High Protein, Low-Calorie Recipes

This homemade stuffing recipe is special because it comes complete with a sausage-making lesson from the Sausage King himself, author and famed business owner Bruce Aidells.

Pork shoulder makes a wonderful roast because it has enough fat to keep it moist and tender during low and slow cooking. The citrus sauce has a smoky, agave sweetness from the tequila and produces a bright counterpoint to the unctuous meat. Serve any extra sauce for dipping.

This recipe features a brisket rub to rule all other brisket rubs. Covering the brisket with parchment paper before putting the lid on the pot is a classic French technique that creates a more richly flavored sauce.

This ruby-red cranberry relish recipe gets refreshing crunch from apple and celery. It's also delightful alongside a roast chicken or pork loin.

This Italian meatloaf riff uses sausage to boost its flavor. When you're already cooking meatloaf, it's not much more effort to prep a second meatloaf. The extra one makes a delicious day-after meal (see Tip for ideas for the leftovers) or freeze it for another time.

For a quick version of stuffed grape leaves, we've put all the flavors of a traditional dolma recipe into a cooked filling that's simply wrapped in blanched kale leaves--no need to simmer for hours.

This easy chicken cacciatore, the Italian braised hunter's dish, gets a touch of Philly when you turn it into a sandwich and call it a hoagie. This is a chicken sandwich recipe to remember.

Looking to add some interest to an easy dinner recipe? Five-spice may be your new best friend. What is five-spice powder? A mixture of these five spices: cinnamon, clove, fennel, star anise and Szechuan peppercorns. (There are regional recipes in China that include more spices, including white pepper, nutmeg and orange peel.) It adds a distinct warm flavor to these healthy salmon cakes.

White miso paste packs an umami punch to this healthy salmon recipe. But being the mildest and sweetest variety of the gluten-free fermented paste, it won't overpower this dish. Use any leftover salmon (within 3 days) to make our Lemon-Garlic Pasta with Salmon, Easy Scallion-Salmon Dip or Spicy Salmon Cakes (see Associated Recipes).

Wondering what to do with leftover salmon? This is a delicious and easy way to turn it into another weeknight-friendly, quick dinner. Don't forget to reserve some pasta water--its starch thickens the lemon-garlic pasta sauce and makes it silky-smooth.

This dish puts other healthy leftover turkey recipes to shame. Chef Hugh Acheson puts his unique spin on gumbo by mixing untraditional spices like allspice and coriander with must-have thyme and filé powder. Also called gumbo filé, filé powder is the finely ground leaves of the sassafras tree; look for it in well-stocked supermarkets or online. Serve the gumbo over rice and don't forget to pass the hot sauce.

These spicy noodles are inspired by a Chinese dish called Ants Climbing a Tree, named for the way the small pieces of ground pork (the "ants") cling to the noodles (the "tree"). The twist in these healthy noodles comes from adding vegetables like scallions and bok choy.

This healthy, easy soup is loaded with vegetables, protein and fiber to keep you full and fueled. Serve this winter soup topped with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, and a side of garlic toast.

These healthy burgers get a Mediterranean twist with a yogurt sauce seasoned with oregano, lemon and feta cheese. If you can't find ground lamb, ask the butcher to grind some for you.

A mixture of egg and Sriracha brings heat to these homemade chicken tenders and also helps the crunchy blend of puffed rice cereal and coconut chips stick. The tenders are then baked for a quick and healthy meal--no frying required.

Though a chicken cutlet may be a chicken breast cut in half, this recipe shows how to make chicken cutlets with double the deliciousness. A jar of sun-dried tomatoes does double duty for this healthy dinner recipe. The flavorful oil they're packed in is used to sauté the chicken, and the tomatoes go into the cream sauce.

Black bass has a delicate flavor that begs to be paired with something bold, like the cioppino-inspired jus in this healthy seafood recipe. The jus takes some time to make but we promise it's worth it. You'll have some left over: do as our editor-in-chief did and try it as a bloody mary base. Or use it to make risotto or a seafood stew.

The charred onion puree is both smoky and sweet, a nice foil for this simple baked salmon recipe. Serve this healthy salmon recipe with a glass of crisp, dry rosé for an easy dinner that's special enough for company. Environmental note: If you are deciding between farmed and wild salmon for this recipe, you should know that either one can be a sustainable choice: While farmed salmon historically has gotten a bad rap, many options now rate as Best Choice and Good Alternative by Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program. Use wild Pacific salmon if you prefer (most comes from well-managed fisheries), but check for doneness a few minutes early as it's typically leaner.

In this healthy catfish recipe, a brush of Dijon mustard and a generous sprinkle of crushed peppercorns temper the subtle earthy flavor this fish is sometimes known for. Feel free to use farmed catfish in this recipe: catfish are omnivorous, so they have a lighter environmental impact than farmed species that need to be fed pellets made from other fish.

A strong vinegar, like malt or sherry, gives this baked chicken recipe a pucker factor reminiscent of salt-and-vinegar chips. Everything cooks on one pan, making this chicken sheet-pan dinner perfect for weeknights when you want big results for little effort (so, pretty much every weeknight!).