Super-Healthy Weeknight Dinner Recipes (2024)

Not all of us have the willpower to give up junk food entirely, but there are some moves we can all make to eat just a little healthier. Cooking for ourselves rather than eating out at a local casual-dining chain or downing peanut butter and Fritos on white bread for dinner, comes to mind.

That said, we’re all busy people. So here are 12 quick and healthy recipes that are faster to put together than any scavenged sandwich situation.

Healthy Greek turkey tostadas

Not only is this recipe crazy unique, it's also simple. The tomato, olive, and cucumber salad is classic for Greek cuisine, and the lemon tzatziki adds a nice acidic bite. If you want to eliminate carbs entirely, you can make these into lettuce wraps. Give it a shot right here.

Key ingredients:

Cajun salmon with salted lime butter

This recipe is savory, spicy, and super easy. It comes together in just 30 minutes. And salted lime butter?! We’ll allow it. Recipe here.

Key ingredients:

Roasted asparagus salad

This “salad” isn’t really a salad at all. It’s a delicious combination of roasted asparagus, strawberries, feta, and a fried egg. Feel free to omit the egg, but if you haven’t experienced the glorious combination of a silky yolk running through some asparagus… you’re missing out. Get on that with the recipe here.

Key ingredients:

Vegan sun-dried tomato and basil meatballs

These are vegan, simple, and take less than an hour. The “meatballs” are made out of chickpeas, which provide a nice texture and don’t turn to total mush after cooking. Check out the recipe here.

Key ingredients:

Eggplant rolatini

Eggplant rolatini is a great way to satisfy that eggplant Parm craving without all the breading and frying. There’s sauce, there’s cheese, there’s eggplant, and there’s less guilt. Everybody wins with this recipe.

Key ingredients:

Sweet-and-sticky three-ingredient apricot chicken

Three ingredients. THREE. What a time to be alive. You put chicken breasts or thighs in a pan with apricot preserves and a light Russian dressing (can use store-bought) and bake. DONE. And it’s super flavorful. There’s a recipe for cauliflower rice in here too which you can totally omit, but, hey, that also sounds pretty great. Check it out right here.

Key ingredients:

Hawaiian quinoa bowls with cilantro honey vinaigrette

There’s grilled chicken, quinoa, veggies, sweet cilantro vinaigrette, spicy peanut sauce, and tons of texture; your taste buds won’t ever get bored. Get the recipe here.

Key ingredients:

Cajun shrimp tacos with mango salsa

Have this sweet-and-spicy recipe on the table in just 20 minutes next Taco Tuesday, though we won't judge you if you want to eat them every night of the week. Recipe here.

Key ingredients:

Baked honey mustard chicken

Throwing ingredients together for the sauce is probably the hardest part of this recipe, and spoiler alert: it’s not hard at all. All it takes is honey mustard (or honey + mustard in this case), herbs, garlic powder, and paprika. Pour over chicken and bake. Serve over your favorite veggies or rice and you’re set. Get the recipe here.

Key ingredients:

Roasted spaghetti squash with Parmesan & mushrooms

Remember the spaghetti squash trend that made Atkins fans go absolutely bonkers?? Well, we’d like to bring it back because it really is delicious (and gluten-free). This recipe uses fresh spinach, sautéed mushrooms, and Parmesan, which make for a healthy yet still very comforting meal. Get the recipe here.

Key ingredients:

Creamy salsa chicken

This recipe is everything you want on a busy weeknight: quick, easy, and minimal cleanup. One pan with taco-spiced chicken, salsa, corn, and a bit of sour cream makes this dish a flavorful home run. Pro tip: mix in the sour cream off the heat so it doesn’t curdle. You can also sub in Greek yogurt to keep the calories down. Get on that right here.

Key ingredients:

Healthy chicken Parmesan

A notoriously heavy classic gets lightened up with whole-wheat breadcrumbs, baked, then served over zucchini noodles in just 20 minutes. There is the option to lightly fry and use real noodles too, for those of you who are scared of zucchini noodles. We understand. Try it out here.

Key ingredients: