Who says eating healthy has to be bland? If you’re trying to curb calories, it doesn’t mean you have to kick flavor to the curb. There are so many ways to boost flavor in dishes without adding calories! Check out this lineup of healthy low-calorie dishes that pack a powerful punch in the flavor department. They’re almost too good to be true! From mouthwatering chicken with creamy mushroom wine sauce to sensational shrimp tostadas with avocado salsa, these recipes will have you going back for seconds, guilt-free!
Skillet Chicken and Mushroom Wine Sauce
This creamy chicken and mushroom dish from Saving Room for Dessert is easy enough to prepare on a weeknight and decadent enough to forget all about its low-calorie status. Baby portabella mushrooms or simple white mushrooms will work here. Flavor layers are built with ingredients like garlic, shallots, white wine, thyme, a little heavy cream, and more. This 5-star recipe makes six servings and has just 309 calories per serving. Dig in, guilt-free!
Roasted Salmon Sheet Pan Dinner
This healthy, easy sheet pan dinner can be ready in 30 minutes so it’s a great one to have in the rotation on busy nights. Fresh basil, garlic, basil oil, and fresh veggies like green beans, fennel and cherry tomatoes pile on the flavor in this one-pan powerhouse. One serving weighs in at just 281 calories!
Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers
If you love Philly cheesesteaks but could do without all those carbs, this is the dish for you. This recipe from Eating Well takes everything you love about a Philly cheesesteak and packs it into colorful bell pepper halves. Top round steak works great for this recipe as it’s lean and inexpensive. Flank steak, sirloin, or strip steak work well too. There are only 308 calories in ½ stuffed pepper!
Easy Vegetable Lasagna
This one-skillet (read: easy) vegetarian lasagna from Two Peas & Their Pod packs a punch when it comes to flavor. We promise, you won’t miss the meat at all! You’ll get extra flavor – and an extra health boost – from the red bell peppers, zucchini, and mushrooms. This recipe serves 8 and comes in at just 251 calories per serving.
Creamy Pork Tenderloin with Apples
Anything with cream in it is a win in our book, but so often “cream” means calories. This dish from My Life Cookbook uses ¾ cup of heavy cream and STILL comes in at just 288 calories per serving! Tip: make sure you use Granny Smith apples as they have lower sugar content than sweeter apples.
Chicken Adobo
Chicken adobo is one of the most flavorful chicken recipes out there and luckily for us, it’s not a calorie cow. Braised chicken thighs are where the flavor starts in this recipe from It’s a Big Man’s World and it’s the mix of seasonings that does the rest. Garlic, ginger, red chilies, soy sauce, bay leaves, brown sugar, and more come together for a stunning savory and tangy dish. The best part? There are only 273 calories per serving!
Shrimp Tostadas with Avocado Salsa
These colorful tostadas are packed with nutrition from ingredients like shrimp, avocado, black beans, orange, and more. This is an easy dish you can prep in 30 minutes and it’s a guilt-free dish you can feel good about. Each serving only has 297 calories.
Healthy Beef and Broccoli
This hearty dish serves up bigtime flavor without all the calories. This version of beef and broccoli from Erin Lives Whole cuts corners on calories by using avocado oil instead of vegetable oil, flank steak as it’s leaner than other cuts of beef, and honey instead of sugar. One serving of this dish only has 166 calories so don’t be shy about going back for seconds – or thirds!
Stewed Okra and Tomatoes
Stewed okra and tomatoes is one of our Goodtaste staffers all-time favorite meals. It’s hearty, filling, comforting, and delicious! In this recipe from How to Feed a Loon, fresh okra is best (when in season), but frozen thawed okra works great too. There’s a tablespoon of bacon fat and chicken broth, but if you want to keep it vegetarian, use veggie oil instead of bacon fat and vegetable broth in place of the chicken broth. A bowl of this stew is a hearty meal in itself – and there are only 315 calories in a heaping bowl!
Spinach Prosciutto and Mozzarella Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
Stuffed pork tenderloin – or stuffed anything really – is an impressive dish that looks like it takes hours to make. It doesn’t. But don’t tell your guests that! This pork tenderloin from Skinnytaste flaunts its layers of flavor with spinach, prosciutto, sun-dried tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese. You can have this prepped and on out of the oven in 45 minutes so it’s an easy weeknight dinner. Better yet – two slices of this packed pork loin has just 208 calories and only three grams of carbs!
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