28 High-Protein Dinner Recipes for Weight Loss
If you’re trying to lose weight, you still want to feel full and satisfied after a meal, not deprived and feeling like you’re missing something. These meals combine protein and fiber—two nutrients that alone will help fill you up. And when combined, they work together to provide a satisfying meal and keep you full longer so that you’re not scouring the kitchen for something to eat an hour later.
Each of these dinners has at least 15 grams of protein per serving. Recipes like Chicken Tinga Tostadas and Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Chili are delicious, low in calories and can help you meet your nutrition goals.
Seared Scallops with Green Goddess Slaw
Avocado, yogurt and buttermilk lend creaminess to the herbaceous dressing coating this salad. This dish comes together in just 20 minutes, making it a perfect weeknight meal.
Chicken Tinga Tostadas
These chicken tinga tostadas are topped with cotija cheese for a salty brine, while cilantro adds a pop of flavor and color. We bake the tortillas to ensure a crispy base while also using less oil than deep-frying.
Stuffed Pepper Soup
Inspired by stuffed peppers, this soup is ready faster and with fewer dishes too! Have fun with the toppings—we top it with onion, Cheddar cheese and tortilla chips here, but salsa, sour cream and corn would also make stellar additions.
Peppery Barbecue-Glazed Shrimp with Vegetables & Orzo
In this healthy BBQ shrimp recipe, shrimp are seasoned with a peppery spice blend and served with zucchini, peppers and whole-grain orzo for a delicious and easy dinner that’s ready in just 30 minutes. The shrimp and veggies are cooked in the same skillet, so cleanup is a snap too.
Chicken Parmesan & Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
Chicken Parm gets a fun low-carb and gluten-free twist with these cheesy stuffed peppers with chicken and quinoa. Serve with a salad for a healthy dinner that’s easy to prep too.
Pizza-Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
Skip the dough and stuff all of your favorite pizza toppings into spaghetti squash boats for a fun and healthy dinner that’ll please the whole family. We love the combination of mushrooms, bell peppers, pepperoni and mozzarella, but feel free to mix it up with your favorite pizza ingredients. You could throw in a bit of chopped cooked broccoli, for example, or add some olives or chopped artichoke hearts. And, of course, feel free to omit the pepperoni to make the dish vegetarian. Round out the meal with a simple salad.
Spinach & Artichoke Dip Pasta
If you’ve ever wanted to make a meal out of warm spinach and artichoke dip, this creamy pasta is for you. And here’s what’s almost as good as the flavor of this comforting dish: This healthy dinner takes just 20 minutes to prepare.
Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Chili
Sweet potatoes pair wonderfully with this simple chili recipe. Add one more chipotle pepper if you want to spice up this healthy sweet potato recipe.
Instant Pot Chicken Soup with Root Vegetables & Barley
Be sure to use bone-in chicken here—it enhances the flavor of the broth, and the bones are easy to remove after cooking. This healthy chicken soup can be made in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker.
Smoky Collards & Shrimp with Cheesy Grits
The smoky paprika combined with the creamy cheesy grits and succulent shrimp offer flavor galore. Be sure to slice the collards extra thin; it will help expedite the cooking process and produce the most tender greens.
Baked Halibut with Brussels Sprouts & Quinoa
Fish plus two sides? It seems like a fancy weekend meal, but this healthy dinner comes together in just 30 minutes—making it perfect for any weeknight.
Instant Pot Goulash
Your Instant Pot (or other multicooker) cuts hours off the cooking time of this Hungarian beef stew recipe. This goulash, a saucy dish flavored with caraway and smoked paprika, is served over whole-wheat egg noodles that cook while your multicooker works its magic. It’s comfort food at its best!
Sloppy Joe Casserole
Like sloppy Joes? Then you’ll love this sloppy Joe casserole recipe. This kid-friendly dinner has the classic sloppy Joe flavors kids love, while parents will like all the veggies that are packed in to make it a healthy meal.
Cheesy Chipotle-Cauliflower Mac
You’ll barely notice the cauliflower in this comforting skillet pasta—it’s pureed and mixed into the creamy cheese sauce.
Chicken Hummus Bowls
The spiced chicken atop these bowls is ready fast with the help of the broiler. Serve with warm whole-wheat pita for scooping up extra hummus at the bottom of the bowl.
Beef Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce
A gyro is a Greek sandwich made of thin slices of roasted meat, served on pita bread with a cucumber-yogurt sauce. In this recipe, lean ground beef is seasoned with oregano and marjoram, pressed into a loaf pan, baked and thinly sliced to fill the pita.
California Turkey Burgers & Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Inspired by an option at the West Coast chain In-N-Out Burger, this turkey burger recipe keeps the carbs in check with a lettuce wrap instead of a bun. The side of sweet potato fries bakes while you prep the burgers, so this entire healthy dinner is ready in under 30 minutes.
Lasagna Soup
This quick and healthy lasagna soup recipe has all the comforting flavors of classic lasagna with plenty of tomatoes, Italian turkey sausage and lasagna noodles broken into bite-size bits. A dollop of ricotta cheese mixed with mozzarella and Parmesan adds a creamy finishing touch. Serve the soup with a green salad and crusty bread to sop up what’s left in the bowl for an easy healthy dinner that’s ready in under 30 minutes.
Crispy Oven-Fried Fish Tacos
Fish tacos make a satisfying meal the entire family will love. Many restaurant versions are deep-fried, but our technique includes coating the fish in a seasoned whole-grain breading and spritzing it lightly with cooking spray before baking it on a rack until golden brown. The result is a crispy exterior with moist and flaky fish inside.
Forbidden Rice & White Kimchi Steak Salad
This steak salad doesn’t feature a typical dressing, but tangy kimchi, savory pan-fried shallots and lemon juice pack it with flavor. Forbidden rice helps add more color and nutrition to this tangy dish.
Quick Shrimp Puttanesca
Because refrigerated fresh pasta cooks much faster than dried pasta, this Italian pasta dish will be on the table lickety-split! Puttanesca, traditionally made with tomatoes, olives, capers, anchovies and garlic, gets a makeover with shrimp for extra protein and artichoke hearts to boost the vegetable servings (and the fiber!). If you can’t find frozen artichoke hearts, sub in drained canned artichoke hearts.
Turkey Meatballs with Linguine & Fresh Tomato Sauce
For this healthy turkey meatball recipe, lean ground turkey is mixed with fresh mushrooms, oats, garlic, spices and a little Parmesan cheese for a meatball that’s moist, delicious and has more fiber and less saturated fat than a traditional beef and pork version. Serve these tasty meatballs over whole-grain pasta with fresh tomato sauce for a satisfying take on spaghetti and meatballs. Save the leftovers to stuff into sandwiches.
Spinach Ravioli with Artichokes & Olives
Store-bought spinach ravioli and a handful of basic pantry items are all you need to get a healthy dinner on the table in 15 minutes. Ingredients like oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, briny Kalamata olives and toasty pine nuts help to build big flavor fast. If you can’t find frozen artichokes, swap in a 15-ounce can (just be sure to drain and rinse them well).
Sheet-Pan Chicken Fajita Bowls
Skip the tortillas in favor of this warm fajita salad, which features a nutritious medley of chicken with roasted kale, bell peppers and black beans. The chicken, beans and vegetables are all cooked on the same pan, so this healthy dinner is easy to make, and cleanup is a snap.
Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Vegetables & Quinoa
For the best flavor in this easy roasted pork tenderloin dish, start marinating the pork the night before or get it going before you head off to work in the morning. Then, when you get home, all that’s left to do is roast the pork and vegetables and prepare the quinoa for this easy healthy dinner. This recipe makes extra quinoa—use the leftovers as a base for easy meal-prep lunches, salads and stir-fries later in the week.
Cilantro Bean Burgers with Creamy Avocado-Lime Slaw
Lighten up your burger! Bean patties have less saturated fat and more fiber than beef patties. They’re also cheaper and easier to cook indoors—and we promise they’re just as satisfying, especially with the mouthwatering creamy slaw on top.
Skillet Chili Mac
Poblanos add a kick of heat to this chili mac recipe. If that’s not your thing, swap in green bell peppers to tone down the heat in this easy pasta dish, which mashes up mac and cheese and chili into a seriously satisfying skillet dinner.
Turkey Enchilada Poblano Peppers
In this healthy take on a turkey enchilada recipe, we stuff everything into a roasted poblano pepper shell rather than tortillas to pack an extra serving of veggies into this meal—and cut down on the carbs. If you can’t find poblano peppers, you can substitute green bell peppers instead.
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