Struggling to manage your busy schedule and your healthy eating goals? Here are 31 healthy dinner recipes that can be made in under 30 minutes. You'll find recipes with chicken, beef, pork, salmon, shrimp, and meatless dinner ideas. Just the inspiration you need when time is tight!
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One of the number one obstacles that my readers email me about is a lack of time. Our lives are busy! You're running from the gym to work to home to an evening meeting. And that busy, jam-packed schedule often leaves us feeling like there's absolutely no time to make healthy dinners.
This is a big source of frustration for so many people. One minute you're excited about your new healthy eating routine. You've got your weekly meal plan and grocery list ready. You have your healthy pantry stocked.
And it all seems to come off the rails the moment you have a couple of hectic days. It can be so disappointing and it can even feel like the odds are stacked against you, where you're constantly having to make the choice between nutritious food and taking two minutes to breathe.
Here's the thing:
Cooking (and enjoying) healthy dinners shouldn't be a struggle. With that in mind, I've pulled together an entire month's worth of quick healthy dinner recipes that you can have on the table in under 30 minutes. They're perfect for busy weeknights (even if you only have an hour to squeeze dinner in).
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Easy 30-Minute Healthy Dinner Recipes That Are Delicious & Nutritious
Use these 30-minute meals on busy weeknights or even as part of your make-ahead meal prep session. Whether you want to cook chicken, beef, pork, salmon, shrimp or plant-based dinners, there's a healthy dinner idea here for every type of healthy eater.
When selecting your protein, be sure to look for organic, free-range, grass-fed and wild-caught. I find the easiest way to buy healthy, high-quality meat, chicken and fish is with ButcherBox. You can get grass-fed and grass-finished beef, free-range organic chicken, heritage breed pork, and wild-caught salmon delivered right to your door. So convenient and their meat is delicious! Get your first delivery here!
And there's more good news–if you've committed to a specific healthy eating plan (like keto, paleo or Whole30) many of these recipes will also work for you!
Quick Chicken Recipes
Chicken is a great protein to turn to when you're looking for fast dinner ideas. You can cook it quickly and it's so versatile. Here are healthy dinner recipes for oven-roasted chicken, chicken salad, chicken wings, chicken stir-fry, chicken soup and beyond.
Instant Pot Salsa Chicken
Love burrito bowls, chicken tacos, fajitas or simply want to meal prep some healthy chicken for whipping together quick weeknight meals? This Instant Pot salsa chicken (from frozen!)couldn't be easier! Only 2 ingredients, 3 minutes of prep time and absolutely no thawing–this is a meal that you don't even need to plan to make. So simple and delicious.
Total Time: 30 minutes
Quick Chicken Soup In A Hurry
What's better than a steaming bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup? A bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup that takes less than 30 minutes! This quick and easy chicken soup includes a clever alternative to traditional slow cooker soup recipes, but it's just as comforting and hearty. Try adding in cauliflower rice or zucchini noodles for an extra healthy twist.
Total Time: 30 minutes
Chili Roasted Chicken Thighs
These oven-roasted chili chicken thighs are just the thing when you need to get dinner on the table pronto! Only 5 key ingredients and 5 minutes of active prep time. The cooking time will leave you with just enough time to whip up a simple side salad and prepare your garnishes (I love serving this oven-roasted chicken dish with cilantro and lime). Easy peasy!
Total Time: 20 minutes
Chicken Salad with Grapes & Walnuts
This quick chicken salad recipe is a healthier version of your favorite sandwich filling. Packed with healthy protein, fats and vegetables, this easy no-cook chicken salad is perfect for make-ahead and on-the-go meals. It's even mayo-free (which is perfect for brown-bagging your lunch). And perfect for meal prepping in advance!
Total Time: 10 minutes
Turkey, Avocado & Raspberry Salad With Walnut Vinaigrette
All right, this turkey, avocado and raspberry salad is not technically a chicken recipe. This is a great recipe to turn to if you have leftover turkey on hand, but if not you can always substitute it for a chicken breast. This light dinner is so fast to pull together and filled with healthy protein and fats. And the walnut oil provides a unique flavor twist to a traditional olive oil-based vinaigrette.
Total Time: 10 minutes
Chicken Salad With Spinach & Strawberries
This chicken, strawberry and spinach salad is just the thing for using up left-over chicken breasts and homegrown strawberries. Perfect for summer! If you're on the fence about whether or not a salad will be filling enough for dinner, you need to try this recipe. The chicken helps make this recipe more filling, as do the walnuts and spinach. Bonus points: this healthy recipe is also perfect for make-ahead lunches!
Total Time: 15 minutes
Air Fryer Chicken Wings
If you love Buffalo chicken wings, you need to try this air fryer chicken wing recipe. Buffalo wings are usually deep-fried (aka not healthy at all), but this air fryer twist and homemade Buffalo sauce make this dish a little lighter. Not to mention a heck of a lot easier! Serve with a little ranch dressing and celery and carrot sticks for a nod to your favorite pub fare.
Total Time: 30 minutes
Grilled Chicken With Chimichurri Sauce
This grilled chicken with chimichurri sauce recipe is the perfect thing to throw on the BBQ, no matter how busy your weeknight is. Take a few minutes to make your chimichurri sauce the day before and let your chicken marinate overnight. This allows you to pull this recipe together in just under half an hour. I love serving this grilled chicken with a simple tomato cucumber salad.
Total Time: 20 minutes
Easy Chicken & Veggie Stir Fry With Zoodles
This easy chicken and veggie stir fry features zucchini noodles instead of the more traditional choices of rice or regular noodles. Those zoodles make this recipe lighter, healthier and much quicker to pull together. Best of all, this recipe is completely flexible–try customizing your stir fry using your favorite seasonal veggies.
Total Time: 25 minutes
Healthy Pork & Beef Recipes for Dinner
These quick pork and beef recipes are a great choice no matter whether you prefer sausage, ham, steak, ground beef or cured meats like prosciutto and salami. Here are lightning-fast healthy dinner recipes for healthy salads, lettuce wraps, an easy frittata and even some quick meatballs!
Antipasto Salad With Easy Italian Dressing
This healthy antipasto salad and homemade Italian dressing are so easy to throw together. Perfect for a quick no-cook weeknight dinner (or lunch!). No need to turn on the stove with this healthy dinner recipe–just a little slicing and dicing is all that's needed. I like to use a mix of prosciutto and salami (or pepperoni) plus a mix of vegetables, like olives, artichokes or even roasted red peppers. So delicious and so simple!
Total Time: 10 minutes
Sausage & Butternut Squash Frittata
Frittatas–like this sausage and butternut squash frittata recipe–are a quick and easy meal idea that's perfect no matter whether you're serving one for breakfast, lunch or dinner! And it's a great way to use up veggies you already have in your fridge. A little sausage and squash make this quick dinner filling and hearty, full of healthy protein and fats!
Total Time: 20 minutes
Instant Pot Ham With Honey Mustard Pomegranate Glaze
Whoever said ham was only for special occasions?! Not me. This Instant Pot ham recipe with honey mustard pomegranate glaze is sweet, tangy, and totally cook-able on a busy weeknight! You only need 5 ingredients and 5 minutes of prep time. This recipe is impressive enough to serve at Easter, Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner but fast enough for your regular meal plan.
Total Time: 25 minutes
Walnut Pear Bacon Salad With Pear Dressing
Topped with hard-boiled eggs and bacon, this walnut pear bacon salad has enough protein for a healthy no-cook dinner while still light enough to pack up the leftovers for lunch. And if the thought of hard-boiling eggs on the stovetop makes you cringe, I would highly recommend making your hard-boiled eggs in the instant pot. They cook and peel perfectly every time!
Total Time: 30 minutes
BLT Salad With Avocado & Chipotle Dressing
With this BLT salad with avocado and chipotle dressing, you get all the traditional BLT sandwich ingredients you love rolled into a nourishing salad. Filled with protein and healthy fat from the avocado, this salad is perfect for a light dinner. Especially when you're short on time. Cooking and assembly will take you just 20 minutes from start to finish. And if you have the bacon already cooked? You can have this salad served in under 10 minutes!
Total Time: 20 minutes
Honey Chipotle Meatballs
This honey chipotle meatballs recipe from The Paleo Cupboard paired with zucchini noodles or cauliflower rice is a great healthy dinner idea that takes barely any time to pull together! The recipe is mostly made up of pantry staples (like dried herbs and honey) and a mixture of ground beef and ground pork. The end result will mimic meatballs and noodles, but it is so much healthier for you!
Total Time: 25 minutes
Healthy Taco Salad Recipe With Ground Beef
This easy healthy taco salad recipe from WholesomeYum.com is a delicious twist for your next taco night! No taco shells (or taco bowls) here. Just crunchy veggies, taco meat and dressing! This recipe is packed with Mexican flavors. Take a shortcut in this recipe by using store-bought salsa, or you can make your own fresh tomato salsa.
Total Time: 20 minutes
Spicy Beef Lettuce Wraps
This spicy beef lettuce wrap recipe from ASaucyKitchen.com is the perfect choice if you're looking for a healthy dinner that's high in protein and only requires a single pan to pull together. This recipe gives you a couple of different variations if you're looking specifically for a dinner that's gluten free, low carb or paleo.
Total Time: 20 minutes
Easy Salmon & Shrimp Recipes
Shrimp and salmon recipes are the perfect protein choices for 30-minute meals because they cook so quickly! I highly recommend keeping a bag of frozen shrimp and some frozen sustainable salmon fillets in your freezer. These easy seafood recipes for shrimp pasta, a salmon sheet pan, quick salads and other quick fish recipes will show you why.
Easy Smoked Shrimp
So many people think smoking foods is time-consuming and hard, but these easy smoked shrimp are so quick and easy to pull together. The trick with smoking shrimp is to keep a close eye on them because they cook quite quickly! Try serving it with a simple salad and either an herb garlic sauce or your favorite dipping sauce.
Total Time: 25 minutes
Garlic Roasted Shrimp With Zucchini Pasta
This garlic roasted shrimp and zucchini pasta recipe is the perfect healthy weeknight to keep in your back pocket when time is tight. Shrimp take barely any time to cook–they're perfect if you're under a near-constant time crunch. And swapping traditional pasta out for zucchini noodles packs in extra veggies and keeps this healthy dinner recipe low carb and gluten free.
Total Time: 20 minutes
Easy Baked Salmon With Roasted Asparagus
This mustard crusted salmon and roasted asparagus recipe is a one-stop-shop for your healthy dinner needs. You only need 5 key ingredients and 5 minutes of prep time to pull this sheet pan dinner together. So quick and easy, and there are barely any dishes to clean! Try serving it with a simple garden salad if you want an additional side dish.
Total Time: 15 minutes
Shrimp & Arugula Salad
This shrimp and arugula salad might appear to be too simple for a weeknight dinner, but I assure you it's not. The simplicity of this recipe lets your healthy high-quality ingredients shine. And between the shrimp and avocado, this salad delivers in the healthy fats and protein departments, all while keeping the dish low in carbs. Perfect for a fast weeknight dinner!
Total Time: 10 minutes
Chimichurri Grilled Shrimp
This easy grilled shrimp recipe relies on the same delicious chimichurri sauce mentioned above in the chimichurri chicken recipe. If you wanted to really cut down on your weekly cooking chores, you could batch your chimichurri sauce for a make-ahead marinade that's ready to cook when you are. Serve these grilled shrimp with a quick salad to round out your dinner.
Total Time: 30 minutes
Easy Cioppino Seafood Stew
This easy cioppino seafood stew from CoastalWandering.com is the perfect recipe to turn to when you're looking for a quick and healthy weeknight dinner. This recipe is so easy to throw together with mostly pantry ingredients...but looks like a fancy meal! Best of all, there's hardly any prep required with this recipe. Simply combine your ingredients, simmer and enjoy!
Total Time: 30 minutes
Indian Salmon Curry Zucchini Noodles With Coconut Milk
This easy Indian salmon curry recipe from FoodFaithFitness.com requires barely any time or ingredients. And it's completely customizable. If you have a particular curry paste you love, feel free to swap it in. Keep this healthy salmon dinner in your back pocket and you'll always be prepared to whip up a delicious healthy meal at a moment's notice!
Total Time: 20 minutes
Quick Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes
Last but certainly not least, we end with a handful of quick vegetarian or vegan recipes. Whether you've committed to a plant-based diet or are simply looking to reduce your meat consumption, these super simple dinner recipes are the perfect choice for busy weeknight dinners.
Easy Broccoli Soup
This easy broccoli soup recipe tastes like your favorite cream of broccoli soup, but is completely free of dairy! Of course, you can pull this soup together in barely any time or you can even meal prep it in advance for quick make-ahead meals that just need to be reheated. Serve with a quick salad and healthy biscuit to round out your meal.
Total Time: 15 minutes
10-Minute Tomato Soup
Here's another healthy soup that can be whipped up in a flash. Keep this quick tomato soup in your back pocket when you want a nourishing feel-good soup but don't want to cook. This blender soup barely spends any time on the stove-top. It's that simple! And so much healthier than the canned tomato soup we all had as kids. Try serving it alongside a tuna-stuffed avocado (if you're not vegan) or a 3-minute English muffin.
Total Time: 10 minutes
Easy Cauliflower Soup
This cauliflower and celeriac soup is one of my favorite healthy dinner recipes. It's impossibly creamy and yet there's no dairy in sight! To keep this healthy soup strictly vegan, top it with coconut bacon. And if you're not worried about keeping your meal vegetarian, try topping this soup with a little crumbled duck bacon (or even regular bacon!).
Total Time: 25 minutes
Zucchini Pasta Pesto
This zucchini pasta pesto is the perfect healthy pasta dish to turn to when you want to get dinner on the table in a hurry. The zucchini noodles and dairy-free basil pesto sauce keep this dinner recipe light, as well as totally gluten-free and dairy-free. And while the short ingredient list is ideal for showcasing fresh seasonal veggies, this is truly a quick dinner idea for any time of the year.
Total Time: 25 minutes
Roasted Asparagus Avocado Soup
This creamy roasted asparagus and avocado soup is a great choice when you're looking to highlight fresh spring produce. If you're relatively new to healthy eating, avocado might seem like a strange ingredient to put in a soup. Trust me–it's delicious and gives this quick healthy dinner recipe a wonderfully decadent and silky texture. You can roast your asparagus in either the oven or in an air fryer. Easy and flexible!
Total Time: 20 minutes
Healthy Vegetarian Stir Fry With Cashew Cream Sauce
This easy healthy vegetarian stir fry with cashew cream sauce from FoodFaithFitness.com is a quick dinner idea that really packs in the veggies. You'll be serving this easy dinner in under 20 minutes, but it looks like it takes much longer to prepare. It looks beautiful once it's plated–this dish is so colorful! Cashew and coconut milk keeps this recipe vegan and you can swap in zoodles for the rice noodles if you're looking to keep this dish paleo.
Total Time: 20 minutes
Mediterranean Collard Green Wraps
This Mediterranean collard green wrap recipe from WholesomeYum.com is a great way to pack in extra veggies during your day. Whether you decide to serve this quick healthy recipe for dinner at home or as a grab-and-go dinner if you're running from work to your next appointment. This recipe pairs well with a tuna-stuffed avocado (if you're not vegan) or any of the healthy soup recipes mentioned above.
Total Time: 15 minutes
Fill Your Monthly Meal Plan With These Quick Healthy Dinner Recipes
You now have enough 30-minute meals to fill out your meal plan for an entire month. All are easy, quick and require barely any prep time to pull together. And many of these healthy dinner recipes are so simple you'll be cooking them from memory after just a couple of times.
And if you're looking for even more healthy recipes and meal plan ideas, check out:
- 13 Easy Ways To Create A Healthy Meal Plan You Can Actually Follow
- 30 Easy Whole30 Breakfast Recipes To Kickstart Your Day
- 20 Keto Casserole Recipes For Easy No-Stress Meals
