Healthy Recipes Health Conditions Heart-Healthy Recipes Heart-Healthy Dinner Recipes 18 Heart-Healthy Dinners That Support Gut Health 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 6, 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: Ali Redmond Make one of these flavorful dinners to support both your gut and your heart. Each of these meals is packed with prebiotic-rich ingredients like vegetables, legumes and whole grains, plus probiotic-rich foods like kimchi, miso and yogurt to help you support a balanced microbiome. They’re also made with heart-healthy nutrition, with each serving low in sodium and saturated fats to help protect against heart disease. Try recipes like our One-Pot White Bean, Spinach & Sun-Dried Tomato Orzo with Lemon & Feta for a dish that’s savory and filling at dinnertime. And our Baghali Pollow with Quinoa (Persian-Style Quinoa and Beans with Chicken) is so delicious, it’s sure to become a staple. 01 of 18 Skillet Lemon Chicken & Potatoes with Kale 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. View Recipe 02 of 18 One-Pot White Bean, Spinach & Sun-Dried Tomato Orzo with Lemon & Feta Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless This one-pot pasta dish with white beans, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes is lively and vibrant and leaves you with an easy cleanup. Toasting the orzo before adding the broth adds another layer of flavor. Another dark leafy green like chopped kale or Swiss chard can stand in for the spinach, but may take longer to wilt in the pan. If you use a sturdier green, add it to the pan during the last 5 minutes of cooking time. View Recipe 03 of 18 Chickpea & Potato Curry This fast Indian-style curry comes together with ingredients you most likely have on hand, like frozen peas and canned tomatoes and chickpeas. Plus, using these spices shows how simple it is to make a curry sauce for an easy vegetarian recipe. Serve with whole-wheat naan to sop it all up. View Recipe 04 of 18 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. View Recipe 05 of 18 Skillet Gnocchi with Shrimp & Asparagus The gnocchi cooks right in the skillet, along with shrimp, shallots, asparagus and Parmesan cheese, in this gnocchi recipe. Look for shelf-stable gnocchi near other pasta. Serve with baby arugula salad with vinaigrette and a glass of pinot grigio. View Recipe 06 of 18 Baked Chicken with Onions & Leeks Baking pieces of chicken is one of the easiest ways to put a meal on the table for your family. This mustard-glazed chicken is roasted on a bed of sliced onions, leeks and garlic that you can serve alongside it. View Recipe 07 of 18 Crispy Salmon Rice Bowl Ali Redmond Tender pieces of salmon get a sweet and crispy coating thanks to sweet and savory teriyaki glaze in this salmon rice bowl. Because the glaze is sweet and sugar can burn easily, it’s best to roast the salmon pieces without it, then apply the glaze to cook for just a few minutes under the broiler. We love crunchy cucumber and creamy avocado as toppings, but feel free to add whatever toppings you like best for your own spin on this easy meal. If you can’t find Sriracha mayo, you can make your own by mixing mayo and Sriracha to your preferred spice level. View Recipe 08 of 18 Spiced Cauliflower Chraime Micah Siva Chraime is a spicy North African fish stew, popular with Sephardic Jews for Rosh Hashana, Passover and Shabbat. The word “chraime” has roots in an Arabic word meaning “hot.” This meatless version highlights cauliflower, stewed until tender, studded with plump and juicy golden raisins and drizzled with date syrup. Served over couscous, rice or quinoa, this sweet and spicy tomato-based stew is a great weeknight meal. Excerpted from Nosh: Plant-Forward Recipes Celebrating Modern Jewish Cuisine, by Micah Siva. Copyright 2024 by Micah Siva. Published by The Collective Book Studio. Reprinted with permission. View Recipe 09 of 18 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. View Recipe 10 of 18 Padma Lakshmi's Tandoori Chicken Salad Padma Lakshmi's tandoori salad features chicken marinated in yogurt and plenty of spices, along with lots of crunchy vegetables including cucumber, cabbage, jicama and radishes. Her technique of cooking the chicken in its marinade and then using that cooked marinade as a salad dressing is genius—it infuses the salad with tons of flavor. View Recipe 11 of 18 Turkey & Leek Shepherd's Pie The mashed potato-covered shepherd's pie was originally created to use up the leftovers from a festive roast. This version blends peas, leeks and carrots with diced turkey, all in a creamy herb sauce. The dish is a perfect way to create a second meal with the holiday turkey but if you like, use leftover roast chicken, duck or goose. View Recipe 12 of 18 Chicken & Cucumber Pita Sandwiches with Yogurt Sauce Cucumbers do double duty in this healthy Greek-inspired chicken pita recipe—they're grated to lend a refreshing flavor to the quick cucumber-yogurt sauce and sliced to provide cool crunch tucked into the pita. Serve these sandwiches for a healthy dinner or light lunch. View Recipe 13 of 18 Slow-Cooker Sun-Dried Tomato & Spinach Pasta Bake Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Lydia Purcell This simple vegetarian pasta bake is rich in protein and comes together effortlessly in the slow cooker, for a convenient one-pot meal. The combination of sun-dried tomatoes, sun-dried tomato pesto and plenty of veggies delivers a mix of sweet and savory flavors with every bite. Feel free to replace the sun-dried tomato pesto with basil pesto, offering a fresh twist on the dish. View Recipe 14 of 18 Gat Kimchi Bokkeum Bap (Mustard-Green Kimchi Fried Rice) Cooling cooked rice is key here—it dries out the rice and firms it up so it doesn't stick together when it's fried, yielding fluffier results. Read more about this recipe. View Recipe 15 of 18 Pastrami-Spiced Beef with Sauerkraut-Broccoli Slaw Pre-prepped veggies and sauerkraut are the secret to making this healthy dinner recipe super-fast. Find broccoli slaw mix in most supermarkets near the other coleslaw mixes, and refrigerated fresh sauerkraut near the hot dogs. If you have the time and want to make your own broccoli slaw, shred broccoli stems through the large holes of a box grater. View Recipe 16 of 18 Lentil & Roasted Vegetable Salad with Green Goddess Dressing Goddess dressing typically gets its umami-ness from anchovies, but we use miso in this super green salad recipe to keep it vegetarian. Substitute 2 chopped anchovies for the miso if you like. Or add baked tofu, poached salmon or grilled chicken for a boost of protein. View Recipe 17 of 18 Vegan Cauliflower Fettuccine Alfredo with Kale In this date-night-worthy vegan fettuccine Alfredo recipe, cooked cauliflower transforms into a rich, luscious sauce when it's blended with softened cashews. A high-speed blender will give you the creamiest results. Opt for whole-wheat fettuccine to add fiber to this vegan pasta recipe. View Recipe 18 of 18 Sheet-Pan Harissa Chicken & Vegetables This one-pan dinner gets a hit of flavorful heat from harissa, the popular North African chile-and-garlic paste. We use harissa paste from a tube for this recipe. It's got a concentrated chile flavor that makes an excellent spice rub for chicken and adds a subtle punch of heat to a refreshing herbed yogurt sauce. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit