Best Diet Dinner Recipes

August 26, 2019
Slim down with our best diet dinner recipes for delicious homemade meals.

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Ancho-Honey Pork Tenderloin with Cheese Grits

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In this recipe, roast pork tenderloin is glazed with honey, lime, soy and ancho chile powder and served on top of cheese grits. Ancho chile powder, made from dried poblano peppers, has a mild heat and adds a rich, subtly smoky flavor. Serve with sauteed kale with slivered garlic.

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Seared Salmon with Braised Broccoli

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Here we pair pan-seared salmon with braised broccoli and make it special with a quick, Italian-inspired topping of sautéed onions, pine nuts and raisins.

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Quick Chicken Cacciatore

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This version of the classic Italian recipe, chicken cacciatore, is done in half the time of most traditional versions, but is still full of rich flavor thanks to plenty of mushrooms, tomatoes and herbs.

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Seared Steak with Caramelized Onion & Blue Cheese Sauce

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It only takes one skillet to make this restaurant-worthy pan-seared steak recipe with creamy caramelized onion and blue cheese sauce.

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Quick Chicken Parmesan

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Ooey-gooey cheese, crispy breadcrumbs and plenty of sauce are the hallmarks of any good chicken Parmesan recipe, and this one-skillet version of chicken parm is no exception. We made this recipe easier by skipping the breading on the chicken and loading the top of the dish with cheese and breadcrumbs. Serve with whole-wheat pasta to soak up the extra sauce.

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Tilapia with Tomato-Olive Sauce

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Top tilapia fillets with a savory tomato-olive sauce that comes together in just 5 minutes. Look for tapenade near jarred olives in the supermarket. Serve with sautéed broccolini and farro tossed with toasted almonds.

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Creamy Chicken Potpie

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An irresistible crisp (but easy) phyllo crust tops these homey individual chicken potpies. Make a double batch and freeze extras to have on hand anytime. Serve with a butterhead lettuce salad with red onion and white-wine vinaigrette.

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Seared Strip Steaks with Horseradish-Root Vegetable Slaw

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Steaks are often served with hearty accompaniments like mashed potatoes, which can make the whole meal seem heavy. Here we lighten things up by topping pan-seared steaks with a raw slaw dressed with pungent horseradish vinaigrette. We use shredded beets, turnips and carrots, but feel free to change up the combination of vegetables based on what you're pulling from the garden.

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Vegetarian Shepherd's Pies

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These mini vegetarian shepherd's pies feature lentils, carrot and corn, crowned with a velvety mashed potato topping. The recipe can also be made in a broiler-safe casserole dish. Serve with a spinach salad with oranges, walnuts and red-wine vinaigrette.

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Green Couscous & Shrimp

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This quick dinner recipe of couscous, white beans and shrimp is flavored with a potent parsley-and-basil dressing.

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Lasagna with Slow-Roasted Tomato Sauce

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Slow-roasting the tomatoes gives the tomato sauce for this lasagna recipe an intense depth of flavor--which is then enhanced by the umami in onions, Parmesan and spinach. The lasagna noodles are layered into the lasagna uncooked; the moisture from the fresh spinach cooks them perfectly as the lasagna bakes in the oven.

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Creamy Hungarian Mushroom Soup

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Mushroom-soup lovers, this soup is for you! Russet potatoes make it hearty, and dill and paprika add plenty of flavor. We skip the generous amount of full-fat sour cream and butter typically used in creamy mushroom soups. Serve with a green salad and warm pumpernickel bread.

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Spinach & Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Pizza

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This stuffed pizza is filled with crumbled tofu, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, cheese and fresh basil. It's easy to make stuffed pizza at home. Just roll the crust thin, spread filling over half and fold closed. To use fresh spinach, cook 10 ounces until just wilted; finely chop and squeeze dry. Serve with: Marinara sauce for dipping and mixed green salad.

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Inside-Out Lasagna

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Here we take basic lasagna ingredients--ricotta cheese, pasta and tomatoes--and skip the layering and long baking time to make a super-quick and satisfying meal for the whole family. To cut down on prep time, look for presliced mushrooms. For meat lovers, brown some crumbled turkey sausage along with the onions and garlic. Serve with: Steamed broccoli and whole-grain baguette.

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Grilled Fish Tacos

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Instead of deep-frying the fish for these fish tacos, we coat the fish with a flavor-packed chile rub and grill it instead. Make sure the fillets are no more than 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick so they cook quickly. Sometimes flipping fish on the grill can be tricky since the fish can stick to the grill or fall apart. The solution is to invest in a grill basket that easily holds 4 to 6 fish fillets and secures the fish in the basket for easy flipping. If you don't have a grilling basket, make sure the grill is hot and well oiled before adding the fish.

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Almond-&-Lemon-Crusted Fish with Spinach

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Coating fish with nuts and baking it is an easy, foolproof way to cook it elegantly. And it is especially nice with a mild white fish like cod or halibut. The spinach turns a little yellowy because it's cooked with the acidic lemon juice, but what you lose in green color is more than made up for in great flavor.

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Roast Chicken & Sweet Potatoes

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Caramelized sweet potatoes and red onion are the bed for chicken thighs that cook up fast in a very hot oven--perfect for a quick healthy chicken dinner. Serve with a fall salad of mixed greens, sliced apples and blue cheese.

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Pork Chops with Creamy Marsala Sauce

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A little cornstarch gives the sweet and salty Marsala sauce for this pork dish the kind of body it would usually take a cup of heavy cream (rather than low-fat milk) to achieve. The recipe makes plenty of sauce, so you'll want to serve it with some egg noodles or mashed potatoes to soak it all up.

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Black Bean & Salmon Tostadas

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Pickled jalapeños, cilantro and avocado perk up convenient canned salmon for a quick tostada topping. Skip store-bought and make your own crispy shells in the oven. Serve with: Brown rice cooked with diced tomatoes and onions or salsa.

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Scallop Scampi with Peppers

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Use a mixture of bell peppers for a colorful (and vitamin C-packed) scallop stir-fry. Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel--if they are wet they will spatter when added to the wok and make the stir-fry too wet. This stir-fry is excellent served over linguine or fettuccine.

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