5 Five-Ingredient Healthy Dinner Recipes (2024)

July 20, 2015

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These 5-ingredient meals will take you from Monday to Friday.

Sometimes just looking at a recipe can seem overwhelming when the ingredient list is a mile long. Who wants to do all that chopping and sautéing after a long day at work? So for weeknights, I like to keep things simple. That means relying on recipes that are healthy, flavorful, and best of all, have just five main ingredients (aside from staples that I always have on hand, like oil, vinegar, herbs, salt and pepper). That way, I can get dinner on the table in a flash and enjoy the rest of my evening. Netflix anyone?

Salmon and Heirloom Tomato Couscous with Green Beans

INGREDIENTS

• Canola oil
• 4 (4-ounce) pieces salmon
• 1 large lime
• salt, pepper, and garlic powder
• 1 box whole-grain wheat couscous, roasted garlic and olive oil flavor
• ½ pound yellow, red, and orange heirloom tomatoes, chopped
• 1 (12-ounce) bag frozen green beans

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add a drizzle of oil to glass pan and place the salmon in the pan skin-side down. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 lime over the top of the salmon and sprinkle to taste with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cover with foil and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until cooked through.

Meanwhile, prepare couscous according to package directions and steam green beans according to package directions. Squeeze the juice from the other half of the lime over the steamed green beans and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, to taste.

Add chopped tomatoes to the cooked couscous. Fluff couscous mixture with a fork, and serve hot or cold with salmon on top and green beans on the side. Makes 4 servings.

THE SKINNY: 380 calories, 8.5g fat, 0.5g sat fat, 0g trans fat, 38g carbs, 5g fiber, 35g protein

Lettuce-less Greek Salad

INGREDIENTS

• ½ medium cucumber, chopped
• ½ cup tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olives, pitted
• ¼ cup red onion, sliced
• ¼ cup feta cheese
• ½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

Toss the first 5 ingredients together. Whisk the oil and vinegar together and drizzle over salt. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serves 1.

THE SKINNY: 230 calories, 16g fat, 7g sat fat, 0g trans fat, 14g carbs, 3g fiber, 8g protein

Black Bean and Chicken Tostada

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (8-inch) corn tortilla
• ½ cup black bean salsa, such as Newman’s Own
• 3 ounces grilled chicken, cut into strips
• ¼ avocado, sliced
• 1 tablespoon nonfat plain Greek yogurt

DIRECTIONS

Preheat broiler. Place tortilla under broiler until slightly brown and crisp. Top with salsa, chicken, avocado, and Greek yogurt. Serves 1.

THE SKINNY: 340 calories, 14g fat, 3g sat fat, 0g trans fat, 23g carbs, 8g fiber, 32g protein

Shrimp Pasta Primavera

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup dry whole wheat penne pasta
• 8 ounces shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 cup frozen broccoli, steamed according to package directions
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 teaspoons of fresh garlic or 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder (whichever you have on hand)
• Italian herb blend, to taste
• Salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

Cook the penne according to package directions. Drain, reserving 2 tablespoons of the starchy water that the pasta was cooked in. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. If using fresh garlic, add it when the oil gets hot and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute until fragrant, stirring constantly and using caution not to burn the garlic. Add the shrimp and cook until pink and cooked through, 2-3 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and garlic powder (if using) and remove from skillet and set aside.

Add the steamed broccoli and tomatoes to the same skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the penne and reserved pasta liquid into the skillet with the veggies. Cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Season with Italian herb blend and more salt and pepper (if desired), to taste. Add the shrimp back to the skillet and cook mixture for just about a minute more or until warm throughout. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese on the mixture and toss to combine. Serve immediately. Serves 2.

THE SKINNY: 380 calories, 11g fat, 2.5g sat fat, 0g trans fat, 38g carbs, 7g fiber, 33g protein

Pesto Veggie Pizza

INGREDIENTS

• 1 100 percent whole wheat thin pizza crust
• ½ cup pesto sauce
• ½ cup crumbled goat cheese
• 1 large tomato, sliced
• 12 pitted Kalamata olives

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven according to crust’s package directions. Spread the pesto sauce evenly over the crust. Top with sliced tomato, olives, and goat cheese. Bake according to crust’s package directions. Makes 3 servings (2 slices each).

THE SKINNY: 500 calories, 31g fat, 8g sat fat, 0g trans fat, 48g carbs, 9g fiber, 16g protein

Tags5-ingredient recipescooking at homehealthy recipesweeknight dinnersweeknight recipes

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