31 Restaurant Copycat Dinners You Can Make Heart-Healthy at Home

Mushroom Ragout with Herbed Ricotta & Pappardelle 
Photo: Jason Donnelly

Recreate your favorite restaurant dishes at home with these healthy recipes. Whether you're in the mood for a grilled dinner from a seaside eatery, tender steak from an upscale restaurant or saucy pasta from your neighborhood Italian place, this mix of recipes has something for you. Plus, each meal is low in sodium and saturated fat to help you follow a heart-healthy diet. Recipes like our Mushroom Ragout with Herbed Ricotta & Pappardelle and Moules Frites are healthy twists on restaurant classics that everyone will love.

01 of 31

Spicy Orange Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry

Spicy Orange Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry

With fresh broccoli, ginger, red bell peppers and plenty of fresh citrus, this healthy beef stir-fry is sure to become a favorite. And it's ready in 30 minutes, making it the perfect healthy weeknight dinner. Serve with brown rice.

02 of 31

Mushroom Ragout with Herbed Ricotta & Pappardelle

Mushroom Ragout with Herbed Ricotta & Pappardelle 
Jason Donnelly

This mushroom ragout is topped with dollops of ricotta, which cut through the acidity of the tomato-based sauce for a balanced flavor and creamy texture.

03 of 31

Chicken, Arugula & Butternut Squash Salad with Brussels Sprouts

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Hot roasted vegetables lightly wilt the arugula in this healthy dinner salad recipe. Keep prep time minimal with leftover chicken, precut butternut squash and trimmed Brussels sprouts.

04 of 31

Moules Frites

Moules Frites
Greg DuPree

This simple but elegant dish pairs flavorful steamed mussels with crispy oven fries. Uncork an American chardonnay to sip alongside.

05 of 31

Paella Valenciana

Paella Valenciana
Angie Mosier

A more traditional take on this paella, from the region of Spain where the dish originated, would include rabbit and chicken, but this recipe only calls for easier-to-find chicken thighs. If you want, substitute 1 rabbit (3 1/2 pounds) cut into 2-inch chunks for half the chicken. If you can't find cranberry beans, double the limas.

06 of 31

Grilled Red Snapper & Okra with Spicy Tartar Sauce

Grilled Snapper & Okra with Spicy Tartar Sauce
Jason Donnelly

Meaty snapper holds up well on the grill, but any firm white fish will work well in its place. Look for U.S. red snapper caught in the Gulf of Mexico for the most sustainable option according to Seafood Watch. Serve with a cold pale ale or lager.

07 of 31

Lemon-Garlic Steak & Green Beans

Lemon-Garlic Steak & Green Beans
Jason Donnelly

For a steak that's deliciously tender, flavorful and not too fatty, we reach for strip (also known as New York strip or shell steak). It has less than half the saturated fat of a rib-eye but is more tender than leaner sirloin. Here, we cook green beans in the same pan used to sear the spiced steak. All those delicious drippings add richness to the beans—plus there's one less pan to wash!

08 of 31

Grilled Clams with Corn & Pepper Relish

Grilled Clams with Corn & Pepper Relish
Johnny Autry

Cooking bivalves like clams is pretty foolproof because they tell you when they're done—you'll know they're ready once they open. Discard any that stay closed.

09 of 31

Blackened Chicken with Chopped Salad

Blackened Chicken with Chopped Salad
Jason Donnelly

In this spin, we coat this blackened chicken with spices common to Cajun cooking, like dried thyme and cayenne pepper. Then, instead of using the traditional method of searing in a cast-iron pan, we take advantage of the warmer weather by grilling outside.

10 of 31

Tofu Tacos

Tofu Tacos

These quick vegan tacos, filled with a spicy tofu filling, make a perfect weeknight dinner. To keep them vegan, top them with shredded cabbage, fresh pico de gallo and guacamole. For vegetarians, add crumbled queso fresco.

11 of 31

Skillet Steak with Mushroom Sauce

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This steak, broccoli rabe and pea dinner is a one-skillet meal that will be on your table in just 25 minutes! The pan drippings combine with mushroom, broth and grainy mustard to make a thick and delicious sauce.

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Strawberry Spinach Salad with Avocado & Walnuts

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Serve this summery strawberry spinach salad alongside soup or a half sandwich, or top with grilled chicken or roasted salmon for a complete and easy healthy meal.

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Quick Beef Pho

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Traditional Vietnamese beef pho involves simmering whole herbs and aromatics for hours to achieve a rich, clear broth with a deep flavor; this shortcut version simmers ground spices for just 15 minutes, yet still achieves a savory, rich broth.

14 of 31

Chicken Shawarma with Yogurt Sauce

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The key to cooking juicy chicken without a spit in this healthy recipe is high heat and dark meat. The yogurt in the marinade gives the chicken both its tender texture and its alluring char. More yogurt in the sauce, along with crunchy cucumbers and herbs, keeps the flavors bright.

15 of 31

Pasta Puttanesca with Beef

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This easy slow cooker ground beef and pasta recipe makes a great meal any night of the week.

16 of 31

Mixed Vegetable Salad with Lime Dressing

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Using potatoes and green beans gives this gorgeous and healthy salad a salade niçoise feel, but you can use whatever suits your fancy. If you steam any of the vegetables, don't overcook them--if they're mushy they'll fall apart when you toss them with the dressing.

17 of 31

Chicken & Mushroom Ragu

Chicken & Mushroom Ragu
Jacob Fox

An electric pressure cooker makes quick work of this rich, savory sauce. Deglazing with wine and scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot is the key to building flavor.

18 of 31

Spicy Salmon Sushi Roll-Ups

Spicy Salmon Sushi Roll-Ups

If rolling seems like too much work, serve these up as bowls. Chop up the nori to sprinkle on top.

19 of 31

Vegan Mushroom Bolognese

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This Bolognese sauce recipe is adapted from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. We swap out the beef and pork for button mushrooms to keep this traditional comfort food vegan yet weighty with umami flavor. And while some recipes call for red wine, this recipe sticks with Hazan's white wine selection.

20 of 31

Easy Sesame Chicken with Green Beans

Easy Sesame Chicken with Green Beans

Sweet-salty hoisin sauce and nutty sesame team up in this easy meal that's cooked on one baking sheet. Serve this sesame chicken with brown rice and sliced cucumbers, drizzled with sesame oil and rice vinegar.

21 of 31

Spiced Grilled Chicken with Cauliflower "Rice" Tabbouleh

spice grilled chicken

Chicken breasts on the grill have a smoky flavor that's enhanced with an easy spice rub. We chose flat-leaf parsley in this salad because it has a stronger herbal taste than its sometimes-bitter curly counterpart.

22 of 31

Arepas with Spicy Black Beans

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These corncakes are a common style of flatbread in Colombia and Venezuela. Arepas are made with precooked cornmeal and served warmed with butter or cheese, or split open and filled, or topped, as we've done here. Our arepas filling is loaded with fragrant spices and vegetables to elevate the dish.

23 of 31

Slow-Cooker Chicken Marsala

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This slow-cooker chicken Marsala recipe gets its full flavor from plenty of mushrooms and fragrant shallots. Whole-wheat pasta soaks up the rich sauce. Round it out with a simple green salad for a comforting healthy dinner.

24 of 31

Pan-Seared Steak with Crispy Herbs & Escarole

Pan-Seared Steak with Crispy Herbs & Escarole

This easy dinner takes just 20 minutes to prepare, meaning that seared steak can be a weeknight meal. Cooking herbs in the pan with the steak releases their aroma, infusing it into the meat while creating a crispy garnish. After the steaks and herbs are pan-seared, the escarole is cooked in the same skillet, so this healthy dinner requires minimal cleanup too.

25 of 31

Easy Fish Tacos with Kiwi Salsa

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These healthy fish tacos can be made with cod or any other firm white fish. A lively kiwi salsa and red cabbage brighten up the colors and flavors of the crispy tacos and complete this easy dinner recipe. The key to perfectly golden, crunchy fish is patience--let your oil get nice and hot before you add in the battered pieces. Dip an instant-read thermometer into the oil to make sure it's up to temp before you get cooking.

26 of 31

Shrimp & Egg Fried Rice

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This healthy egg, vegetable and shrimp fried rice comes together in about 30 minutes for a delicious dinner you can make any day of the week. Fried rice is traditionally made with leftover rice cooked a day ahead; this recipe simplifies the process by cooking the rice together with the rest of the meal.

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Chipotle Skirt Steak Tacos with Smoky Tomatillo Salsa

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Here's a pro tip from chef Rick Bayless, who shared this skirt steak taco recipe: puree a can of chipotles in adobo sauce and keep it in your fridge. Adobo is a vinegary tomato sauce, so along with the chipotles (smoked jalapeños), it becomes an all-purpose marinade that's spicy, smoky and salty, all in one. In this recipe you brush it on the steak before grilling but Bayless also does the same move on eggplant, chicken and fish. And having the sauce on hand means you're ready to whip up this easy grilled dinner at a moment's notice.

28 of 31

Charred Vegetable & Bean Tostadas with Lime Crema

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Pile vegetables and black beans onto crisp tostadas and top them off with lime crema for a vegetarian dinner the whole family will love. Charring the vegetables under the broiler infuses them with smoky flavor while cooking them quickly.

29 of 31

Cabbage Lo Mein

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Jam-packed with a colorful medley of vegetables, this classic noodle dish relies on a bold sesame-soy sauce to tie all the flavors and textures together.

30 of 31

Chicken Souvlaki Kebabs with Mediterranean Couscous

Chicken Souvlaki Kebabs with Mediterranean Couscous

Fennel adds a nice flavoring to the marinade in this Mediterranean-inspired chicken souvlaki dish. The kabobs are perfectly paired with a veggie-packed, yogurt-dressed Israeli couscous.

31 of 31

Oven-Fried Fish & Chips

Oven-Fried Fish & Chips

Fish and chips are traditionally sold wrapped in paper to soak up all the grease--not a good sign. To cut the calories in half and reduce the fat, we coat the delicate fish in a crispy cornflake crust and then bake it along with sliced potatoes. Serve with: Coleslaw and malt vinegar or lemon wedges.

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