauce, use Greek yogurt-based Dill Sauce.
Total time: 35 minutes
Sheet Pan Vegan Fajitas
These are the very best vegan fajitas: a plant based healthy dinner idea that everyone loves! Roast the veggies on a sheet pan for quick and easy prep. Add "guac-ish," a 5-minute fast version of guacamole.
Total time: 40 minutes
Veggie Power Bowls
Grain bowls are perfect for healthy dinner ideas! Pair a whole grain, protein and veggies with this amazing tahini sauce to make a healthy, fast and easy dinner.
Total time: 35 minutes
Quick Broiled Salmon
The best way to get dinner on the table…fast? Broiled salmon! It’s flaky and full of savory flavor, and it takes only 10 minutes to cook. Take it over the top with Lemon Caper Sauce.
Total time: 25 minutes
Falafel Burger
This insanely good falafel burger is easy to make and bursting with Mediterranean flavor! Smother in sauce for an epic healthy vegetarian or vegan dinner.
Total time: 45 minutes
Simple Red Lentil Soup
This simple red lentil soup recipe is bursting with flavor! It’s healthy and cozy, flavored with aromatic vegetables and lemon.
Total time: 25 minutes
Vegan Sloppy Joes
This vegan Sloppy Joes recipe has a tangy lentil filling that’s full of flavor and nutrients! It’s a healthy plant based dinner everyone will love.
Total time: 35 minutes
Pan Fried Cod
This pan fried cod is the best white fish you’ll have! Flavored simply with spices and olive oil, it’s healthy, stunning and irresistible all at once.
Total time: 10 minutes
Spanish Rice and Beans
This Spanish rice and beans brings big flavor to humble ingredients! It’s a tasty healthy vegan and vegetarian dinner idea that doubles as an easy side.
Total time: 40 minutes
Easy Mushroom Tacos
Mushroom tacos are quick to make and bursting with savory flavor, starring meaty portobellos and creamy refried beans!
Total time: 20 minutes
Quick Vegan Curry
This vegan curry recipe is full of healthy vegetables and big flavor: and it takes under 25 minutes! The perfect fast and easy dinner.
Total time: 22 minutes
Tuna Patties (aka Tuna Cakes!)
This tuna patties recipe makes a crowd-pleasing easy dinner! The tuna cakes are tender on the inside with a golden crisp exterior.
Total time: 25 minutes (plus 15 minutes chill time)
Maple Glazed Salmon
This maple glazed salmon recipe will please everyone! It’s fast, easy and deliciously flaky: ideal for healthy weeknight meals.
Total time: 20 minutes
Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Stuffed sweet potatoes make the best easy dinner idea! Bake them until tender, then stuff with fillings for a delicious healthy dinner.
Total time: 1 hour
Ultimate Taco Salad
Here’s the tastiest taco salad recipe: a healthy and easy dinner everyone loves — and customizable for any diet! Don’t miss this hack for a quick salad dressing.
Total time: 25 minutes
Mediterranean Couscous Bowls
This Mediterranean couscous bowls recipe is a fast and healthy weeknight dinner! It features quick-cooking couscous with chickpeas and a creamy tahini sauce.
Total time: 25 minutes
Blackened Salmon
Blackened salmon is the ultimate salmon recipe: fast, easy and seasoned to perfection! It’s guaranteed to become a favorite.
Total time: 20 minutes
Raw Falafel Buddha Bowls
A vegan and gluten-free main dish, these buddha bowls feature raw falafel that are quick and simple (made without a dehydrator) and a tahini dressing.
Total time: 30 minutes
Vegetarian Cobb Salad
This tasty vegetarian Cobb salad is a delicious healthy dinner recipe for Meatless Monday, featuring chickpeas and coconut bacon.
Total time: 30 minutes
Pecan Crusted Salmon
This pecan crusted salmon is fast and easy, with a deliciously crunchy topping! Make it as a healthy dinner idea to impress on weeknights or for dinner guests.
Total time: 20 minutes
Vegetarian Tortilla Soup
This vegetarian tortilla soup is so flavorful and quick! It's an easy healthy soup recipe that's full of zesty flavor: loaded with black beans, corn, and adobo sauce.
Total time: 35 minutes
Moroccan Stew with Chickpeas
This Moroccan stew with chickpeas and sweet potatoes is an easy plant based dinner recipe: it’s incredibly flavorful featuring a blend of Moroccan spices. Serve with quinoa or couscous.
Total time: 45 minutes
Easy Sheet Pan Dinner
This easy sheet pan dinner is filled with healthy vegetables and fresh flavor! Throw it all in the oven while you cook rice or quinoa. Dinnertime win!
Total time: 45 minutes
Coconut Tofu Curry
This tofu curry recipe is a family favorite! Coconut milk and red curry paste pack a punch in this fast and healthy dinner idea.
Total time: 30 minutes
Steamed Sweet Potatoes with Thai Peanut Butter Sauce
These sweet potatoes topped with a zesty slaw and creamy Thai peanut butter sauce are an irresistibleplant based dinner recipe!Make it with Steamed Sweet Potatoes or Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes for the quickest prep time.
Total time: 35 minutes
Easy Grilled Tilapia
This grilled tilapia is perfectly seasoned and easy to make! You’ll be amazed by the amount of flavor in this healthy dinner recipe.
Total time: 25 minutes
Sheet Pan Sweet Potato Tacos
These sweet potato tacos are a dinner idea everyone will love! Roast black beans and veggies on a sheet pan and add your favorite toppings.
Total time: 45 minutes
Easy BBQ Tofu
This epic BBQ tofu recipe is fast, easy and full of savory sweet flavor! A great way to make anyone into a tofu fan.
Total time: 20 minutes
Healthy side dishes to pair
Many of the healthy dinner ideas above need a few side dishes to pair to turn them into a meal. But what are some easy healthy side dishes to go alongside, you ask? Here are some of our favorites that don’t take long to whip up:
- Peas with Lemon (5 minutes)
- Easy Cannellini Beans (5 minutes)
- Best Ever Sauteed Kale (8 minutes)
- Best Ever Sauteed Mushrooms (10 minutes)
- Sauteed Rainbow Chard (10 minutes)
- Simple Carrot Salad (15 minutes)
- Celery Salad with Apples (15 minutes)
- Ultimate Sauteed Vegetables (20 minutes)
- Perfectly Seasoned Quinoa (25 minutes)
- Epic Roasted Broccoli (30 minutes)
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes (35 minutes)
01
Peas with Lemon
02
Best Ever Sauteed Kale
03
Simple Carrot Salad
04
Perfectly Seasoned Quinoa
These healthy dinner ideas are…
Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, plant-based, dairy-free or pescatarian.
50 Healthy Dinner Ideas
- Author: Sonja Overhiser
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This baked salmon and asparagus recipe is the definition of easy healthy dinner! Throw it all on a sheet pan with lemon, and the flavor is unreal.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 pound thin asparagus*
- 1 pound salmon, wild caught if possible
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
- Lemon
- Minced fresh herbs (like chives, mint or thyme), for garnish
Instructions
- Allow the salmon to come to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with foil.
- Trim the asparagus. Place it on the baking sheet and toss it with 2 tablespoon olive oil (this also oils the foil). Sprinkle with ½ teaspoonkosher saltand fresh ground black pepper.
- Pat the salmon dry and place it on the foil. Drizzle it with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Sprinkle the salmon with ½ teaspoonkosher saltand fresh ground black pepper. Place asparagus around the salmon. Slice the lemon into wheels and place them on top of the asparagus (but not the salmon). Squeeze juice from the two ends of the lemon onto the tray. Then add the chopped fresh herbs on top of everything.
- Bake 9 to 12 minutes until the asparagus is tender at the thickest part, and the salmon is just tender and pink at the center (the internal temperature should be between 125 to 130F in the center for done, or 10 degrees less if you’re broiling). If the salmon is done before the asparagus (the asparagus is thick), remove it from the tray and continue cooking just the asparagus until tender.
Notes
*Thin asparagus is best, so try to find the thinnest you can when shopping. If all you can find is thicker asparagus, you may need a little longer to roast (up to 15 minutes). Just remove the salmon from the tray if it’s already done and finish the asparagus by itself.
- Category: Main dish
- Method: Sheet Pan
- Cuisine: Seafood
- Diet: Gluten Free
Keywords: Healthy dinner ideas, Easy healthy dinner ideas
vegan vegetarian gluten free
Published on / Last updated on
Categorized In:
- Recipe Collections
- Recipes
Tagged with:
- Dairy-Free
- Dinner
- Easy
- Gluten-Free Recipes
- Healthy
- Plant-Based
- Vegan Recipes
- Vegetarian Recipes
About the authors
Sonja & Alex
Hi, we’re Alex and Sonja Overhiser, married cookbook authors, food bloggers, and recipe developers. We founded A Couple Cooks to share fresh, seasonal recipes for memorable kitchen moments! Our recipes are made by two real people and work every time.
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