23 Dinners For When You've Eaten Too Many Carbs

Pesto Salmon
Photo: Will Dickey

Carbohydrates are essential to our diet, but sometimes we can overdo it and might end up feeling bloated, gassy and tired. While you shouldn't cut carbs completely out of your diet, these low-carb dinners can help you feel like yourself again. With 14 grams of carbohydrates or less per serving, these dishes are delicious, satisfying and on the lighter side. Recipes like our Pesto Salmon and Tandoori Grilled Tofu with Red Peppers & Broccolini are delicious additions to your dinner rotation.

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Pesto Salmon

Pesto Salmon
Will Dickey

Herby and bright pesto coats tender salmon fillets in this quick and healthy fish dish. Colorful cherry tomatoes burst and combine with shallots to complement the pesto in this fast and simple weeknight dinner.

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One-Pot Garlicky Shrimp & Broccoli

One-Pot Garlicky Shrimp & Broccoli
Photography / Kelsey Hansen, Styling / Greg Luna

Shrimp cooks quickly in this easy, one-pot recipe, making it perfect for busy weeknights. Serve over whole grains or rice.

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Tandoori Grilled Tofu with Red Peppers & Broccolini

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Spiced yogurt does two jobs here as both the marinade and the sauce for this grilled tofu recipe.

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20-Minute Creamy Tomato Salmon Skillet

20-Minute Creamy Tomato Salmon Skillet
Jamie Vespa

Salmon fillets cook quickly and are coated with a delicious creamy sauce made with tomatoes, zucchini and Italian seasoning. This easy salmon dinner is sure to become a new weeknight favorite the whole family will love. The best news: you can get this meal on the table in 20 minutes flat.

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Slow-Cooker Balsamic Short Ribs

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Now here's a healthy beef short ribs recipe you can serve to company—even on a holiday.

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Spinach & Artichoke-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Spinach & Artichoke-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Stuffed mushrooms and spinach-artichoke dip come together in this quick vegetarian recipe. Serve these cheesy stuffed mushrooms with a big salad for a satisfying and healthy dinner.

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Spicy Tomato-Braised Pot Roast

Spicy Tomato-Braised Pot Roast
Jacob Fox

This tomato sauce gets its heat from Calabrian chiles. Find them whole or chopped packed in jars near the pickles in well-stocked grocery stores. If you don't have any, just a bit of crushed red pepper will do the trick. Serve over polenta, mashed potatoes or pasta.

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Honey-Soy Broiled Salmon

Honey-Glazed Salmon
Jennifer Causey

A sweet, tangy and salty mixture of soy sauce, rice vinegar and honey does double-duty as marinade and sauce. Toasted sesame seeds provide a nutty and attractive accent. Make it a meal: Serve with brown rice and sautéed red peppers and zucchini slices.

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Mushroom & Tofu Stir-Fry

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This tofu veggie stir-fry is quick and easy, making it a great go-to weeknight meal. Baked tofu has a firm, toothsome texture that crisps well in a hot pan. You can find it in flavors like teriyaki and sesame, both of which are delicious here. Or opt for a smoked version, which has the same texture with a more robust flavor. Serve over brown rice.

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Pesto Chicken Bake

pesto chicken bake

This pesto chicken bake is easy to make as well as delicious! The chicken stays moist while the cheese on top gets bubbly and crispy. The pesto, mozzarella and tomato combination is a home run every time. Serve the chicken over pasta or your favorite grain.

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Herby Fish with Wilted Greens & Mushrooms

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This healthy fish recipe makes a tasty and easy weeknight meal. Serve with wild rice or roasted potatoes.

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Chicken Cutlets with Roasted Red Pepper & Arugula Relish

Chicken Cutlets with Roasted Red Pepper & Arugula Relish
Greg DuPree

Currants add a pop of sweetness to the roasted red pepper and arugula topping on this easy chicken cutlet recipe.

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Low-Carb Cauliflower Fried Rice with Shrimp

Low-Carb Cauliflower Fried Rice with Shrimp
Jacob Fox

This fried rice variation uses riced cauliflower instead of traditional rice to lower the calories and carbs. You can adjust the amount of chile-garlic sauce according to taste.

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Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps

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Stuff crisp lettuce leaves with a savory filling inspired by PF Chang's famous lettuce wraps. These low-carb wraps made with tofu, mushrooms and daikon radish are an easy vegetarian dinner. Add julienned carrots to the wraps for a bonus crunch.

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Cheesy Ground Beef & Cauliflower Casserole

Cheesy Ground Beef & Cauliflower Casserole
Jason Donnelly

Ground beef and cauliflower combine to create a hearty weeknight casserole that both kids and adults will love. Serve with tortilla chips and sour cream.

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Spinach & Herb Turkey Burgers with Portobello "Buns"

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This low-carb burger replaces the typical bun with roasted portobello mushroom caps. Creamy tzatziki and crisp sliced red onion add texture and flavor to this easy Greek-inspired burger recipe.

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Chicken Cutlets with Creamy Spinach & Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Chicken Cutlets with Creamy Spinach & Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Serve these saucy, ultra-quick chicken cutlets over your favorite pasta. This easy dinner recipe is sure to become a new weeknight favorite.

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Beef Stir-Fry with Baby Bok Choy & Ginger

Chinese Ginger Beef Stir-Fry with Baby Bok Choy

All the ingredients for this easy beef stir-fry recipe are cooked in one wok (or skillet), so not only is the meal-prep fast for this healthy dinner, cleanup is quick too. Look for Lee Kum Kee Premium oyster-flavored sauce in the Asian-foods aisle of your grocery store. It has the most concentrated oyster flavor.

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Shrimp Scampi Zoodles

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Classic garlicky shrimp scampi gets a low-carb makeover in this easy dinner recipe. Zucchini noodles, also known as "zoodles," are a healthier alternative to traditional pasta--they mimic the texture of pasta while taking on the flavor of whatever sauce you serve them with. Make sure you salt and drain the zoodles, otherwise your final dish will be soupy and the flavor will be diluted.

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Sheet-Pan Chicken with Roasted Spring Vegetables & Lemon Vinaigrette

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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

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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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Grilled Salmon with Sweet Peppers

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It may seem counterintuitive to start the fish skin-side up. But when you flip it, the fish skin captures the juices as it finishes cooking for extra-flavorful results. Serve with chimichurri sauce (see Associated Recipe).

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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.

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