22 Recipes to Make in January Featuring Seasonal Produce

January 02, 2021

It’s officially January and we have all the delicious recipes you’ll want to make this month. Each of these main and side dish recipes is packed full of seasonal produce like citrus, kale, leeks, beets and more. Recipes like Sheet-Pan Shrimp & Beets and Citrus Salad with Chia-Celery Seed Dressing are seasonal, bright and perfect for enjoying all month long.

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Slow-Cooker Braised Beef with Carrots & Turnips

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The spice blend in this healthy beef stew recipe--cinnamon, allspice and cloves--may conjure images of apple pie, but the combo is a great fit in savory applications too. Serve over creamy polenta or buttered whole-wheat egg noodles.

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Seared Arctic Char with Bacon-Leek Chard

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A cousin of salmon and trout with a milder flavor, Arctic char-both farmed and wild--is recommended as a Best Choice by Seafood Watch. It's low in mercury and has almost the same amount of omega-3s per serving as salmon. Try it in this healthy fish recipe with dark leafy greens.

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Citrus Salad with Chia-Celery Seed Dressing

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Chia and celery seeds are a nice alternative for this winter salad if you're typically a poppy-seed-dressing fan. Plus, the chia even brings a bit of its famous thickening power to help emulsify the dressing.

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Chicken Paillards with Blood Orange Pan Sauce

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Each part of the blood orange (zest, segments, juice) lends a layer of flavor--sweet, tart, pungent--to this sophisticated yet speedy-to-prepare dish. Thin-pounded paillards of chicken breast cook quickly and evenly; pork would be great here too.

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Sausage, Potato & Kale Soup

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Mild Italian sausage and potatoes are the foundation for this simple sausage, potato and kale soup. Serve it with slices of whole-wheat bread or a side salad for a complete and satisfying lunch or dinner.

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Sheet-Pan Shrimp & Beets

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For this easy sheet-pan dinner, beets get a head start in the oven while you prep the shrimp and kale. For a prettier presentation, leave the shrimp tails intact. Serve this one-pan recipe with a cool glass of rosé.

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Slow-Cooker Chicken & Honey-Glazed Root Vegetables

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This beautiful slow-cooker chicken dish should be a standby for day-of decisions to host dinner. In the spring, substitute baby white turnips and baby carrots for the regular varieties. To reduce prep time, cut the vegetables the night before; refrigerate. Place in the slow cooker with the browned chicken the next day.

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Greens & Roots Salad with Citrus-Walnut Vinaigrette

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Raw beets and turnips, you ask? Oh, yes! They're quite delicious and crunchy as long as you use small ones and slice them thin. An inexpensive mandoline makes this a quick and easy salad. Use the leftover vinaigrette to dress up simple grilled chicken, steak or shrimp.

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Potato, Leek & Goat Cheese Galette

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This galette recipe pairs very classic French flavors--sweet onions, thyme and tangy goat cheese--with creamy potatoes. A whole-wheat crust adds nutrition and also a slightly sweet and nutty flavor. This whole-wheat galette makes for a delicious light meal or a hearty side.

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Ginger-Orange Chicken Thighs with Baby Bok Choy

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Searing the chicken before roasting at high heat ensures super-crispy skin. Combine that with mandarin oranges and you've got a healthy orange-chicken dish reminiscent of the favorite fried one at the mall food court--but without the fryer.

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Mixed Greens & Citrus Salad

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Any assortment of fresh oranges and grapefruit will work well in this easy salad recipe. If you can't find one of each variety listed, you can use all navel oranges, or 3 navel oranges and 1 grapefruit.

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Steak with Glazed Carrots & Turnips

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This cast-iron steak recipe has what it takes to transform beef and vegetables from basic to brilliant--a pop of rosemary on the steak, an intense sear in a hot skillet and a sweet-and-sour glaze on the vegetables. Serve with sautéed spinach and a glass of red wine.

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Kale & Lentil Stew with Mashed Potatoes

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Fire-roasted tomatoes add slightly smoky flavor to red lentils. The addition of mashed potatoes gives this an upside-down shepherd's pie feel.

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Skillet Lemon Chicken with Spinach

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This simple, ultra-quick chicken dinner--packed with spinach and peppers--is delicious on its own or served over brown rice or your favorite pasta.

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Beet Larb with Quinoa

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Larb is a classic salad with roots in Laos and Thailand. It typically features seasoned ground meat and lots of herbs and vegetables, but our healthy vegetarian version swaps red beets for meat, reduces the sodium by adding more lime juice and makes it more substantial by serving it as part of a grain bowl. Spoon it over lettuce for a lighter take.

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Grilled Salmon with Kale Sauté

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In this healthy dinner recipe, salmon fillets are seasoned with a zesty dry rub, grilled and served with a simple side--lemon-seasoned sautéed kale and shallots. Sometimes simple is best!

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Lemon Garlic Scallops

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Lemon brightens up sweet scallops in this simple, light dinner. Serve the scallops alongside sautéed spinach with a piece of toasted whole-grain bread to sop up the buttery sauce.

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Romaine Salad with Grapefruit & Shrimp

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The burst-in-your-mouth juicy sweetness of red grapefruit is a great partner for the slightly briny and chewy bite of cooked shrimp. In this healthy salad recipe, we use romaine lettuce and red cabbage, but a handful of peppery arugula or watercress would be a nice addition.

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Braised Chicken with Mushrooms & Leeks

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The leeks get silky when they cook down in this luscious, tangy mustard sauce. Serve over mashed potatoes.

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Beet & Shrimp Winter Salad

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This healthy dinner salad recipe gets its staying power from protein-packed shrimp and fiber-rich barley. With a simple red-wine vinaigrette, this quick salad makes just one serving but is easy to double or triple. Look for precooked beets with other prepared vegetables in the produce department.

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Tilapia with Grapefruit-Caper Sauce

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In this healthy, quick tilapia recipe, you'll combine grapefruit, shallot, capers, butter and a touch of honey for a rich, bittersweet sauce. Any grapefruit will work, but vibrant ruby-red grapefruit is the prettiest. Serve with whole-wheat couscous and broccolini.

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Lemon-Garlic Chicken with Green Beans

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This easy lemon-garlic chicken recipe calls for cutlets, which cook in less than 10 minutes! Can't find them? Make your own from chicken breasts. Place each breast on a cutting board and, with your knife parallel to the board, slice into the skinny side of the chicken breast in a single smooth motion. The side of green beans is cooked right in the same pan as the chicken, so this 20-minute easy, healthy dinner is not just a snap to prepare--the cleanup is a cinch too.

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