22 Easy Winter Dinners for When You’re Sick of Cooking

December 26, 2020

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Credit: Jennifer Causey

Tired of cooking? You’re not alone. That’s why we’ve pulled together these easy dinner recipes, so you can have a healthy and delicious meal with minimal effort. These winter dinners are hearty, take just 25 minutes from start to finish and have three steps or fewer. Recipes like Chicken & White Bean Soup and Honey-Chipotle Salmon with Cauliflower Rice Pilaf are tasty and so fast that dinner will be on the table before you know it.

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25-Minute Chicken & Veggie Enchiladas

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These chicken enchiladas are great for using up any veggies you have lingering in your fridge. Our chicken enchilada recipe calls for zucchini, squash and onion, but you could easily swap in spinach, onions or potatoes.

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Garlic Shrimp with Cilantro Spaghetti Squash

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Garlicky shrimp are served on top of buttery, cilantro-flecked spaghetti squash in this quick, healthy dinner recipe inspired by shrimp scampi. Pair with a side of sautéed greens, such as kale, collards or spinach.

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Cranberry-Balsamic Chicken Thighs

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To round out this healthy chicken dinner recipe, put some farro on to cook before you start cooking the chicken. Add some steamed broccoli and serve with a glass of pinot noir.

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Chicken & White Bean Soup

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Once again, rotisserie chickens can really relieve the dinner-rush pressure-especially in this Italian-inspired soup that cries out for a piece of crusty bread and a glass of red wine.

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Honey-Chipotle Salmon with Cauliflower Rice Pilaf

Credit: Jennifer Causey

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This sweet and spicy glazed salmon is sure to satisfy anyone at your table. Swapping in cauliflower rice for traditional rice not only sneaks in a serving of vegetables, it also saves time, as it takes just minutes to cook.

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Black Bean-Quinoa Buddha Bowl

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Treat your Buddha bowl to a vacation south of the border! This black bean and quinoa Buddha bowl has the usual hallmarks of a taco salad, minus the greasy fried bowl. We've loaded it up with pico de gallo, fresh cilantro and avocado plus an easy hummus dressing to drizzle on top.

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Tofu & Vegetable Scramble

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Feel free to customize this speedy tofu and vegetable scramble with your favorite combination of vegetables and spice. Try to use veggies that will all cook at the same rate, like peppers, green beans and sugar snap peas.

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Creamy Spinach Pasta

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This might be one of the creamiest light pasta dishes you've ever had! The mascarpone cheese adds a richness to the spinach pasta that's unexpected--especially in a healthy pasta recipe.

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Crispy Rice Bowls with Fried Eggs

Credit: Leigh Beisch

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We topped this rice bowl recipe with avocado, carrot, radishes and spinach along with eggs, but whatever vegetables you prefer will be just as delicious.

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Easy Italian Wedding Soup

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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.

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Quick Pastrami Hash & Eggs

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When we're in a hurry, we love to have breakfast for dinner. Precooked diced potatoes--available in the refrigerated section of most supermarkets--help make this pastrami hash ultra-fast. (If you have leftover cooked potatoes, use about 3 cups diced cooked potatoes instead.) Serve with rye toast and sautéed spinach.

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Mushroom and Chicken Stroganoff

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Using light dairy sour cream makes a creamy, but low fat, sauce for this quick and easy chicken dinner.

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Quinoa Cilantro Taco Salad

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This super-satisfying salad gets a whole-grain boost from cooked quinoa and crumbled whole-grain crackers.

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Three-Cheese Vegetable Pasta Toss

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Traditional macaroni and cheese is transformed by adding mushrooms, spinach, and tomato sauce. And it's ready in just 20 minutes!

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One-Pot Garlicky Shrimp & Spinach

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Shrimp, spinach and garlic brown and cook quickly for a simple one-pot weeknight dinner. A fast pan sauce gets life from zesty lemon juice, warm crushed red pepper and herby parsley. Serve with a slice of whole-wheat baguette to swipe up every last drop of sauce.

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Toaster-Oven Quesadillas

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We love finding new ways to use our kitchen tools and appliances. These toaster-oven quesadillas with peppers and avocado are the perfect example of an unexpected toaster-oven hack we had to share.

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Creamy Broccoli Pasta

Credit: Brie Passano

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If you're looking for a simple weeknight pasta dish, look no further. This vegetarian dinner is done in only 20 minutes and packs plenty of broccoli along with creamy goodness thanks to mascarpone cheese and low-fat Greek yogurt.

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Baked Beans with Ground Beef

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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.

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Vegan Coconut Chickpea Curry

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To make this 20-minute vegan curry even faster, buy precut veggies from the salad bar at the grocery store. To make it a full, satisfying dinner, serve over cooked brown rice. When shopping for simmer sauce, look for one with 400 mg of sodium or less and check the ingredient list for cream or fish sauce if you want to keep this vegan. If you like a spicy kick, add a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce at the end.

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Creamy Parmesan Garlic Mushroom Chicken

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A rich and creamy sauce coats chicken breasts in this quick and comforting dinner. If you don't have chicken cutlets (thin-sliced boneless chicken breast) on hand, you can make your own by slicing two 8-ounce chicken breasts in half horizontally.

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Beef & Bean Sloppy Joes

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This healthy copycat recipe of the comfort food classic trades beans for some of the meat to bump up fiber by 7 grams. We also cut back on the sugar and ketchup in this Sloppy Joe recipe makeover to save you 12 grams of added sugar.

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Pork Chops with Balsamic Sweet Onions

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Balsamic onions and raisins add a burst of sweet and savory flavor to pan-seared pork chops. Round out this healthy dinner recipe with sweet potatoes and green beans.

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