Healthy Fall Entertaining Recipes

Here's a fun way to serve chili and cornbread together. Don't let the ingredient list intimidate you--this casserole is easy to make and a real crowd pleaser.

Biryanis are rice-based casseroles that combine a saucy meat, vegetable or legume curry with basmati rice, whole spices, nuts and raisins. This particular dish is a nutritional powerhouse, thanks to the mustard greens and chickpeas. Look for the specialty spices--cardamom pods, saffron and garam masala--in the spice section of well-stocked supermarkets or online at penzeys.com.

A great make-ahead entree, this lightened-up pasta salad is loaded with broccoli and peppers. Smoky ham and sweet raisins give it plenty of punch. Enjoy the leftovers for a fuss-free lunch. Recipe by Nancy Baggett for EatingWell.

Barley matches up with earthy, tender beets and the crunch of fresh celery, radishes and nuts in this beet salad recipe. Red beets turn your salad a gorgeous magenta. For a softer color, use golden or chioggia baby beets instead.

This wrap is quick-and-easy to prepare and is the perfect lunch solution for all of those Thanksgiving leftovers.

Chili powder, cumin and ginger combine to create these spicy mashed sweet potatoes. A touch of maple syrup balances the spice for a twist on a traditional Thanksgiving side dish.

With all that delicious fruit an apple pie should be healthy, but the truth is a slice can have as much as 750 calories. For the most part, the culprit is the crust. We use whole-wheat pastry flour to add fiber and lower the saturated fat by replacing some of the butter with canola oil. The brown sugar-sweetened filling in this pie is made with two kinds of apples for the perfect balance. A slice has half the calories of a typical version—sweet!

This whole-grain wild rice and quinoa salad recipe is perfect for toting to summer potlucks. It features sweet cherries, crunchy celery, nutty aged goat cheese and toasted pecans. If you can find red quinoa, it's particularly pretty.

Recipes like our Roasted Honeynut Squash and Garlic-Parmesan Melting Potatoes will add a little extra deliciousness to the Friendsgiving table this year.

You can prep these dishes hours or *days* ahead, so you can spend the holiday focusing on the folks you love.

Don't let the fancy French name for these cheese puffs mislead you—this is an easy appetizer recipe. They're traditionally made with Gruyère or Comté; we couldn't resist turning to our Vermont roots and using good old Cheddar instead.

In this vegetarian polenta casserole recipe, the choice of cheese is as important as which wild mushroom you use. Morel or hen of the woods (maitake) mushrooms give a more “meaty” experience, while chanterelle or cremini mushrooms will have a milder flavor. The polenta recipe calls for rich, nutty Taleggio or fontina cheese, but you can also use a good-quality washed rind cheese like Brie or Gouda.

Pickled turnips are a popular Middle Eastern mezes. Adding a beet slice to each jar turns the turnips pink; you can omit this step if you like.

This quickly pickled, spicy Italian salad of mixed sliced vegetables is great for an antipasto platter, served with grilled meat or chopped up and put on a sandwich.

Crisp vegetables get Asian flair in this easy marinated vegetable recipe. We use green beans, carrots and broccoli, but feel free to use 4 cups of whatever vegetables you have on hand. Serve as an appetizer or on top of your next bowl of ramen.

These tangy hard-boiled eggs are a snap to make. Sliced in half, the fuchsia “white” surrounding the bright yellow yolk is dazzling. Wrap some egg slices and onions in a flatbread for an impromptu snack.

Asparagus and pomegranate seeds are a fun addition to this easy tabbouleh recipe. Serve this healthy whole-grain side with chicken kebabs, tzatziki and pita bread for a Middle Eastern-inspired dinner.

Grilled vegetables add a layer of rich, complex flavors to the popular Middle Eastern salad of bulgur and herbs. Serve with whole-wheat pita bread or use as a sandwich filling.

This pretty pumpkin-cranberry Bundt cake is a delicious alternative to holiday pumpkin pie.

Sometimes simple is best. These grilled lamb chops are a standout on their own, seasoned with just fresh thyme and a bit of crushed red pepper.

Bulgur is ubiquitous in Middle Eastern cooking but also pairs deliciously with Asian seasonings. This simple side dish is perfect with beef, lamb or poultry. For variations, substitute toasted sesame seeds for the almonds, or carrot juice (it is surprisingly good and certainly nutritious) for orange juice.

Don't let phyllo dough's fussy reputation put you off: our method of brushing olive oil and sprinkling breadcrumbs between the layers makes this tart actually quite simple to assemble, and helps keep it healthy. It can be served as a main course or cut into smaller pieces and enjoyed as an appetizer.

This amazing wild-rice stuffing recipe is bursting with fall flavors, including rye bread, sausage, apples, dried cherries, pecans and fresh herbs.