23 Easy Spring Dinners That Can Help You Lose Weight

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Published on March 18, 2022

Reviewed by Dietitian

Jessica Ball, M.S., RD

Hearty Chickpea & Spinach Stew

Keep it simple with one of these light but filling dinner recipes. Since each serving is low-calorie and high-fiber, you can hit your nutrition goals and still have a satisfying meal. These recipes require just 25 minutes of active time or less, so you can whip up something delicious and get right back to enjoying the evening. Recipes like our Hearty Chickpea & Spinach Stew and Seared Scallops with Green Goddess Slaw include delicious spring produce like spinach, peas, mushrooms and lemon for a seasonal meal you won't soon forget.

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Hearty Chickpea & Spinach Stew

This satisfying stew comes together in a snap. Mashed chickpeas add body to the broth, and tomato paste adds a savory note without piling on the sodium. To simplify the prep, look for chopped fresh onion and shredded carrot or a soup starter mix in the produce section.

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Vegan Coconut Chickpea Curry

To make this 20-minute vegan curry even faster, buy precut veggies from the salad bar at the grocery store. To make it a full, satisfying dinner, serve over cooked brown rice. When shopping for simmer sauce, look for one with 400 mg of sodium or less and check the ingredient list for cream or fish sauce if you want to keep this vegan. If you like a spicy kick, add a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce at the end.

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15-Minute Salmon & Creamy Orzo with Spinach & Mushrooms

15-Minute Salmon & Creamy Orzo with Spinach & Mushrooms — Brie Passano

In this quick salmon dinner, salmon fillets are paired with creamy orzo, wilted spinach and earthy mushrooms. Cooking the salmon at a high temperature helps speed up the cooking in this healthy dinner recipe. Look for pre-sliced mushrooms to speed it up even more.

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Veggie & Hummus Sandwich

Veggie & Hummus Sandwich

This mile-high vegetable and hummus sandwich makes the perfect heart-healthy vegetarian lunch to go. Mix it up with different flavors of hummus and different types of vegetables depending on your mood.

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One-Pot Chicken & Broccoli Pasta

One-Pot Chicken & Broccoli Pasta — Jennifer Causey

This creamy chicken and broccoli pasta makes for a quick and easy weeknight dinner. We opt for small shells in this recipe, but any other small pasta, like orecchiette, would work, too.

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Seared Scallops with Green Goddess Slaw

Seared Scallops with Green Goddess Slaw — Photographer / Jacob Fox, Food styling / Sue Mitchell, Food Styling / Kelsey Bulat

Avocado, yogurt and buttermilk lend creaminess to the herbaceous dressing coating this salad.

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Cauliflower Fajita Skillet

Cauliflower Fajita Skillet — Jacob Fox

Thinly sliced cauliflower florets mimic the signature shape of fajita meat in this dish. We cook it in a cast-iron skillet for that tableside sizzle you'd get at a restaurant.

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Avocado Tuna Spinach Salad

Avocado Tuna Spinach Salad — Greg DuPree

Avocado adds creaminess while sunflower seeds provide texture and crunch in this easy tuna-spinach salad.

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Beefless Vegan Tacos

Take taco night in a new direction with these healthy vegan tacos. We've swapped crumbled tofu for the ground beef, without sacrificing any of the savory seasonings you expect in a taco. You can also use the filling in burritos, bowls, taco salads and to top nachos.

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Spinach, Lima Bean & Crispy Pancetta Pasta

We opt for fresh spinach pasta here—it cooks quickly and adds a pop of color. Cooking lima beans in pancetta drippings infuses them with flavor.

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Spaghetti & Spinach with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

Spaghetti & Spinach with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce (tk final title) — Photography / Kelsey Hansen, Styling / Greg Luna

To achieve flavor quickly in this pasta recipe, we use the oil from sun-dried tomatoes to create the base of the cream sauce. Meanwhile, the residual heat of the pasta wilts the spinach in record time for a fast weeknight dinner.

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Crispy Rice Bowls with Fried Eggs

Crispy Rice Bowls with Fried Eggs — Leigh Beisch

We topped this rice bowl recipe with avocado, carrot, radishes and spinach along with eggs, but whatever vegetables you prefer will be just as delicious.

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Creamy Mushroom & Spinach Pasta

Creamy Mushroom & Spinach Pasta — Jennifer Causey

Make this creamy mushroom and spinach pasta for an easy, healthy dinner. Be sure to save some of the pasta-cooking water as it helps the sauce emulsify.

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Meal-Prep Roasted Vegetable Bowls with Pesto

Meal-Prep Roasted Vegetable Bowls with Pesto

Your co-workers will be jealous when you pull out this healthy lunch of roasted veggies and brown rice. Put together 4 lunches when you have time and you will have packable lunches (or ready-to-eat dinners) for several days--just grab a container on your way out the door in the morning.

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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: the fact that this healthy dinner takes just 20 minutes to prepare.

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Broccolini, Chicken Sausage & Orzo Skillet

We love this quick skillet meal for busy evenings. The sausage and orzo simmer together in chicken broth, resulting in a creamy, risotto-like dish in under 30 minutes.

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Asparagus, Zucchini, and Sweet Pepper Crepes with Orange Cream

A delicious vegetarian dinner option, these homemade whole-wheat and flax crepes are filled with asparagus, zucchini and sweet peppers and a heathier cream sauce made with a blend of tofu and Greek yogurt.

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Easy Pea & Spinach Carbonara

Fresh pasta cooks up faster than dried, making it a must-have for fast weeknight dinners like this luscious yet healthy meal. Eggs are the base of the creamy sauce. They don't get fully cooked, so use pasteurized-in-the-shell eggs if you prefer.

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Creamy Spinach Orzo

Creamy Spinach Orzo — Photography / Caitlin bensel, Food Styling / Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Styling / Julia Bayless

This creamy spinach orzo pasta dish is light, quick and easy. The fresh basil truly shines through and complements the spinach in this vegetarian pasta dinner.

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Lemon Shrimp & Orzo Salad

Lemon Shrimp & Orzo Salad

Consider making a double batch of this easy pasta salad--it's delicious the next day. The orzo will absorb the dressing as it sits, so add a little more olive oil and lemon juice if you'd like.

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Farfalle with Tuna, Lemon, and Fennel

Farfalle with Tuna, Lemon, and Fennel

This warm, flaked tuna and lemon pasta recipe is ready in 30 minutes.

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Slow-Cooker Mediterranean Quinoa with Arugula

Slow-Cooker Mediterranean Quinoa with Arugula

Chock-full of quinoa, chickpeas and vegetables, this salad is a meal in itself. The roasted red peppers, lemon, olives and feta add familiar Mediterranean flavor. If you want to provide a meat option, serve with grilled chicken.

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Chicken & Vegetable Penne with Parsley-Walnut Pesto

Chicken and Vegetable Penne with Parsley-Walnut Pesto

Homemade pesto may seem daunting, but in this quick pasta recipe you can make a simple sauce in minutes while the pasta water comes to a boil. You can substitute frozen green beans and cauliflower for fresh; in Step 4, cook the frozen vegetables according to package directions before tossing with the pasta and pesto.

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