Even when made in just one pot, these easy dinners are never boring. They’re packed with foods like poultry and seafood, olive oil, whole grains, vegetables and legumes to make your plate both nutritious and flavorful. These ingredients are main components of the Mediterranean diet, which is revered as one of the best eating patterns to follow for its flexibility and health benefits. Not to mention, these dishes are packed with anti-inflammatory foods like leafy greens, nuts and spices to help combat pesky symptoms of chronic inflammation like joint stiffness, digestion issues and high blood pressure. Once you try recipes like our Chicken Enchilada Skillet Casserole and One-Pan Spicy Okra & Shrimp, you’ll want to make them again and again.
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Weeknight Lemon Chicken Skillet Dinner
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This one-panchicken dinnerdoesn't get much easier, or more satisfying.In just half an hour, you can have a complete meal on the table that doesn't require loads of dishes afterwards. We call for tender haricots verts because they're quick cooking; traditional green beans likely won't be tender enough after the brief cooking time at the end. If that's all you have on hand, steam them first, and then add them to the pan for the final step.Serve this hearty chicken and potatoes dinner witha simple side salad to sneak in another serving of veggies.
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One-Pot Pasta With Spinach & Tomatoes
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This one-pot pasta dinner is simple, fresh, and healthy—what's not to love?Cooking the pasta right in the sauce savestime 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 thecleverriffs 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.
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Chicken Enchilada Skillet Casserole
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This simplified take on cheesy chicken enchiladas only requires one pan for cooking and eliminates the need to stuff and roll corn tortillas. Charring the veggies in a cast-iron skillet adds depth of flavor. Don't worry if you don't have one, because you can use any oven-safe skillet instead.
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One-Pan Spicy Okra & Shrimp
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Serve spicy blackened shrimp and tender vegetables over aromatic basmati rice for an easy skillet supper. Use precooked microwave rice so you don't have to mess up another pan. This one-pan dinner is perfect for company, but easy enough to make on a weeknight.
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Skillet Lemon Chicken & Potatoes with Kale
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This easy one-pan skillet-roasted lemon chicken is perfect for weeknight dinners. Juicy chicken thighs are cooked in the same pan as baby potatoes and kale for a satisfying meal with the added bonus of minimal cleanup.
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One-Skillet Chicken Paprikash with Mushrooms & Onions
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Try this quick and easy one-skillet version of the Hungarian classic chicken paprikash. Serve the chicken cutlets, mushrooms and creamy sauce over egg noodles with a green salad on the side.
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One-Pot Chicken with Farro
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Inspired by arroz con pollo, this chicken and whole-grain dish is hearty with satisfying complexity. Cumin, saffron, and oregano season rich chicken thighs and nutty farro as the dish simmers. If using saffron, deploy it sparingly; those tiny threads bring subtle flavor and a little color to the dish, but too much will yield a medicinal taste.
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One-Pot Creamy Chicken & Mushroom Pasta
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This creamy chicken and mushroom pasta recipe makes for an easy weeknight dinner. Using store-bought rotisserie chicken saves time when cooking, and leftover chicken would work just as well.
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Green Shakshuka with Spinach, Chard & Feta
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The inspiration for this green shakshuka recipe comes from HaBasta, a popular restaurant on the edge of Carmel Market in Tel Aviv, where the shakshuka is packed with green chard and spinach and a little hot pepper provides just a touch of spice. Serve with pita or crusty bread to sop up the sauce for a quick dinner or for brunch.
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Vegan Jambalaya
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You won't miss the meat in this healthy jambalaya recipe. Vegan smoked sausage takes its place while the classic "trinity" of vegetables—onion, red bell pepper and celery—get a kick from jalapeño peppers. And everything is cooked in one skillet, which means cleanup is a breeze!
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Chicken Tagine
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This quick version of a traditional recipe can be made in about 30 minutes using a beloved kitchen hack: shredded rotisserie chicken! The shredded meat simmers briefly in a flavor-packed base that is rich with garlic and spices, sweetened with dates, and tangy from olives and preserved lemons. The addition of lentils and garbanzo beans makes this a hearty one-pot supper, though you can serve it with rice, couscous, or pita bread.
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Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
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Use your Instant Pot--or any other pressure cooker--to whip up this healthy butternut squash soup. Anjou pears add sweetness, while the soup gets creaminess and a wonderful flavor from light coconut milk, and a bright, fresh kick from ginger, cilantro and lime. Finishing the soup with whole-milk yogurt adds a nice richness, but you can skip it to keep the soup vegan. (Allow the soup to cool slightly before stirring in the yogurt so it doesn't curdle.) This soup would be equally delicious chilled.
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Crispy Gnocchi with Tomatoes & Leeks
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These gnocchi are crispy on the outside, tender on the inside because you sauté them in hot oil. Plus, they leave a little fond (crispy brown bits) in the pan that adds toasty flavor to the tomato and leek sauce, which is cooked in the same pan. Since this easy gnocchi recipe calls for store-bought shelf-stable gnocchi, it's quick to prepare--just 20 minutes, start to finish. Opt for whole-wheat gnocchi to get 2 extra grams of fiber per serving compared to white. This easy and healthy dinner is easy to customize too: see Tips for variations with shrimp, pesto instead of butter, and pork chops instead of gnocchi.
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Sheet-Pan Chicken Cutlets with Brussels Sprouts & Sweet Potatoes
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This easy sheet-pan dinner is made with quick-cooking chicken cutlets, so you can make it on any busy weeknight. We season the vegetables and protein in stages, with the end result being a punch of flavor. Crumbled bacon adds a salty note to complete the dish.
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One-Pot Chicken & Rice
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This one-pot chicken and rice dinner is creamy, cozy and packed with vegetables! Tarragon offers a sweet mellow flavor, but if you're not a fan, basil can be used in its place.
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Slow-Cooker Vegan Butternut Squash Soup with Apple
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You'll never guess this crock pot butternut squash soup recipe is just dump-and-go simple. The boost of flavor from maple syrup, apple-cider vinegar and spices makes all the difference! Serve this light soup as an appetizer for a vegetarian Thanksgiving feast or with a salad and crusty bread for weeknight dinners.
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Vegetarian Gumbo
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This flavorful vegan dinner is a veggie version of the Louisiana classic. It's chock-full of butternut squash, tomatoes, poblano peppers and okra, to name just a few. This vegetarian gumbo is a quick dinner packed with flavor and spice that's done in only 30 minutes. To make it a meal, serve it with cornbread drizzled with olive oil.
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Instant Pot Vegetarian White Chili
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Parsnips lend a wonderful sweet and nutty flavor to this healthy white bean chili. Using an Instant Pot (or any other pressure cooker) means this hearty chili can be ready in under an hour, but it still tastes like it's simmered away for hours. Pureeing some of the chili gives the stew a nice creaminess, but feel free to skip that step to save time. Garnish the chili with cheese and sour cream for a richer meal, or serve it as-is to keep it vegan.
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One-Pan Chicken with Basil-Anchovy Butter & Shish*to Peppers
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Don't skip the anchovies in this healthy chicken thigh recipe. Their fishiness blends in, adding salty, umami flavor, so that even skeptics of the salty little fish won't protest. And this healthy skillet dinner is cooked in one pan and takes just 20 minutes to prep--in case you need more selling points for this recipe.
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Summer Skillet Vegetable & Egg Scramble
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Don't toss out those almost-past-their-prime vegetables and fresh herbs. Toss them into this skillet egg scramble for a quick vegetarian meal. Nearly any vegetable will work in this easy skillet recipe, so choose your favorites or use what you have on hand.
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Slow-Cooker Vegan Chili
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Grab your crock pot for this hearty and easy vegan chili, which is chock-full of great-tasting and good-for-you ingredients, including pinto and black beans, red pepper, tomatoes and butternut squash. Once a little chopping is done, all you have to do is dump the ingredients in the slow cooker, making this colorful veggie chili the perfect weeknight dinner. A garnish of fresh avocado and chopped cilantro is a nice touch.
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