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  5. 20 Fall Dinners That Help Promote Healthy Aging

20 Fall Dinners That Help Promote Healthy Aging

Leah Goggins headshot
Leah Goggins Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD September 17, 2021
Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD
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butternut squash soup with apple grilled cheese sandwiches

These satisfying dinner recipes are a delicious way to make the most of fall flavors. These dinners mix colorful produce and high-fiber ingredients that promote healthy aging—like dark leafy greens, sweet potatoes and bell peppers—and some of our favorite seasonal fruits and veggies, like Brussels sprouts, butternut squash and apple. Recipes like our Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Grilled Cheese and Maple-Roasted Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potato Wedges and Brussels Sprouts are healthy ways to end your day.

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Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili

sweet potato and black bean chili
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Make a double batch of this quick vegetarian chili, full of black beans and sweet potatoes, and eat it for lunch the next day or freeze the extras for another night. We love the smoky heat from the ground chipotle, but omit it if you prefer a mild chili. Serve with tortilla chips or cornbread and coleslaw.

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Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

butternut squash soup with apple grilled cheese sandwiches
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Layering apple slices into grilled cheese sandwiches adds a little crunch to a favorite soup dipper. And creamy butternut squash soup with ginger, cumin and turmeric is a nice change of pace from grilled cheese's usual tomato soup partner. Serve the duo for a comforting and easy weeknight dinner for the family. The soup keeps well in the fridge, so save leftovers for lunch or dinner later in the week.

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Creamy Fettuccine with Brussels Sprouts & Mushrooms

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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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Maple-Roasted Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potato Wedges and Brussels Sprouts

Maple-Roasted Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potato Wedges & Brussels Sprouts
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This easy sheet-pan recipe brings together many fall favorites into a hearty dinner.

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Sweet Potato-Black Bean Tacos

Sweet Potato-Black Bean Tacos
Credit: Will Dickey
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Tender, smoky sweet potato is the star of these vegetarian tacos. A mashed black bean spread with onion holds everything in place. Serve with your favorite taco toppings.

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Massaged Kale Salad with Roasted Sweet Potato & Black Beans

Massaged Kale Salad with Roasted Sweet Potato & Black Beans
Credit: Jacob Fox
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Loaded with roasted sweet potatoes and shallots, black beans, quinoa, feta and pepitas, this salad makes for a satisfying meatless meal. Not only does massaging the kale tenderize it, it also helps the greens absorb more of the bright dressing.

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Roast Chicken & Sweet Potatoes

Roast Chicken & Sweet Potatoes
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This sheet-pan dinner combines chicken thighs and sweet potatoes for a healthy dinner that cooks up fast in a very hot oven. Serve with a fall salad of mixed greens, sliced apples and blue cheese.

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Spinach Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes, White Beans & Basil

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Roasted sweet potatoes are paired with spinach, cabbage and white beans and tossed together with a bright basil dressing in this healthy main dish salad.

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Hearty Tomato Soup with Beans & Greens

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Garlicky kale and creamy white beans elevate simple canned tomato soup into a 10-minute lunch or dinner that really satisfies. Use a soup with tomato pieces for a heartier texture. Look for a brand that's low- or reduced-sodium, with no more than 450 mg sodium per serving.

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Adobo Chicken & Kale Enchiladas

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Put out your favorite toppings for these quick and healthy layered enchiladas. We like cilantro, sour cream, guacamole and jalapeños.

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Sheet-Pan Chili-Lime Salmon with Potatoes & Peppers

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Busy weeknights beg for something simple like this salmon sheet-pan dinner. Like the name suggests, it's all cooked on one pan. The potatoes get a head start, followed by sweet bell peppers and finally chili-coated salmon fillets. It's a complete meal with easy cleanup!

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Noodle-Less Butternut Squash Lasagna

Noodle-Less Butternut Squash Lasagna
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Slices of butternut squash stand in for noodles in this veggie-packed lasagna with spinach, mushrooms and a creamy Parmesan cheese sauce. You can make the Parmesan cheese sauce with regular flour or swap in gluten-free flour to make this dish gluten-free. Look for a squash with a long, straight neck for the best results. Serve with a green salad for a vegetarian meal that you'd be happy to serve to company.

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Sweet Potato-Black Bean Burgers

Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers
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These vegan sweet potato-black bean burgers spiced with curry powder are easy to make. Blending the mixture with your hands gives you a soft, uniform texture then the outside gets crispy by cooking in a cast-iron pan. To make this recipe gluten-free too, use gluten-free oats and serve the patty in a lettuce wrap, omitting the bun.

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Vegetarian Quinoa & Squash Casserole

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An aromatic mixture of garlic, paprika, cumin, coriander, allspice and cayenne flavors this vegetarian quinoa and squash casserole recipe. Frozen squash is a super-easy topping.

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Taco Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

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Revamp traditional shepherd's pie with this Tex-Mex take on the classic comfort food with taco seasoning, black beans and a little jalapeño. The flavor- and veggie-packed filling gets topped with cilantro-lime sweet potatoes for a satisfying and healthy dinner recipe.

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Rosemary Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

Rosemary Chicken with Sweet Potatoes
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Chicken and sweet potatoes unite with the delicious taste of rosemary in this easy, one-skillet meal. Because we use parcooked and unseasoned sweet potatoes, the cooking time is much shorter--making this recipe perfect for weeknight cooking.

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Smoked Turkey, Kale & Rice Bake

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This hearty one-skillet dinner is loaded with celery, kale, tomatoes and quick-cooking brown rice. It's easy to make the recipe vegetarian by substituting smoked tofu for the turkey.

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Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Burrata

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Burrata
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This beautiful butternut squash salad with creamy burrata cheese and peppery arugula is perfect for fall entertaining. For the best flavor and texture, remove the burrata from the refrigerator about an hour before use and assemble the salad while the squash is still warm from roasting so the cheese will melt slightly. Feel free to use precut butternut squash to make this recipe easier. If you can find pomegranates, the arils add a bright pop of color and flavor to this healthy salad, but it's just as good--and almost as impressive-looking--without them.

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Kale, Wild Rice & Chicken Stew

Kale, Wild Rice & Chicken Stew
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Chicken thighs get perfectly tender in just a few hours in the slow cooker. Plus, cooking everything together low and slow infuses all the flavors together for complexity in every bite.

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Dijon Chicken with Roasted Broccoli & Butternut Squash

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Precubed butternut squash is a timesaver in this easy baked chicken recipe. Look for it in the produce section.

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    1 of 20 Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili
    2 of 20 Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
    3 of 20 Creamy Fettuccine with Brussels Sprouts & Mushrooms
    4 of 20 Maple-Roasted Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potato Wedges and Brussels Sprouts
    5 of 20 Sweet Potato-Black Bean Tacos
    6 of 20 Massaged Kale Salad with Roasted Sweet Potato & Black Beans
    7 of 20 Roast Chicken & Sweet Potatoes
    8 of 20 Spinach Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes, White Beans & Basil
    9 of 20 Hearty Tomato Soup with Beans & Greens
    10 of 20 Adobo Chicken & Kale Enchiladas
    11 of 20 Sheet-Pan Chili-Lime Salmon with Potatoes & Peppers
    12 of 20 Noodle-Less Butternut Squash Lasagna
    13 of 20 Sweet Potato-Black Bean Burgers
    14 of 20 Vegetarian Quinoa & Squash Casserole
    15 of 20 Taco Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie
    16 of 20 Rosemary Chicken with Sweet Potatoes
    17 of 20 Smoked Turkey, Kale & Rice Bake
    18 of 20 Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Burrata
    19 of 20 Kale, Wild Rice & Chicken Stew
    20 of 20 Dijon Chicken with Roasted Broccoli & Butternut Squash

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    20 Fall Dinners That Help Promote Healthy Aging
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