21 Heart-Healthy Dinners You’ll Want to Make This Spring
Make the most of spring’s bountiful produce with these delicious recipes. Whether the dish spotlights mushrooms, spinach, peas or asparagus, you’ll love the mix of fresh seasonal flavor on your plate. Each of these meals is low in saturated fat and sodium, per our heart-healthy nutrition parameters, so you can help protect your heart too. Recipes like our Sheet-Pan Balsamic Chicken & Asparagus and Slow-Cooker Sun-Dried Tomato & Spinach Pasta Bake are tasty, healthy ways to bring in spring.
Sheet-Pan Balsamic Chicken & Asparagus
Ali Redmond
Chicken cutlets are coated in a tangy-sweet balsamic glaze, roasting right alongside tender asparagus for an easy, well-balanced dinner. It’s a simple one-pan meal that’s perfect for busy weeknights.
Buddha’s Delight
Photographer: Jacob Fox, Food Stylist: Sammy Mila, Prop Stylist: Gabriel Greco
With its roots in Buddhist tradition, this dish can be found on the tables of many Cantonese families on the first day of the Lunar New Year but it’s a great dinner year-round. While bean thread noodles are a must, you can use a variety of veggies. This version’s earthy flavor comes from rehydrated mushrooms combined with napa cabbage, snow peas, carrots and baby corn.
Sheet-Pan Salmon & Shaved Brussels Sprouts
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey, Prop Stylist: Priscilla Montiel
Cooked entirely on one pan, this dish combines tender, flaky salmon with crispy roasted Brussels sprouts, all brought together with a zesty lemon-roasted garlic drizzle. It’s quick, flavorful and makes cleanup a breeze—perfect for busy evenings!
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.
Skillet Salmon with Orzo & Green Pea Pesto
Photographer: Rachel Marek, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop stylist: Gabriel Greco
This delightful one-pan dinner combines salmon fillets with fresh green pea pesto and orzo pasta. Green pea pesto adds a unique twist to the traditional pesto, bringing a hint of sweetness, body and a vibrant green color to your plate.
Chickpea Pasta with Mushrooms & Kale
Loading up your pasta with vegetables like the kale and mushrooms here is not only delicious, it also makes the meal more satisfying.
Veggie Fajitas
Photographer: Jacob Fox, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop stylist: Joseph Wanek
These veggie fajitas are packed with sweet bell pepper and red onion. Creamy avocado and warm tortillas complete the meal. The veggies alone make a great meal-prep recipe to have on hand.
Spaghetti with Creamy Lemon-Spinach Sauce
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle
Give your veggie servings a boost with this easy spaghetti with spinach sauce recipe. Loosely inspired by the flavors of classic pesto, this vibrant pasta packs in plenty of spinach and basil with a garnish of nutty walnuts and savory Parmesan cheese. Serve with a drizzle of good olive oil and a green salad on the side.
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.
Creamy Chicken Florentine Casserole
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Lindsey Lower
This creamy chicken Florentine casserole combines tender pieces of chicken, fresh spinach and a rich, creamy sauce, all baked to perfection with a golden, cheesy crust.
Bhel Puri-Inspired Salad
Ali Redmond
This flavorful salad was inspired by bhel puri, a type of chaat (savory snack) served across India, and features puffed quinoa and lentils for extra protein and fiber.
Chicken, Spinach & Feta Wraps
Photographer: Grant Webster, Food Stylist: Addelyn Evans, Prop Stylist: Gabe Greco
This chicken, spinach and feta wrap recipe is elevated by the convenience of rotisserie chicken and the scrumptious flavor of sun-dried tomatoes. Whisk together the easy dressing, toss with the chicken, add spinach and wrap it all together for a delicious lunch.
Crispy Salmon Rice Bowl
Ali Redmond
Tender pieces of salmon get a sweet and crispy coating thanks to a sweet and savory teriyaki glaze in this salmon rice bowl. We love crunchy cucumber and creamy avocado as toppings, but feel free to add whatever veggies you like best.
Braised Lentils & Kale with Fried Eggs
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Melissa Gray, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster
These braised lentils are cooked with tender kale and bathed in a fire-roasted tomato broth with an egg on top to pack in the protein. We like how the soft, runny yolk coats the dish.
Teriyaki Chicken Skillet Casserole with Broccoli
Photographer: Brie Goldman, Food Stylist: Lauren McAnelly, Prop Stylist: Gabriel Greco
Whip up this quick and easy teriyaki chicken casserole in just one skillet—it’s the perfect go-to recipe for hectic weeknights that’s sure to satisfy a crowd.
Broccoli & Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Salad
We’ve loaded this healthy pasta salad with vegetables and bright flavors. Sun-dried tomatoes and a touch of lemon zest jazz up the dressing, while tender-crisp broccoli florets cook alongside the pasta, making assembly (and cleanup!) a breeze.
Creamy Pesto Shrimp with Gnocchi & Peas
Photographer: Greg DuPree, Prop stylist: Shell Royster, Food stylist: Emily Hall
This speedy dinner combines shrimp with pillowy gnocchi, pesto and peas in a creamy sauce. For a bit of heat, sprinkle in some crushed red pepper, or garnish with grated Parmesan cheese to enhance the savory flavor.
Quinoa, Avocado & Chickpea Salad over Mixed Greens
Protein-rich quinoa and chickpeas add staying power to this zesty and healthy salad recipe.
Basil Pesto Pasta with Grilled Vegetables
This dish is an easy way to turn grilled vegetables into a satisfying meal, thanks to hearty whole-grain pasta and a quick homemade pesto.
Skillet Lemon-Garlic Salmon
This ultra-quick one-skillet lemon-garlic salmon recipe features plenty of lemony flavors from both zest and juice. Garlic adds a savory note.
Pesto Shrimp Pasta
Using a packaged pesto sauce mix saves time in this 20-minute recipe with savory shrimp and orzo.
