Here’s a 30 minute dinner that’s so satisfying, it feels luxurious and decadent—this red lentil curry! So many readers loved this recipe in our first cookbook, Pretty Simple Cooking, that Alex and I decided it was time to add a spin on it here.

It’s not just the hearty, cozy flavor in the red lentils, which melt in your mouth seasoned with red curry paste and coconut milk. It’s that tangy cilantro chutney, which you can whip up while the lentils cook. It infuses a pop of bright and tangy flavor that makes this humble meal ridiculously satisfying. Here’s why it’s one of our top plant based recipes and vegan dinner recipes!

Read this before using red curry paste

Here are a few notes for using red curry paste in this recipe:

• The heat level varies based on the brand. We often use Thai kitchen curry paste because it’s very mild (and goes over well with our kids!). There are many great brands to try: just make sure to taste your curry paste before using it. If it’s very spicy, use a little less than the recipe specifies.
• Find it near the Thai products in most grocery stores. It keeps for months in the refrigerator. You can also buy it online: Thai Kitchen red curry paste.

Dietary notes

This red lentil curry is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free. It also works as a Mediterranean diet recipe.

Here’s a hot take: we’d take chicken and rice soup any day over chicken noodle! (Do you agree?) Alex and I love this classic soup with rice instead of noodles because it infuses it with whole grains—and it tastes even better, we think.

When we create this soup our kids went crazy over it, solidifying it into our “weeknight dinner playlist.” Tender chunks of chicken and perfectly cooked rice float in a rich, savory broth that’s infused with aromatic vegetables and a hint of smoky paprika. We recently served it for a dinner party and everyone kept saying, “What’s in this?!” Here’s our spin on this everyday classic recipe—which we think is a total winner.

Here’s a recipe that’s one of the most fun, delicious vegetarian dinner ideas we know: spinach artichoke stuffed portobello mushrooms! Alex and my spin on the classic idea is a mashup of comforting spinach artichoke dip with the meaty goodness of a baked portobello mushroom.

Top it off with crunchy Italian breadcrumbs, and you’ll amaze everyone at the table! It’s a meatless dinner idea that will please every type of eater: we promise. Here’s how to make it!

Dietary notes

This stuffed portobello mushrooms recipe is vegetarian. For gluten-free, use gluten-free panko or breadcrumbs.

Shrimp, butter, garlic, lemon, and white wine: what could be better? Yes, it’s the Italian American shrimp scampi, a classic that’s been stealing hearts and minds for decades. There’s no right way to make a scampi: it’s a thing of elusive beauty that’s up to the chef to define.

We think this version is pretty stellar! Alex and I have created a simple recipe for juicy, garlicky shrimp swimming in a rich, tangy butter sauce. Sop it up with crusty bread, or pour it over pasta—either way, it’s divine.

A note on serving size

This shrimp scampi recipe uses 1 pound of shrimp for 4 servings. But if you’re feeding 4 very hungry eaters, you may want to increase the amount of shrimp to 1.5 pounds. You can use all the same amounts of ingredients for the sauce: just increase the salt to ¾ teaspoon kosher salt.

You can also use 16 ounces pasta instead of 8 ounces, and add other side dishes to the meal like a green salad or sautéed vegetables.

Dietary notes

This shrimp scampi recipe is gluten-free and pescatarian.

If there’s one secret sauce we’d recommend to make everything taste better, it’s chimichurri. This bright, punchy, garlicky Argentinian sauce truly is all that. As cookbook authors, here’s a trick we’ve been using for years as an easy healthy dinner idea: chimichurri salmon!

Salmon on its own can be kind of boring (right?). But salmon with chimichurri sauce is transcendental, adding an herby brightness to each bite. It’s the perfect easy dinner that works for weeknights or for impressing friends and family: and you can make it broiled, baked or grilled depending on your preference! Our family can’t get enough of it (and it’s a perfect Mediterranean diet recipe if you eat that way).

Dietary notes

This chimichurri salmon recipe is pescatarian, gluten-free, and dairy-free.

Everyone is always asking us for fast and easy weeknight dinners. So Alex and I are always experimenting and on the lookout for the best concepts for quick and easy dinner ideas. So we present: our favorite this chickpea curry!

It takes only about 20 minutes to make! Warm spices and coconut milk make it one the most tastiest things you can make in that short time window—hands down. This recipe has become a reader favorite over the years for its quick cook time and satisfying flavor.

Ways to serve chickpea curry

How to serve this weeknight chickpea curry? We like it with long-grain basmati rice. Here’s what we’d suggest for serving:

• Basmati rice: Here’s our method for how to cook brown or white basmati rice: white takes about 15 minutes total and brown takes about 20 to 25 minutes. Brown rice is a bit more nutrient dense than white rice, which is why we like to take the extra time when we have it. You can also make Instant Pot Basmati Rice.
• Naan bread: Store-bought naan bread is a great quick side dish for this chickpea curry. Or, try our homemade Garlic Naan or Vegan Naan.

Meet our favorite vegetarian and vegan dinner recipe: the falafel burger! Alex and I don’t always have the energy to fry up a batch of authentic falafel. So eating it in burger form is the next best thing!

These are easy to make with canned chickpeas. The combination of a cumin and coriander-scented chickpea patty with cool cucumber sauce is pretty epic, in our opnion. It’s a healthy vegetarian and vegan dinner recipe that everyone loves!

Dietary notes

This falafel burger recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free. For gluten-free, use gluten-free flour and serve without a bun or with a gluten free bun.

Here’s a soup that will make people come flocking and might result in a few marriage proposals: this creamy tortellini soup! This might be one of our top favorites over here. You can make it in under 30 minutes, and the flavor that results is simply divine.

Tomatoes, basil, Parmesan and cream make a lusciously flavored broth that floats with doughy orbs of tortellini. In fact, Alex and I put down our spoons in amazement at first bite! Now it’s a family favorite recipe we make again and again.

Lentils are one of our favorite ingredients to create recipes with, since they’re so inexpensive and versatile. Alex and I love everything from lentil curry to lentil loaf to lentil sloppy joes. And you can’t go wrong with another spin on a cozy lentil soup, can you?

This sweet potato lentil soup is so cozy and delicious, with a savory blend of spices and a hint of creaminess from coconut milk. It’s also a healthy vegan soup, without tasting “healthy”, if that makes sense—we recently served it to a crowd and everyone raved! Another great thing about this soup: it’s budget friendly, too.

What makes this healthy soup budget friendly

One standard soup ingredient is missing from the list: vegetable broth! Most vegan soup recipes call for vegetable broth, and this one would require two quarts—which can add up pricewise.

Also Alex and I have found vegetable broth can impart odd flavor notes to a vegetable-based soup, so, we’ve started using water instead of broth! Combine that with lentils, which are extremely inexpensive, and you’ve got a great budget-friendly meal idea!

Dietary notes

This sweet potato lentil soup recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.

When it comes to easy dinner ideas, here’s one to add to your arsenal: broiled salmon! We love baked salmon, but broiling is faster, easier: and more delicious (we think). You don’t even need to preheat your oven!

While the salmon broils, you can make the rest of the meal: like a few sides or a salmon sauce. Alex and I exchanged glances of surprise when we first tasted this fish: it was so flaky and moist, we couldn’t stop eating it. Here are the tricks to making broiled salmon!

Dietary notes

This broiled salmon recipe is pescatarian, gluten-free and dairy-free (without the lemon butter sauce).

Looking for a fun recipe to mix up your dinner routine? Try these chicken meatballs! We find that anytime we say “meatballs for dinner!” most people are in, no matter what they’re made of. This type is made with ground chicken so it’s a little lighter than the standard beef variety, but just as hearty and delicious.

These meatballs are juicy and packed with flavor, featuring garlic, oregano and smoked paprika. We love serving them in a marinara sauce so they’re moist and hearty, but there are many more ways to serve them: in bowl meals, in a meatball sandwich, you name it!

How to double this recipe

You may want to double this chicken meatballs recipe. It works well doubled: pour double the warmed marinara into a 9 x 13 dish and bake as instructed.

Dietary notes

This chicken meatballs recipe is Mediterranean diet friendly. For gluten-free, use gluten-free panko or chopped rolled oats. For vegetarian or vegan, see the section above.

With the Mediterranean diet topping the charts of best diets for the eighth year in a row, Alex and I are doubling down on Mediterranean diet recipes. Here’s a delicious way to infuse a little healthy seafood into your diet: this shrimp and orzo recipe!

This is a fun one pot meal that stars the juicy shellfish with its natural flavor pairings: garlic, lemon, feta cheese, and herbs. It’s so hearty and delicious—a bit of cozy comfort food that’s also a healthy dinner recipe!

Stop right there and bookmark this baked salmon recipe, because you’ll never need another! As cookbook authors who have tried countless salmon recipes, this is the baked salmon that gets hands down rave reviews from friends and family. The tender fillet is perfectly seasoned with brown sugar and spices and has a lovely crisp topping. Here’s why we love it:

Dietary notes

This oven baked salmon recipe is pescatarian, dairy-free and gluten-free.

Want to make fajitas? After testing this recipe dozens of times, we can confirm: these are the best fajita veggies! Whether you’re making chicken, steak, shrimp, or veggie fajitas: you’ve got to have those signature sizzling vegetables.

This recipe makes the most tender, melt-in-your-mouth bell peppers, delicious savory onions, and meaty portobello mushrooms. Serve them as vegetarian fajitas with pinto beans, or use them as a topping for fajita salad (our favorite!). This recipe has become a fan favorite that readers always love.

Dietary notes

This fajita veggies recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.

If there’s one meal idea we could never tire of, it’s a bowl meal with Mediterranean vibes. As experts in the Mediterranean diet (called one of the healthiest ways to eat by US News and World Report), Alex and I are constantly inventing new delicious ways to eat in this style, and this falafel bowl is a new favorite!

Falafel can be tricky to make at home, so this bowl stars our easy baked falafel made with canned chickpeas. Accessorize it with hummus, crunchy veggies, and pickled cucumbers and onions, and it’s an explosion of flavor and textures that makes a deliciously satisfying healthy dinner (or lunch). You can make many of the components in advance, making it perfect for meal prep!

Dietary notes

This falafel bowls recipe is vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free (without the optional feta).

As cookbook authors and recipe experts, Alex and I have been eating a pescatarian diet for over a decade. And we can report—it’s a fun, healthy, and delicious way to eat!

A pescatarian diet is a primarily plant-based diet that includes fish and seafood, essentially eating vegetarian with the addition of seafood. If you eat pescatarian, you’ll still eat lots of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds.

This list of pescatarian recipes contains our very best seafood recipes, including salmon recipes, shrimp recipes, tuna recipes, cod recipes, scallop recipes, and more! These are all family favorites—many of them reader favorites over the years, and we know you’ll find something you love.