Top Healthy Recipes

Eat well every day with our top healthy recipes, from light, nutritious breakfasts to fresh, flavorful dinners and low-calorie desserts.

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Sesame-Ginger Salmon en Papillote

By baking salmon in parchment paper with just a couple tablespoons of an Asian-style marinade and crispy vegetables, Kelsey renders the fish extremely flavorful and moist.

Get the Recipe: Sesame-Ginger Salmon en Papillote

Bal's No-Butter Chicken

Unlike creamy curries and other high-calorie Indian dishes, this chicken gets its flavor (and there's plenty of it) from a mixture of spices and aromatics and just a dash of low-fat yogurt. There's a reason this speedy dinner recipe is one the most popular recipes on Cooking Channel.

Get the Recipe: Bal's No-Butter Chicken

Slow Cooker Shredded Pork

Kelsey's healthy slow-cooker recipe relies on strong spices, herbs and fresh vegetables, not fats, to flavor her pork.

Get the Recipe: Slow Cooker Shredded Pork

Chicken Parmesan

We can’t stop drooling over Ellie’s healthier Chicken Parmesan — baked, not fried, and breaded with fiber-rich whole-wheat crumbs. Mix part-skim mozzarella with regular Parmesan for full flavor and fewer calories.

Get the Recipe: Chicken Parmesan

Fettuccine with Creamy Red Pepper-Feta Sauce

Roasted red peppers and naturally light feta cheese are blended to form this pasta’s indulgent yet lower-calorie creamy sauce.

Get the Recipe: Fettuccine with Creamy Red Pepper-Feta Sauce

Fish Tacos with Chipotle Cream

Ellie’s chipotle cream — made out of yogurt, mayo and chipotles in adobo — is so flavorful, you only need to dress these lean fish tacos in a tablespoon of the sauce.

Get the Recipe: Fish Tacos with Chipotle Cream

Breakfast Burrito

Ellie’s healthy breakfast burrito — a whole-wheat tortilla packed with healthy ingredients like peppers, black beans, tomatoes, avocados and cheese — will keep you full all day.

Get the Recipe: Breakfast Burrito

Three Bean and Beef Chili

Extra-lean beef and three types of fiber-filled beans assure maximum heartiness in Ellie Krieger's healthier chili.

Get the Recipe: Three Bean and Beef Chili

Vegetable Chow Mein

Chow mein doesn’t have to be an oily fat trap — Ching-He uses little more than a tablespoon of oil and one or two tablespoons of low-sodium soy sauce to soften and flavor the dish’s fragrant vegetables.

Get the Recipe: Vegetable Chow Mein

Lighter Brownies

Yes, you can even enjoy brownies while trying to lose weight. This lighter recipe eliminates butter, gains flavor from instant coffee powder and relies on yolk-free egg whites for binding.

Get the Recipe: Lighter Brownies

Jeffrey Saad's Chicken Stir-Fry Soup

Half chicken stir-fry, half chicken soup, this bowl gains flavor from a hot and spicy preparation of the chicken and low-sodium additions to the stock.

Get the Recipe: Chicken Stir-Fry Soup

Grapefruit Salad with Honey-Mint Dressing

Bobby dresses antioxidant-packed grapefruit wedges with honey (for balancing sweetness) and refreshing sprigs of mint. What better way to start the day?

Get the Recipe: Grapefruit Salad with Honey-Mint Dressing

Mediterranean Chick Pea Stew

Nadia G.'s slimmed-down stew makes a flavorful starter — scoop it like a dip with whole-wheat pita wedges — or a light lunch. This recipe promises to deflate your mate (or, you).

Get the Recipe: Mediterranean Chick Pea Stew

Low-Fat Creamy Mushroom Cavatappi

Low-fat and creamy rarely go hand-in-hand, but with one-percent milk, cornstarch and a touch of Parmesan, this cavatappi is both.

Get the Recipe: Low-Fat Creamy Mushroom Cavatappi

Chocolate Marshmallow Madness Cupcakes

You’d never know that these fluffy, marshmallow-topped cupcakes are made with low-cal hot cocoa mix, egg whites and a no-cal sweetener. The marshmallow and chocolate chips are the real deal, though.

Get the Recipe: Chocolate Marshmallow Madness Cupcakes

Sesame Shrimp and Asparagus Stir-Fry

Homemade stir-fries are an easy, much-healthier dinner option than takeout. This fresh shrimp and asparagus recipe has great flavor thanks to sesame seeds and fresh grated ginger.

Get the Recipe: Sesame Shrimp and Asparagus Stir-Fry

Turkey Meatballs on a Bed of Leeks

Gabriele's simple turkey meatballs — made with shallots, parsley and Parmesan — become extraordinary when served over a bed of slow-cooked leeks and doused in the oniony sauce, made rich with turkey juices.

Get the Recipe: Turkey Meatballs on a Bed of Leeks

Garden Vegetable Frittata

Kelsey’s vegetable frittata, filled with fresh seasonal veggies, stalks of green onions and a sprinkling of basil, brings the garden to your breakfast plate.

Get the Recipe: Garden Vegetable Frittata

Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut-Curry Broth

Ellie gives mild halibut distinct Thai flavor with red curry paste, coconut milk and fresh lime juice.

Get the Recipe: Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut-Curry Broth

Chili-Rubbed Steak Tacos

A fragrant chili powder, cinnamon, garlic and cayenne pepper rub-readies lean sirloin steak for grilling in this unbelievably tasty taco recipe. The limey avocado salsa — made lighter with crunchy cucumber — balances all that spice.

Get the Recipe: Chili-Rubbed Steak Tacos

Caprese Di Farro

Debi and Gabriele deliver an alternative to the simple classic tomato, mozzarella and basil salad from Capri. By adding farro and kalamata olives, they give the dish substance and salty flavor.

Get the Recipe: Caprese Di Farro

Triple Chocolate Cookies

Triple the chocolate, one-third the calories? Ellie’s chocolate cookies with both dark and milk chocolate chips will help you get your cocoa fix for only 100 calories.

Get the Recipe: Triple Chocolate Cookies

Greek-Style Stuffed Peppers

By stuffing sweet red peppers with lean ground beef and loads of veggies and topping the halves with a sprinkling of lean feta cheese, Ellie creates a meal that tastes indulgent but will only cost you about 200 calories.

Get the Recipe: Greek-Style Stuffed Peppers

Tuscan Vegetable Soup

Ellie makes a few tablespoons of fragrant thyme and sage go a long way in this low-calorie, veggie-loaded soup.

Get the Recipe: Tuscan Vegetable Soup

Healthy French Toast

This French toast is made with low-fat milk and egg whites, so even when it's topped with berries and syrup, it still has less than 400 calories per serving.

Get the Recipe: Healthy French Toast

Pomegranate Quinoa Pilaf

Juicy pomegranate seeds, slivered almonds and scallions liven up Kelsey’s simple quinoa recipe, making it appropriate for entertaining or an everyday meal.

Get the Recipe: Pomegranate Quinoa Pilaf

Chipotle Chicken Fajitas

By finishing the cooked chipotle-marinated chicken in a broth along with the onions, peppers and garlic, you'll ensure that your fajita chicken is super moist and infused with the flavors of the other ingredients.

Get the Recipe: Chipotle Chicken Fajitas

Spinach and Tortellini

Nutrient-rich spinach, peas, cherry tomatoes and portobello mushrooms bulk up this cheese tortellini dish.

Get the Recipe: Spinach and Tortellini

Morning Glory Muffins

Combine old-fashioned oats with cinnamon, molasses, dried plums and carrots (yes, carrots) for fiber-rich, surprisingly low-calorie muffins (165 each) that will surely make your morning glorious.

Get the Recipe: Morning Glory Muffins

Low-Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies

With brown sugar, old-fashioned oats and semisweet chocolate chips, these cookies have the same rich flavor and hearty texture you want, without all that butter you don't need.

Get the Recipe: Low-Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Penne with Roasted Tomatoes, Garlic, and White Beans

Ellie enhances tomatoes' natural sweetness by roasting them in the oven with just a touch of olive oil. All her pasta dish then needs is some aromatic roasted garlic cloves.

Get the Recipe: Penne with Roasted Tomatoes, Garlic, and White Beans

Chicken Breasts with Apple-Curry Sauce

Sauces can be silent diet-killers, packing sugar and calories, but not this apple-curry chutney. Pour it over chicken, steamed broccoli and wild rice for a hearty, balanced meal.

Get the Recipe: Chicken Breasts with Apple-Curry Sauce

BBQ Mango Tilapia

Hungry Girl transforms mild tilapia fish with a sweet-and-tangy tomato-based barbecue sauce and a chunky mango salsa.

Get the Recipe: BBQ Mango Tilapia

Pasta with Winter Squash and Tomatoes

Sweet, hearty butternut squash adds substance and nutrients to this pasta dish. Once the squash has been cooked, it becomes so soft it acts as the pasta’s sauce and eliminates the need for fatty cheese.

Get the Recipe: Pasta with Winter Squash and Tomatoes

Exploding Chicken Taquitos

Great as an appetizer or a light dinner recipe, these baked taquitos possess all the flavor of the favorite fried dish thanks to taco seasoning and fragrant salsa, but they are only 100 calories per wrap.

Get the Recipe: Exploding Chicken Taquitos

Bal's Lentil Cookies

Every one of our recipe reviewers gave this cookie four or five stars, remarking on its great nutty flavor and healthy ingredients.

Get the Recipe: Bal's Lentil Cookies

Mushroom Spinach Thai Salad

By adding soy sauce, basil, sesame seeds and jalapeños to a bed of spinach — rather than a wok — you can enjoy some of your favorite Thai flavors in lighter form.

Get the Recipe: Mushroom Spinach Thai Salad

Too-EZ Mac 'n Cheese

This simple mac and cheese recipe calls for whole-wheat pasta and frozen broccoli, which makes it a healthier, faster version of everyone’s favorite comfort food dish.

Get the Recipe: Too-EZ Mac 'n Cheese