Healthy One-Pot Dinners: 5 Go-To Meals For Busy Weeknights
Healthy One-Pot Dinners
A Recipe Round-Up
I joke all the time about how much I don’t like to cook. I’ve tried really hard to like it but it’s just not my thing. But since I like to fuel my body with healthy food, cooking is kind of a necessity. The good news is, making a healthy meal really can be simple and it can taste pretty dang good.
One of my favorite ways to cook is all in one pot. Whether I use the crockpot, the instant pot or a pot on the stove, I love when my cooking efforts wind up creating a complete meal. This way I don’t have to think about making a bunch of extra sides or doing a bunch of extra dishes.
I particularly dig the one-pot meals that make good leftovers so that you can cook once and eat multiple times.
And this, my friends, brings me to this particular recipe round-up.
Here are 5 of my favorite healthy one-pot dinners.
In order to make the cut, they needed to meet the following criteria:
Simple and easy to make.
Provide a healthy balance of slowly-digesting carbs, high-quality protein and healthy fats.
Easy to double/triple and taste good as leftovers.
Made with clean, whole, nutrient-dense ingredients.
Made in one pot to make clean up a cinch.
Are you ready? Drumroll please.
#1: Asparagus Sweet Potato Chicken Skillet
As the name suggests, this recipe is made on the stove in a skillet. You can use a cast iron skillet but a regular skillet works just fine too. This meal is colorful, simple and delicious. The recipe calls for asparagus but you could easily swap out the asparagus for fresh green beans or brussels sprouts.
What I love most:
It only takes 30 minutes to cook making it perfect for those busy weekday nights when you have limited time. This would also be easy to double or triple for intentional leftovers.
Note: While this recipe makes wonderful leftovers, I don’t know how well the asparagus would freeze.
#2: Chicken and Lentil Stew
My sister-in-law introduced me to this instant pot stew. It is made with lentils, chicken thighs and savory Latin flavors. Serve with a salad or vegetable of choice and you have a balanced and very satisfying meal.
WHAT I LOVE MOST:
It makes a huge pot (we’re talking about 11 cups) and it freezes well. You can eat leftovers until you get bored and freeze anything that remains for a healthy dinner in a pinch.
No Instant Pot?
No problem. I have adapted this Chicken and Lentil Stew recipe for the crockpot and made it even easier to prepare by using a few meal prep hacks.
The adapted recipe is available in my Resource Library. Gain access now by clicking here.
#3: Three-Bean Turkey Chili
This is my go-to chili recipe and it is made with ground turkey and a variety of beans. The recipe calls for chickpeas, black beans and red beans and the combination works really well together. It can be made in the crockpot or the instant pot and the directions include both variations.
What I love most:
This chili is ridiculously easy to throw together. I always try to keep my kitchen stocked with the ingredients because of its simplicity. It is absolutely perfect for those busy days when I forget to plan because I can whip it together in a pinch. It also freezes well and the leftovers taste amazing - maybe even better after the flavors have time to combine!
#4: Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili with Sweet Potato
And speaking of chili, here is another crockpot chili recipe but this one is not your traditional chili using beans. Instead, this chili is made with sweet potatoes, chicken and diced green chilis.
I find the stickiness and sweetness of sweet potatoes incredibly satisfying. The recipe calls for white or Japanese sweet potatoes but my local grocery store never carries them. I use the standard orange variety but cube them a little larger since they tend to be softer.
What I love most:
It has a creamy base which makes it smooth, rich and hearty. It is also uses coconut cream and ghee in lieu of actual cream which I love for two reasons.
One, dairy can be inflammatory for many so these ingredients provide a great alternative. And although ghee isn’t technically dairy-free, it does not contain lactose or casein, making ghee tolerable for those who have trouble with dairy.
And two, creamy soups tend to be heavy and this one is definitely not. Hearty and satisfying - yes. But heavy - definitely no.
#5: Warming Minestrone Soup with Quinoa and Kale
This minestrone is a vegetable-bean soup made in a stockpot on the stove. It is thick and is incredibly nutritious. It packs an amazing amount of vegetables into one soup by using onion, celery, carrots, zucchini, green beans, bell peppers and kale. Talk about eating the rainbow!
Traditional minestrone contains pasta but this recipe swaps out the pasta with quinoa. Using a whole grain over a processed grain product not only increases the nutrient profile of this dish but also helps regulate blood sugar levels.
What I love most:
It probably comes as no surprise that I love how colorful and nutritious this soup is. But I also love how versatile it is. You can swap out vegetables and change it up to your liking. I’ve experimented by adding eggplant, various squashes and peas. My unique body tends to need more protein than the quinoa and beans offer alone so I like to add in leftover diced chicken or turkey too. The sky truly is the limit and you can customize this soup based on the ingredients you have on hand and your unique body’s needs.
Looking For More Recipe Inspiration?
Simple recipes to make healthy eating easier and more convenient are available in my FREE Resource Library.