Best Dinner Recipes for Weight Loss - Low-Calorie & Delicious
Make dinner the healthiest meal of your day with our range of weight loss dinner recipes. Designed to satisfy your cravings while helping you stay on track, these low-calorie meals are perfect for an evening of nutritious eating. Enjoy hearty recipes that incorporate real food ingredients, providing you with the necessary nutrients to keep you full and satisfied. From vegetarian meals to high-protein dinners, our recipes are both delicious and supportive of your weight loss journey.
Pimento cheese is such a delicious Southern dish, used commonly as a dip for crackers and crudité or spread between two slices of bread for an easy sandwich! Cheddar cheese is mixed with – you guessed it – pimentos (which are a type of roasted red pepper that comes in a jar). This recipe uses whipped cream cheese. This will make it super spreadable, even straight from the fridge. We’ll also add pickled jalapeños for a tangy zing. You’ll love this easy 5-minute recipe!
First off, if you’ve never had pimento cheese, welcome to your new favorite thing to eat! This is a delicious and versatile recipe commonly enjoyed in the South in the United States. A blend of grated cheddar cheese, pimentos (you know, the little chopped red peppers that you sometimes find in the hole of a green olive?), cream cheese, mayo, and spices.
Sometimes, a jalapeño is added for a little extra crunch and spice. For this version, I opted to use pickled jalapeños instead of a fresh one, which added a nice sweet and tangy flavor (I used my favorite Hot & Sweet Jalapeños from Trader Joe’s).
…GET THE RECIPE for Pimento Cheese (A Southern-Style dip and sandwich spread)!
Here’s a delicious spring recipe: Lemony Orzo with Spring Vegetables, packed with all the delicious green spring vegetables you love like asparagus, leeks, peas, and spinach. Everything is tossed with olive oil, lemon, and garlic, along with lots of fresh spring herbs like dill and chives. I love adding feta cheese to it as well, but you can leave it out if it’s not your thing. You’ll love this easy, one-pot, plant-based, incredibly nutritious and flavorful, risotto-like recipe!
The thing that makes this recipe extra delicious and special: the dressing/sauce is added AFTER cooking everything. It’s made from a simple blend of extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice and zest, and fresh minced garlic. All three of these ingredients change in taste when they are cooked. Adding these ingredients to the orzo off-heat ensures that their taste stays pure – the olive oil stays fruity and peppery, the lemon nice and bright, and the garlic, warmed just slightly from the warmth of the pasta, infuses into every bite.
To serve, I like to drizzle with even more olive oil (I’ve been loving Brightland olive oil lately – it’s not cheap, but great for a little drizzle of something special!), and top with some crumbled feta and extra herbs.
…GET THE RECIPE for Lemony Orzo with Spring Vegetables, Garlic, and Herbs!
These mini blueberry scones are such a fun and delicious treat! If a blueberry muffin, a southern-style biscuit, and a bakery scone were able to somehow combine forces, this would be the result. These are buttery and soft, with pops of sweetness from the fresh blueberries (though you can use frozen if you want). And because they are small in size, this batch makes a ton (more than three dozen!) that you can easily stash in your freezer for when the mood strikes!
Fair warning: scones can be a bit finicky to make. The dough tends to be both dry and sticky at the same time and can be kind of hard to shape. But the good thing? This batch makes a TON (so your hard work will be rewarded with sooooo many mini scones!). And they’re kind of fun in a messy way!
And regardless of how the scones look in the end, these end up being so delicious. Similar to biscuits, you can gather any scraps that didn’t quite shape up well, reform them, and reshape them.
I love making a batch of these and keeping them in my freezer for when the mood for a blueberry scone strikes.
This Turkey Chili is such a easy, healthy, and delicious recipe, cooked in the slow cooker, on the stovetop, or in your Instant Pot! It’s super flavorful and nutritious (chock full of veggies – zucchini, corn, tomatoes, and peppers, black beans, and lean ground turkey). It’s a cheap recipe to make, especially because the whole batch uses only one pound of ground turkey.
This turkey chili is a lighter version of chili – with no beef and stuffed with veggies. It’s packed full of flavor with onions, garlic, and spices – smoked paprika, chili powder. The cocoa powder is my secret chili ingredient that gives it a velvety smooth texture and mole-like flavor!
It couldn’t be easier to make. And like most chili recipes, the longer it cooks, the more flavor it develops. If you’re making it on the stovetop, you can get away with a 30 minute simmering time, but when I made this I let it simmer away for four hours on the back burner and the flavor was just *chef’s kiss*.
This low and slow cooking method makes this turkey chili a great candidate for a slow cooker or pressure cooker as well – and I’ll provide instructions below for all three cooking methods.
…GET THE RECIPE for Turkey Chili with Veggies and Black Beans (Crockpot, Stovetop, + Instant Pot)!
This easy shredded carrot salad features sweet raw carrots in all their glory tossed in a simple lemon honey dijon vinaigrette with parsley and green onions. A food processor makes easy work of shredding the carrots, but a vegetable peeler or box grater (or buying a bag of pre-shredded!) also works well! This is a delicious French carrot salad, an easy side dish to make, and a unique change from lettuce-based or green salads. And it only takes 10 minutes!
I love the taste of raw carrots but you know what? I’m not a fan of all the chewing. Sometimes you don’t want to work so hard, you know? Enter: shredded carrot salad. A classic French recipe, these carrots are grated small and thin, and when tossed with a simple vinaigrette dressing (no mayonnaise here!), they soften quite a bit to the perfect texture. It reminds me of coleslaw.
The other day I was putzing around in my veggie garden area to start prepping for spring and found a bunch of carrots that had survived the winter! I knew I had to make something special with them, and I didn’t want to cook them to smithereens since I knew they would be extra sweet from the cold weather.
…GET THE RECIPE for Shredded Carrot Salad with Herbs and Dijon Vinaigrette!
Have you ever heard of Rhode Island Clam Chowder? This clear broth clam chowder has no cream or milk, and is a lighter clam chowder than other versions. It’s so simple and easy to make in only 30 minutes, especially because this version uses canned clams (but feel free to use fresh if you want!).
You’ve heard of New England clam chowder, and maybe you’ve heard of Manhattan clam chowder (which has tomatoes in it), but have you ever heard of clear broth clam chowder from Rhode Island (and Connecticut)? It’s simple, delicious, easy to make, and lighter than its creamy counterpart. Plus, because it has no cream or milk in it, it’s easy to make it dairy-free (though I love adding a little butter for flavor and richness).
Rhode Island has so many unique cuisines specific to the area. From bakery pizza (which honestly I just don’t get) to stuffies to clamcakes and coffee milk, it’s amazing how much is unique to the tiny state! And this clear broth Rhode Island clam chowder is a staple in the area.
…GET THE RECIPE for Rhode Island Clam Chowder (Clear Broth Chowder)!
This No Knead Cinnamon Raisin Bread bakes up perfectly in a Dutch Oven with a short, two-hour rise time! A Dutch oven traps the steam inside while the bread bakes, resulting in a tall, fluffy loaf with a perfectly brown crusty crust. This cinnamon raisin version adds raisins, rehydrated with warm water to make them extra plump and juicy, with cinnamon and sugar mixed directly into the dough. It couldn’t be easier to make, even for beginner bakers!
The basic recipe for Dutch Oven No Knead Bread has consistently been Bowl of Delicious’s most popular recipe for years now, and for good reason! My super detailed, fast, easy, and hands-off approach yields an amazing result every time.
You all have been asking for variations on the basic recipe for a while now, so here you are! I’m wicked excited about this cinnamon raisin version of my crusty artisan no knead bread recipe.
In this recipe, the raisins are rehydrated with warm water before adding to the dough, making them more plump and moist. Any raisins on the surface of the bread won’t dry out with baking. The dough also has a little sugar in it, making it slightly sweet but not too sweet (with the option of adding more sugar if you wish).
…GET THE RECIPE for No Knead Cinnamon Raisin Bread (Dutch Oven)!
Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup is the ultimate comfort food – creamy, simple, and easy to make with only a few ingredients. Using rotisserie chicken is an easy shortcut that guarantees flavorful chicken (and you don’t have to fuss with raw chicken!). Enriched rice, which has less starch in it than other kinds, helps guarantee the creamy chicken rice soup leftovers will be great without the rice getting mushy. You’ll love this easy comforting soup recipe!
This creamy chicken and rice soup recipe is roughly based on my Chicken and Dumplings recipe, which is one of Bowl of Delicious’s most popular recipes. That recipe adds fresh thyme to the dumplings, and this chicken and rice soup uses fresh thyme in the soup itself. But no fussing with dumplings here! You get a lot of the same flavor with less work.
And because we’re using enriched rice here (also known as converted or parboiled rice), the leftovers hold up really well. This kind of rice is less starchy than others, which prevents it from getting too mushy in the soup. This means you can make a big pot of this soup and enjoy it all week, or freeze some for later!
Kourabiedes (kourambiethes) are one of the most delicious Greek cookies, perfect for Christmas time (to me, they look like little snowballs!). Simple butter cookies with plenty of chopped, toasted almonds in the dough are baked with a festive whole clove in the center, then piled with powdered sugar for a deliciously simple, melt-in-your-mouth, classic Greek Christmas cookie.
This is my grandmother, Aggie’s, recipe, and it’s extremely simple. Some other recipes for Kourabiedes have egg, vanilla, baking soda, and other ingredients you find commonly in cookie recipes. Some recipes also include rose water or orange blossom water.
My grandmother’s recipe is more like a shortbread, with only five ingredients – butter, powdered sugar, flour, almonds, and whole cloves. It makes for a delicious texture that’s somewhere in-between melt-in-your-mouth and satisfyingly crumbly, the warm flavor and aroma of the clove imbued throughout.
Kourabiedes are popular Greek Christmas cookies, but also are made for other festive occasions like weddings. My Aunt Viki made them for my bridal shower years ago, and as the family expert in Greek cooking and recipes passed down from my grandmother, I consulted heavily with her on this recipe.
…GET THE RECIPE for Kourabiedes (Greek Butter and Almond Cookies)!
These Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts with bacon give these delicious vegetable the respect they deserve! Cooking the bacon on a baking sheet while the oven preheats saves time and dishes and cooks it to crispy perfection. Then, the Brussels sprouts are tossed with the bacon grease left on the baking sheet, along with maple syrup, salt, and pepper, then roasted until perfectly crispy and browned.
Brussels sprouts can be a somewhat divisive vegetable. Many of us grew up eating mushy, steamed, under-seasoned Brussels sprouts that did nothing to hide their natural bitterness and strong flavor.
But I’m a firm believer that if you treat Brussels sprouts with the respect they deserve, they can be one of the most delicious vegetables on the planet. To do this, we focus on creating a texture and flavor that brings out the best of these humble vegetables.
Roasting the Brussels sprouts helps create a crispy and browned texture on the outside, with tenderness on the inside. And the combination of sweetness from the maple syrup, as well as smoky salty flavor from the bacon, complements the flavor of the sprouts.
This recipe employs a clever shortcut that will save you time and dishes.
…GET THE RECIPE for Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon!
Portuguese Kale Soup is so much more than just greens or kale! Traditionally, Portuguese smoked sausages, such as chouriço or linguiça, are used as the meaty base, with beans added as well as potatoes, making for an incredibly hearty and nourishing soup. If you can’t get your hands on Portuguese sausages, you can easily use a Spanish chorizo, Kielbasa, or another smoked sausage of your choice. You’ll love the little bit of apple cider vinegar added at the end!
I’m all about a dinner soup! You know, a soup that has everything you need for it to be a complete meal? Protein, starch, and veggies all in one. It’s a soul-warming one-pot meal that will leave you satisfied. (Though I wouldn’t say no to a side of crusty buttered no knead bread here, either).
You’ll love Portuguese Kale Soup, a staple in Portuguese cuisine. Living in Rhode Island, it was easy for me to get my hands on some linguiça and chouriço for this recipe, both common Portuguese sausages. But you can use any smoked sausage you have available to make it – kielbasa, Spanish chorizo, etc.
This easy pumpkin hummus whips up in 5 minutes in your food processor! Adding pumpkin puree to homemade hummus adds a vegetable, a little sweet flavor, and a gorgeous orange color to the popular dip. Curry powder, turmeric, and a little cayenne add deep savory and peppery flavor that complements the sweetness of the pumpkin. Serve this pumpkin hummus as a dip with pita bread, crackers, or crudité, spread on toast for an easy breakfast, or use any other way you enjoy hummus!
Oh hello there, fall baker. Did you use one cup of pumpkin puree from the can and now have about ¾ of a cup left to use? (Hi, it’s me. Leftover puree from making Pumpkin Tiramisu last week!).
Well then, let me humbly suggest that you whip up a batch of pumpkin hummus to use it up. A delicious dip made savory with the addition of curry and other spices, and a wonderful break from the usual sweet fare in which cooking with pumpkin usually results.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Canned Chickpeas – white beans, cooked red lentils, or other light colored legumes will work (keep in mind they may affect the texture of the hummus) – plus the chickpea liquid (aquafaba).
Introducing a fall twist on a decadent classic: Pumpkin Chai Tiramisu! This easy recipe features pumpkin puree added to the cream mixture, and ladyfingers dipped into chai concentrate instead of espresso (and a bit of spiced rum if you’re so inclined!). This autumn-inspired pumpkin tiramisu is perfect for all your fall gatherings, and – dare I say it? – an excellent alternative to pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dessert (especially because it can be made a day or two in advance). The mascarpone cream mixture also happens to be egg-free, and no baking required!
If you’re looking for a festive fall dessert to add to your repertoire, look no further! Pumpkin chai tiramisu is perfect for any occasion – Thanksgiving, halloween, Christmas, or any time that fall baking mood strikes.
But here’s the thing about tiramisu – there’s no actual baking involved. At all. I’m all about a no-bake dessert! And since it can be made in advance (and is actually BETTER if served after 24 hours or so), you’ll be thrilled at how easy and stress-free, yet impressive, this tiramisu is.
This Gochujang Tofu recipe is packed with sweet, spicy, and tangy flavor, and it cooks up incredibly quickly in a skillet! The tofu is torn into small pieces before coating in cornstarch and pan-frying – the small size resulting in more surfaces to crisp up and coat in delicious sauce! The sweet and spicy sauce features a base of Gochujang, a fermented Korean chili paste that’s readily available in most grocery stores (which you’ll want to start adding to everything!).
I love serving this Gochujang tofu in a bowl with rice, sprinkled with green onions, cilantro, and sesame seeds. It would also be great in a Korean-inspired taco situation!
This recipe couldn’t be easier, and it only takes about 20 minutes to make. It’s a delicious protein-packed plant-based meal (say that 10 times fast).
While tofu can be a bit bland and boring on its own, there are some tricks for making it super flavorful. Aside from coating in this delicious Gochujang sauce, for best results, I recommend freezing and defrosting the tofu before using. This gives it a more porous, chicken-like texture. Pressing the tofu to rid it of its liquid can also help the flavor and texture of tofu.
…GET THE RECIPE for Spicy Gochujang Tofu!
Here’s the perfect way to use those juicy, ripe, end-of-summer tomatoes – Fresh Tomato and Basil sauce for pasta, meatballs, pizza and flatbreads, and more! Using a little tomato paste enhances the flavor and texture, while grating the tomatoes is an easy way to simultaneously remove the skins and crush them – no need for blanching. Garlic flavor is subtly infused throughout, with fresh basil leaves and some (optional) butter added at the end for a wonderfully simple, rich, from-scratch tomato sauce made with fresh tomatoes.
I realize I’m “supposed” to be posting apple and pumpkin recipes since it’s “September” and I’m a “food blogger” but alas, the weather and my garden disagrees. It’s 90 degrees and wicked humid and I have a huge pile of ripe tomatoes beckoning to fulfill their delicious destiny. So here’s one more summer recipe to close out the season!
I’ve been on the search for a great from-scratch tomato sauce for pasta made with fresh tomatoes. Regular tomatoes – heirloom, slicing, etc. – not specifically San Marzano. This fresh tomato sauce is a wonderful solution for using any medium to large tomato. In fact, I think it’s better than Rao’s *gasp!* and my husband wholeheartedly agreed.
…GET THE RECIPE for Fresh Tomato Sauce with Basil and Garlic!
This Greek Zucchini Casserole, or Sfougato – which is very similar to a crustless quiche or frittata – features crumbled feta cheese and beaten eggs, along with green onion and herbs, all mixed together and baked in a rectangular pan. You can also use yellow summer squash, or a mixture of both here! I know I’m always looking for ways to use up my garden summer squash and zucchini, and this is a great way to pack a lot into one delicious and healthy recipe, perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner – and great for reheating all week.
Sfougato is a Greek baked egg dish, similar to a quiche, frittata, or baked omelette, but with the emphasis on the veggies instead of the eggs. We’ll use FOUR whole zucchini here – whereas a quiche or frittata focuses mostly on the eggs with a few extra ingredients, this casserole really features the zucchini squash in all its glory, the egg giving it structure and texture.
Like most recipes with zucchini, you can easily substitute yellow summer squash in this recipe, or use a mix. But I love how the vibrant green zucchini, herbs, and green onion permeate the whole thing – especially when topped with some bright red tomato slices (which are optional, but so pretty and delicious!).
…GET THE RECIPE for Greek Zucchini and Egg Casserole (Sfougato) with Feta and Herbs!
This Peach Caprese Salad is a delicious twist on the classic! It feature slices of fresh, juicy, ripe peaches amongst the traditional tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil. A sprinkling of Aleppo (or other spicy) pepper and drizzle of tangy balsamic vinegar provide the perfect complement to this sweeter-than-usual Caprese salad. This five-minute recipe is great as a side for grilled chicken or fish. Or, serve with bread, and you’ve got yourself the perfect light summertime meal!
A traditional Caprese salad features thick slices of ripe tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, and basil leaves. It’s drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. It’s delicious in its simplicity, and honestly, I could eat it every day, especially when the weather is warm and tomatoes are in season!
But sometimes you want to shake things up a bit, you know? Enter: PEACH Caprese Salad. It’s still gorgeously simple and allows all of the individual ingredients to shine. What a way to feature two of summer’s most delicious seasonal offerings: ripe peaches and tomatoes!
You can dress it simply with olive oil, salt, and pepper only, as a traditional Caprese salad recipe.
These Spanakopita Turkey Burgers are such a fun mashup of two of my favorite foods: burgers, and spanakopita (Greek spinach pie)! The burger patties are packed with veggies and flavor- a mix of fresh spinach, crumbled feta cheese, lemon, and dill, along with lean ground turkey (or chicken, or other ground meat). A simple lemony, garlicky Greek yogurt sauce with herbs is the perfect accompaniment to spread on the burgers when serving. And since they’re baked in the oven on parchment paper, clean-up is a breeze and you don’t have to worry about overcooking the turkey!
I’d be lying if I said I’d never met a turkey burger I didn’t like. I frequently don’t like them. When it comes to burgers, I’m usually a purist and go for beef.
BUT. Not anymore. All the usual problems of turkey burgers – the dryness, the blandness, the boringness – all go away with this recipe. All the flavor of spanakopita – in a high protein, burger form!
These turkey burgers are juicy! Baking them in the oven until they are just cooked to temperature ensures they don’t dry out from overcooking.
…GET THE RECIPE for Spanakopita Turkey Burgers with Yogurt Sauce!
This recipe for Spaghetti with Meat Sauce cooks in – you guessed it – only one pot! And you only need THREE INGREDIENTS! The dried spaghetti cooks directly in a mixture of ground beef, jarred sauce, and water, resulting in an almost absurdly easy dinner with only one pot to clean. As a bonus, all of the starch from the pasta stays in the sauce, resulting in a luxuriously thick sauce that sticks to every piece of spaghetti – no watery spaghetti here!
One pot pasta recipes are some of my favorite things to make on busy weeknights. Of course, there is the bonus of only having one pot to clean. But you also take a lot of the fuss out of cooking pasta – no straining, no saving pasta water to stir in the sauce, and it’s a much more hands-off approach.
I’ve already shared a few one pot pasta recipes here – one pot taco pasta, one pot sausage and spinach pasta, and one pot sausage and broccolini orecchiette. I’m excited to add this incredibly simple one pot spaghetti with meat sauce to the collection – especially because you only need THREE ingredients for it!
This recipe for Fish en Papillote (which is French for Fish in Parchment) couldn’t be easier – and talk about EASY cleanup! In this elegant recipe, cod (or another fish) is set atop sun-dried tomatoes, summer squash, corn, and green onions, then drizzled with lemon garlic herb butter and sprinkled with capers. The whole meal is wrapped in parchment paper, then baked. The parchment packet creates a seal that keeps the steam in while everything cooks, resulting in a perfectly flaky and moist result and infusing all of the flavors into the fish and veggies.
This recipe is another collaboration between me and my dad! A while back, I got to share his recipe for New England Fish Chowder, and you all LOVED IT. We’ve been planning yet another delicious (and easy!) fish recipe for some time now. Here it is – Cod en Papillote!
So why should you consider cooking fish in parchment paper? There are three main reasons:
- Easy clean-up! I’m telling you – this has to be the easiest, and cleanest, way to cook fish. The clean-up is incredibly minimal – everything is both cooked and served in a nice neat little parchment packet.
…GET THE RECIPE for Fish en Papillote (Cod in Parchment Paper) with Garlic Butter and Veggies!
These Spanakopita Turkey Burgers are such a fun mashup of two of my favorite foods: burgers, and spanakopita (Greek spinach pie)! The burger patties are packed with veggies and flavor- a mix of fresh spinach, crumbled feta cheese, lemon, and dill, along with lean ground turkey (or chicken, or other ground meat). A simple lemony, garlicky Greek yogurt sauce with herbs is the perfect accompaniment to spread on the burgers when serving. And since they’re baked in the oven on parchment paper, clean-up is a breeze and you don’t have to worry about overcooking the turkey!
I’d be lying if I said I’d never met a turkey burger I didn’t like. I frequently don’t like them. When it comes to burgers, I’m usually a purist and go for beef.
BUT. Not anymore. All the usual problems of turkey burgers – the dryness, the blandness, the boringness – all go away with this recipe. All the flavor of spanakopita – in a high protein, burger form!
These turkey burgers are juicy! Baking them in the oven until they are just cooked to temperature ensures they don’t dry out from overcooking.
…GET THE RECIPE for Spanakopita Turkey Burgers with Yogurt Sauce!
This Taco Salad recipe is so easy, so hearty, and so flavorful! Featuring ground turkey and black beans, this is a bit of a healthier take on taco salad, which usually features ground beef. This taco salad is packed with lean protein and nutrient-packed black beans, without skimping on flavor. Especially with the creamy avocado cilantro dressing drizzled on top! If you’re looking for a dinner salad the whole family will love, look no further.
I love a good dinner salad, especially in the summer. This recipe does require some more cooking than your typical salad, but it’s worth it. I personally cook some tortilla strips from scratch (which is super easy to do), though you can certainly use any tortilla chip you like. And the ground turkey, browned with taco seasoning and the black beans, only takes a few minutes to cook.
This taco salad features layers of cool, crunchy iceberg lettuce (which I personally love and think it often gets a bad rap), tomato, cheese, cilantro and onion, and the crunchy tortilla strips and warm, savory turkey and beans, all drizzled with the creamy tangy dressing. You’ll love all the different things going on in this easy recipe!
Move over, boring salads – this Mango Avocado Salad is in anything but! With a hearty boost of protein and flavor by adding spicy blackened tofu (or shrimp, or chicken!), this salad is packed full of sweet, salty, spicy flavors. With the creamy chunks of avocado as well as a creamy avocado lime dressing, you’ll be in salad heaven.
If you’re looking for a fresh new salad to add to your rotation, look no further. This mango avocado salad is anything but ordinary, bursting with unique flavors and hearty and satiating protein and healthy fats.
I’m a huge fan of sweet and spicy combinations, and mango is one of my favorite fruits to pair with spicy or savory foods. Whether it’s mango salsa with fresh jalapeño peppers, mango quinoa salad, shrimp ceviche, or blackened fish tacos topped with mango salsa, it’s a wonderful fruit to add to meals for naturally sweet flavor.
(Though I do acknowledge mangos can be kind of a pain in the neck to peel and cut, which is why I wrote a whole tutorial on two ways for how to cut a mango! And you can always buy them pre-cut.)
In this post I’ll take you through how to make the salad dressing super creamy and smooth, as well as how to blacken the tofu, and how to make the salad vegan, if that’s your thing.
…GET THE RECIPE for Mango Avocado Salad with Blackened Tofu!
This Israeli Couscous Salad (or Pearl Couscous Salad) is packed with fresh herbs, feta cheese, and Mediterranean ingredients like cucumbers, tomatoes, and olives. Toasting the couscous before cooking it adds a delicious, nutty flavor. This Mediterranean couscous salad is super flavorful and is sure to be your new favorite side dish or light meal!
Have you ever had Israeli, or pearl, couscous? It’s basically tiny circles of pasta. It has a wonderful chewy texture, a bit heartier tasting than the fluffier and smaller Moroccan-style couscous, and is the perfect base for a cold salad.
This recipe toasts the couscous in olive oil before adding water to the pot and cooking, resulting in a deliciously toasty, nutty flavor that enhances the whole recipe. I do this with my orzo pilaf recipe, too.
The cooked couscous is then tossed with a simple mixture of lemon juice, garlic, and extra-virgin olive oil, cooled, then mixed with refreshing Mediterranean ingredients like cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, herbs, and feta cheese.
This couscous salad is a delicious vegetarian side dish or light lunch, and is great paired with grilled halloumi, shrimp, or chicken. You could even add some cooked chickpeas to it to add some more protein and make it a meal.
…GET THE RECIPE for Mediterranean Israeli (Pearl) Couscous Salad!
This Taco Salad recipe is so easy, so hearty, and so flavorful! Featuring ground turkey and black beans, this is a bit of a healthier take on taco salad, which usually features ground beef. This taco salad is packed with lean protein and nutrient-packed black beans, without skimping on flavor. Especially with the creamy avocado cilantro dressing drizzled on top! If you’re looking for a dinner salad the whole family will love, look no further.
I love a good dinner salad, especially in the summer. This recipe does require some more cooking than your typical salad, but it’s worth it. I personally cook some tortilla strips from scratch (which is super easy to do), though you can certainly use any tortilla chip you like. And the ground turkey, browned with taco seasoning and the black beans, only takes a few minutes to cook.
This taco salad features layers of cool, crunchy iceberg lettuce (which I personally love and think it often gets a bad rap), tomato, cheese, cilantro and onion, and the crunchy tortilla strips and warm, savory turkey and beans, all drizzled with the creamy tangy dressing. You’ll love all the different things going on in this easy recipe!
Make this creamy, dreamy, tangy homemade ranch dressing recipe in 5 minutes, with common ingredients. It’s the best for salads or as a dip! Get The Recipe
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This pesto salmon recipe with tomatoes is a fast, easy, flavorful weeknight dinner in around 20 minutes! You need just 4 simple ingredients. Get The Recipe
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Make this 5-minute homemade basil pesto recipe with basil, pine nuts, parmesan, garlic, & olive oil. This sauce tastes amazing on everything! Get The Recipe
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This easy Instant Pot egg bites recipe tastes creamy like the Starbucks ones, with just 4 ingredients: eggs, bacon, cheese, & milk or cream. Get The Recipe
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Spice up dinner with my Cajun shrimp recipe! You’ll love this juicy shrimp seasoned with Cajun spices, cooked in butter and served with lemon. Get The Recipe
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Make this Korean beef bowl recipe with ground beef, flavorful sauce, cauliflower rice, and cucumbers. An easy 20-minute weeknight meal! Get The Recipe
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Make this buffalo cauliflower recipe with simple ingredients! These cauliflower bites bring the heat of your favorite wings in veggie form. Get The Recipe
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This Asian chicken lettuce wraps recipe is better than PF Chang’s! Make it in 20 minutes with ground chicken, veggies and irresistible sauce. Get The Recipe
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Make this creamy, dreamy, tangy homemade ranch dressing recipe in 5 minutes, with common ingredients. It’s the best for salads or as a dip! Get The Recipe
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Make this creamy, dreamy, tangy homemade ranch dressing recipe in 5 minutes, with common ingredients. It’s the best for salads or as a dip! Get The Recipe
Want more like this? Visit Wholesome Yum for more of my easy, healthy recipes with 10 ingredients or less!
Make this buffalo cauliflower recipe with simple ingredients! These cauliflower bites bring the heat of your favorite wings in veggie form. Get The Recipe
Want more like this? Visit Wholesome Yum for more of my easy, healthy recipes with 10 ingredients or less!
This Asian chicken lettuce wraps recipe is better than PF Chang’s! Make it in 20 minutes with ground chicken, veggies and irresistible sauce. Get The Recipe
Want more like this? Visit Wholesome Yum for more of my easy, healthy recipes with 10 ingredients or less!
Make this creamy, dreamy, tangy homemade ranch dressing recipe in 5 minutes, with common ingredients. It’s the best for salads or as a dip! Get The Recipe
Want more like this? Visit Wholesome Yum for more of my easy, healthy recipes with 10 ingredients or less!