30-Day High-Protein Spring Dinner Plan
Photographer: Greg Dupree, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster, Food Stylist: Emily Hall
Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD
Say hello to a month of delicious and nutritious meals that will help you feel your best this spring. These recipes boast seasonal produce like asparagus, leafy greens, mushrooms and more to help you enjoy the fresh flavors that come with warmer weather. Plus, each of these dishes contains at least 15 grams of protein per serving from ingredients like fish, poultry and legumes, which helps slow down digestion, keeping you feeling satisfied for longer. Recipes like our Crispy Pesto Chicken with Whipped Feta & Tomatoes and our Quick Sheet-Pan Salmon with Crispy Quinoa are so delicious, that you’re going to want to make them all spring long.
Sheet-Pan Crispy Chicken Tacos
Photographer: Jen Causey
These crispy chicken tacos are filled and baked on a sheet pan for a super-crunchy exterior and warm, melty middle. The creamy avocado crema combined with fresh cilantro is the perfect accompaniment. Don’t be tempted to squeeze the tacos onto one baking sheet—they crisp up best with plenty of space. Be sure to rotate the pans halfway through baking so they cook evenly.
Egg Roll-Inspired Cabbage Rolls
Skip takeout and try these egg roll-inspired cabbage rolls! Savoy cabbage leaves are stuffed with egg roll filling and baked in a flavorful soy-hoisin tomato sauce.
Cheesy Asparagus Chicken Cutlets Deliver 32 Grams of Protein
Photographer: Greg Dupree, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster, Food Stylist: Emily Hall
A creamy cheese sauce spiked with tender-crisp asparagus blankets chicken cutlets in this early-spring-inspired weeknight dinner. The asparagus can be swapped with other tender, snappy steamed veggies, like snap peas or green beans. Serve with fingerling or new potatoes for a starchy side to complement the sauce.
Crispy Pesto Chicken with Whipped Feta & Tomatoes
Photographer: Greg Dupree, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster, Food Stylist: Emily Hall
These crispy chicken cutlets, flavored with pesto and topped with juicy burst tomatoes, are served with creamy whipped feta. Seek out feta cheese in brine and crumble it by hand for the best results. While we love the vibrant yellow color and sweet flavor of Sungold cherry tomatoes, any cherry or grape tomato will work well here.
A Bowl of Harira Is Like a Hug from Morocco during Ramadan
Photographer: Rachel Marek, Food stylist: Lauren McAnelly, Prop stylist: Gabriel Greco
Harira is a tomato-based soup featured at the center of many Moroccan tables during the month of Ramadan. It’s often enjoyed as part of iftar, or the meal served to break the fast each evening, along with dates, milk, hard-boiled eggs, semolina pancakes and chebakia (sesame cookies). This version features chickpeas, lentils, beef and noodles in a fragrant tomato broth, but there are endless variations on the soup.
One-Skillet Salmon with Fennel & Sun-Dried Tomato Couscous
Sun-dried tomato pesto and lemon do double duty to season both the salmon and the couscous in this healthy one-pan dinner recipe. Serve the salmon with extra lemon wedges and a dollop of plain yogurt, if desired.
Roasted Chickpea & Cauliflower Pitas with Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce
Photographer: Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Nicole Hopper, Prop Stylist: Tucker Vines
Inspired by a trend made popular by Catherine Perez (@plantbasedrd), these pitas are piled high with roasted veggies for a satisfying vegetarian dinner. Be sure to dry the chickpeas well or they won’t crisp up in the oven. Wet chickpeas will also create steam that may prevent the cauliflower from getting nicely browned. Bibb lettuce works well with these pitas, but a handful of arugula leaves would be just as nice. If you have it, a garam masala or shawarma spice blend can be used in place of the spices.
Dump & Go Slow-Cooker Marry Me Chicken with Barley
Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Lydia Purcell
Fall in love with this easy version of Marry Me Chicken—a dish with chicken and julienned sun-dried tomatoes swimming in a creamy sauce. Our version adds cherry tomatoes and zucchini for an added boost of veggies, plus barley which soaks up the sauce and makes this dish a complete meal all in one pot. Make sure the barley is completely submerged in the liquid so it cooks evenly.
Steak with Glazed Carrots & Turnips
This cast-iron steak recipe has what it takes to transform beef and vegetables from basic to brilliant--a pop of rosemary on the steak, an intense sear in a hot skillet and a sweet-and-sour glaze on the vegetables. Serve with sautéed spinach and a glass of red wine.
Cheesy Spinach-Stuffed Chicken Will Change the Way You Think About Dinner
Photographer: Greg DuPree, Prop stylist: Shell Royster, Food stylist: Emily Hall
These tender stuffed chicken breasts are packed with a blend of spinach and rich fontina cheese. If you can’t find fontina, or want something a little milder, Monterey Jack is a good substitute. While perfect for entertaining a larger group, this recipe can easily be cut in half for a game-changing weeknight dinner.
Chicken, Brussels Sprouts & Mushroom Salad
Shaving the vegetables for this easy salad recipe makes them deliciously tender-crisp without having to cook anything and helps them stand up to the bright homemade vinaigrette and salty Parmesan cheese.
Cilantro Bean Burgers with Creamy Avocado-Lime Slaw
Lighten up your burger! Bean patties have less saturated fat and more fiber than beef patties. They're also cheaper and easier to cook indoors--and we promise they're just as satisfying, especially with the mouthwatering creamy slaw on top.
Creamy Mushroom, Chicken & Asparagus Bake
This comforting weeknight casserole recipe features plenty of mushrooms and asparagus combined with chicken and brown rice and a creamy Parmesan cheese sauce. Whip this up anytime you have leftover chicken or cooked brown rice to spare.
Creamy Lemon Pasta with Shrimp
Yogurt makes a fine substitute for cream in the sauce for this easy pasta recipe. Just warm the yogurt (do not boil) and add some pasta-cooking water to thin it out. Lemon and fresh basil brighten up the whole-wheat pasta and complement the shrimp in this quick dinner recipe.
Chicken & Broccoli Stir-Fry
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle
This juicy chicken and broccoli stir-fry features tender-crisp broccoli coated in a velvety sauce flavored with hoisin—a flavorful sauce made from fermented soybean paste that strikes the perfect balance between sweet and tangy. Try this easy stir-fry with chicken tenders, boneless, skinless chicken thighs, or even pork tenderloin for a different twist.
Skillet Pork Chops with Peas, Carrots & Pearl Onions
This superfast one-dish dinner is full of classic flavor and is such a crowd pleaser that you'll want to work it into your regular weeknight dinner rotation. We call for bone-in pork chops to maximize flavor, but boneless pork chops are a fine substitution. To round out this meal a little more, serve with rice or mashed potatoes.
Sheet-Pan Teriyaki Salmon with Green Beans (Quick & Easy Dinner)
Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Lydia Purcell
Think of this sheet-pan teriyaki salmon as a stir-fry without the stirring! Instead, rice and veggies are baked on a hot sheet pan alongside green beans and salmon coated in a sweet teriyaki glaze. Microwaveable precooked rice or leftover brown rice works well here. Just be sure to break up any clumps of rice that are stuck together so it cooks evenly.
Easy Sheet-Pan Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes & Broccolini
Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Lydia Pursell
Chicken thighs and sweet potato get crispy in the oven while broccolini roasts alongside in a foil packet for even cooking and easy cleanup. Pro tip: Place the chicken thighs in the corners of the baking sheet, where there is more air circulation, for crispy skin.
Creamy Pesto Shrimp with Gnocchi & Peas Is a 20-Minute Dinner
Photographer: Greg DuPree, Prop stylist: Shell Royster, Food stylist: Emily Hall
This speedy dinner recipe combines shrimp with pillowy gnocchi, pesto and peas in a creamy sauce. Feel free to substitute the peas with other veggies such as broccoli or asparagus. For a bit of heat, sprinkle in some crushed red pepper, or garnish with grated Parmesan cheese to enhance the savory flavor.
Slow-Cooker Three-Bean Chili Mac (Easy Dump & Go Dinner)
Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Lydia Purcell
Chili meets mac and cheese in this fix-it-and-forget-it slow-cooker dinner. Hot tomato sauce, a Mexican canned tomato sauce that also includes spices and chiles for heat, kicks up the flavor. If you can’t find hot tomato sauce, regular canned tomato sauce with a tablespoon of chili powder mixed in is a good substitute. You can cook the pasta separately and add it in at the end of cooking, or use our alternative method and cook the pasta in the slow cooker with a few adjustments listed below.
Sheet-Pan Beef & Cabbage Noodles (Easy 20-Minute Dinner)
Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Lydia Pursell
Forget the wok and all that stirring! This stir-fry recipe comes together in only 20 minutes on one baking sheet under the broiler. The trick to a perfect sheet-pan stir-fry is making sure your ingredients are spread out well on the pan so everything cooks evenly.
Quick & Easy Baked Feta & Tomato Chickpeas (Packed with 20 Grams of Protein)
Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Lydia Pursell
This simple baked feta casserole recipe turns cherry tomatoes, feta cheese and chickpeas into a hearty, protein-rich vegetarian meal. After baking, it creates a savory-sweet tomato–olive oil sauce ideal for slathering on pita bread. Feta cheese in brine melts more readily compared to dry, crumbled feta, so it’s worth seeking out. For a different take, replace the chickpeas with creamy white beans.
Creamy Chicken & Cauliflower Rice Casserole Is Packed with 25 Grams of Protein
Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Lydia Purcell
This protein-rich, one-skillet dinner features tender chicken thighs baked on a bed of creamy cauliflower rice packed with meaty mushrooms. While chicken thighs are quick and convenient, you can substitute halved bone-in chicken breasts in their place.
These Tajín Shrimp Tacos with Cabbage Slaw Are Ready in 15 Minutes
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.
Prosciutto Pizza with Corn & Arugula
This grilled prosciutto and arugula pizza makes the perfect summer dinner. If you have time, let the dough stand at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes to make rolling it out easier in this 20-minute healthy pizza recipe. Thawed frozen corn works in place of fresh, just pat it dry before sprinkling it on the pizza.
Crispy Parmesan-Crusted Cabbage Slices with Gremolata
Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Julia Levy, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle
These cheesy, tender-crisp cabbage slices will make anyone fall in love with the vegetable. Arranging the cabbage around the perimeter of the baking sheets is crucial as it ensures the most even browning and the crispiest Parmesan crust. The lemony gremolata adds a dash of freshness and brightness to balance the salty cheese.
Say Goodbye to Boring Dinners with This Lemon-Herb Roasted Chicken
Greg DuPree
Add this super-bright and citrusy lemon-herb roasted chicken to your weeknight routine, and you won’t be disappointed. The lemon slices in the bottom of the pan release their juice, shaping the base for the buttery, tangy sauce that’s drizzled on top. The light anise flavor of tarragon pairs well with chicken, but feel free to swap it out for another fresh herb like chives or parsley.
Garlic, Sausage & Kale Naan Pizzas
We love sausage, but it can be high in sodium. In this fast, healthy dinner, we make our own turkey sausage with crushed red pepper, garlic, fennel seeds, paprika and just a touch of salt.
Sheet-Pan Salmon with Sweet Potatoes & Broccoli
The vibrant combo of cheese, cilantro, chili, and lime—inspired by Mexican street corn—makes this salmon sheet-pan dinner burst with flavor.
One-Pot White Bean, Spinach & Sun-Dried Tomato Orzo with Lemon & Feta
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless
This one-pot pasta dish with white beans, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes is lively and vibrant and leaves you with an easy cleanup. Toasting the orzo before adding the broth adds another layer of flavor. Another dark leafy green like chopped kale or Swiss chard can stand in for the spinach, but may take longer to wilt in the pan. If you use a sturdier green, add it to the pan during the last 5 minutes of cooking time.
Read the original article on Eating Well.
