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If you’re searching for delicious meals to get out of a cooking rut, these healthy dinner recipes are the key! Each dish is high in protein with at least 15 grams per serving. Protein is an important nutrient since it helps repair muscles, energize your body, regulate digestion and so much more. Plus, these recipes are popular with EatingWell readers, having earned four- and five-star reviews. Try some of these highly-rated mains like our Buffalo Cauliflower Grain Bowl and Marry Me Chickpeas to end your day with a satisfying meal that’s full of protein.
Crispy Chicken Rice Bowl
Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey, Prop Stylist: Priscilla Montiel
This crispy chicken rice bowl is a delightful dinner that combines crispy breaded chicken cutlets with brown rice and tender-crisp veggies. The refreshing mint sauce is the star of the dish, bringing a burst of cool, zesty freshness. We love the combination of cooked zucchini, fresh cabbage, cherry tomatoes and shredded carrot to finish the dish, but any combination of your favorite fresh or cooked vegetables will work.
Buffalo Cauliflower Grain Bowl
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Lindsey Lower
This Buffalo cauliflower grain bowl is a delicious and healthy alternative to traditional Buffalo wings, packing plenty of gut-healthy fiber and plant-based protein. It features a variety of fresh and colorful vegetables on a bed of precooked brown rice to keep prep speedy. Feel free to swap out the rice for another whole grain.
Shrimp Lettuce Wraps
Photographer Victor Protasio, Food Stylist Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist Tucker Vines
Enjoy these shrimp lettuce wraps filled with crisp veggies and juicy shrimp sautéed with garlic and soy sauce. This light and flavorful dish is perfect for a weeknight meal or weekend gathering. Sambal oelek, a spicy chile paste known for its vibrant red color and intense heat, adds an extra kick. Reduce or omit it to adjust the heat to your liking.
Marry Me Chickpeas
Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle, Food Stylist: Renu Dhar
We put a vegetarian spin on Marry Me Chicken, a dish typically consisting of chicken coated in a sun-dried tomato cream sauce, by swapping in fiber-packed chickpeas as the main ingredient. From the creamy chickpeas to the umami-laden sun-dried tomatoes, you’ll want to sop up every last bit of sauce. To riff on this recipe, you could swap the chickpeas for white beans, like cannellini or navy.
Grilled Zucchini & Halloumi Pitas
Photographer: Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless
This grilled halloumi pita is summer-ready with tender-crisp zucchini, fresh tomatoes and smoky halloumi cheese. You can prepare this sandwich inside using a grill pan, or outside using a gas grill. You can grill halloumi cheese just like you would any other protein (it doesn’t melt); letting it cook undisturbed makes it release from the grill pan easily.
Roasted Cabbage Caesar Salad with Chicken
Photographer: Stacy k. Allen, Props: Christina Brockman, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf
This warm and inviting salad swaps crunchy romaine lettuce for sweet roasted cabbage in a fun twist on Caesar salad. To make this main-dish cabbage salad vegetarian, opt for vegetarian or vegan Worcestershire, leave out the anchovy paste from the dressing, and use cubed tofu in place of the chicken.
Ham & Spinach Quiche
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Phoebe Hauser
This ham and spinach quiche is ideal for any meal, from brunch to dinner and all the moments in between. This quiche skips the crust, making it incredibly easy to pull together even on short notice. Swap out the Cheddar cheese for Gruyère or use Swiss chard in place of the spinach for a slightly different spin.
Skillet Bruschetta Chicken
Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster
This flavorful skillet chicken bruschetta puts a tasty spin on a traditional dish. Drawing inspiration from the Italian appetizer, we replace the usual toasted bread with protein-packed chicken cutlets. The vibrant and juicy chopped tomato topping remains a constant, complemented by a drizzle of sweet and tangy balsamic glaze. For an added layer of flavor, serve topped with shaved Parmesan cheese or add some chopped olives to the tomato mixture for a briny kick.
Tajín Shrimp Tacos with Cabbage Slaw
Greg DuPree
Tajín, a Mexican chile-lime seasoning, adds a spicy and acidic punch to sweet and mild shrimp. Opt for a low-sodium chile-lime seasoning, or improvise by combining chili powder, a little lime zest and a healthy squeeze of lime juice. Look for pineapple that’s already been peeled and cored for speedier prep.
Crustless Caprese Quiche
Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Lydia Purcell
This light and fluffy crustless quiche is dotted with tomatoes, little bites of melty mozzarella and savory pesto. And the best part—it’s mixed, assembled and baked in a pie plate for easy cleanup. Enjoy as an easy breakfast or brunch option or serve for lunch or dinner with a mixed green salad on the side.
Creamy Caramelized Cabbage Pasta
Photographer: Grant Webster, Food Stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop Stylist: Lexi Juhl
In this comforting vegetarian dinner, cabbage is sautéed in butter until it caramelizes, imparting a subtle sweetness to the dish. A light, creamy sauce coats both the cabbage and the pasta. If you want to stretch the sauce a little further, you can thin it out by adding in a few tablespoons of pasta cooking water.
Easy Tofu Curry
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Rishon Hanners, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless
Baking the tofu for this protein-packed tofu curry adds texture and helps the tofu hold its shape once added to the sauce. The curry itself is smooth and creamy, with warmth from the spices and some kick from Madras curry powder and jalapeño. If you want to dial down the spice level, swap out the Madras curry powder for regular curry powder. Tearing the tofu by hand helps the curry sauce cling onto all the craggy bits, but if desired, you could cut the tofu into 1-inch cubes instead.
Mustard-Dill Grilled Salmon & Vegetables
Photographer: Carson Downing, Food stylist: Annie Probst, Prop stylist: Joseph Wanek
In this easy grilled salmon recipe, the salmon is cooked on a cedar plank, one of the most foolproof ways of grilling. We call for zucchini, tomatoes and onion, but feel free to use your favorite vegetables instead.
15-Minute Pesto Shrimp
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Ana Kelly, Prop Stylist: Claire Spollen
This versatile and quick pesto shrimp can be served alongside a hunk of crusty bread, over pasta or rice, or even used as a topping for pizza. Look for shrimp that are free from preservatives, which can alter the texture and add sodium to the dish. We like the brightness and fresh flavor of refrigerated pesto, but a homemade classic basil pesto will make the dish extra special.
Chickpea Pasta with Mushrooms & Kale
Loading up your pasta with vegetables like the kale and mushrooms here is not only delicious, it also makes the meal more satisfying.
Pistachio-Crusted Halibut
A layer of pistachios combined with panko breadcrumbs on top of the halibut fillets provides a delicious crunch and a pop of vitamin B6, a nutrient important for blood sugar regulation. We like the firm texture and mild flavor of halibut, but cod, haddock or tilapia can be used in its place.
Cajun-Spiced Tofu Tostadas with Beet Crema
Crumbled tofu spiced up with Cajun seasoning is layered onto these tostadas with a juicy mango slaw. A dollop of sour cream zhuzhed up with beet and lime adds even more flavor. Look for precooked beets in the produce department of your grocery store.
Chicken Milanese with Arugula-Cherry Tomato Salad
Photographer: Rachel Marek, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop stylist: Gabriel Greco
Chicken Milanese, referring to the city of Milan, Italy, where the dish is believed to have originated, features breaded and pan-fried chicken cutlets usually served with a side salad and a generous squeeze of lemon. Here we stick (mostly) to tradition, but we skip the pan-frying in favor of cooking the chicken in the oven.
Roasted Tofu & Broccoli with Peanut-Curry Sauce
Pressing the tofu before roasting rids it of some excess moisture for crispy results. If you have the time, let it sit for more than 10 minutes—the longer it’s pressed, the better!
Sausage & Kidney Bean Soup
Sausage, kidney beans and vegetables make this 30-minute soup a filling dinner in a bowl.
Red Lentil Fritters with Ginger-Yogurt Sauce
Here we soak lentils instead of fully cooking them, which gives them just enough added moisture to be whirred up into a fritter without being too wet. Serve these curry-spiced fritters on top of a green salad or tucked into a pita.
Caprese Stuffed Chicken Breast Sandwiches
Matthew Francis
This caprese stuffed chicken breast features the classic ingredients of a caprese salad—juicy tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, basil and balsamic vinegar—nestled into a seasoned and cooked chicken breast that can be picked up and eaten like a sandwich. The perfect chicken breast for this recipe is small, but avoid thin-cut breasts so you can slice them open easily. You can trim a regular chicken breast down to the right size, or cut a large 8-ounce breast in half crosswise to get two smaller pieces.
Vegan Quinoa Chili
This light but filling vegan quinoa chili is packed with fresh veggies, with quinoa and black beans adding protein and fiber. Complete this easy one-pot dinner with vegan cheese, dairy-free yogurt or your favorite chili toppings.
Mushroom Orzo with Lemon & Parmesan
This mushroom orzo with lemon and Parmesan is a creamy dish rich with flavor thanks to mushrooms and a velvety smooth sauce.