Health Conditions Heart-Healthy Recipes Heart-Healthy Dinner Recipes Quick & Easy Heart-Healthy Dinner Recipes 20 High-Protein, Heart-Healthy Dinners in 20 Minutes or Less By Dillon Evans Dillon Evans Dillon Evans fell in love with cooking at a very young age. He remembers the novel experiences of microwaving a bowl of oatmeal without his parents' permission and asking to make his mother's morning pot of coffee. These moments became catalysts for his interest in cooking and baking. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Published on May 2, 2024 Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD Jessica Ball, M.S., RD, is nutrition editor for EatingWell. She is a registered dietitian with a master's in food, nutrition and sustainability. In addition to EatingWell, her work has appeared in Food & Wine, Real Simple, Parents, Better Homes and Gardens and MyRecipes. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Close Photo: Jacob Fox Make any of these filling dinners in just 20 minutes or less to support your ticker. Heart-healthy foods like eggs, fish, poultry and legumes pack these recipes with at least 15 grams of protein per serving to help promote satiety, muscle recovery and healthy digestion. Plus, we’ve created these meals to be low in sodium and saturated fats to help you keep your heart healthy. Our Gochujang-Glazed Salmon with Garlic Spinach is perfect for serving something stunning, but quick on the fly. Or, keep to the classics tonight with our fan-favorite Beef & Bean Sloppy Joes on whole-wheat buns. 01 of 20 Easy Pea & Spinach Carbonara Fresh pasta cooks up faster than dried, making it a must-have for fast weeknight dinners like this luscious yet healthy meal. Eggs are the base of the creamy sauce. They don't get fully cooked, so use pasteurized-in-the-shell eggs if you prefer. View Recipe 02 of 20 Beef & Bean Sloppy Joes This healthy copycat recipe of the comfort food classic trades beans for some of the meat to bump up fiber by 7 grams. We also cut back on the sugar and ketchup in this Sloppy Joe recipe makeover to save you 12 grams of added sugar. View Recipe 03 of 20 Creamy Pesto Shrimp with Gnocchi & Peas Photographer: Greg DuPree, Prop stylist: Shell Royster, Food stylist: Emily Hall This speedy dinner recipe combines shrimp with pillowy gnocchi, pesto and peas in a creamy sauce. Feel free to substitute the peas with other veggies such as broccoli or asparagus. For a bit of heat, sprinkle in some crushed red pepper, or garnish with grated Parmesan cheese to enhance the savory flavor. View Recipe 04 of 20 Teriyaki Chicken Stir-Fry Photographer: Brie Goldman, Food Stylist: Addelyn Evans, Prop Stylist: Gabriel Greco Look for pre-sliced pepper-and-onion mix in the produce section of the supermarket. It helps save prep time in this quick five-ingredient dinner. This easy dinner calls for hot cooked brown rice, which is perfect if you have leftovers. If not, look for microwaveable brown rice or frozen brown rice to keep prep minimal. View Recipe 05 of 20 Green Goddess Salad with Chickpeas In this cucumber, tomato, Swiss cheese and chickpea salad recipe, a healthy green goddess dressing is made from avocado, buttermilk and herbs. The extra dressing is delicious served with grilled vegetables. View Recipe 06 of 20 Salmon Caesar Salad This easy Caesar salad subs creamy Greek yogurt and buttermilk for the traditional egg yolks and olive oil and mixes in mildly bitter radicchio in addition to classic romaine. Using just a small amount of flavorful Parmigiano-Reggiano shaves calories and sodium too. View Recipe 07 of 20 Gochujang-Glazed Salmon with Garlic Spinach Jacob Fox Gochujang, a Korean red chile paste, and honey give this salmon a little bit of sweetness and a whole lot of spice. View Recipe 08 of 20 Red Beans and Rice with Chicken Fiber-rich red beans, whole-grain brown rice and skillet-cooked chicken breast are ready in just 20 minutes. View Recipe 09 of 20 Poached Cod & Green Beans with Pesto Using just one skillet, this easy fish recipe cooks cod right on top of fresh green beans and uses the same pan to make a flavorful sauce. The result is perfectly flaky fish, tender-crisp vegetables, a savory pan sauce and very little cleanup. View Recipe 10 of 20 Cornmeal-Crusted Shrimp with Corn & Okra Photography / Greg DuPree, Styling / Ali Ramee / Christine Keely Coating shrimp in buttermilk, hot sauce and Cajun seasoning not only gives them a tangy, spicy flavor, it also helps the cornmeal stick to form a crispy crust. View Recipe 11 of 20 Spicy Coriander-Cumin Chicken Thighs Jacob Fox Toasting whole ancho chile pieces with coriander, cumin and fennel seeds before grinding with a little lime zest makes a fragrant and flavorful spice blend for the chicken here. View Recipe 12 of 20 Shrimp Paella Jennifer Causey 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. View Recipe 13 of 20 Lemon-Garlic Pasta with Salmon Wondering what to do with leftover salmon? This is a delicious and easy way to turn it into another weeknight-friendly, quick dinner. Don't forget to reserve some pasta water—its starch thickens the lemon-garlic pasta sauce and makes it silky-smooth. View Recipe 14 of 20 Pan-Seared Steak with Crispy Herbs & Escarole This easy dinner takes just 20 minutes to prepare, meaning that seared steak can be a weeknight meal. Cooking herbs in the pan with the steak releases their aroma, infusing it into the meat while creating a crispy garnish. After the steaks and herbs are pan-seared, the escarole is cooked in the same skillet, so this healthy dinner requires minimal cleanup too. View Recipe 15 of 20 Summer Chicken Parmesan Victor Protasio Skip canned tomatoes and serve these crispy, cheesy chicken cutlets with a fresh tomato-and-zucchini sauté instead, a super-easy side that takes advantage of peak-season summer produce. For a healthy whole-grain swap, use white whole-wheat flour in place of all-purpose for breading the chicken and in any sweet or savory recipe. Make sure to position your oven rack in the middle of the oven, about 6 inches from the broiler, so the cutlets don't cook too quickly. Round out the meal with a simple green salad and garlic-rubbed toasted bread slices. View Recipe 16 of 20 Spinach, Apple & Chicken Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing & Cheese Crisps Swap out store-bought for this tangy homemade buttermilk and poppy seed dressing to take this healthy salad recipe to the next level. For an even more impressive meal, make your own crunchy cheese crisps in a snap, using phyllo dough, for a delicious accompaniment to this dinner salad. Make extra dressing to keep on hand for other salads throughout the week. View Recipe 17 of 20 Crunchy Chicken & Mango Salad This Asian-inspired dinner salad has terrific crunch, thanks to sugar snap peas and napa cabbage. Give the dressing a kick of heat by adding a bit of sambal oelek, an Indonesian hot sauce that you can find in most large supermarkets and Asian grocery stores. View Recipe 18 of 20 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. View Recipe 19 of 20 Chicken with Ginger-Soy Vegetables & Brown Rice This quick-and-easy meal combines crisp-tender vegetables, brown rice and chicken in a tasty ginger-soy sauce. Not in the mood for soy and ginger? No problem. We've included two simple variations with lemon and Italian flavorings. View Recipe 20 of 20 Tarragon Scallops on Asparagus Spears In this 15-minute recipe, crisp and tender asparagus spears serve as a vibrant base for lemon- and tarragon-flavored sea scallops. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit