Skip to content

Top Navigation

EatingWell EatingWell
  • Healthy Recipes
  • Special Diets
  • Diabetes
  • Healthy Meal Plans
  • Healthy Eating
  • Healthy Lifestyle
  • Healthy Cooking
  • Shop
  • News
  • Videos
Log In Account Details

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Favorites
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Cooking Light Diet
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore EatingWell

EatingWell EatingWell
  • Explore

    Explore

    • The Real Cost of Healthy Food

      Today, more Americans than ever—a staggering 50 million people—are experiencing hunger. EatingWell examines the barriers to getting healthy food and what is being done to help. Read More Next
    • 15 Easy Citrus Vinaigrettes That Will Make You Love Salad Again

      Read More Next
    • 22 Comforting Irish Recipes That Are Perfect for St. Patrick's Day

      Read More Next
  • Healthy Recipes

    Healthy Recipes

    See All Healthy Recipes
    • Healthy Breakfast & Brunch Recipes
    • Healthy Lunch Recipes
    • Healthy Dinner Recipes
    • Healthy Snack Recipes
    • Healthy Dessert Recipes
    • Healthy Soup Recipes
    • Healthy Salad Recipes
    • Healthy Smoothie Recipes
    • Healthy Quick & Easy Recipes
    • Healthy Slow-Cooker & Crockpot Recipes
    • Healthy Kids Recipes
    • Healthy Holiday Recipes
    • Healthy Vegan Recipes
    • Healthy Vegetarian Recipes
    • Healthy Mediterranean Diet Recipes
    • Healthy Diabetes-Friendly Recipes
    • Healthy Low-Calorie Recipes
    • Healthy Weight Loss & Diet Recipes
    • More Lifestyle Diet Recipes
    • More Health Condition Recipes
    • More Dietary Restriction Recipes
    • More Nutrient Focused Recipes
  • Special Diets

    Special Diets

    See All Special Diets
    • Clean Eating Diet Center
    • Mediterranean Diet Center
    • Low-Carb Diet Center
    • Weight Loss Center
    • Dairy-Free Diet Center
    • Gluten-Free Diet Center
    • High-Fiber Diet Center
    • Vegan Diet Center
    • Vegetarian Diet Center
    • Heart-Healthy Diet Center
    • Cholesterol Diet Center
    • Diabetes Diet Center
    • High Blood Pressure Diet Center
    • Low Sodium Diet Center
    • Healthy Aging Diet Center
    • Pregnancy Diet Center
  • Diabetes

    Diabetes

    See All Diabetes
    • Meal Plans for Diabetes
    • Diabetes-Friendly Recipes
    • Diabetes Diet Center
  • Healthy Meal Plans

    Healthy Meal Plans

    See All Healthy Meal Plans
    • Meal Planning 101
    • Dinner Plans
    • Clean Eating Meal Plans
    • Mediterranean Diet Meal Plans
    • Low-Carb Meal Plans
    • Weight-Loss Meal Plans
    • Dairy-Free Meal Plans
    • Gluten-Free Meal Plans
    • High-Fiber Meal Plans
    • Vegan Meal Plans
    • Vegetarian Meal Plans
    • Heart-Healthy Meal Plans
    • Low Cholesterol Meal Plans
    • Meal Plans for Diabetes
    • Blood Pressure Meal Plans
    • Low Sodium Meal Plans
    • Anti-Aging Meal Plans
    • Pregnancy Meal Plans
    • Healthy Kids Meal Plans
    • ThePrep
  • Healthy Eating

    Healthy Eating

    See All Healthy Eating
    • Healthy Eating 101
    • Eat More Vegetables
    • 30-Day Challenges
    • Good Food Fast
    • Healthy Eating for Kids
    • Best Healthy Foods
    • Green and Sustainable Eating
    • The Beet
    • Transformed
  • Healthy Lifestyle

    Healthy Lifestyle

    See All Healthy Lifestyle
    • Wine, Beer & Spirits Guide
    • Entertaining
    • EatingWell in Real Life
    • Plant Your Plate
    • Healthy Pets
    • American Food Heroes
    • Future of Food
    • Food with Purpose
    • Obsessed
  • Healthy Cooking

    Healthy Cooking

    See All Healthy Cooking
    • Healthy Cooking How-To's
    • Ask the Test Kitchen
    • Budget Cooking Guide
    • Thrifty
    • Family Heritage Cooking
  • Shop

    Shop

    See All Shop
    • EatingWell Cookbooks & More
    • EatingWell Frozen Meals
  • News
  • Videos

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Favorites
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Cooking Light Diet
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home Chevron Right
  2. Healthy Recipes Chevron Right
  3. Healthy Regional Recipes Chevron Right
  4. Healthy European Recipes Chevron Right
  5. Healthy Italian Recipes Chevron Right
  6. 22 Easy Italian-Inspired Dinners with 5 Steps or Less

22 Easy Italian-Inspired Dinners with 5 Steps or Less

December 02, 2020
Skip gallery slides
Pin

Travel to Italy tonight with these Italian-inspired dinner recipes. These dinners are delicious and easy to make as each recipe has just five steps or less. Whether it’s Whole-Grain Spaghetti with Italian Turkey Sausage, Arugula & Balsamic Tomato Sauce or Chicken Saltimbocca, these dinners are healthy, full of flavor and will transport your taste buds with one bite.

Start Slideshow

1 of 22

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Sicilian-Style Chicken Thighs

View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Bright-green Castelvetrano olives hail from Sicily and have a buttery flavor and meaty texture that pair perfectly with the Italian seasoning and salty capers in this one-skillet chicken dinner. Look for them on your supermarket olive bar or in jars with Italian ingredients.

1 of 22

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 22

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

One-Pot Tomato Basil Pasta

View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

This one-pot pasta with tangy tomato-basil sauce is a simple, fast and easy weeknight dinner. All of your ingredients go into one pot, and with a bit of stirring and about 25 minutes of cook time, you'll have a healthy dinner the whole family will enjoy.

2 of 22

3 of 22

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna with Broccolini

View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

In this low-carb spaghetti squash lasagna recipe, garlicky broccolini, spaghetti squash and cheese are combined for a healthy take on a favorite casserole. This bakes right in the squash shells for a fun presentation. Serve with a big Caesar salad and some warm and crusty whole-grain bread.

3 of 22

Advertisement

4 of 22

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Chicken Sausage Calzone

View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

A typical calzone packs almost 800 calories and 25 grams of saturated fat. In this healthier calzone recipe, we use lean chicken sausage to keep fat in check and add nutrient-rich spinach to bulk up the filling without adding calories. Serve with marinara sauce for dipping.

4 of 22

5 of 22

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Whole-Grain Spaghetti with Italian Turkey Sausage, Arugula & Balsamic Tomato Sauce

View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Total happiness in a bowl: pasta, sausage, tomatoes and herbs. The tomatoes get sweet and tender and turn into sauce with the stock and the pasta. Without ever adding any butter, the spaghetti sauce is rich and silky. Adding the herbs at the end gives the dish a fresh pop of color and flavor. This is one healthy pasta recipe we can definitely get behind!

5 of 22

6 of 22

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Italian Bean Stew

View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Sweet turkey sausage and cannellini beans are featured in this delicious stew.

6 of 22

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 22

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Wild Mushroom Pizza with Arugula & Pecorino

View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Make no mistake, this healthy pizza recipe is all about the mushrooms; lemon oil and arugula add just enough citrus and spiciness to accent without overwhelming. To that end, Sardinian or Tuscan Pecorino cheese (milder than Pecorino Romano) is called for, but other mellow grating cheeses, such as Parmigiano-Reggiano, will work.

7 of 22

8 of 22

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Chicken Saltimbocca

View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

This healthy chicken saltimbocca recipe makes an impressive, yet fast, classy dinner. Serve this Italian-inspired chicken with roasted broccoli rabe and creamy polenta to round out this elegant meal.

8 of 22

9 of 22

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

White Bean Soup with Tomato & Shrimp

View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

With capers and olives, this heart-healthy soup draws inspiration from Italian puttanesca sauce. Serve with crusty whole-grain bread to soak up the broth.

9 of 22

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 22

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Italian-Style Stuffed Eggplant

View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Two favorite Italian dishes--lasagna and eggplant Parm--are rolled into one in this stuffed vegetable recipe.

10 of 22

11 of 22

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Crisp Chicken Parmesan

View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

This chicken parmesan is served with multigrain or whole-grain spaghetti. This hearty pasta adds a nutty flavor to this main dish.

11 of 22

12 of 22

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Italian Shepherd's Pie

View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

The mashed potatoes and cheese topper makes this beef, sausage, and veggie pie stick-to-the-ribs delicious. Serve it with fresh fruit for dessert, and your meal is complete.

12 of 22

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

13 of 22

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Vegan Mushroom Bolognese

View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

This Bolognese sauce recipe is adapted from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. We swap out the beef and pork for button mushrooms to keep this traditional comfort food vegan yet weighty with umami flavor. And while some recipes call for red wine, this recipe sticks with Hazan's white wine selection.

13 of 22

14 of 22

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Easy Italian Wedding Soup

View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Forget the marble-size meatballs you find in many versions of this soup. In this easy recipe, they're full-size, full-flavored and plenty filling.

14 of 22

15 of 22

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Shrimp Scampi

View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Shrimp scampi is a favorite dish at many Italian restaurants but our version takes just 20 minutes to prepare, so it's perfect for a weeknight dinner at home. Large shrimp are cooked with garlic and then served over linguine pasta with a buttery-wine sauce--it's so good your family may think you ordered takeout!

15 of 22

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

16 of 22

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Slow-Cooker Chicken Cacciatore with Polenta

View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

This rustic stew cooks all day in the slow cooker so you can come home to a comforting, hot dinner. Not a fan of polenta? Try this healthy chicken dinner over pasta instead.

16 of 22

17 of 22

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Vegan Gnocchi Soup

View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

This Italian-inspired vegetable-packed soup features flavorful herbs, mushrooms, kale and tomatoes. Shelf-stable potato gnocchi are vegan, but if you want to make this soup gluten-free or lower in carbs, try cauliflower gnocchi instead.

17 of 22

18 of 22

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Chicken and Mushroom Manicotti

View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Mozzarella, ricotta, and Parmesan cheeses make a scrumptious filling for these hearty shells. To fill pasta shells with the cheese mixture, use a spoon that will fit inside each shell without tearing it.

18 of 22

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

19 of 22

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Pasta Puttanesca with Beef

View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

This easy slow cooker ground beef and pasta recipe makes a great meal any night of the week.

19 of 22

20 of 22

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Chicken-&-Mushroom Marsala

View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

For the best flavor in this classic one-pan chicken dinner recipe use real Marsala wine, not the cooking-wine kind. Serve with mashed potatoes.

20 of 22

21 of 22

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Winter Minestrone

View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

This version of the Italian classic vegetable and bean soup is made in the slow cooker and mixes in flavorful sausage and squash. Use any variety of winter squash.

21 of 22

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

22 of 22

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Broccoli & Sausage Skillet Pizza

View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Using a cast-iron skillet for this healthy pizza recipe gives you deep-dish pizza results with extra-crispy sides, but you can make it free-form too. Stretch the dough into a 12-inch oval and place on a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Top and bake at 450 degrees F until the cheese is melted and the crust is crisp, about 20 minutes.

22 of 22

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook
Trending Videos
Advertisement
Skip slide summaries

Everything in This Slideshow

Advertisement

View All

1 of 22 Sicilian-Style Chicken Thighs
2 of 22 One-Pot Tomato Basil Pasta
3 of 22 Spaghetti Squash Lasagna with Broccolini
4 of 22 Chicken Sausage Calzone
5 of 22 Whole-Grain Spaghetti with Italian Turkey Sausage, Arugula & Balsamic Tomato Sauce
6 of 22 Italian Bean Stew
7 of 22 Wild Mushroom Pizza with Arugula & Pecorino
8 of 22 Chicken Saltimbocca
9 of 22 White Bean Soup with Tomato & Shrimp
10 of 22 Italian-Style Stuffed Eggplant
11 of 22 Crisp Chicken Parmesan
12 of 22 Italian Shepherd's Pie
13 of 22 Vegan Mushroom Bolognese
14 of 22 Easy Italian Wedding Soup
15 of 22 Shrimp Scampi
16 of 22 Slow-Cooker Chicken Cacciatore with Polenta
17 of 22 Vegan Gnocchi Soup
18 of 22 Chicken and Mushroom Manicotti
19 of 22 Pasta Puttanesca with Beef
20 of 22 Chicken-&-Mushroom Marsala
21 of 22 Winter Minestrone
22 of 22 Broccoli & Sausage Skillet Pizza

Share options

Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message
EatingWell

Magazines & More

Learn More

  • About Us
  • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Content Licensing
  • Recipe Index
  • Jobs

Connect

Follow Us
Subscribe to Our Newsletters
Other Meredith Sites

Other Meredith Sites

  • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
  • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
  • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
  • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
  • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
  • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
  • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
  • Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
  • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
  • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
  • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
  • More this link opens in a new tab
  • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
  • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
  • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
  • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
  • Parents this link opens in a new tab
  • People this link opens in a new tab
  • People en EspaƱol this link opens in a new tab
  • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
  • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
  • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
  • Shape this link opens in a new tab
  • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living this link opens in a new tab
  • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
  • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
© 2021 EatingWell.com is part of the Allrecipes Food Group. EatingWell may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. All Right Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.eatingwell.com

View image

22 Easy Italian-Inspired Dinners with 5 Steps or Less
this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.