Healthy Herb & Spice Recipes

The Mexican seasoning Tajín, with its mild spiciness and tangy undertones, pairs beautifully with sweet potatoes. Waffle-shaped fries are the perfect vessel for capturing the flavor. A creamy dipping sauce completes the experience.

Cheese and pepper star in this simple Italian dish. While the combo is traditionally tossed with pasta, we toss Parmesan cheese and freshly ground pepper with zucchini noodles instead for a lower-carb dish that helps you get in an extra serving of veggies. To simplify the recipe, look for prepackaged zucchini noodles in the produce section of your supermarket.

Try this quick and easy one-skillet version of the Hungarian classic chicken paprikash. Serve the chicken cutlets, mushrooms and creamy sauce over egg noodles with a green salad on the side.

Use this simple elderberry syrup to create an immune-supporting superfood sipper for cold and flu season. Elderberries offer rich amounts of flavonoids--powerful plant antioxidants shown to help fight inflammation and improve vascular function--in addition to potassium and vitamins A and C. These tiny, yet mighty berries have been used as a natural herbal remedy to help defend against myriad health ailments for over a century. In addition to safeguarding immunity, research suggests that taking the berry at the onset of certain sicknesses may help quell symptoms like coughing and sore throat. To create a soothing, tea-like sipper, mix the elderberry syrup with hot water. Alternatively, pour the elderberry syrup over ice and top off with club soda for an invigorating elixir.

This basic Instant Pot whole chicken is moist and delicious. Plenty of garlic and fresh herbs flavor this healthy chicken recipe that can be enjoyed as a meal on its own or shredded and used in soups or as a topping for salad. In addition to the garlic and herb chicken, see Tips (below) for a lemon-garlic variation and a lemongrass and lime version of the basic recipe. Whichever version you choose, this pressure-cooker chicken requires just 15 minutes of active time.

Oven-roasted fingerling potatoes can be a special holiday side dish, but they're quick enough to enjoy on a weeknight too. The secret to these crispy roasted fingerling potatoes? Getting the baking sheet nice and hot before you spread the potatoes on it.

Both the meat and the sauce are versatile and could work in other applications: Use the slow-cooker lamb for a stew or drizzle the sauce on grilled chicken. If mint is polarizing for your crowd, use parsley. A salad and couscous with toasted sliced almonds make nice accompaniments. Garnish with additional fresh mint leaves, if desired.

Garlic-seasoned slow-cooker pork loin, port-and-tomato-based sauce and creamy mashed potatoes all made with less than 30 minutes of hands-on prep--who could ask for more? Garnish with additional fresh rosemary sprigs, if desired.

Mole sauce is a Mexican condiment primarily composed of fruit, chile pepper, nuts and spices. In our rendition, these ingredients take the form of raisins and tomatoes; ancho chiles; smoked almonds; and cocoa, cumin and cinnamon. The rich mixture coats the browned chicken thighs in the slow cooker, and doubles as a topping on the final dish. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves, if desired.

The classic pairing of shallots and mushrooms gives this easy slow-cooker chicken recipe a timeless quality that's sure to please everyone at your table. Swirling the stock and flour together at the beginning is a pro tip for creating a thick sauce that moistens the final dish and helps all the ingredients come together.

In this slow-cooker chicken recipe, minimal effort produces big flavor, making it the perfect starter recipe for anyone learning to cook their own Thai food. If you can't find wide rice noodles, any rice noodle can be substituted. For quickest day-of meal prep, make the chicken and coconut broth a day in advance and refrigerate. When ready to eat, simply reheat them, cook the noodles and serve.

Stay a little warmer this winter with this riff on a classic hot toddy. Ginger gives this healthy cocktail a pinch of spice.

While this type of cured salmon, called gravlax, is usually made with skin-on salmon, this recipe removes the skin and rubs the curing mixture on both sides for better flavor penetration. Ask your fishmonger for a center-cut piece of salmon that's consistently 1 1/2 inches thick for the best results. Green peppercorns are often sold in a brine, but you'll want to seek out dried ones for this recipe.

Why do the yolks of deviled eggs get all the love? This healthy deviled eggs recipe reserves some of the seasoning to sprinkle on the usually bland whites as well.

A mashed russet potato gives a light and tender crumb to this tea cake recipe. Slices of the loaf are wonderful the next day, toasted and glossed with butter.

Russets are the creamiest, best potatoes for mashed potatoes. A drizzle of browned butter on top adds a nutty flavor that mingles nicely with tangy yogurt and fragrant sage.

These roasted smashed potatoes show off all the goodness of russets: fluffy insides surrounded by shatteringly crisp skin. The easy horseradish sauce topping adds a delicious flavor boost.

Apple butter and applesauce make this spice cake exceptionally moist and tender. The bright berry compote and billowy whipped cream provide perfect counterpoints.

When making a whole, slow-cooker chicken, it's best to buy a better-quality chicken such as one from a farm stand. The flavor and texture of the bird will hold up best over the long cook time. Also, leaving the skin on during cooking will ensure that the chicken stays moist. If you have leftover chicken, use it for a chicken soup or in a chicken salad sandwich. For a beautiful presentation, serve the chicken surrounded by fresh sage leaves and roasted, halved lemons and garlic heads.

Nutty toasted almonds combine with cilantro in a simple pesto that tops tender roasted sweet potato wedges. A squeeze of lime adds brightness and character.