15+ Favorite Light and Fresh 30-Minute Meals
If you’re looking to get back on track (in many different ways!) after the holidays, here is a list of my favorite lighter, fresher, healthier meals that can be on the table in 30-minutes or less.
Because these recipes are so simple, all of these recipes make excellent dinners and/or lunches. Plan ahead to meal prep in advance the recipes you like so you can have easy lunch options during the week.
This might be my favorite recipe roundup to date. Scrolling through these recipes makes me very excited and very hungry!
15+ Light and Fresh 30-Minute Meals
1
Thai-Style Ground Turkey and Green Beans {20-Minute Meal}
This can be on the table in even less than 30 minutes! It is delicious served with a fried egg on top, too.
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2
Simple Orange Chicken with Broccoli
This is an older recipe but one we make all the time. It is simple, quick and delicious!
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3
Coconut Shrimp Curry
Easily one of my most favorite recipes ever! Bonus: lots of readers report they have made it with chicken with good results.
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4
Crispy Chicken Enchilada Wraps
These wraps are cooked on a griddle for a crispy outside (rather than being fried in oil) and they are easily customizable to ingredients you have on hand.
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5
Instant Pot Lentil Tacos
Ok, this recipe might take just a teensy bit over the 30 minute mark letting the pressure release from the Instant Pot…but I hope you'll forgive me for including it in this roundup (these tacos are so good and so healthy and should not be missed!).
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6
Coconut Lime Chicken and Zucchini
Check out the comments on this recipe – most people are AMAZED at just how delicious this meal is! So yummy!
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7
Turkey Avocado Veggie Wraps
These wraps make an excellent lighter dinner – and they are perfect for lunches, too.
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8
Skillet Cilantro and Lime Fish Tacos
These quick and simple fish tacos are exceptionally delicious!
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9
Chicken and Mango {Or Pineapple} Basil Stir Fry
This is one of my favorite stir fry recipes! The flavors are so fresh and so tasty. FYI: Pineapple can be subbed for the mango.
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10
Cheesy Chicken, Kale and Sweet Potato Skillet Meal
This is a must-make! The sweet potato with the chicken and kale is so good, and it's such an easy skillet meal.
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11
Quick and Easy Egg Roll Skillet Meal {30-Minute Meal}
This is one of my family's all-time favorites! We make it monthly (at least). It is quick and easy and loaded with protein.
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12
Easy One Pot Beef and Broccoli Ramen Noodles
To make this meal even easier, sub ground beef for the steak pieces (I do that 99% of the time!).
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13
Skillet Lemon Parmesan Chicken and Zucchini
If zucchini is hard to find, sub in broccoli or another veggie of choice. The flavors of this one are simple and so tasty.
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14
Quick and Easy Chinese Chicken and Broccoli
This recipe makes use of cooked chicken – so pick up a rotisserie chicken and put this meal on the menu! It's fantastic.
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15
Avocado Chicken Salad
This recipe is a year-round favorite, and it is so yummy with some of the optional add-ins (like bacon!).
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16
Teriyaki Chicken + Veggies Sheet Pan Dinner
Sheet pan dinners are a lifesaver! Serve this collection of chicken + veggies on its own or over rice.
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17
Sheet Pan Balsamic Chicken and Veggies
Another sheet pan favorite! If you love balsamic flavors, you'll love this one.
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18
The Best Ground Beef Taco Meat
This taco meat is delicious and can be served with salads, on tacos, or in wraps or quesadillas!
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19
Yum Yum Rice Bowls with Knockoff Yumm Sauce Recipe
Fresh and yummy, these veggies bowls are so good – especially because everyone can customize their own.
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20
20-Minute Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry
Another meal that can come together in even less than 30 minutes…and the veggies are super adaptable to what you have on hand.
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21
Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps
I've loved these wraps for over a decade and I don't see that ever changing. The are so easy and the flavor is incredible!
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22
Thai Chicken Crunch Wraps
I could eat these crunchy, flavorful wraps every single day. They make a delicious lighter dinner and are great for lunches.
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23
Chipotle Chicken Tacos
A great weeknight meal – these chicken tacos have a few unique ingredients that provide the most delicious flavor.
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24
White Bean and Tuna Salad
The older pictures on this recipe don't do it justice – this tuna + white bean situation has been a lunch staple for me for almost two decades. Make it up in advance and eat it for days!
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This list !!! So great !! Some of my all time favorites for more than 10 years running!! Thank you for putting them all in one list ❤️ perfect quick and healthy week night meals for any time of year – but especially winter when I want to have a quick meal and then curl up under a blanket
I just want to thank you for posting these delicious recipes. My husband was recently diagnosed with Alpha-Gal Syndrome, and many of these meet the criteria for safe dietary choices. Yum!
I’m happy this list of recipes is helpful, Jane! Good luck as you navigate new eating/dietary changes.
Hey Mel! Thank you for a great list! l love lists like this is because, in addition to having a bunch of great recipes categorized, I often find a recipe or two that I’ve never even seen! (And I’ve been following you for a long time!). Today, that recipe is the White Bean and Tuna Salad. Last summer I bought canned tuna with the hope of having it for quick and easy lunches, but didn’t have a good recipe and didn’t like the taste. Now that I see all the amazing comments for this one, I will be trying it and hopefully it will become one of my go-to lunch options! Thanks so much!
I hope you end up liking that white bean tuna salad, Kristine – it really is such a simple, lovely recipe. Thanks for being here!
You listed several of my favorite “yes, it’s Mel’s recipe” already, but so many I haven’t tried yet! Thanks so much. Can’t wait to make my way through the list. PS Those lentil tacos are incredible and have made a good change to my money spent, too. 😊🩵
Thanks, Jana! My kids love those lentil tacos (surprising because a few of them are lentil skeptics AND think dinner must have meat, haha).
This is exactly what I needed this morning! I am easing into my improved eating choices goal (I should have started sooner but didn’t want to waste any of those wonderful holiday leftovers!). First on my list is the tuna and white beans. Also starting an online exercise program with a physical therapist. 2026 is going to be healthier so thank you!
Good luck with your healthy endeavors!! I’m excited for you…and hope this year brings lots of positive outcomes from those efforts!
Hi Mel! I’ve made several of these and they’re all delicious! Thank you for this great round up! Happy New Year!
Thank YOU, Jamie!