22 Easy Low-Calorie Winter Dinners in 30 Minutes
Make a healthy and flavorful meal with these quick and cozy dinner recipes. These dinners can be on the table in just 30 minutes, so they're perfect for busy weeknights. Plus, they're low in calories—but as satisfying as ever—to help you reach your health goals. Recipes like Adobo Chicken & Kale Enchiladas and Inside-Out Lasagna make for the perfect winter dinner.
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Chicken-&-Mushroom Marsala
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.
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Garlic Shrimp with Cilantro Spaghetti Squash
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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Creamy Fettuccine with Brussels Sprouts & Mushrooms
Sliced Brussels sprouts and mushrooms cook quickly and cling to the pasta in our fall version of pasta primavera. Look for presliced mushrooms to cut prep time. Serve with a tossed salad.
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Easy Italian Wedding Soup
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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Adobo Chicken & Kale Enchiladas
Put out your favorite toppings for these quick and healthy layered enchiladas. We like cilantro, sour cream, guacamole and jalapeños.
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Tofu & Vegetable Scramble
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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Chicken & White Bean Soup
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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Easy Vegetarian Chili
Canned beans and tomatoes make this quick vegetarian chili recipe ready to go in just 30 minutes. Serve over rice or couscous, or with tortilla chips for added crunch, and add extra toppings as you see fit--sliced scallions, chopped fresh cilantro, diced avocado and sliced jalapeños are all tasty choices.
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Inside-Out Lasagna
Here we take basic lasagna ingredients--ricotta cheese, pasta and tomatoes--and skip the layering and long baking time to make a super-quick and satisfying meal for the whole family. To cut down on prep time, look for presliced mushrooms. For meat lovers, brown some crumbled turkey sausage along with the onions and garlic. Serve with: Steamed broccoli and whole-grain baguette.
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Sicilian Olive Chicken
This saucy one-skillet chicken dish is full of tomatoes, spinach, olives and capers. Try Kalamata olives in place of the green Sicilians or a combination of both. Serve over whole-wheat egg noodles with a mixed green salad on the side.
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Salmon Alfredo
A low-fat white sauce, made with fat-free milk, coats the salmon, pasta, and broccoli in this complete 30-minute meal.
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Chicken Thighs with Couscous & Kale
One-pot meals, like this all-in-one chicken thigh, kale and Israeli couscous recipe, are perfect for nights when you want to keep cleanup to a minimum. Look for Israeli couscous--small pearl-shaped pasta made from semolina flour--near other Middle Eastern dry goods in well-stocked supermarkets or specialty-foods stores.
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White Bean Ragout
Topped with Asiago cheese, this bean ragout dinner for two is perfect for a cool fall night.
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Chili-Cheese Nachos
Make nachos a healthy dinner when you top them with an easy 30-minute chili. Serve this healthy recipe with sliced scallions, avocado, fresh tomatoes and sour cream, if desired.
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Pork Paprikash with Cauliflower "Rice"
Cut carbs and calories by using cauliflower "rice" instead of regular rice in this 30-minute pork paprikash recipe.
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Easy Chicken Pasta
This quick and easy recipe tops multigrain or whole-grain pasta with flavorful chicken, broccoli and diced vegetables. With 0 grams of saturated fat and 20 grams of protein per serving, this recipe has everything you need for a no-hassle dinner.
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Tofu & Broccoli Stir-Fry
We like broccoli best in this tofu stir-fry, but any mixture of vegetables you have on hand will work. One way to get great tofu texture without deep-frying is to toss the tofu in cornstarch before stir-frying. Let it cook for several minutes without stirring to help it develop a little crust. Serve with: Chinese egg noodles or rice noodles and a glass of Riesling.
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Vegan Cauliflower Alfredo
Unbelievably rich and creamy, this easy vegan Alfredo is bound to become a favorite. Be sure to check the ingredient list on your unsweetened almond milk, as some contain vanilla flavoring even if they aren't labeled as such. For this recipe, you'll want almond milk without any vanilla.
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Bean & Veggie Taco Bowl
Simple brown rice and black beans serve as the backdrop for sautéed veggies and taco toppings!
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Crispy Cod Sandwich
Skip frying but keep all the crunch with this healthy baked fish sandwich recipe. The wire rack ensures both sides of the baked cod get crispy.
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Chicken Sausage with Potatoes & Sauerkraut
Here's our weeknight version of choucroute garni, "dressed sauerkraut," made with chicken sausage. The flavor of the dish will vary depending on what type of chicken sausage you choose. We like the taste of roasted garlic sausage or sweet apple sausage in this recipe. And although any type of sauerkraut can be used, we prefer the crisp texture of refrigerated kraut over canned. Serve with roasted carrots and some mustard to spread on the sausage.
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Florentine Ravioli
The flavors of Italy are best expressed in simplicity: a dash of spices, a little oil and dinner's on the table in minutes--especially if you use frozen spinach and frozen ravioli or tortellini.