Looking for dinner ideas for tonight? These healthy weeknight dinner ideas are perfect when you’re tired of takeout but don’t know what to make for your family. 

With over 300 healthy dinner ideas (that taste good!) you’ll be sure to find a ton of new favorites for your family. These nourishing homemade dinner recipes focus on fresh produce, lean meats, and whole grains so you feel healthy inside and out.

This collection of healthy weeknight dinners includes plenty of options no matter what diet you follow -- from gluten free and low carb recipes to Whole 30 and Paleo options to healthier spins on classic comfort food favorites. 

You’ll also find tons of sheet pan dinners and one pan meals that make clean up so easy! 

Your whole family will love this sheet pan chicken recipe with crispy gnocchi and my favorite goulash soup. In the summer, grill up some Greek burgers. Or make an easy marinade for sirloin tip steak as a quick Monday night meal. 

Who knew healthy could taste so good -- or be so simple? 
New England Clam Chowder 1

New England Clam Chowder

Like a lot of people, I re-committed myself* to eating healthier and losing a few pounds in the New Year. Unlike a lot of people, I won’t attempt to live off of cold salads and clear broths. It’s winter, people! I want comfort food – and lots of it.

This milky chowder filled with meaty bites of bacon and the subtle spice of Old Bay and peppery parsnips is what I consider the ultimate winter meal. The combination of smoke and cream reminds me of curling up in front of a fireplace while fat snowflakes fall outside. Close your eyes when you eat it and you can almost hear the bells of a horse-drawn carriage being pulled down the road.

Honey-Bourbon Pulled Chicken 3

Honey-Bourbon Pulled Chicken


Between the Three Bean Chili I made the other day and this Honey-Bourbon Pulled Chicken, I can already tell that my slow cooker is going to get a work out this winter. I’m not sure why it’s taken me this long to fall in love with it – it’s so easy and I love having dinner ready and waiting for me when I get home at night.

To make this recipe even easier, you can throw all of the ingredients together in a tupperware container the night before you want to eat it. That way, it only takes about 30 seconds to set up in the morning before work.

Creamy Sweet Potato and Chipotle Soup 4

Creamy Sweet Potato and Chipotle Soup


It’s getting to be the time of year when I plan to make soup at least once a week. In addition to being a quick weeknight meal, soup is an easy go-to for weekday lunches – something I’m especially grateful for when I’m trying to avoid holiday related weight gain.

I stumbled on this recipe for sweet potato soup on the Food + Wine website one afternoon and made it for dinner that night. I love potato soup, but it had never occurred to me to use sweet potatoes before! I skipped the fried cinnamon-sugar tortillas in the original recipe and paired the soup with cheese quesadillas for a warmly satisfying meal.

Jalapeno Popper Mac and Cheese 5

Jalapeno Popper Mac and Cheese

jalapeno popper mac and cheese on blue plate

This jalapeno popper macaroni and cheese is probably the best thing that’s ever come out of my kitchen.

There’s not much more to say about it than that. I mean, I could go on about how how rich and creamy and cheesy it is. How the thick sauce that clings to each piece of pasta tastes like someone just squeezed the guts out of your favorite bar poppers and called it “sauce.” How I kept running back to the kitchen as I waited for the pasta to finish cooking because I couldn’t stop sneaking tastes.

Ground Chicken and Eggplant Lettuce Wraps 6

Ground Chicken and Eggplant Lettuce Wraps

This recipe for ground chicken and eggplant lettuce wraps was inspired by the menu at P.F. Changs. They have a similar chicken and eggplant dish that’s one of the best things I’ve ever ordered at a Chinese restaurant. My recipe is pretty different from theirs, but it captures my favorite components of the original — especially the contrast of sweet, spicy, and salty flavors and the way the tender eggplant practically melts in your mouth. Adjust the amount of chili paste to suit your desired level of spiciness, or leave it out and allow each diner to add it directly to their own portion to accommodate a variety of tastes.

Watermelon Gazpacho {No Tomatoes!} 8

Watermelon Gazpacho {No Tomatoes!}

gazpacho1.jpg

Like most of the country, New York has been suffering through a heat wave for the past week. Quite frankly, it’s too hot to cook or even to eat anything very substantial. For the first few days I was content eating salads for dinner, but after more than two or three days of salad I start to get cranky so I tried to think of something that would satisfy my raving for real food without requiring me to actually cook (since the minutes I spent over the stove sautéing onions last night left me so hot that I couldn’t even enjoy the steak that Shawn grilled for me).

An ice-cold gazpacho seemed like it would hit the spot, but that suggestion was met with a resounding, “No way!” My effort to convince Shawn that gazpacho is basically just pureed salsa (the only way he’ll eat raw tomatoes) didn’t get me anywhere. Luckily, I had this recipe up my sleeve — a sightly spicy watermelon soup without a single tomato.