Healthy cooking doesn’t have to be messy or complicated. All you need is a handful of fresh ingredients and a hot oven to create nutritious, flavorful, low-stress, easy-clean-up dinners. We’ve rounded up five simple, delicious and healthy meals you can pop straight into the oven on just one sheet pan.
1. Paprika Chicken Thighs with Brussels Sprouts
This all-in-one dinner is as tasty as it is easy. Start by mixing washed, halved Brussels sprouts with shallots, lemon and seasoning, then throw them on a baking sheet. Coat your chicken thighs with a simple paprika-garlic paste, then nestle chicken into the Brussels sprouts on the same pan. Roast in a 450 F oven for 20-25 minutes, and voila! Dinner is served.
- Serves: 4
- Healthy Highlights: 43 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber, 141 percent of your daily vitamin C
2. Honey-Soy Broiled Salmon
Here’s a great way to add flavor to your nutritious broiled salmon dinner. Start by skinning your salmon fillet and cutting it into four portions. Next, make an Asian-inspired marinade of scallion, soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey and ginger, and combine with the salmon in a plastic bag to marinate for 15-20 minutes. In the meantime, chop up some of your favorite veggies (consider mushrooms, peppers and onions), coat them in a bit of olive oil and throw them onto a sheet pan, turning the broiler on high. Broil for 5 minutes and flip. When the salmon is finished marinating, add it to the sheet pan and broil for 6-10 minutes or until it’s cooked through. Remove veggies and salmon from the oven and serve with the remaining sauce and sesame seeds.
- Serves: 4
- Healthy Highlight: 23 grams of protein
3. Baked Chicken with Onions and Leeks
This recipe takes a little bit more time than the others, but we promise you, it’s worth it. Preheat your oven to 400 F. Combine fresh onions, leeks, garlic, oil and herbs until coated uniformly, and distribute evenly onto a baking dish. Place chicken on top and put everything into the oven. After ten minutes, brush your chicken pieces with a simple mustard glaze and bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes or until fully cooked through. Serve with a side of extra veggies or a whole grain for a complete and satisfying meal.
- Serves: 6
- Healthy Highlights: 26 grams of protein
4. Cod with Roasted Leeks
All you need is one cod fillet and one casserole dish or sheet pan for this yummy solo dinner. Toss leeks, onions and garlic cloves in olive oil to season, then place them into a casserole dish at 425 F. Roast for 20-30 minutes, lightly tossing throughout, then add your seasoned cod fillet on top, baking for another 15 minutes, until the cod is cooked through and flaky. Top with a squeeze of lemon!
- Serves: 1
- Healthy Highlights: 23 grams of protein, 10 grams of fiber, 150 percent of your daily vitamin C
5. Baked Tofu Stir-Fry with Cabbage and Shiitakes (vegan)
This easy plant-powered tofu dish is a meal fit for any Meatless Monday. The recipe technically calls for two baking sheets, but you can make it work with one if you’re adventurous. Toss cubed tofu into sesame oil and a tasty DIY black bean and garlic sauce. Transfer it to a baking sheet and roast in a 425 F oven for 10 minutes. In the meantime, toss cabbage, mushrooms and scallions in the same sauce mixture. You can choose to roast the veggies in the same oven on a second baking sheet for 20 minutes, or to add the vegetable mixture to the tofu baking sheet, roasting for an additional 20-25 minutes.
- Serves: 4
- Healthy Highlights: 24 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber, 56 percent of your daily vitamin C
