21 High-Protein Mediterranean Diet Dinners for Better Heart Health
If you want to follow an eating pattern that supports heart health, the Mediterranean diet might be one of the best options to consider. It encourages consuming whole foods like fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and healthy oils, making the diet easy to blend with heart-friendly eating habits.
Luckily, these flavorful Mediterranean diet dinners not only feature nutrient-dense ingredients, but they’re also packed with sources of lean protein like poultry, seafood and legumes to offer at least 15 grams per serving. This can help support satiety, muscle recovery and bone health. Each of these meals is also made low in sodium and saturated fat to align with a heart-healthy eating pattern. Delicious recipes like our Seared Scallops with White Bean Ragu & Charred Lemon and Skillet Chicken Potpie may just become staples in your evening meal rotation.
Seared Scallops with White Bean Ragu & Charred Lemon
This recipe for seared scallops with white beans and spinach turns out a healthy dinner that looks impressive (and tastes great) in just 25 minutes. Giving lemons a quick sizzle in the skillet amps up the flavor of this piccata-inspired dish. The heat helps release even more citrus juice and sweetens it too. When shopping for scallops, look for ones labeled "dry." Some scallops are soaked in a solution that prevents them from searing properly and can give them a soapy flavor.
Pea Soup
https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/8066165/tres-leches-overnight-oats/?state=PREVIEW&et=1704825181693&kw=fakeAds
This simple pea soup recipe makes an elegant start to a spring meal. It's also a great way to use frozen vegetables when the produce section is looking bleak.
Skillet Chicken Potpie
A store-bought pie crust, frozen veggies and precooked chicken simplify the prep for this easy potpie. This healthy dinner recipe is comfort food at its best.
One-Pot Garlicky Shrimp & Spinach
Photographer: Antonis Achilleos, Prop Stylist:Christine Keely, Food Stylist:Chelsea Zimmer
Shrimp, spinach and garlic brown and cook quickly for a simple one-pot weeknight dinner. A fast pan sauce gets life from zesty lemon juice, warm crushed red pepper and herby parsley. Serve with a slice of whole-wheat baguette to swipe up every last drop of sauce.
Walnut-Rosemary Crusted Salmon
Blaine Moats
Salmon and walnuts are both great sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Pair this easy walnut-crusted salmon recipe with a simple salad and a side of roasted potatoes for dinner.
Teriyaki Chicken Skillet Casserole with Broccoli
Photographer: Brie Goldman, Food Stylist: Lauren McAnelly, Prop Stylist: Gabriel Greco
Whip up this quick and easy teriyaki chicken casserole in just one skillet—it’s the perfect go-to recipe for hectic weeknights that’s sure to satisfy a crowd. It’s ideal for making use of any leftover chicken and rice you have on hand. If you’re short on leftovers, a rotisserie chicken paired with a package of microwaveable brown rice is a good substitute.
Roast Chicken & Sweet Potato
Healthy chicken and sweet potato recipes are always a delicious and reliable choice for dinner. This low-calorie sheet-pan meal combines chicken thighs and sweet potatoes and cooks up fast in a very hot oven. Serve with a fall salad of mixed greens, sliced apples and blue cheese.
Pork & Green Bean Stir-Fry
Apricot jam adds just the right amount of sweetness to balance the spicy, salty and umami flavors without turning the sauce into a sugar bomb. Serve with cooked rice to round out the meal.
Creamy Balsamic Chicken & Mushroom Skillet
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle
The sauce in this creamy balsamic chicken and mushroom skillet recipe strikes the perfect balance of acidity and sweetness. The shallots, garlic and thyme add aroma and flavor to the dish. Thin-cut chicken cutlets are key for getting dinner on the table quickly. If you can’t find chicken cutlets, make your own: Look for boneless, skinless chicken breasts that are about 8 ounces each. Slice them in half horizontally and pound to an even thickness.
Baghali Pollow with Quinoa (Persian-Style Quinoa and Beans with Chicken)
Ali Redmond
This adaptation of baghali pollow, a traditional Persian layered rice dish, is made with quinoa instead of basmati rice. Plenty of fresh herbs and fragrant spices and a trifecta of protein—quinoa, chicken and beans—ensure the dish is both flavorful and satisfying.
Chicken & Broccoli Stir-Fry
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle
This juicy chicken and broccoli stir-fry features tender-crisp broccoli coated in a velvety sauce flavored with hoisin—a flavorful sauce made from fermented soybean paste that strikes the perfect balance between sweet and tangy. Try this easy stir-fry with chicken tenders, boneless, skinless chicken thighs, or even pork tenderloin for a different twist.
Sheet-Pan Chili-Lime Salmon with Potatoes & Peppers
Busy weeknights beg for something simple like this salmon sheet-pan dinner. Like the name suggests, it's all cooked on one pan. The potatoes get a head start, followed by sweet bell peppers and finally chili-coated salmon fillets. It's a complete meal with easy cleanup!
Charred Shrimp, Pesto & Quinoa Bowls
These shrimp, pesto and quinoa bowls are delicious, healthy, pretty and take less than 30 minutes to prep. In other words, they're basically the ultimate easy weeknight dinner. Feel free to add additional vegetables and swap the shrimp for chicken, steak, tofu or edamame.
Chicken Milanese with Arugula-Cherry Tomato Salad
Photographer: Rachel Marek, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop stylist: Gabriel Greco
Chicken Milanese, referring to the city of Milan, Italy, where the dish is believed to have originated, features breaded and pan-fried chicken cutlets usually served with a side salad and a generous squeeze of lemon. Here we stick (mostly) to tradition, but we skip the pan-frying in favor of cooking the chicken in the oven. Preheating the pan helps get a nice crispy crust on one side, so it’s important not to skip that step.
One-Pot Pasta With Spinach & Tomatoes
This one-pot pasta dinner is simple, fresh, and healthy—what's not to love? Cooking the pasta right in the sauce saves time and cleanup while infusing the noodles with more flavor. This speedy recipe is also endlessly adaptable, and lends itself to plenty of easy ingredient swaps (make sure to check out the clever riffs below). Change up the spinach for any vegetables you have on hand such as sliced zucchini and mushrooms, or add leftover chicken or cooked and crumbled sausage. We've happily embraced whole-wheat spaghetti as a healthier alternative to white pasta; it works especially well in this one-pot application.
Salmon with Lemon-Herb Orzo & Broccoli
This healthy salmon dish is as balanced as it is delicious. You add broccoli right into the pot along with the pasta during its last minute of cooking to save time here. One less thing to wash too!
Chicken Shawarma with Yogurt Sauce
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.
Kung Pao Chicken with Bell Peppers
Here's an easy chicken recipe you'll definitely want to add to your dinner repertoire. A quick marinade tenderizes the chicken and infuses flavor in this stir fry. Adding a little oil to finish the marinade coats the chicken and helps keep it from sticking to the pan.
Gochujang-Glazed Salmon with Garlic Spinach
Gochujang, a Korean red chile paste, and honey give this salmon a little bit of sweetness and a whole lot of spice.
Lemony Chicken & Rice Soup
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall , Prop Stylist: Shell Royster
The Greek lemon-chicken soup avgolemono is the inspiration for this 20-minute recipe. Eggs and lemon are tempered into the broth to add richness and creaminess. You can use microwaveable brown rice or use 1 cup leftover rice if you have it on hand.
Shrimp Paella
Paella is a Spanish seafood and rice dish, prized for the crispy bits of rice that come from letting the rice sizzle in the pan, and the deep yellow color from saffron. We cheat the color with less expensive ground turmeric and speed the process with precooked brown rice. Make sure to spread the rice mixture in an even layer so the bottom can crisp. The shrimp take less than 5 minutes to cook. Rinse well under cold running water until completely thawed, and then pat dry before adding to the pan. Serve with simply steamed asparagus to round out the meal.
Read the original article on Eating Well.
