6 Healthy Winter Dinner Ideas To Satisfy on Cold Nights
These cold weather recipes will help you plan easy and nourishing winter meals for busy weeknights.
We’ve reached the more tedious restorative part of winter, post holidays with fading New Year’s energy. Food always brings me joy, but I think this time of year, food can really help add some excitement to our days. With a slower pace, there’s often more time to cook, which is great for getting prepared for the week ahead and stocking the freezer. But during the week, we still need quick and easy winter dinner ideas.
As we get deeper into the winter season, you might find yourself in meal rotation ruts. You might not be feeling inspired, don’t know what to make or you don’t feel like cooking. My meal planning structure helps to prevent and get out of these ruts, but a trick is to plan simple meals you actually look forward to eating (rather than meals you think you should eat). It’s about mindfully choosing satisfying healthy winter recipes.
I’ve highlighted six healthy winter recipes to help inspire your meal plans this time of year. I think it’s common to think of more indulgent or heavier meals in the winter (like fried foods and creamy pasta/soups), but you can make lighter foods more satisfying. The cold weather dinner ideas in this post do just that, make nourishing ingredients more satisfying for meals you look forward to eating.
Beef and Barley Soup
You want winter soup recipes to be hearty and satisfying, and beef and barley soup delivers. It’s a complete meal in a bowl, with protein from beef and fiber rich carbs from barley. I have a few ideas for adjustments you can make with this recipe. For ease, I’d consider trying this with a leaner (grass fed) ground beef. I’d also omit the beef bouillon because although it adds more flavor, it’s unfortunately quite processed. You can get a lot of flavor with browning the beef and other ingredients, using homemade (or locally made) beef broth and reducing to concentrate the flavors.
Honey Garlic Shrimp with Corn Polenta
This sweet, savory and creamy recipe would be so satisfying on a cold winter weeknight. I would add honey slowly and taste as you go, personally 1/4 cup of honey would be too sweet for me. If you don’t have chipotle paste, you could try using sauce from canned chipotle in adobo. I’d also add a side salad or roasted vegetables to the bowl for extra nutrients and fiber! And in the winter when fresh corn isn’t available, sub for frozen.
20 Minute Garlic Butter Cashew Chicken
File this recipe under easy winter meals. It’s a one pan dinner, done in under 30 minutes. She uses broccoli in this recipe, but you could add other vegetables like mushrooms, peppers and kale too. She serves it over rice, but this would be really good with soba noodles for a more nourishing fake-out-take-out noodle bowl.
Honey Sriracha Salmon Bowls
When you want easy winter recipes, a salmon rice bowl is a good option. With simple ingredients, this recipe will be fresh and satisfying. I’d recommend using wild salmon or Faroe Island farmed salmon (they use much higher standards than traditional farmed salmon). You can also add or use different vegetables based on what you’re in the mood for like carrots, peppers, scallion, radish and shredded cabbage.
Roasted Broccoli Caesar Salad
I love Caesar salad all year round. To me, it’s the most satisfying salad, so it’s a great option if you’re looking for winter salad recipes. I love that this recipes uses roasted broccoli to give more flavor when you might not be in the mood for a crisp fresh lettuce. The dressing is a lighter take using Greek yogurt and olive oil too. Add some protein like roasted shrimp (roast with broccoli for a sheet pan dinner), chicken or salmon. This is one of those crave-able healthy winter meals.
Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce
Of course, I had to have a healthier creamy pasta idea on this list. This option is great if you’re looking for recipes with butternut squash, vegetarian winter recipes and just easy winter dinner recipes in general. This sauce is silky without cream. Pair with lentil pasta for a fiber and protein boost, and a super easy meal during the week. You can make this sauce ahead and keep in the freezer for those nights you don’t feel like cooking. In the winter when fresh tomatoes aren’t their best selves, I might use a bit of tomato paste in this recipe instead. Using chicken bone broth for the liquid can boost nutrition, flavor and protein also!
Hopefully you feel a bit more inspired for your winter meal rotation. Let me know in the comments if you’ve tried any of these recipes, or share your favorite winter go-to recipe.