Refresh your routine with some of these simple, one-pot meals. These recipes focus on lean meats, fish and plant-based protein sources, fresh veggies, whole grains and healthy fats, like olive oil, so you know they'll fit into a Mediterranean diet eating plan. This roundup of recipes will help you reap the benefits of following the Mediterranean diet, one of the healthiest eating patterns around. Recipes like our White Bean Soup with Tomato & Shrimp and Vegan Coconut Chickpea Curry are so tasty, you'll keep them on repeat for the rest of the year.
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Chicken & Spinach Skillet Pasta with Lemon & Parmesan
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This one-pan pasta that combines lean chicken breast and sautéed spinach for a one-bowl meal is 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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Slow-Cooker Mediterranean Diet Stew
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With a focus on vegetables, fiber-rich legumes and healthy fats, this slow-cooker stew fits the bill for those following the Mediterranean diet. Swap out the chickpeas for white beans for a different twist, or try collards or spinach in place of the kale. A drizzle of olive oil to finish pulls together the flavors of this easy vegan crock-pot stew.
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White Bean Soup with Tomato & Shrimp
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With capers and olives, this heart-healthy soup draws inspiration from Italian puttanesca sauce. Serve with crusty whole-grain bread to soak up the broth.
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Vegan Coconut Chickpea Curry
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To make this 20-minute vegan curry even faster, buy precut veggies from the salad bar at the grocery store. To make it a full, satisfying dinner, serve over cooked brown rice. When shopping for simmer sauce, look for one with 400 mg of sodium or less and check the ingredient list for cream or fish sauce if you want to keep this vegan. If you like a spicy kick, add a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce at the end.
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Vegan Cabbage Soup
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This vegan soup recipe is surprisingly easy to make. The flavorful broth is spiked with garlic, tomatoes and a hint of coriander. Just slice and dice your cabbage and fennel and you'll be enjoying this quick healthy soup in no time.
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Skillet Chicken with Orzo & Tomatoes
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In this healthy chicken recipe, chicken thighs are infused with lemon, garlic and herbs and paired with orzo that's perfectly al dente. Charred tomatoes and onions add full flavor to complete this easy, one-skillet dinner.
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Chicken Cutlets with Tomatoes & Olives
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This saucy one-skillet chicken dish is full of tomatoes, spinach, olives and capers. Try Kalamata olives in place of the green Sicilians or a combination of both. Serve over whole-wheat egg noodles with a mixed green salad on the side.
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Hearty Chickpea & Spinach Stew
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This satisfying stew comes together in a snap. Mashed chickpeas add body to the broth, and tomato paste adds a savory note without piling on the sodium. To simplify the prep, look for chopped fresh onion and shredded carrot or a soup starter mix in the produce section.
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Slow-Cooker Chicken & Chickpea Soup
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This set-it-and-forget-it slow-cooker recipe simmers away all day so you come home to a warm and healthy dinner the whole family will love. Using bone-in chicken is the key to making rich soup without adding broth.
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Chicken & White Bean Soup
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Once again, rotisserie chickens can really relieve the dinner-rush pressure-especially in this Italian-inspired soup that cries out for a piece of crusty bread and a glass of red wine.
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Hearty Minestrone
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This version of the Italian classic soup Minestrone is packed with leeks, potatoes, beans, zucchini, spinach and orzo, making it perfect for a hearty lunch or supper on a cold winter's night. To make a vegetarian version use vegetable rather than chicken broth. Top each bowl with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano for a zesty burst of flavor.
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Skillet Lemon Chicken & Potatoes with Kale
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This easy one-pan skillet-roasted lemon chicken is perfect for weeknight dinners. Juicy chicken thighs are cooked in the same pan as baby potatoes and kale for a satisfying meal with the added bonus of minimal cleanup.
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Slow-Cooker Chicken & White Bean Stew
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This load-and-go slow-cooker chicken recipe is perfect for a busy weeknight dinner. Serve this Tuscan-inspired dish with crusty bread, a glass of Chianti and a salad.
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One-Pot Tomato Basil Pasta
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This one-pot pasta with tangy tomato-basil sauce is a simple, fast and easy weeknight dinner. All of your ingredients go into one pot, and with a bit of stirring and about 25 minutes of cook time, you'll have a healthy dinner the whole family will enjoy.
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Vegetable Weight-Loss Soup
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A big bowl of this veggie-packed minestrone will leave you satisfied for hours without consuming a lot of calories, which is helpful when trying to lose weight. Plus, it's an easy way to boost your vegetable servings for the day—something all of us could benefit from. Top with a dollop of pesto before devouring this delicious vegetable soup and consider serving with a hunk of toasted whole-wheat bread to help round out the meal.
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Slow-Cooker Chicken & Orzo with Tomatoes & Olives
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Perk up basic chicken breast and whole-wheat orzo with the vibrant flavors of the Mediterranean, like lemon and olives. This load-and-go recipe makes a complete and satisfying meal; just add a green salad.
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Slow-Cooker Vegetable Minestrone Soup
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A winter classic, this crock pot version of minestrone is heavy on the vegetables and light on the pasta, keeping carbs in check while providing plenty of flavor.
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One-Skillet Salmon with Fennel & Sun-Dried Tomato Couscous
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Sun-dried tomato pesto and lemon do double duty to season both the salmon and the couscous in this healthy one-pan dinner recipe. Serve the salmon with extra lemon wedges and a dollop of plain yogurt, if desired.
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Easy Vegetarian Chili
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Canned beans and tomatoes make this quick vegetarian chili recipe ready to go in just 30 minutes. Serve over rice or couscous, or with tortilla chips for added crunch, and add extra toppings as you see fit--sliced scallions, chopped fresh cilantro, diced avocado and sliced jalapeños are all tasty choices.
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One-Pan Garlicky Shrimp & Rice
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This one-pan garlicky shrimp and rice dish makes a great easy dinner with easy cleanup. The garlic mellows as it cooks and infuses its flavor into the sweet shrimp and rice in the pan. A squeeze of lemon at the end brightens up the dish.
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Slow-Cooker Spiced Lentil Soup with Vegetables
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Spices often used in Moroccan cuisine like turmeric, cumin, cinnamon and black pepper give this soup complexity and deep flavor. Make it a day ahead, if you can, to give the spices time to mingle and develop. This easy slow-cooker recipe makes it a cinch to get the soup cooking while you do other things.
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Chicken Thighs with Couscous & Kale
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One-pot meals, like this all-in-one chicken thigh, kale and Israeli couscous recipe, are perfect for nights when you want to keep cleanup to a minimum. Look for Israeli couscous--small pearl-shaped pasta made from semolina flour--near other Middle Eastern dry goods in well-stocked supermarkets or specialty-foods stores.
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Chicken Chili Verde
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Prepared salsa verde adds tang to this fast weeknight chili recipe and pairs beautifully with the rich caramelized chicken and creamy beans. Don't shy away from the poblano peppers. They offer a mild heat but deliver a depth of flavor you can't find in regular green bell peppers.
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Slow-Cooker Quinoa Salad with Arugula & Feta
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Chock-full of quinoa, chickpeas and vegetables, this salad is a meal in itself. The roasted red peppers, lemon, olives and feta add texture and flavor to this Mediterranean diet recipe.
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Pesto Chicken & Cannellini Bean Soup
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This healthy, Italian-inspired chicken soup recipe is loaded with fiber-rich vegetables and beans and gets an extra boost of flavor from a swirl of pesto at the end. To get a homemade stock flavor using store-bought broth, we simmer bone-in chicken breasts in the broth before adding the rest of the soup ingredients.
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Eggs in Tomato Sauce with Chickpeas & Spinach
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Simmer eggs in a rich tomatoey cream sauce studded with chickpeas and silky spinach for a super-fast vegetarian dinner. Serve with a piece of crusty bread to soak up the sauce. Be sure to use heavy cream; a lower-fat option might curdle when mixed with acidic tomatoes.
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Vegetarian Quinoa & Squash Casserole
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An aromatic mixture of garlic, paprika, cumin, coriander, allspice and cayenne flavors this vegetarian quinoa and squash casserole recipe. Frozen squash is a super-easy topping.
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Curried Shrimp with Cauliflower and Chickpeas
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In this delicious main dish, cauliflower is slow-cooked with curry powder and aromatic vegetables, and shrimp and chickpeas are added in towards the end of the cooking time. Served over brown basmati rice and sprinkled with cilantro and peanuts, this dish will get a thumbs up from anyone eating it!
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Green Shakshuka with Spinach, Chard & Feta
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The inspiration for this green shakshuka recipe comes from HaBasta, a popular restaurant on the edge of Carmel Market in Tel Aviv, where the shakshuka is packed with green chard and spinach and a little hot pepper provides just a touch of spice. Serve with pita or crusty bread to sop up the sauce for a quick dinner or for brunch.
