High-Protein Dinner Recipes

This classic chicken recipe for crispy chicken breasts filled with ham and melty cheese is baked, instead of fried, for a lightened-up, delicious dinner.

How do you get classic beef stroganoff on the dinner table in under an hour? Use ground beef instead of cubed steak. Ground beef cooks in a fraction of the time but is just as delicious in a creamy sauce with mushrooms and served over whole-wheat noodles.

This recipe involves one of our favorite make-ahead hacks: let the chicken and steak marinate in reverse. In this recipe, you'll pour a punchy, citrusy dressing over the meat right after it leaves the grill, so it soaks up the bright vinaigrette as it cools. Better yet, reverse-marinating keeps the grilled meat from drying out, even when kept in the fridge overnight.

This Asian-inspired dinner salad has terrific crunch, thanks to sugar snap peas and napa cabbage. Give the dressing a kick of heat by adding a bit of sambal oelek, an Indonesian hot sauce that you can find in most large supermarkets and Asian grocery stores.

This chicken's sticky, citrusy glaze is a flavor-packed combo of Belgian wit beer, coriander and orange--plus it gets a Thai-inspired spin from lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves. Use a bottle from your favorite brewery or opt for easy-to-find Blue Moon Belgian White (and have a few extra bottles on hand to drink with it!).

Zucchini noodles and shelf-stable stir-fry noodles combine for a hearty portion in this healthy stir-fry recipe. Chinese fermented black beans (they're actually soybeans) lend a salty and savory backbone to this quick veggie-filled entree. They're pungent, so a little goes a long way. Find them at Asian grocery stores, well-stocked supermarkets and online.

Not a fan of raw fish? No problem--this poke (pronounced poke-ay) recipe substitutes cooked peeled shrimp instead. This fast, veggie-loaded dish includes seasoned brown rice for a hearty boost of fiber.

This fast vegan version of poke (the traditional Hawaiian salad of diced raw fish tossed in a soy-sesame sauce) swaps in extra-firm tofu for fish while loading your bowl with vegetables and crunchy toppers like pea shoots and peanuts. Serve over brown rice instead of the zucchini noodles to add a hearty boost of fiber.

Poke (pronounced poke-ay), a Hawaiian word meaning "to chop" or "to cut," refers to a traditional Hawaiian salad of diced raw fish in a simple, soy-based sauce with punchy seasonings like toasted sesame and chopped scallion greens. Serve with seasoned brown rice for a healthy, satisfying meal packed with veggies, protein and fiber.

Poke is a fast, refreshing and delicious salad of diced raw fish tossed in a vibrant sauce--often a combination of soy sauce, sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds and sweet onions or scallions. Hailing from Hawaii, poke is usually served as an appetizer or bulked up with fresh sliced veggies, greens or seasoned rice for a speedy entree.

This healthy, super-fast salad recipe swaps out romaine for kale, giving you more than 10 times the vitamin C. Easy flavor hacks like store-bought ranch and pickled jalapeños help make a creamy, tangy and spicy dressing you'll want to drizzle on everything from salad to sliced veggies and shredded poached chicken.

Fresh peaches liven up a classic caprese salad in this super-fast snack. Make this recipe for one or make a bunch for a party appetizer.

Slash the calories and carbs of traditional stuffed peppers by swapping white rice for cauliflower "rice." The riced cauliflower is hearty and won't turn to mush during baking. Use an assortment of red, yellow, orange and green peppers to make an appealing presentation.

Chimichurri is a no-cook herby-garlicky sauce from Argentina and Uruguay. It's delicious on grilled proteins and vegetables. Here, we use it to double the flavor of basic grilled chicken breasts. The chicken is both baked with and topped with this flavor-packed sauce.

This classic Indian-inspired dish typically takes several hours to make, but we simplified it by skipping the traditional yogurt marinade and letting the pressure cooker infuse the tikka masala flavor into lean chicken breasts. Cayenne adds heat, while a splash of cream keeps the spice in check (add less cayenne if you want it less spicy). Serve over rice and with a piece of naan to soak up the sauce.

Upgrade baked beans from classic side dish to a meaty main meal by adding lean ground beef. The final result, a superfast hearty casserole, is an easy and fast dinner option. Ground turkey or even sausage would work nicely in this dish. Just watch the sodium.

Make this classic version of sweet and tangy barbecue baked beans in an electric pressure cooker, like the Instant Pot, in a fraction of the time it would take in the slow cooker or on the stove.

All the delicious flavors of your favorite chicken Cordon Bleu--salty ham, melty cheese, tangy mustard--with no tricky assembly required. This healthy comfort food recipe would be perfect for a potluck.

This easy soup flavored with chili powder and a splash of lime is quick enough to prepare for a warming weeknight meal thanks to an electric pressure cooker like the Instant Pot. Lean chicken breast is easy to prep, but boneless, skinless chicken thighs would make a great substitute.

This healthy fruit, veggie and cheese plate is easy and affordable to pull together for a fun snack-style dinner at home or can be packed up and enjoyed as an outdoor picnic.