Best Healthy Recipes Ever

By Food & Wine
Updated May 15, 2017
Here, a collection of F&W's most popular healthy recipes, from a simple root vegetable gratin to a creamy cranberry panna cotta.
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1 of 21

Quinoa and Brown Rice Bowl with Vegetables and Tahini

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F&W's Gail Simmons makes this vegan rice bowl when she needs something especially healthy to eat.

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2 of 21

Spiced Pork Tenderloin with Honey Mustard

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Since pork tenderloin is low in fat, it tends to dry out, so be careful not to overcook it—this recipe needs just 20 minutes in the oven. Melissa Rubel serves a stellar honey mustard alongside it to add moistness and sweet-spicy flavor.

3 of 21

Watercress Soup with Pickled Cucumbers

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Quick-pickled cucumber slices give this delicate, fresh-tasting soup a little zing.

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4 of 21

Rice Noodle Salad with Chicken

Credit: © John Kernick
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5 of 21

Crisp Polenta with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Credit: © John Kernick
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Like many red fruits and vegetables, the juicy roasted cherry tomatoes topping the polenta contain lycopene, which protects against cancer and heart disease.

6 of 21

Chicken Curry with Squash

Credit: © John Kernick
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Many curries are fiery, but this one is gently spiced with turmeric, which alternative-health experts laud as a powerful anti-inflammatory.

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7 of 21

Shrimp-and-Vegetable Summer Rolls

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Vietnamese rolls stuffed with shrimp get crunch and color from yellow peppers, lettuce and carrots—which, like most orange fruits and vegetables, are high in cancer-fighting alpha carotene.

8 of 21

Chicken Paprikash

Credit: © John Kernick
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Low-fat chicken breasts stay juicy and delicious in the velvety, zesty sauce for this healthy Hungarian chicken dish.

9 of 21

Root-Vegetable Gratin

Credit: © John Kernick
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Use a mandoline to cut the vegetables into thin slices; they will turn tender when baked with chicken broth and a little cream.

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10 of 21

Sake-Steamed Halibut with Ginger and Cabbage

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Grace Parisi steams delicate halibut with cabbage that’s sautéed with ginger and leeks until soft and buttery.

11 of 21

Baked Potatoes with Wild Mushroom Ragù

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Grace Parisi likes using a mix of shiitake, oyster, chanterelle and button mushrooms for this succulent ragù to top baked potatoes, but any combination will work.

12 of 21

Crab, Avocado and Asparagus Salad

Credit: © John Kernick
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This mix of greens—including asparagus, a source of folate and vitamin K—makes this crab salad ultranutritious.

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13 of 21

Creamy Caramel Pudding

Credit: © John Kernick
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This decadent-seeming pudding is low in fat and a good source of calcium.

14 of 21

Grilled Asian Eggplant with Ginger Sauce

Credit: © John Kernick
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Marcia Kiesel likes dressing up tender Asian eggplant with a vibrant fresh-ginger sauce that would also be wonderful with steamed fish or poached chicken.

15 of 21

Nori Hand Rolls with Kale and Green Beans

Credit: © John Kernick
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Brown rice replaces the usual white in these fun-to-eat vegetable hand rolls.

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16 of 21

Beet Salad with Tangerines

Credit: © John Kernick
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This clever recipe uses sweet-tart tangerines two ways: Sections of fruit are tossed into the salad, and tangerine juice flavors the vinaigrette.

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Linguine with Red Cabbage

Credit: © John Kernick
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A little bit of cheese can add a lot of flavor to a healthy recipe. Marcia Kiesel tops this linguine with a scattering of crumbled feta, which melts on the warm pasta to give the dish a creamy tang.

18 of 21

Beef Tenderloin with Pickled Onions and Pink Peppercorns

Credit: © John Kernick
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Tenderloin is one of the leanest cuts of beef. It stays moist in a lovely sauce flavored with rosé wine (an antioxidant source) and pink peppercorns.

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19 of 21

Honeyed Yogurt and Blueberry Tart with Ginger Crust

Credit: John Kernick
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Melissa Rubel mixes creamy yogurt with honey so it’s deliciously sweet and tangy, then she spreads it in a graham-cracker crust spiced with bits of crystallized ginger and tops it with plump blueberries.

20 of 21

Cranberry Panna Cotta

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This elegant, low-fat panna cotta requires only five ingredients: cranberries, sugar, gelatin, water and buttermilk (instead of the usual cream).

21 of 21

Warm Spaghetti-Squash Salad

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Mild spaghetti squash is delicious with potent ingredients like the olives and feta in this lemony salad, which makes a wonderful starter or side dish.

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