27 Mediterranean Diet Dinners That Can Help Reduce Inflammation (2024)

Experts love the Mediterranean diet, and for good reason. Unlike some strict eating plans, the Mediterranean diet allows you to customize your meals however you like, as long as you keep each meal chock-full of healthy ingredients, like olive oil, whole grains, plant-based or lean protein and plenty of fruits and veggies. Those ingredients are the main focus of these healthy dinners, and we've even added some nutrient-dense anti-inflammatory foods, like legumes, salmon and avocado, for an extra dose of deliciousness. Recipes like our Avocado Tuna Salad and Vegetarian Chopped Power Salad with Creamy Cilantro Dressing will help you end the day with something healthy and tasty.

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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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Mediterranean Chickpea Quinoa Bowl

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Quinoa and chickpeas pack this vegetarian grain bowl with plenty of plant-based protein. Whip up a batch of these Mediterranean meals and pack in containers with lids to stash in the fridge for easy, healthy grab & go lunches all week long.

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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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Charred Shrimp, Pesto & Quinoa Bowls

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These shrimp, pesto and quinoa bowls are delicious, healthy, pretty and take less than 30 minutes to prep. In other words, they're basically the ultimate easy weeknight dinner. Feel free to add additional vegetables and swap the shrimp for chicken, steak, tofu or edamame.

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Vegetarian Chopped Power Salad with Creamy Cilantro Dressing

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Cilantro adds color and flavor when blended to make a creamy dressing. Serve this healthy salad for lunch or dinner.

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Spinach & Feta Scrambled Egg Pitas

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This meatless dinner comes together in only 15 minutes, thanks to the convenience of frozen chopped spinach and crumbled feta. We've added a flavorful burst of sun-dried tomato tapenade to spread over the whole-wheat pita before nestling the scrambled eggs inside. If you can't find it, basil pesto or sun-dried tomato pesto also work well.

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Avocado Tuna Salad

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20-Minute Balsamic Mushroom & Spinach Pasta

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This 20-minute veggie pasta dish is super savory, thanks to meaty mushrooms, while the natural sweetness from the balsamic vinegar, basil and pistachios brighten up this quick, healthy vegetarian dinner.

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Quinoa-Black Bean Salad

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Enjoy this quinoa and black bean salad as a delicious and quick vegetarian main dish or as a side for grilled chicken or steak. And don't forget the leftovers! They make an easy lunch on the go.

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Quinoa Chili with Sweet Potatoes

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This hearty vegetarian quinoa chili with sweet potatoes has mild spice from poblanos and green chiles. Chili powder, cumin and garlic provide classic chili flavor.

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Salmon Rice Bowl

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Inspired by the viral TikTok trend, this tasty bowl makes for a satisfying lunch or dinner. With a handful of healthy ingredients, like instant brown rice, heart-healthy salmon and lots of crunchy veggies, you'll have a filling and flavorful meal in just 25 minutes. Looking to cut down on carbs? Try swapping in riced cauliflower in place of the brown rice.

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Pesto Chicken Quinoa Bowls

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This pesto chicken quinoa bowl is packed with herbs from the basil pesto and the Italian spice mix and gets a slight kick of heat from the red pepper. If you enjoy the flavor profile, this dish can also be made with orzo in place of quinoa.

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Vegan Superfood Grain Bowls

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This nutrient-packed grain bowl recipe comes together in 15 minutes with the help of a few convenience-food shortcuts like prewashed baby kale, microwavable quinoa and precooked beets. Pack these ahead to keep on hand for easy meal-prep lunches or dinners on busy nights.

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Mediterranean Tuna-Spinach Salad

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This tuna salad recipe gets an upgrade with olives, feta and a tahini dressing. Served over baby spinach, this is the perfect easy and light lunch or dinner salad.

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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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Roasted Salmon with Smoky Chickpeas & Greens

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In this healthy salmon dinner, you'll get a dose of greens and green dressing! Chowing down on 6 or more servings of dark leafy greens a week can help keep your brain in top shape. This dish features the Test Kitchen's current go-to method for doctoring a can of chickpeas: spice them up and roast until crispy.

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Green Veggie Bowl with Chicken & Lemon-Tahini Dressing

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For this healthy 30-minute dinner, treat your veggies like pasta and cook until al dente, or just done. If you have a little extra time, double or triple the lemon-tahini dressing and use it to quickly dress a salad or as a sauce for steak or shrimp.

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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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Stuffed Sweet Potato with Hummus Dressing

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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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Black Bean-Quinoa Bowl

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This black bean and quinoa bowl has many of the usual hallmarks of a taco salad, minus the fried bowl. We've loaded it up with pico de gallo, fresh cilantro and avocado plus an easy hummus dressing to drizzle on top.

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Baked Eggs in Tomato Sauce with Kale

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You can make these three-ingredient tomato-simmered eggs with things you probably already have on hand in your freezer and pantry. To make these baked eggs more like eggs in purgatory, look for a spicy tomato sauce and don't forget some whole-wheat bread for dipping.

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Southwestern Cauliflower Rice Bowls with Shrimp & Avocado Crema

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These healthy Southwestern cauliflower rice bowls, topped with black beans, corn and smoky chipotle shrimp, get a cool-down from homemade avocado crema and take just 30 minutes to make.

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Beer-Battered Fish Tacos with Tomato & Avocado Salsa

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Lovers of fried fish get the taste without all the calories, and the salsa adds a fresh, clean note. To complete the Baja theme, serve with black beans, some diced mango and a bit of light sour cream.

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Quinoa Chickpea Salad with Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Dressing

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This hearty vegan salad is loaded with plant-based power ingredients: chickpeas, quinoa and hummus. We love the crunch of the sunflower seeds and the unexpected flavor of roasted peppers.

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Salmon & Avocado Poke Bowl

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Poke (pronounced poh-kay), the bite-size marinated fish salad famous in Hawaii, is so popular that it's sold by the pound in supermarkets. Now it has crossed the Pacific to become the meal-in-a-bowl du jour, served in eateries from Los Angeles to New York. But it's easy to make at home with this quick recipe. Sriracha and Chinese-style mustard add a touch of heat to the classic poke seasoning of soy sauce and sesame oil. Serving it over a brown rice salad makes it a meal.

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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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Chicken Parmesan & Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

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Chicken Parm gets a fun low-carb and gluten-free twist with these cheesy stuffed peppers with chicken and quinoa. Serve with a salad for a healthy dinner that's easy to prep too.