30-Day Anti-Inflammatory, Gut-Healthy Dinner Plan
Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD
Dinner can be nutritious and delicious every day this month, thanks to these recipes. Ingredients like garlic, yogurt, beans and legumes are anti-inflammatory and gut-healthy foods that are highlighted in these dinners. These dishes can help relieve inflammation and its pesky symptoms like joint stiffness and mental fog while supporting your gut health and healthy digestion. Recipes like our Horseradish-Crusted Salmon with Crispy Leeks and Chicken & Cucumber Pita Sandwiches with Yogurt Sauce are tasty and healthy choices you'll want to make all month long.
Horseradish-Crusted Salmon with Crispy Leeks
Here, we coat leeks in a bit of cornstarch then pan-fry for a crispy topping for the salmon. Spreading horseradish-spiked mayonnaise over the fish before baking keeps it moist and gives it a peppery bite.
Creamy Artichoke Pasta
This creamy artichoke pasta uses lemon zest and parsley to balance the richness of the Parmesan cheese sauce. You can use frozen or canned artichoke hearts in this healthy pasta recipe.
Sheet-Pan Spiced Chickpeas & Sweet Potatoes with Herby Yogurt
These sheet-pan spiced chickpeas and sweet potatoes make a perfect vegetarian dinner. The crisp chickpeas, coated in warm spices, pair well with sweet potatoes and roasted shallots. The yogurt is tangy and bright, with a hint of sesame from the tahini. A drizzle of pomegranate molasses ties it all together.
Garlicky Pasta with Grilled Shrimp & Asparagus
This grilled garlic-shrimp pasta with asparagus is a great way to have a fancy dinner on the table in minutes, and it's perfect for any night of the week.
Sheet-Pan Sesame Chicken & Broccoli with Scallion-Ginger Sauce
In this healthy sheet-pan chicken recipe, meaty bone-in chicken thighs and broccoli florets are tossed with sesame oil and roasted on the same pan for a delicious and easy dinner with minimal cleanup. While the chicken and broccoli cook, whip together the simple scallion-ginger sauce. The sauce would also be wonderful spooned over salmon, tofu or grain bowls; it is easily doubled or tripled!
Salmon Burgers
These salmon burgers feature labneh, a tangy spreadable yogurt. The labneh holds everything in place, while the capers, everything bagel seasoning, tomato and red onion combine with canned salmon and rye bread to give this burger a lox-and-bagel flavor.
Tandoori-Spiced Grilled Chicken Thighs with Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce
Tandoori refers to proteins marinated in a spiced yogurt mixture then roasted in a clay oven called a tandoor. If you can't find a tandoor spice blend, curry powder would also be delicious. Serve these spicy, juicy grilled chicken thighs with a simple salad and naan or rice.
Corned Beet Reuben Sandwich
Tossing beets with coriander, mustard seeds, cinnamon and allspice gives them savory corned-beef flavor. With this vegetarian Reuben sandwich, you won't miss the meat.
Black Bean & Mushroom Enchilada Casserole
Mushrooms and creamy black beans spiced with cumin and oregano create the filling for this vegetarian enchilada casserole. Pepper Jack adds nice flavor, but you can substitute regular Monterey Jack cheese if you don't want the heat.
Gochujang-Glazed Tempeh & Brown Rice Bowls
If you're a tempeh skeptic, you've probably never had the firm soy-based slabs slathered with a sweet-and-spicy barbecue sauce. We give this easy BBQ tempeh combo a punch of umami with tamari and add a little heat courtesy of gochujang. It's easy to put your own spin on this recipe; see Variations (below) for some riffs.
Miso Soup Cup of Noodles with Shrimp & Green Tea Soba
Green tea soba noodles, or cha soba, are buckwheat noodles made with powdered green tea, which imparts a subtle grassy note and pretty color. You can find them in Japanese markets or online. Regular buckwheat soba noodles work just as well in this cup-of-noodles-style mason jar noodle soup.
Chicken & Cucumber Pita Sandwiches with Yogurt Sauce
Cucumbers do double duty in this healthy Greek-inspired chicken pita recipe—they're grated to lend a refreshing flavor to the quick cucumber-yogurt sauce and sliced to provide cool crunch tucked into the pita. Serve these sandwiches for a healthy dinner or light lunch.
5-Ingredient Pistachio-Crusted Halibut Is Ready in 20 Minutes
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.
Tempeh & Mushroom Tacos
Tempeh is a vegetarian protein that crumbles easily; here it stands in for ground meat in this tempeh taco recipe.
Seafood Paella with Spring Vegetables
This healthy paella recipe is inspired by the bounty of Provençal farmers' markets. Instead of sausage and chicken, fresh artichoke, green beans, fennel and onion are nestled with shellfish and white fish to create a light but delicious recipe. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.
Spinach Ravioli with Artichokes & Olives
Store-bought spinach ravioli and a handful of basic pantry items are all you need to get a healthy dinner on the table in 15 minutes. Ingredients like oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, briny Kalamata olives and toasty pine nuts help to build big flavor fast. If you can't find frozen artichokes, swap in a 15-ounce can (just be sure to drain and rinse them well).
Creamy Chicken & Asparagus Pasta
This creamy chicken and asparagus pasta is a quick, warming meal all cooked in one pot. The cream cheese adds a silky texture to the sauce, while fresh asparagus and lemon brighten the dish.
Kohlrabi, Potato & Leek Soup
Kohlrabi is a root vegetable related to cabbage that can be eaten raw or cooked. Here, we blend it with potatoes for a more nutritious take on the classic potato-leek soup.
Delicata, Rosemary & Blue Cheese Pizza
Topping your pie with squash brings a big vitamin A boost to this pizza—it provides 120% of your Daily Value per serving. The delicata contributes extra fiber, too, thanks in part to its edible skin. We make the oven a multitasker to get this winter pizza on the table fast. The crust bakes on the bottom rack while the vegetables roast. Once the pizza is assembled, a blast from the broiler crisps the edges and melts the cheese.
Black Bean-Avocado Torta
A Mexican-style torta is just like a burrito, except the "wrapper" is a hollowed-out roll instead of a tortilla. Here it's filled with mashed spiced black beans and a quick guacamole. Take this vegetarian version to another level (and add calcium) by melting Monterey Jack cheese onto the bean side of the sandwich. Serve with: Grilled corn on the cob or Spanish rice.
Rosemary Roasted Salmon with Asparagus & Potatoes
Yukon Golds are great here because they get crispy on the outside but completely creamy on the inside. A brush stroke or two of balsamic glaze provides a rich color and a sweet finish to the roasted salmon.
Crispy Gnocchi with Tomatoes & Leeks
These gnocchi are crispy on the outside, tender on the inside because you sauté them in hot oil. Plus, they leave a little fond (crispy brown bits) in the pan that adds toasty flavor to the tomato and leek sauce, which is cooked in the same pan. Since this easy gnocchi recipe calls for store-bought shelf-stable gnocchi, it's quick to prepare--just 20 minutes, start to finish. Opt for whole-wheat gnocchi to get 2 extra grams of fiber per serving compared to white. This easy and healthy dinner is easy to customize too: see Tips for variations with shrimp, pesto instead of butter, and pork chops instead of gnocchi.
These 3-Ingredient Chicken Tikka Masala Sweet Potatoes Pack 32 Grams of Protein
Simmer sauces pack tons of flavor into one ingredient, which helps streamline this easy three-ingredient dinner. Here we pair sweet potato with chicken breast cooked in tikka masala simmer sauce, but a simmer sauce of any flavor profile will work well too.
Chicken Cutlets with Artichokes & Lemon-Dill Sauce
You won't want to let a drop of this creamy lemon sauce go to waste. Serve with rice pilaf or roasted potatoes to soak it all up.
Mushroom Shawarma with Yogurt-Tahini Sauce
The bold spices and cooling and creamy tahini-yogurt sauce make these vegetarian pitas a home run for lunch or dinner. The meaty, umami-rich mushrooms do enough heavy lifting so that you don't miss the meat at all.
Baked Chicken with Onions & Leeks
Baking pieces of chicken is one of the easiest ways to put a meal on the table for your family. This mustard-glazed chicken is roasted on a bed of sliced onions, leeks and garlic that you can serve alongside it.
Garlic Butter-Roasted Salmon with Potatoes & Asparagus
This one-pan salmon recipe makes a healthy and satisfying weeknight dinner. Melted garlic butter coats the salmon and vegetables, adding depth of flavor and richness to the dish.
The Best Vegan Burgers
These nutty vegan burgers are held together by a combination of oats and flaxseed meal. When mixed with water, flaxseeds swell, making a nutritious binding agent similar to traditional eggs. The patties soften as they cook in the skillet, so be careful flipping them—they will firm up again as they cool. Serve with chips, zucchini fries and your favorite vegan dipping sauce.
Baked Flounder with Fresh Lemon Pepper
For this baked flounder recipe, use fresh lemon, good olive oil, freshly ground peppercorns and garlic, and you'll never look at lemon pepper the same again. Serve with steamed asparagus.
Chicken Sausage with Potatoes & Sauerkraut
Here's our weeknight version of choucroute garni, "dressed sauerkraut," made with chicken sausage. The flavor of the dish will vary depending on what type of chicken sausage you choose. We like the taste of roasted garlic sausage or sweet apple sausage in this recipe. And although any type of sauerkraut can be used, we prefer the crisp texture of refrigerated kraut over canned. Serve with roasted carrots and some mustard to spread on the sausage.
