20 Easy No-Sugar Dinners You'll Want to Make Forever

 

PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPHY / KELSEY HANSEN, STYLING / GREG LUNA

Take the guessing game out of reducing your added sugar intake when you make one of these nutritious dinners. This collection features foods like fruits, vegetables and unsweetened dairy products, which contain natural sugars. These are different from added sugars like cane sugar, honey and maple syrup, which are used to enhance flavor. While natural and added sugars are still sugar, foods with the former also provide essential nutrients like fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals to help slow down digestion and prevent significant blood sugar spikes.

These meals are as delicious as they are healthy. And we’re sure you’ll want to make them again and again since they’ve already earned four- and five-star ratings from EatingWell readers. Recipes like our Spaghetti & Spinach with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce and Creamy Pesto Shrimp with Gnocchi & Peas are flavorful meals that come together in just 30 minutes or less.

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Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup with Rotisserie Chicken

PHOTOGRAPHER VICTOR PROTASIO, FOOD STYLIST MARGARET DICKEY, PROP STYLIST LYDIA PURSELL

This creamy chicken noodle soup recipe has a delicious potpie feel to it. We call for rotisserie chicken to streamline your prep time—look for a nice big one with lots of breast meat on it. Pair this comforting soup with a green salad.

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Spaghetti & Spinach with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

PHOTOGRAPHY / KELSEY HANSEN, STYLING / GREG LUNA

To achieve flavor quickly in this sun-dried tomato 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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Creamy Pesto Shrimp with Gnocchi & Peas

PHOTOGRAPHER: GREG DUPREE, PROP STYLIST: SHELL ROYSTER, FOOD STYLIST: EMILY HALL

This speedy dinner recipe combines shrimp with pillowy gnocchi, pesto and peas in a creamy sauce. Feel free to substitute the peas with other veggies such as broccoli or asparagus. For a bit of heat, sprinkle in some crushed red pepper, or garnish with grated Parmesan cheese to enhance the savory flavor.

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Chhole (Chickpea Curry)

ANDREW SCRIVANI

This healthy Indian recipe is a flavorful chickpea curry that you can make in just 20 minutes. Also called chana masala, this dish is a comforting and delicious dinner.

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Chicken & Spinach Skillet Pasta with Lemon & Parmesan

This one-pan chicken pasta combines lean chicken breast and sautéed spinach for a one-bowl meal that's garlicky, lemony and best served with a little Parm on top. I call it "Mom's Skillet Pasta," and she called it "Devon's Favorite Pasta." Either way, it's a quick and easy weeknight dinner we created together and scribbled on a little recipe card more than a decade ago, and it remains in my weekly dinner rotation to this day. It's a simple dinner the whole family will love.

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Marry Me Chickpeas

PHOTOGRAPHER: MORGAN HUNT GLAZE, PROP STYLIST: JOSH HOGGLE, FOOD STYLIST: RENU DHAR

We put a vegetarian spin on Marry Me Chicken, a dish typically consisting of chicken coated in a sun-dried tomato cream sauce, by swapping in fiber-packed chickpeas as the main ingredient. From the creamy chickpeas to the umami-laden sun-dried tomatoes, you’ll want to sop up every last bit of sauce. To riff on this recipe, you could swap the chickpeas for white beans, like cannellini or navy.

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Spaghetti with Creamy Lemon-Spinach Sauce

PHOTOGRAPHER: JEN CAUSEY, FOOD STYLIST: JULIAN HENSARLING, PROP STYLIST: JOSH HOGGLE

Give your veggie servings a boost with this easy spaghetti with spinach sauce recipe. Loosely inspired by the flavors of classic pesto, this vibrant pasta packs in plenty of spinach and basil with a garnish of nutty walnuts and savory Parmesan cheese. Serve with a drizzle of good olive oil and a green salad on the side.

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Skillet Pork Chops with Peas, Carrots & Pearl Onions

This superfast one-dish dinner is full of classic flavor and is such a crowd pleaser that you'll want to work it into your regular weeknight dinner rotation. We call for bone-in pork chops to maximize flavor, but boneless pork chops are a fine substitution. To round out this meal a little more, serve with rice or mashed potatoes.

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Spinach & Artichoke Dip Pasta with Chicken

JAMIE VESPA

If you love warm spinach and artichoke dip, then you'll love that we turned this classic dip into a creamy pasta dish with chicken. 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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Anthony Anderson’s One-Pot Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese with Broccoli

PHOTOGRAPHER: FRED HARDY, FOOD STYLIST: CHELSEA ZIMMER, PROP STYLIST: CHRISTINE KEELY

This easy one-pot mac & cheese recipe gets an extra boost of protein from chicken. Buffalo sauce adds spicy tang—look for one without added sugar, like Frank's RedHot.

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Creamy Feta & Tomato Pasta

PHOTOGRAPHER: GREG DUPREE, PROP STYLIST: SHELL ROYSTER, FOOD STYLIST: EMILY HALL

This creamy feta-and-tomato pasta puts a satisfying vegetarian dinner on the table using only 5 simple ingredients. Cherry tomatoes are a go-to when tomato season is not at its peak. Grape tomatoes provide a sweet and juicy alternative, ensuring a satisfying and flavorful meal.

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Superfood Chopped Salad with Salmon & Creamy Garlic Dressing

Curly kale forms the base of this salad, but you could use chard or spinach. To the greens, add a multitude of chopped veggies, such as broccoli, cabbage and carrots. Finish with rich salmon for protein and a drizzle of creamy yogurt dressing to bring it all together.

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Tajín Shrimp Tacos with Cabbage Slaw

GREG DUPREE

Tajín, a Mexican chile-lime seasoning, adds a spicy and acidic punch to sweet and mild shrimp. Opt for a low-sodium chile-lime seasoning, or improvise by combining chili powder, a little lime zest and a healthy squeeze of lime juice. Look for pineapple that’s already been peeled and cored for speedier prep.

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Spicy Chili Oil Noodles with Zucchini & Carrots

MATTHEW FRANCIS

Making your own chili oil is more time-intensive than using store-bought, but it’s worth it for the fresh flavors in this dish. The goal here is to infuse the oil with tons of aromatics like bay leaves, star anise, peppercorns and chili flakes to create a spicy base for the sauce. Spiralized zucchini and carrot add crunch, color and nutrients to the dish.

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Spiced Beef, Cabbage & Noodle Soup

Typically, the Vietnamese noodle soup pho may take hours to make, as the broth simmers away becoming more and more flavorful. But for this recipe inspired by pho, we cook the aromatics and spices before adding the broth, which helps releases more flavor from them, cutting down on simmer time.

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Mushroom-Ricotta Tartines

PHOTOGRAPHER: GRANT WEBSTER, FOOD STYLIST: ADDELYN EVANS,  PROP STYLIST: GABRIEL GRECO, 

Enjoy the art of presentation with a tartine—a sandwich that's a feast for the eyes and taste buds, served open-faced. Here, we slather a thick slice of good crusty whole-wheat bread with a creamy pesto-ricotta spread and top it with golden-brown sautéed mushrooms. Any tender, quick-cooking mushroom would work for this recipe. Oyster mushrooms, chanterelles and shiitake mushrooms would all be delicious. Enjoy it as is or take it to the next level by adding a poached or fried egg on top.

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Skillet Eggs with Sausage & Tomato Aioli

This breakfast-for-dinner fried egg skillet is a no-brainer alternative to takeout when you're rushed. The sausage and dark leafy greens are cooked in the same pan as the eggs, so cleanup is a cinch. Loading kale into this quick dinner recipe provides some calcium as well as vitamins and fiber. Serve with whole-grain toast and simple tomato aioli for a weeknight dinner that's ready in 20 minutes.

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Chicken, Spinach & Feta Wraps

PHOTOGRAPHER: GRANT WEBSTER, FOOD STYLIST: ADDELYN EVANS, PROP STYLIST: GABE GRECO

This chicken, spinach and feta wrap recipe is elevated by the convenience of rotisserie chicken and the scrumptious flavor of sun-dried tomatoes. Whisk together the easy dressing, toss with the chicken, add spinach and wrap it all together for a delicious lunch or dinner. Using rotisserie chicken speeds up the process, but you can also reach for this recipe if you have leftover cooked chicken on hand.

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Sheet-Pan Salmon with Crispy Quinoa

PHOTOGRAPHER: FRED HARDY, FOOD STYLIST: JENNIFER WENDORF, PROP STYLIST: LYDIA PURCELL

Enjoy a complete protein-rich dinner cooked on just two baking sheets for easy cleanup with this salmon, roasted tomato and quinoa recipe. Baked quinoa adds texture and crunch to the dish. After the quinoa finishes cooking, fluff it with a fork to release steam and encourage it to crisp up as it sits. Packages of precooked quinoa streamline the prep, but if you have leftover quinoa, it works just as well.

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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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