16 Heart-Healthy Dinners You Can Make in 20 Minutes (2024)

In 20 minutes or less, you can make a healthy dinner that supports a healthy heart with these recipes. With low amounts of saturated fats and sodium, these dishes meet our heart-healthy nutrition parameters so you can protect your heart in a delicious way. Recipes like our Loaded Black Bean Nacho Soup and Linguine with Creamy White Clam Sauce are easy and tasty choices for a heart-healthy eating pattern.

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Easy Pea & Spinach Carbonara

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16 Heart-Healthy Dinners You Can Make in 20 Minutes (1)

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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Pan-Seared Steak with Crispy Herbs & Escarole

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16 Heart-Healthy Dinners You Can Make in 20 Minutes (2)

This easy dinner takes just 20 minutes to prepare, meaning that seared steak can be a weeknight meal. Cooking herbs in the pan with the steak releases their aroma, infusing it into the meat while creating a crispy garnish. After the steaks and herbs are pan-seared, the escarole is cooked in the same skillet, so this healthy dinner requires minimal cleanup too.

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Loaded Black Bean Nacho Soup

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16 Heart-Healthy Dinners You Can Make in 20 Minutes (3)

Jazz up a can of black bean soup with your favorite nacho toppings, such as cheese, avocado and fresh tomatoes. A bit of smoked paprika adds a bold flavor kick, but you can swap in any warm spices you prefer, such as cumin or chili powder. Look for a soup that contains no more than 450 mg sodium per serving.

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Linguine with Creamy White Clam Sauce

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Ripe tomato and fresh basil give this quick recipe tons of flavor. Serve this healthy pasta dinner with crusty garlic bread and steamed green beans.

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Salmon Couscous Salad

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16 Heart-Healthy Dinners You Can Make in 20 Minutes (5)

This healthy and easy salad is designed to be made with precooked or leftover salmon. To quickly cook salmon, lightly brush with olive oil, then roast in a 450 degrees F oven until the fish is opaque and firm, 8 to 12 minutes.

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Lemon-Garlic Pasta with Salmon

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16 Heart-Healthy Dinners You Can Make in 20 Minutes (6)

Wondering what to do with leftover salmon? This is a delicious and easy way to turn it into another weeknight-friendly, quick dinner. Don't forget to reserve some pasta water—its starch thickens the lemon-garlic pasta sauce and makes it silky-smooth.

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Stuffed Sweet Potato with Hummus Dressing

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16 Heart-Healthy Dinners You Can Make in 20 Minutes (7)

Hearty yet simple to prepare, this stuffed sweet potato with black beans, kale and hummus dressing is a fantastic 5-ingredient lunch for one!

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Green Goddess Salad with Chickpeas

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In this cucumber, tomato, Swiss cheese and chickpea salad recipe, a healthy green goddess dressing is made from avocado, buttermilk and herbs. The extra dressing is delicious served with grilled vegetables.

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Shrimp Oreganata Cauliflower Gnocchi

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16 Heart-Healthy Dinners You Can Make in 20 Minutes (9)

This cauliflower gnocchi dinner is ready in just minutes on busy nights. A simple flavor-packed sauce marries the tender pasta with cooked shrimp. If you don't eat shrimp, use rotisserie chicken instead.

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Beef & Bean Sloppy Joes

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16 Heart-Healthy Dinners You Can Make in 20 Minutes (10)

This healthy copycat recipe of the comfort food classic trades beans for some of the meat to bump up fiber by 7 grams. We also cut back on the sugar and ketchup in this Sloppy Joe recipe makeover to save you 12 grams of added sugar.

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Mushroom & Tofu Stir-Fry

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16 Heart-Healthy Dinners You Can Make in 20 Minutes (11)

This tofu veggie stir-fry is quick and easy, making it a great go-to weeknight meal. Baked tofu has a firm, toothsome texture that crisps well in a hot pan. You can find it in flavors like teriyaki and sesame, both of which are delicious here. Or opt for a smoked version, which has the same texture with a more robust flavor. Serve over brown rice.

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Hearty Tomato Soup with Beans & Greens

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16 Heart-Healthy Dinners You Can Make in 20 Minutes (12)

Garlicky kale and creamy white beans elevate simple canned tomato soup into a 10-minute lunch or dinner that really satisfies. Use a soup with tomato pieces for a heartier texture. Look for a brand that's low- or reduced-sodium, with no more than 450 mg sodium per serving.

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Salmon Caesar Salad

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16 Heart-Healthy Dinners You Can Make in 20 Minutes (13)

This easy Caesar salad subs creamy Greek yogurt and buttermilk for the traditional egg yolks and olive oil and mixes in mildly bitter radicchio in addition to classic romaine. Using just a small amount of flavorful Parmigiano-Reggiano shaves calories and sodium too.

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Chhole (Chickpea Curry)

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16 Heart-Healthy Dinners You Can Make in 20 Minutes (14)

Made with convenient canned beans, this quick and healthy Indian recipe is an authentic chickpea curry that you can make in minutes. If you want an additional vegetable, stir in some roasted cauliflower florets. Serve with brown basmati rice or warm naan.

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Red Beans and Rice with Chicken

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16 Heart-Healthy Dinners You Can Make in 20 Minutes (15)

Fiber-rich red beans, whole-grain brown rice and skillet-cooked chicken breast are ready in just 20 minutes.

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Red Cabbage-Apple Cauliflower Gnocchi

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16 Heart-Healthy Dinners You Can Make in 20 Minutes (16)

Tender cabbage and a vibrant applesauce-mustard pan sauce are the perfect pairing for pillowy low-carb cauliflower gnocchi. Add diced chicken-apple sausage for extra protein.

16 Heart-Healthy Dinners You Can Make in 20 Minutes (2024)

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