25 Mediterranean Diet Dinners You'll Want to Make Forever
These dinner recipes draw inspiration from the MediterraneanĀ diet for a healthy and flavorful meal. Each recipe features ingredients favored in the Mediterranean diet, like whole grains, seafood and fresh vegetables. Recipes like Caprese Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms and Salmon with Roasted Red Pepper Quinoa Salad are dinners you'll want to make time and time again.
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Dijon Salmon with Green Bean Pilaf
In this quick dinner recipe, the delicious garlicky-mustardy mayo that tops baked salmon is very versatile. Make extra to use as a dip for fries or to jazz up tuna salad. Precooked brown rice helps get this healthy dinner on the table fast, but if you have other leftover whole grains, such as quinoa or farro, they work well here too.
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Roasted Gnocchi & Brussels Sprouts with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
In this quick vegetarian dinner recipe, you can skip boiling the gnocchi--they'll cook through while roasting on the sheet pan with the rest of the ingredients. If you can't find Meyer lemons, use 1 small regular lemon in Step 2 and use 4 teaspoons lemon juice and 2 teaspoons orange juice in Step 4.
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Sheet-Pan Chicken with Roasted Spring Vegetables & Lemon Vinaigrette
This Greek-inspired chicken and vegetable sheet-pan meal is bursting with flavor. The chicken is coated in a mayonnaise and bread crumb mixture, roasted alongside asparagus, cremini mushrooms and grape tomatoes and then served with a lemon-feta vinaigrette.
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Caprese Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
We've taken the key ingredients of the popular caprese salad--tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil--and piled them into portobello mushroom caps to make a delicious and satisfying vegetarian main dish.
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White Bean & Veggie Salad
This meatless main-dish salad combines creamy, satisfying white beans and avocado. Try mixing it up with different seasonal vegetables.
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Herb Roasted Salmon with Vegetables
This dish is packed with flavor and fits perfectly into a Mediterranean diet.
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Vegan Cabbage Soup
This vegan soup recipe is surprisingly easy to make. The flavorful broth is spiked with garlic, tomatoes and a hint of coriander. Just slice and dice your cabbage and fennel and you'll be enjoying this quick healthy soup in no time.
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Salmon with Roasted Red Pepper Quinoa Salad
This zesty quinoa salad is delicious all on its own, with inspiration from the Mediterranean. Make a double batch for lunches later in the week.
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Eggplant Pomodoro Pasta
Diced eggplant turns tender and tasty sautƩed with garlic and olive oil. Toss with fresh plum tomatoes, green olives and capers and you have a simple light summer sauce. We like it over angel hair pasta, but any type of pasta will work. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a mixed green salad.
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Cauliflower Steaks with Parmesan Cauliflower Rice & Romesco
Use the entire cauliflower head--leaves (yes, they're edible), stem and florets and all for this healthy cauliflower main dish recipe. Be sure to not flip the cauliflower steaks as they roast, they get super-crispy and deliciously browned in the hot oven.
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Swordfish with Olives, Capers & Tomatoes over Polenta
Dive deliciously into the Mediterranean diet with this healthy fish recipe, which takes its inspiration from southern Italy. In Sicily and Calabria, the ghiotta style of cooking involves simmering fish or meat with celery, olives, capers, basil and tomatoes. Serve the fish and sauce over creamy polenta for an easy dinner recipe that requires just 20 minutes of active prep time.
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Grilled Pork Loin with White Bean Puree & Lemon Herb Vinaigrette
This easy grilled pork loin recipe served with a white bean puree gets a pop of fresh flavor from the lemony, fresh herb vinaigrette. Make it a complete healthy dinner with steamed green beans and a green salad tossed with Italian dressing.
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Wild Mushroom Pizza with Arugula & Pecorino
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.
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Chicken & Farro Herb Salad
With tons of fresh herbs, arugula, olives and farro, this healthy chicken salad recipe makes a wonderful potluck platter or healthy dinner. We love the nutty flavor and quick cooking time of farro but other whole grains, such as freekeh, bulgur or couscous, are also good choices.
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Tuna Pasta with Olives & Artichokes
Here we toss grilled tuna with pasta, artichoke hearts, green olives and tomatoes. Grilling the tuna gives this ultra-fresh pasta dish a subtle smokiness. But if you're pressed for time, try canned tuna in place of the grilled fish.
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Grilled Shrimp Skewers over White Bean Salad
Fresh herbs make all the difference in this light, summery bean salad that in turn makes an aromatic bed for the easy grilled shrimp. The shrimp and salad are wonderful together but you could also make them separately. Consider skewering and grilling scallops as another delicious option.
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Zucchini Frittata
A frittata, as a flat omelet is known in Italy, can be filled with a variety of vegetables and cheeses and makes a great impromptu brunch dish or supper. In this version, fresh mint and basil brighten the mild taste of zucchini. If you prefer, use feta or ricotta salata in place of the goat cheese.
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Gnocchi with Zucchini Ribbons & Parsley Brown Butter
For this recipe, convenient store-bought potato gnocchi are tossed with delicate ribbons of zucchini, shallots and cherry tomatoes that have all been sautƩed in nutty browned butter.
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Tortellini Salad
A tomato-rich dressing boosts the flavor and lowers calories and fat in this tortellini salad (the dressing is also great on green salads or grilled fish). Roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes add a good dose of vitamins A, C and fiber.
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Lasagna di Pesce (Seafood Lasagna)
Shrimp, sole and salmon come together in a beautiful lasagna dish. Serve with an arugula salad and crusty whole-grain baguette.
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Grilled Polenta & Vegetables with Lemon-Caper Vinaigrette
This healthy grilled vegetarian dinner recipe is super-flexible: substitute any fresh vegetables you have on hand.
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Roasted Red Peppers Stuffed with Kale & Rice
You can vary the filling by substituting robust mustard greens or collards, or milder greens, such as spinach, escarole or Swiss chard. (Cook the greens until just tender in Step 2.)
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Bean Bolognese
Fiber-rich beans stand in for the beef and pork in this surprisingly rich-tasting vegetarian take on pasta Bolognese. Without the meat, the dish has only a third of the fat and 80 percent less saturated fat. To make the perfect meal, serve with a peppery arugula salad and warm, crusty Italian bread.
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Catalan Sauteed Polenta & Butter Beans
This dish is a satisfying vegetarian meal complete with spinach, beans and polenta, inspired by classic Spanish flavors. Note: Look for smoked paprika with other specialty spices; it's available in three varieties: sweet, bittersweet and hot. Sweet is the most versatile, but if you like a little bit of heat, choose the hot variety. You can find Spanish products in specialty-foods stores or online at tienda.com. Make it a Meal: Enjoy with a green salad tossed with sherry vinaigrette and a glass of Jean-Luc Colombo CƓtes du RhƓne.
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Golden Beet, Green Bean & Fennel Salad with Scallops
Lemony seared scallops and a walnut vinaigrette top this healthy dinner salad. When shopping for scallops, avoid those treated with sodium tripolyphosphate (STP); it can make them mushy and the scallops won't brown properly. Some scallops have a small white muscle on the side; remove it before cooking.