11 Heart-Healthy Meals for Busy Weeknights
There are lots of heart-healthy recipes on Epicurious, but trying to find easy heart-healthy meals for weeknights can feel overwhelming, especially if you're new to cooking with lowered sodium and saturated fat—and increased fiber and potassium—in mind. Meghan Goodman, MS, RDN, CDCES, CDN combed through the Epi archives and used nutritional analysis software to select the recipes below, hoping to provide easy dinner inspiration for anyone looking for doable heart-healthy meals. Be sure to talk to your care provider to confirm that these recipes are right for you.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton1/11Vegan Mushroom Cheesesteaks
Epicurious contributor Joy Manning transformed the cheesesteak for this heart-healthy dinner, inspired by the vegan cheesesteaks chef Ari Miller at his pop-up, Frizwit in Philadelphia. Savory cremini, shiitake, and king oyster mushrooms stand in for beef here, and the cheese sauce is made with tofu, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and a splash of IPA. If you're looking for fun, meatless heart-healthy meals, start here.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Anna Hampton2/11Grain Bowls With Chicken, Spiced Chickpeas, and Avocado
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, food styling by Rhoda Boone3/11Baked Mustard-Crusted Salmon With Asparagus and Tarragon
This is one of the quickest methods we know for cooking salmon—and it yields flawless fish every time.
Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell5/11Summer Corn, Tomato, and Salmon Salad With Za’atar Dressing
This dinner is pretty much summer on a plate, and it's ready in 35 minutes. Just keep the salt to 1¼ tsp. Diamond Crystal kosher salt or less if you're watching sodium.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Simon Andrews7/11Ginger-Grilled Chicken and Radishes with Miso-Scallion Dressing
8/11Vegan Sunflower Saag With Black-Eyed Peas
Sunflower seeds are the secret to this creamy vegan saag from Plant-Based India by Sheil Shukla. For the most heart-healthy version, use reduced sodium black eyed peas and raw or dry roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson9/11Grain Bowl Soup
Photo by Isa Zapata, Food styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Anne Eastman10/11Roasted Carrots and Chickpeas With Herby Cashew Cream
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Astrid Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Hampton11/11Grain Bowl With Spiced Squash, Mushrooms, and Curried Yogurt
Grain bowls make easy heart-healthy meals. Start with red or brown rice, quinoa, or barley, top with roasted delicata or acorn squash, mushrooms, and onion, and drizzle on a super-simple lemony yogurt sauce. Dinner is served!
