Healthy St. Patrick's Day Recipes

These mini vegetarian shepherd's pies feature lentils, carrot and corn, crowned with a velvety mashed potato topping. The recipe can also be made in a broiler-safe casserole dish. Serve with a spinach salad with oranges, walnuts and red-wine vinaigrette.

This creamy spinach casserole recipe is a more sophisticated cousin to creamed spinach. It's perfect for weekend entertaining or as a holiday side dish.

If you're looking for a healthy beef stew recipe that delivers on comfort, look no further. This one-pot Irish beef stew is packed with veggies and rich meaty flavor. Make this Irish beef stew recipe with Guinness--a dark, malty Irish stout--to keep it authentic. Serve with a side of Irish soda bread to sop up the leftovers.

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.

In this easy one-pan dinner, boneless pork loin roast is cooked over a bed of carrots and parsnips for an all-in-one dish that makes an impressive centerpiece for a holiday meal or Sunday dinner. Choose free-range heritage pork if you can--its flavor really shines with no more seasoning than a bit of thyme and a little sea salt. If you'd like, dress up the meal with a traditional Irish apple condiment--Ploughmans chutney or Bramley applesauce, which you can find in specialty stores and online.

This quick soda bread is best eaten the day it's made--try it with butter and jam for extra flavor. Traditional Irish soda bread made with wheat flour requires a very light touch to avoid developing the gluten, which would make the bread tough. However this dough, which is made with gluten-free flour, should be beaten thoroughly. A stand mixer is perfect for the job.

Coated with olive oil and baked in a hot oven, these fries are soft and buttery inside and crisp on the outside--the perfect combination.

Chicken thighs can take plenty of cooking without getting tough or drying out, which makes them perfect for the slow cooker. Here we braise them in Guinness stout along with hearty vegetables, with just the right amount of bacon for added savoriness.

This single-serve version of classic Irish soda bread is fun for St. Patrick's Day, but you'll find they're also delicious for weekend brunches. All you need with these scones is a warm cup of tea.

For a meal that's ready when you get home after a long day, try this flavorful and hearty pot roast.

If you've never baked scones at home, you'll be pleasantly surprised by how easy they are to make. And it's hard to beat this version made with fresh blackberries and tangy buttermilk. This healthy scone recipe calls for half all-purpose flour and half white whole-wheat flour--the latter improves the nutritional profile of the scones without affecting their flavor and texture. Serve these for weekend brunch, at teatime or anytime you want a special breakfast treat.

A comforting dish with a healthier profile.

This Irish stout cake can't get any easier: everything is mixed in one bowl, poured into the cake pan and is in the oven in 15 minutes flat. Lining the cake pan with parchment paper makes removing the cake easy and helps with cleanup. After this rich chocolate cake has cooled, enjoy it with the espresso- and Irish whiskey-laced whipped cream topping.

The abundance of springy sausage, soft beans and tender cabbage packed into this slow-cooker recipe means that each bite is loaded with varied texture. To make this recipe gluten free, use gluten-free sausage. Serve with bread and Guinness, if desired.

This green-as-a-shamrock "nice cream"--made with almond milk, coconut cream and bananas--is loosely inspired by the Shamrock McFlurry. Whip up this dairy-free dessert for St. Patrick's Day or anytime you're craving a minty treat. (To keep this recipe vegan, be sure to choose vegan chocolate chips.)

In this simple shepherd's pie recipe, we call for flavorful lean ground lamb, which isn't always easy to find. You can use lean ground beef or turkey instead. If you want to use lamb, ask your butcher to grind it for you or, to make your own ground lamb, start with a lean cut of lamb, such as leg or loin, trimmed of any excess fat and cut into 3/4-inch pieces. Pulse briefly in a food processor just until uniformly ground.

This fast tartar sauce comes together in just 10 minutes and makes a great topping for simple sautéed fish fillets. Serve with toasted potato wedges and coleslaw.

This easy whole-wheat Irish soda bread roll recipe gets its rise from baking soda instead of yeast, so you can enjoy warm bread with just a few minutes of prep and 25 minutes in the oven.

In EatingWell's take on Shepherd's Pie, we replace the potato topping with convenient, delicious frozen squash puree. And they're baked in individual ramekins to guarantee perfectly sized servings and help you get it on the table fast.

The sheer simplicity of Irish soda bread belies its goodness. We've made this easy whole-wheat quick bread even faster by baking the dough in muffin cups. Serve the muffins warm, with butter and honey.

Fresh strawberries and rhubarb meld together under a crisp oat crumble in this gluten-free dessert recipe made in just one skillet. If you're not gluten-sensitive, regular rolled oats will work too. Top with a dollop of whipped cream for an extra-special treat.

Traditional corned beef & cabbage sure is tasty, but it's typically loaded with preservatives and sodium. In this healthy recipe makeover, we slash more than 2,300 mg of sodium with our quicker twist on the St. Patrick's Day classic. To get great flavor without the additives found in store-bought corned beef, we rub ground pickling spice onto steak instead.

This easy homemade Irish cream recipe is rich and creamy with just enough chocolate and coffee to balance the bourbon. Enjoy it over ice, chilled for dessert or combined with coffee for an after-dinner treat. It keeps for two weeks in the fridge, so you can package up bottles to give for holiday gifts as well.

Corned beef is brisket that has been pickled in spices for days. You can buy it ready-to-cook or corn your own at home, but both are serious sodium bombs, packing more than 500 mg per 3-ounce serving--nearly 25% of the recommended daily limit. For this healthier pressure cooker corned beef and cabbage, we start with a plain brisket and add seasonings ourselves to control the salt level. We also opt for a flat-cut end of brisket, instead of the thicker point cut, as it has less fat, making it easier to slice when cooked. An electric pressure cooker, such as an Instant Pot, is absolutely key to this recipe, allowing you to cook the brisket in one hour--as opposed to three hours or more in the oven. It also lets you sear and roast in one device, saving cleanup time.