Healthy Kwanzaa Recipes

Find healthy, delicious Kwanzaa recipes, from the food and nutrition experts at EatingWell.

Staff Picks

Real Cornbread

Rating: Unrated
13
This traditional cornbread is made without flour, isn't sweet and has a crumbly texture. You can change the adaptable recipe to suit your cornbread preference. For a variation, substitute 1/2 teaspoon baking soda for the baking powder and use buttermilk instead of milk. If you're looking for a more muffinlike texture, substitute flour for half the cornmeal.
By Sarah Fritschner

Seared Steak with Caramelized Onion & Blue Cheese Sauce

Rating: Unrated
3
It only takes one skillet to make this restaurant-worthy pan-seared steak recipe with creamy caramelized onion and blue cheese sauce.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Seared Steak with Roasted Garlic Aioli

Seared steak topped with a dollop of garlicky aioli makes a simple and satisfying supper. Experiment with different herbs in this easy, super-flavorful aioli. We love it on steaks, but it would make a perfect sauce for grilled or broiled salmon or a delicious sandwich spread.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Quinoa Peanut Soup (Sopa de Mani)

Rating: Unrated
4
This spicy vegetable, quinoa and peanut soup recipe is a modern take on a traditional Bolivian soup recipe called Sopa de Mani. Serve this healthy quinoa soup recipe as a starter or make it a heartier meal by adding diced cooked chicken or turkey breast to the soup.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Grits & Greens Casserole

Rating: Unrated
3
Here we've combined two favorite Southern side dishes--grits and greens--into one casserole; it's a natural choice to serve with Easter ham. Try omitting the bacon and using vegetable broth to make it a vegetarian dish.
By Katie Webster

Southern Kale

Kale becomes melt-in-your-mouth tender in this recipe. Assertive garlic and salty country ham stand up to kale's bold flavor.
By Sarah Fritschner

Dirty Rice

Rating: Unrated
3
A Louisiana favorite, our version of this spicy dish uses whole-grain Wehani rice. Long-grain brown rice also works. Traditionally made with chicken liver, which gives it a “dirty” color, we use healthy lean chicken sausage instead.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Seared Steak with Pan-Roasted Grape & Port Sauce

Rating: Unrated
3
This recipe for quick pan-seared steak with a savory-sweet port wine and grape sauce makes a delicious weeknight dinner.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Seared Steak with Mustard-Mushroom Sauce

With this quick steak recipe, you can be sitting down to juicy pan-seared steak with a rich and savory sauce in just 30 minutes.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Creamed Kale

Kale is simmered with leeks and garlic then “creamed” with flour and milk in this healthy take on creamed spinach. Serve alongside steak or roast chicken and a baked potato.
By Breana Killeen

Wholesome Cornbread

Rating: Unrated
3
An excellent cornbread to serve with chili.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Chocolate Cream Pie

Rating: Unrated
3
Chocolate cream pie isn't just a diner special--it's the perfect dessert for any celebration. We love the added flair of chocolate curls on top, but a pretty dollop of whipped cream on each piece would look just as elegant.
By Stacy Fraser

Inspiration and Ideas

Two-Toned Mashed Potatoes

Two-Toned Mashed Potatoes

In this recipe, Yukon Gold potatoes and sweet potatoes are roughly mashed together with leeks for a beautiful mottled white-and-orange take on mashed potatoes.
Dirty Rice

Dirty Rice

Traditionally made with chicken liver, which gives it a “dirty” color, we use healthy lean chicken sausage instead.
Sweet Potato-Peanut Bisque

Sweet Potato-Peanut Bisque

Quinoa Salad with Oranges, Beets & Pomegranate

Quinoa Salad with Oranges, Beets & Pomegranate

Rating: Unrated
4
Caribbean Pork Curry (Porc Colombo)

Caribbean Pork Curry (Porc Colombo)

Roasted Turnips & Butternut Squash with Five-Spice Glaze

Roasted Turnips & Butternut Squash with Five-Spice Glaze

Rating: Unrated
1

Mini Apple Pies with Cheddar

Rating: Unrated
1

Here's a healthy--and adorable--twist on deep-dish apple pie. This mini apple pie recipe will give you just a bit of something sweet and the melted wedge of Cheddar on top is a nod to the New England tradition of serving cheese with apple pie.

All Healthy Kwanzaa Recipes

Cajun Crab Croquettes

Rating: Unrated
2
Crab cakes get a Louisiana spin with Cajun spice and corn. Although any type of crab works here, we prefer the texture of lump crabmeat. Serve with Zesty Rémoulade Sauce. Make it a meal: Serve on arugula salad.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Roasted Vegetable Antipasto

Rating: Unrated
3
A zesty vinaigrette makes these roasted Brussels sprouts, fennel, carrots and beets pop. If you can't find small carrots, halve larger ones crosswise then quarter lengthwise. Serve this vegetable antipasto as a side dish or appetizer.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Stewed Okra & Tomatoes

Rating: Unrated
1
Stewing okra with onion and tomatoes is absolutely traditional all through the South. Small amounts of meat are often added for seasoning. Add corn to this, too, if you like, and serve it over rice, hot cornbread or grits.
By Sarah Fritschner

Louisiana Red Beans & Rice

This quick version of red beans and rice gets its smoky goodness from super-lean Canadian bacon and a hit of ground chipotle pepper. It's delicious as a leftover but will thicken as it stands. To keep it properly syrupy, just thin with a little water and reheat.
By Susan Herr

Braised Endive

Often a scoop for appetizers, Belgian endives also make an outstanding side dish. Slow braising in an aromatic broth tames their sharp flavor and makes them meltingly tender. Serve with roast chicken and acorn squash.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Two-Toned Mashed Potatoes

In this recipe, Yukon Gold potatoes and sweet potatoes are roughly mashed together with leeks for a beautiful mottled white-and-orange take on mashed potatoes. The creme fraiche topping offers a tangy counterpoint.
By Lia Huber

The Best Corn Bread

Rating: Unrated
5
One of the best things about this corn bread is that it takes only 15 minutes to prepare.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Maple Pecan Tart with Dried Cherries

Rating: Unrated
1
This pecan tart gets added tang from dried cherries. Instead of corn syrup, which is found in most pecan pie recipes, we've opted for maple syrup. If you can find it, choose dark amber or grade B, because it has the richest maple flavor. The crust, made with heart-healthy pecans and canola oil, couldn't be easier to whip together. Just blend it in the food processor and pat it into your tart pan.
By Katie Webster

Jumpin' Jimmy's Gumbo

Rating: Unrated
1
Lean chicken breast and a small amount of spicy andouille sausage along with okra and plenty of other vegetables are at the heart of this version of gumbo. With significantly less fat and sodium plus loads of vegetables, you can feel good about eating this Cajun gumbo any day of the year.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Wild Rice Stuffing with Apple & Sausage

Rating: Unrated
1
This amazing wild-rice stuffing recipe is bursting with rustic fall flavors, including rye bread, sausage, apples, dried cherries, pecans and fresh herbs.
By Lia Huber

Caramelized Pear Custard Pie

Rating: Unrated
1
This custard pie recipe elevates the simple pear to something heavenly. The pears are lightly caramelized, baked into vanilla custard, then topped with a cinnamon caramel sauce just before serving.
By Stacy Fraser

Buttermilk Custard Pie

A Southern favorite, buttermilk custard pie is smooth, tangy and delicious.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Spicy Stewed Okra & Tomatoes

This simple stew highlights two summer stars--tomatoes and okra--in a simple stew. Okra (known as gombo in much of West Africa) does especially well in a hot growing season. In this dish, it appears as both vegetable and thickener, as is typical of many of the continent's okra dishes. Serve it over brown rice.
By Jessica B. Harris

Spicy Rice

From the Deep South comes this spicy rice full of vegetables and chicken. Feel free to adjust the amount of hot sauce and cayenne pepper according to taste.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Grape & Fennel Salad

Rating: Unrated
2
Crunchy fennel and celery are combined with grapes in this delicious salad recipe.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Southern Pasta Salad with Black-Eyed Peas

Rating: Unrated
1
This isn't any ordinary picnic pasta salad. Coffee and molasses add rich notes to the tangy dressing.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Garlic-Cheese Grits

Rating: Unrated
1
Garlic-cheese grits are a typically rich Southern dish, but the truth is you don't need a half a cup of butter and a pound of cheese to make them taste good. By using a pungent blend of super-sharp cheeses we've found you can use much less cheese and still get flavor-packed results.
By Sarah Fritschner

Shrimp Creole

Rating: Unrated
3
We adapted a favorite recipe for conch creole to shrimp because conch can be hard to find in the U.S. You can also use scallops.
By Steven Raichlen

Twice-Baked Potatoes with Horseradish & Caviar

Twice-baked potatoes get an elegant treatment when spiked with horseradish and topped with a bit of caviar. If oven space is limited, these can be made in the microwave.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Curried Butternut Squash Bisque

Rating: Unrated
2
This exotic, spicy soup takes advantage of the affinity between butternut squash and curry. Pureed squash has a velvety texture, which means you can forgo using cream. We serve the soup with some nonfat yogurt for a tangy note. And if you're looking for more vitamin A in your diet, look no further: this soup gives you 200 percent of the daily recommendation.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

North African Orange & Lamb Kebabs

Rating: Unrated
3
This spicy yogurt marinade tenderizes lamb beautifully--but it's not a long process, as with some marinades. Twenty minutes does the trick. Here, the lamb is paired with orange sections, which sear and turn slightly bitter, a bracing complement to the meat.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Caribbean Rice & Beans

Rating: Unrated
1
Many variations of this dish use oregano as the main herb, but we like the flavor of cilantro a bit better with the earthy taste of the black beans.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Quick Cajun Catfish

Rating: Unrated
2
Ready in a mere 20 minutes, these delicious cornmeal-crusted catfish fillets will soon become a family favorite. Serve with oven roasted potatoes and steamed green beans.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Maple-Walnut Pralines

Maple syrup gives new inspiration to this Louisiana classic.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen
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