61 Healthy Dinner Ideas to End the Day on a High Note

The key to this excellent healthy dinner idea? Chickpeas so soft that they melt in your mouth. See recipe.

Fermented pepper paste adds a lot to this broth, but if you don't keep gochujang in your pantry, you can use a scoop of miso in a pinch. The broth plays well with all sorts of veggies, so feel free to mix it up. See recipe.

Roast mushrooms spiced with oregano, garlic powder, and cumin to perfection before stuffing into warm corn tortillas. If that doesn’t sound filling enough, serve with a side of black beans and brown rice to add some heft. See recipe.

Mushrooms take the place of the traditional Italian cured pork in this super-satisfying vegetarian dinner recipe. See recipe.

Marinate salmon in a versatile ginger-garlic paste, then sear it in a pan to create a flavorful caramelized crust. Tuck into tacos and top with a quick pineapple salsa for an easy and delicious dinner. See recipe.

Cloak tender poached chicken, sweet summer corn, and crisp green beans in a creamy, fresh herb–loaded green goddess for the ultimate chic summer lunch. See recipe.

Temper summer’s heat with a big bowl of these irresistible colorful, crunchy, cold noodles. Inspired by Taiwanese liang mian, this dish is an ode to the safe spaces recipe developer Jessie YuChen would frequent while growing up in Taipei. See recipe.

With loads of fresh veggies, this recipe is exactly what you want when dinner needs to be a salad and salad needs to be dinner. See recipe.

Quick and easy, this is one comfort food recipe you won't be able to get enough of. Make a big batch and you’ll have a healthy dinner that lasts all week. See recipe.

In Korean, ssam literally means “wrapped”—set the fish in the center of the table and pull the meat off the bones, using chopsticks to fill lettuce wraps along with radish salad, ssamjang, kimchi, and rice. Roasting a whole fish in a sheet pan—skin, bones, and all—is a surprisingly easy dinner, and the flesh stays moist and flavorful even if you overcook it a touch. See recipe.

Spicy gochujang and creamy tahini combine with hearty broccoli rabe and cooling basil in this harmonious but punchy, umami-rich noodle dish. See recipe.

If you’ve never grilled fish before, this recipe that features forgiving swordfish is the best place to start. The tomato and olive salad goes with practically everything you plan to eat this summer. See recipe.

Broccoli florets get lots of love, but this sizzling, meal prep-ready dish is all about those stalks and leaves. If you have a pile of leftover rice in the fridge, this easy dinner comes together on the stovetop in a blink. See recipe.

Tearing the sweet potatoes creates more surface area to char and glaze. (It’s also fun.) Lentils add body and texture. See recipe.

Senior food editor Christina Chaey's mushroom dashi can go with whatever vegetables and proteins you have in the fridge. It’s her favorite cold-weather healthy dinner. See recipe.

If you like bold, assertive flavors—like broccoli rabe and lemon—this rustic white bean side dish is the recipe for you. Try it with roast chicken or pork tenderloin to add some extra protein to your veggies. See recipe.

With a texture somewhere between a latke and a pancake, these vegetarian fritters are also gluten-free. (Thanks, chickpea flour!) See recipe.

This sour-salty soup was made for using up sweet, late-season tomatoes—no slow cooker or Instant Pot necessary to develop big flavor. See recipe.

Dashi, a Japanese stock made from seaweed and dried fish, is the fastest route to a savory, slurp-able broth—and there are no long simmers or bags of chicken bones necessary. See recipe.

This Persian stew of tomatoes and spiced eggplant is just the warming dish you need on a cool evening. See recipe.

Properly poached chicken breast is truly a thing of beauty—juicy, tender, and a blank canvas for big flavors. See recipe.

Corn, butter, and soy come together with pan-fried tofu, scallions, mirin, and sesame oil to make an ultra-flavorful, just-rich-enough vegetarian main. Serve it over rice, a chewy grain like farro or wheat berries, or arugula dressed with rice vinegar and more sesame oil. A crispy fried egg would also be welcome. See recipe.

Obe ata is a Nigerian sauce that incorporates floral habanero chiles and bell peppers. This recipe uses obe ata as the base for a spicy, healthy chicken and sweet potato stew. See recipe.

Saffron’s deep crimson threads add an intense sunset-orange hue and rich aroma to whatever they touch, but the downside is that it’s very expensive. By gently grinding the saffron threads, then mixing them with water, you can create a saffron liquid that makes a little bit of the pricy spice go a longer way (and it helps the threads dissolve better). See recipe.

Palya is a classic South Asian recipe usually composed of a single vegetable chopped into bite-size pieces and sautéed in oil that has been seasoned with black mustard seeds, asafetida, chile, and curry leaves. The dish is then finished with lemon juice, grated coconut, and cilantro. Seasonal produce is preferred, but the combination makes even the saddest of vegetables at the back of your fridge sing. See recipe.

Sweet, spicy, and aromatic, these vibrantly delicious galangal-and-lemongrass–marinated beef skewers are a Cambodian street food staple. They’re also ideal for a quick dinner. If you don’t have a grill, you can always broil on a sheet pan. See recipe.

Give a store-bought bird a new identity by simmering it in a quick tomato-bacon braise with lots of kale and a splash of white wine. See recipe.

You’ll find a version of this quicker-than-quick dish on many Korean tables as a banchan. But with rice and a side of greens, it’s dinner exactly when you need it: right now. See recipe.

Food director Chris Morocco's grandma used to make a version of this dish using pork and showers of Parmesan. He's updated it with ground chicken and miso for a lighter, late-summer dish with equally deep flavor. See recipe.

Slow roasting fish over par-roasted potatoes, fennel, and onions is a pro move that turns out a deeply satisfying dish with minimal cleanup. See recipe.

Puréeing some of the mushrooms along with cashews for this creamy, earthy, vegan soup adds body that doesn’t compromise on flavor. See recipe.

This one-pot Indian mung bean and rice stew was practically made for stay-inside days: Made from pantry ingredients, it requires little effort and is extremely comforting. See recipe.

Even steaming can overcook chicken. Keep the heat and steam gentle and remove the meat when it’s just firm and has a bit of spring when pressed. See recipe.

Quinoa—not breadcrumbs—adds bulk to these meatballs while imparting them with a lightness and a ton of extra vitamins and minerals. See recipe.

The key to this quick dinner is starting the salmon fillets skin side down in a cold cast iron skillet, cranking the heat, and letting the skin slowly render and crisp. This ensures that the flesh cooks gently (and mostly on one side), so that all it needs is a quick flip and another minute or so to get you to a perfect medium-rare. See recipe.

Miso-curry paste and handfuls of charred green beans and peas transform skinless, boneless chicken breasts into a highly craveable stir-fry that comes together fast for busy weeknights. See recipe.

This recipe is food stylist Tyna Hoang's homage to Hanoi’s classic Chả Cá Lã Vọng, a dish of fried fish seasoned with turmeric, shrimp paste, and dill that’s served over vermicelli with lots of herbs and nước chấm, a fish sauce dressing. Her simplified version is married with the summer roll for a quick and refreshing nod to an otherwise perfect traditional recipe. See recipe.

This cool-weather recipe leads to a super satisfying, highly riffable one-pan dish. Change up the braise by tossing in whatever you have lingering in your pantry: A chipotle chile, a handful of rosemary, the zest of a lemon or a lime. You get the idea. See recipe.

Turkey burgers always sound like a great idea, but they often taste like a fat sawdust patty. No more, friends! Mashing avocado into the turkey mixture helps prevent the meat from shrinking and drying out during cooking on the barbecue, which is why these stay awesomely juicy, even when they’re cooked all the way through. See recipe.

We love this dinner that's half salad bowl, half sheet pan. The mixture is crunchy, creamy, sweet, salty, and highly satisfying—it's sure to lead to future cravings. See recipe.

This recipe was directly inspired by Korean bibimbap's wonderful flavors and texture. The short cook time makes it quicker than takeout, and the recipe's flexibility makes it versatile—when summer hits, swap in grilled corn or zucchini. See recipe.

We swapped red sauce for crisp lettuce tossed in a bracing dressing—and it works. The cured meat (in this case, prosciutto) can stay. See recipe.

Quick, spicy, filling, and made mostly of pantry ingredients, this chili/tortilla soup/Frito pie mash-up is calling your name. (Shhh. Listen closely.) See recipe.

Crispy, craggy, and thoroughly coated in a rich peanut sauce, this tofu is a main you’ll turn to again and again. Be patient when pan-searing the tofu—it can take time to develop the browning you’re after, but the payoff is huge. See recipe.

Warming cumin, cardamom, turmeric, and ginger make this Somali chicken stew recipe from recipe developer Hawa Hassan a rich aromatic experience. Breast meat will work, but chicken thighs will provide a little more flavor. See recipe.

This quick soup coaxes big flavors from a short ingredient list. The lentils provide body you usually only get from a long-simmered stew. See recipe.

This dish of saucy, seared paneer channels the flavors traditionally found in matar paneer—coriander, cumin, chile, and ginger—into a quick-cooking cherry tomato sauce that's packed with bright spring-y sugar snap peas. See recipe.

The dressing here is really just coconut milk and lime juice with a little salt—and it's amazing. Any flaky white fish can stand in for the halibut. See recipe.

Pair this easy chicken dinner with whatever steamed vegetables you love and drizzle the chile- and honey-kissed pan sauce over everything. See recipe.

Joshua McFadden's kale pesto inspired us to keep spreading the word that there is still no better or more delicious way to eat your greens. Our version has pistachios for even more of that verdant hue. See recipe.

The goal for this healthy dinner idea was to achieve a tonkotsu-like broth without using any meat. Tomato paste, dried shiitake mushrooms, kombu, and a little bit of butter help to get you that rich umami-like effect. Swap in shirataki noodles for ramen for a low-carb alternative. See recipe.