Customize by adding protein or greens

This baked gnocchi recipe is a delicious vegetarian main dish or side dish as is. To add even more protein, you can also add 1 pound cooked ground sausage, beef or chicken to the pan with the gnocchi and bake for added protein.

Another idea is adding greens: add a few handfuls of baby or chopped spinach to the marinara sauce and allow it to wilt before adding the gnocchi and baking.

More fast and easy dinner recipes

Here at A Couple Cooks, we love fast and easy dinner recipes! Here are some of our favorite seriously fast recipes and collections:

• Try our favorite easy dinner ideas or dinner ideas for one
• Make a chickpea salad sandwich, this easy quesadilla recipe, or a 5-minute seared tuna recipe
• Go for this easy gnocchi sauce or a pita pizza

01

50 Easy Dinner Ideas

02

40 Top Vegetarian Dinner Recipes

03

50 Healthy Dinner Ideas

04

25 Easy Pasta Dinner Ideas

More vegan and vegetarian tacos

Outside of these crispy cauliflower tacos, here are a few of our favorite vegan and vegetarian tacos recipes. These black bean tacos are quick and easy, or try tofu tacos with tofu crumbles. A few more ideas: quinoa tacos, sweet potato tacos, mushroom tacos, or chickpea tacos are always family favorites!

01

Easy Black Bean Tacos

02

Easy Tofu Tacos

03

Easy Mushroom Tacos

04

15 Easy Vegetarian Tacos

Ingredients for this chicken cutlets recipe

Chicken cutlets is our favorite way to pan fry chicken. Slicing a chicken breast in half (or “butterflying” the breast) does two things: it results in a beautifully browned cutlet with tender, juicy interior, and it makes for a quicker cooking time! With the light breading in this recipe, it comes together into restaurant-quality flavor in minutes. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Chicken cutlets (or chicken breast): Look for chicken cutlets or boneless skinless chicken breast, and buy organic chicken if at all possible. If you’ve made our other chicken recipes, you’ll know you can butterfly the chicken first if you buy breasts.
• Olive oil: Olive oil is our cooking oil of choice for chicken, but you can use any neutral oil or even melted butter.
• Spices: A custom blend of garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and dried oregano infuse major savory flavor to the chicken breasts.
• Flour: Just a bit of flour helps to coat the exterior and make it lightly crispy. (Don’t expect it to be extremely crispy: it’s not deep fried!) Substitute gluten-free flour if desired.

What kind of Instant Pot to use?

All pressure cooker brands vary! The brand we use is an Instant Pot 6 Qt Programmable Pressure Cooker. This recipe is customized for a 6 quart pressure cooker. We also can’t speak to other brands and types of pressure cookers. For example, Instant Pot Mini works differently, so use it at your own risk!

How to make shrimp pizza (basic method)

Shrimp on pizza isn’t usually our first choice. But after eating an incredible seafood pizza at one of our favorite pizza joints in town, we knew we had to try it! Our version isn’t much like theirs (so you’ll have to go try it!). But what it does have in common: juicy, buttery garlicky shrimp! Here’s what to do to make the best shrimp pizza recipe:

• Sauté the shrimp with garlic and butter. Get that shrimp perfectly sauteed before you use it as a pizza topping! Use the instructions below or our sauteed shrimp recipe.
• Spread seasoned ricotta on the dough. There’s no need to make an alfredo sauce: just spread lightly seasoned ricotta straight onto the dough.
• Top with mozzarella and Parmesan and bake! All you need is 5 to 7 minutes in a super hot oven. It’s best if you have a pizza stone to get the crust ultra crispy.

Homemade pizza dough is best, or use these shortcuts

In our opinion, it’s always worth it to make homemade pizza dough! The result is far better than what you can buy at the store. But of course: there’s not always time for that! We get it. Here are a few options for the dough for this shrimp pizza recipe:

• Our fan favorite classic pizza dough has the perfect flavor and fluffy texture. It takes 15 minutes to make and 45 minutes to proof before baking.
• This thin crust pizza dough is easy to roll out into a thinner, crispier crust.
• A few other options are making a pan pizza in a cast iron skillet, or sheet pan pizza to make two pizzas at once.
• You can also make smaller personal pizzas like naan pizza or pita pizza.
• In a pinch, use your favorite brand of store-bought pizza dough.

Ingredients for this baked tilapia recipe

This baked tilapia recipe is the ideal healthy dinner that’s impressively delicious. To be honest, when we’re meal planning the idea “baked fish” never feels that exciting. But this one? It was so tasty the first time we made it, we couldn’t wait to share it with you. The zing of the lemon, melty feta and tomatoes, and briny pop of capers make it irresistibly fresh. Here’s what you’ll need for this recipe:

• Tilapia fillets
• Cherry tomatoes, shallot, garlic, and lemon
• Olive oil
• Feta cheese
• Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, smoked paprika
• Capers
• Parsley, for garnish

A few tips for seasoning

This baked tilapia is one of our favorite weeknight dinner recipes to date, because it looks and tastes so beautifully fun and fresh. A Mediterranean diet recipe, it goes big on lemon, garlic and olive oil. Here are a few notes on the seasoning here:

• Bake the tilapia with lemon slices, then remove when serving. Mixing the lemon slices right into the veggies makes for bold citrus flavor. Remove them when serving: unless you love very citrusy flavors. If so, you can definitely eat the lemon slices: they’re extra tangy!
• Don’t omit the capers! Capers are a berry of the caper bush that’s native to the Mediterranean. They’re round and dark green gray, about the size of a peppercorn. Find them in the jarred section next to the olives at the grocery store. Their briny, salty flavor absolutely makes the dish!
• Feta is also key. You can omit it for dairy-free diets. But the small melty chunks of feta cheese sprinkled throughout is what makes this dish! We’ll admit, we were loosely inspired by the viral TikTok baked feta pasta for this flavor combination: and it’s spot on.

Sides to serve alongside

Make this baked tilapia into a meal by pairing it with a quick salad or veggie side dish! Here are a few ideas that keep the oven free:

• Green salads like romaine salad, butter lettuce salad, fennel salad, endive salad, frisee salad, kale salad or arugula salad.
• Sauteed vegetables like sauteed green beans, sauteed broccolini, pan fried broccoli, or sauteed vegetables.
• Whole grains like spinach rice, lemon rice, or seasoned quinoa.
• Pasta like angel hair pasta, linguine pasta, couscous, orzo, or couscous salad

More tilapia recipes

Tilapia is a favorite fish around here: it’s even milder than salmon, so it’s great for pleasing everyone. Here are a few more tilapia recipes to sample:

• Grab crispy parmesan crusted tilapia or blackened tilapia
• Make tasty pan fried tilapia or lemon pepper tilapia
• Make crowd-pleasing tilapia fish tacos or fire up the grill for grilled tilapia
• Try other fish recipes like our cod recipes or salmon recipes

01

Easy Grilled Tilapia

02

Tilapia Fish Tacos

03

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

04

Easy Blackened Tilapia

A baked falafel recipe—with canned chickpeas

Falafel is a Middle Eastern ball of chickpeas, herbs and spices that’s deep fried. Classic falafel is always made with soaked dried chickpeas, which gives them the ideal crispy texture. The only problem is—you have to remember to soak the chickpeas overnight. If you have time and can think ahead, try the classic version! It’s worth it for the flavor, and you can make it baked: go to classic falafel.

This baked falafel recipe is a shortcut for when you didn’t think ahead and don’t want to mess with frying. So, it’s not a traditional authentic recipe—it’s a variation for weeknights so you can enjoy similar flavors! It’s made with canned chickpeas, which you bake in the oven instead of frying them.

Secrets to the flavor and texture

This vegan meatloaf is hearty and savory, a spinoff on our vegetarian meatloaf recipe. What does it taste like? We’ll admit, lentil loaf doesn’t taste exactly like meat. The texture is softer and the flavor won’t fool anyone into thinking it is. However, it’s very satisfying! (If you’re looking for something that’s more like meat, that vegetarian meatloaf is a better option.) Here are some of the flavor secrets:

1. Lentils and mushrooms: Lentils form the base of this loaf, but on their own they’re soft and have neutral flavor. Mushrooms are important for the savory flavor and a chewy texture.
2. Toasted nuts: A mix of cashews and walnuts are toasted in the oven until golden and fragrant to add a subtle meaty flavor and give thee loaf some texture.
3. Dijon mustard and soy sauce (or tamari): These infuse savory, zingy flavor.
4. Vegan mayonnaise and bread crumbs: These help the loaf bind together. For gluten-free, substitute gluten-free bread crumbs or crushed gluten-free crackers.

Sides to pair

This vegan lentil loaf is great for dinner parties and holidays: it’s a great vegan Thanksgiving recipe. The most important thing to remember: the texture of this lentil loaf is pretty soft, so it pairs best with sides that have some texture.

Meatloaf and mashed potatoes is a classic pairing, but instead we’d serve this with crispy Brussels sprouts, sauteed broccoli or sauteed broccolini, peas with lemon, green beans almondine, roasted potatoes, or crisp salads like apple fennel salad or pear salad.

Ways to make it a meal

This French onion chicken bake is a celebratory meal, great for holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas or dinner parties. We like to pair it with dishes that don’t use the oven (since it’s busy with this chicken!).

It’s great with mashed potatoes or horseradish mashed potatoes, or green vegetables like green beans almondine, sauteed broccoli or sauteed broccolini. It’s also ideal with a crisp salad like arugula salad, apple salad, pear salad, or apple fennel salad. Or, pair it with a simple whole grain or pasta like lemon rice, quinoa, farro, orzo or couscous.

Here are more of our favorite easy side dishes if you’re looking for more ideas!

Ingredients in this cauliflower stir fry

This cauliflower stir fry is fast and easy to make! On its own it works as a side dish, but eat it with a plant based protein (see below) and it’s an easy dinner. The main thing to note is that cauliflower requires much more time to stir fry than other veggies, so you’ll need to add it to the pan first. Here are the basic ingredients you’ll need for this stir fry:

• Cauliflower
• Bell peppers
• White onion
• Green onions
• Stir fry sauce: rice vinegar, soy sauce, miso, gochujang (optional), sugar, sesame oil and cornstarch

Notes on the stir fry sauce

This cauliflower stir fry has an incredible stir fry sauce that brings in lots of savory, salty and sweet flavor! Use the recipe as printed, or another option is our Go To Stir Fry Sauce. It’s just as good and is an oil free option. Here are a few notes on the ingredients in the stir fry sauce:

• Soy sauce: Use regular sodium to get the full seasoning. Tamari is a gluten free soy substitute, or use coconut aminos for a soy free gluten free substitute. You may need to add a pinch more salt in both cases.
• Cornstarch: Arrow root powder is an effective substitute for cornstarch in stir fry sauces!
• Miso: Miso is a Japanese fermented soybean paste that’s full of nutrients and savory flavor. It’s a must in this sauce and can’t be replicated. You can find miso in the international foods aisle near the Japanese ingredients. There are lots of types of miso: we used yellow or light miso here (use the rest for these 10 Easy Miso Recipes).
• Gochujang (optional): Want to add a little spicy funkiness to your sauce? This Korean chili paste steps it up a notch.

Add protein to make it a main dish

Are you serving this cauliflower stir fry as a main dish? It’s a perfect healthy meal or fast and easy dinner idea. Just make sure to serve with a whole grain and consider adding protein to keep it filling. Here are some ideas:

• Serve with Rice: Rice has protein (about 10% of your daily needs in 1 cup cooked) and fiber, which helps to make a filling meal. Try our White Rice, Brown Rice, or Instant Pot Rice.
• Cashews: Throw ¾ cup cashews into this stir fry when you add the cauliflower. This makes a main dish of about 2 to 3 servings.
• Edamame: Add 1 cup shelled, frozen edamame in the last 2 to 3 minutes of the cook time. Or eat edamame in the shell as a side: try Easy Edamame or Spicy Edamame.
• Tofu: Cook Marinated Tofu or Pan Fried Tofu, then add it once the stir fry is done.
• Shrimp: Make Garlic Shrimp but use sesame oil instead of butter and omit the lemon.

Our top healthy soup recipes

Healthy Wild Rice Soup

Our top healthy soup recipe: wild rice soup! This fan favorite soup is delectably creamy and delicious: it's packed with plant-based protein from cashews, white beans, and hearty wild rice. The flavor is out of this world! Everyone who tastes it becomes a believer. Make a big batch and freeze leftovers!

Total time: 1 hour

Get Recipe

White Bean Soup

Here’s a healthy soup recipe you’ll immediately add to your regular rotation…because it’s just that good. Try this White Bean Soup, full of humble ingredients and huge flavor! Tender white beans float in the cozy broth with soft potatoes and leafy kale. Lemon zest lends brightness and tarragon brings an herby nuance.

Total time: 35 minutes

Get Recipe

Easy Lentil Soup

This easy lentil soup is only 7 ingredients and simple to meal prep as a lunch or dinner recipe! It’s one of our top cheap and delicious healthy meal prep ideas. We've made this more times than we can count!

Total time: 50 minutes

Get Recipe

Easy Cabbage Soup

Looking for a flavor-packed healthy soup? Try this easy cabbage soup. Though it’s humble, cabbage makes incredibly delicious dishes. Here it makes a hearty, satisfying soup, packed with veggies that swim in a savory-spiced broth of fire roasted tomatoes. 

Total time: 35 minutes

Get Recipe

Kale Soup with White Beans

Need a healthy soup recipe that pleases everyone? Here hearty Tuscan kale, white beans, and tomatoes float in a tangy broth flavored with oregano and fennel. It’s like a combination of all our favorite soup recipes in one bowl: comforting and full of bold Mediterranean-style flavors.

Total time: 30 minutes

Get Recipe

Black Bean Soup

This black bean soup recipe is the ideal healthy and easy meal! Using canned beans makes it possible to whip it up in 30 minutes. It’s creamy, garlicky and hearty. Top it with pico de gallo for a bright and zingy contrast in flavors.

Total time: 30 minutes

Get Recipe

Classic Bean Soup

Here’s a cozy bowl that’s so hearty and satisfying, you’ll never want to put your spoon down. Try this bean soup! Kidney beans and navy beans float in a savory, smoky broth of fire roasted tomatoes that has just the right glossy texture. It uses canned beans, but it tastes like it’s been simmering all day.

Total time: 35 minutes

Get Recipe

Creamy Broccoli Potato Soup

This healthy broccoli potato soup looks like it's cheesy, but it's all an illusion! Blend up cashews with a bit of the soup, and it forms a thick and creamy body that's packed with flavor. Broccoli and carrots add a big dose of nutrients.

Total time: 35 minutes

Get Recipe

Healthy Black Bean Chili

Does chili count as soup? Because this healthy chili is a must-add to your healthy soup list! This hearty chili features black beans, quinoa, and a zingy broth. Fire-roasted tomatoes make the flavor shine.

Total time: 30 minutes

Get Recipe

Red Lentil Soup

If there’s a healthy soup that always satisfies, it’s a great lentil soup. Lentils are one of nature’s wonders: they’re full of protein, shelf stable for years, inexpensive, and make for some of the most satisfying filling meals. This simple red lentil soup is deliciously hearty, featuring aromatic vegetables, lemon and a hint of smoked paprika.

Total time: 25 minutes

Get Recipe

Tofu Soup with Spinach

You’ll love this simple tofu soup recipe, a tasty, nourishing plant-based meal! Cubes of tofu float in a savory broth flavored with miso, ginger, dried mushrooms, and fresh mushrooms. Add crunchy carrots and green onions just before serving, and it’s a satisfying combination of earthiness with crisp vegetables.

Total time: 30 minutes

Get Recipe

Easy Vegetable Soup

This healthy vegetable soup is packed with as many veggies as possible! Carrots, green beans, bell peppers, peas, and beans all dance in a savory broth. It's like a fresh spin on canned noodle soup.

Total time: 35 minutes

Get Recipe

Healthy Split Pea Soup

Split pea soup is incredibly simple and hearty, with all the filling protein of this healthy legume! This healthy soup version uses a few tricks to simulate a smoky flavor without the traditional ham.

Total time: 1 hour

Get Recipe

Italian Chickpea Soup

This healthy soup is full of big Italian flavors: intense vibrant tomato, leafy Tuscan kale, and a creamy broth made with Parmesan rind. Swimming in it all are the chickpeas and pasta of the soup’s title, making it hearty and filling.

Total time: 30 minutes

Get Recipe

Mushroom Barley Soup

This healthy mushroom barley soup has a warming broth and nutritious veggies. Barley infuses each bite with a pasta-like chewy texture. It’s perfect for healthy desk lunches in a thermos or enjoying a big steaming bowl after a long day.

Total time: 55 minutes

Get Recipe

Healthy Gnocchi Soup

Some gnocchi soup is full of cream and butter: but not this one! This healthy gnocchi soup is homey, comforting, and heart-meltingly good, filled with lots of veggies: tomatoes, green beans and chickpeas.

Total time: 35 minutes

Get Recipe

Black Bean Tortilla Soup

One of our favorite healthy soups of all time? This black bean tortilla soup! It takes just over 30 minutes to make beautifully bright, tangy flavor. Black beans and corn float in a beautiful brothy with a hint of smoky adobo sauce.

Total time: 35 minutes

Get Recipe

Spinach Tortellini Soup

Here’s a tasty, simple soup that impresses every time: spinach tortellini soup! Doughy pillows of tortellini float in a tangy, tomato broth seasoned with Italian herbs and Parmesan cheese. It’s loaded up with nutrient-dense spinach and tender vegetables like carrot and fennel.

Total time: 30 minutes

Get Recipe

Superfood Butternut Squash Lentil Soup

Here's a soup full of superfoods: this butternut squash lentil soup tastes like a bowl of sunshine. It’s chock full of beautiful, colorful healthy ingredients, and it tastes surprisingly more delicious than you’d imagine from the humble ingredients.

Total time: 50 minutes

Get Recipe

Chickpea Soup with Rice

This cozy healthy soup is made of veggies that taste bright and restorative! It’s like a chicken rice soup made with chickpeas instead. Tender grains of rice make for a satisfying thick body to the turmeric and ginger-infused broth, with a punch of lemon zest to brighten each spoonful.

Total time: 35 minutes

Get Recipe

More soup ideas

There are so many soup recipes to try, outside of these healthy soup recipes! Here are a few collections of soups by topic:

• Pick from our top soup recipes, vegetarian soup recipes or vegan soup recipes
• Browse seasonal winter soup or fall soup recipes
• Grab Italian soup recipes, or use your pressure cooker for our Instant Pot soup recipes

Chili toppings: dress it up!

This vegetarian black bean chili is simple and elegant. In fact, you only really need to dice an onion and garlic, and let your stove do the rest of the work for you! Once it’s done, dress it up with the toppings of your choice. Here are our top choices, and then a few more creative ideas:

• Sour cream and cheese: Just a little goes a long way! We think these are required. For vegan, use Cashew Cream or Vegan Queso.
• Green onion: Thinly sliced green onion is the best fresh accessory.
• Cilantro: Fresh cilantro leaves are a great addition.
• Hot sauce: Naturally! A favorite is a Mexican hot sauce like Cholula.
• Roasted salted pepitas: This unique option adds a salty crunch.
• Pickled jalapenos or onions: Pickled jalapeños add a kick! If you think ahead, pickled onions are a favorite of ours: they add bright color and tangy flavor.

Ways to serve black bean chili

There are so many ways to serve this black bean chili recipe — straight up in a bowl, or with more creative options! Here are a few ways to accessorize it:

• Cornbread or corn muffins: Try cornbread muffins, Mexican cornbread, skillet cornbread, homemade cornbread or vegan cornbread.
• Salad: Try goat cheese salad, Brussels sprout salad or kale salad.
• Baked potatoes or sweet potato wedges: Try chili baked potatoes or as a topping for sweet potato wedges.
• Serve over fries: Make it into chili cheese fries.

More chili recipes

This black bean chili is our new favorite, but we’ve got lots of other chili recipes for the season! Here are a few to try:

• Go for our favorite vegetarian chili or this flavorful vegan chili.
• This quick chili recipe takes just 25 minutes and can be vegetarian or meat-filled.
• Got a pressure cooker? Try our Instant pot vegetarian chili.
• Opt for our favorite healthy chili recipe, or add potatoes for a sweet potato chili.

01

Quick Chili Recipe

02

Ultimate Vegan Chili

03

Easy 3 Bean Chili

04

Best Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients in lemon ricotta pasta

Ricotta is a creamy Italian cheese with a mild flavor that’s famous for its use in lasagna: but it’s ideal for long noodles, too. The great part about this lemon ricotta pasta? It requires just 1 minute of cooking to form a beautifully creamy white sauce. You’ll literally stir together a few ingredients and voila: a creamy sauce. Here’s what you’ll need for whipping up this pasta at home:

• Bucatini or spaghetti noodles (or your noodle of choice)
• Ricotta cheese
• Olive oil
• Grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper
• Lemon zest

Tips for lemon ricotta pasta

This lemon ricotta pasta recipe could not be easier: boil the pasta, stir together the sauce ingredients, and combine! There’s not much cooking here. But there are a few minor tips that can make or break the recipe:

• Save the pasta water! This ingredient is used to make a creamy sauce. It’s easy to forget (been there), so my mom shared a tip with us that helps. After you start the pasta, place your strainer in the sink, then place a liquid measuring cup inside as a reminder. When you go to dump the pasta, you’ll think: what’s that liquid measuring cup? Oh yes, I need to save the pasta water!
• Make sure to cook the pasta to al dente. This means “to the bite” in Italian: when it’s tender with a small white speck inside when you bite into a piece. Boil it a few minutes less than the package instructions indicate, and start taste testing early!
• The texture is best when served immediately. This lemon ricotta pasta is best when the pasta is freshly cooked and it’s warm: especially since you use the pasta water to help create the sauce. You can eat it later, but it does get drier in texture.

What to serve with lemon ricotta pasta

Want a few fast and easy side dishes to serve with this pasta? Anything from a quick green salad to lemony peas works here. If you’re serving it as a main dish, think about dishes that add additional protein. Here are a few ideas:

• Green salad like arugula salad, grapefruit salad, butter lettuce salad, or spring mix salad
• Legumes like peas with lemon or white beans
• Veggies like shaved Brussels sprouts, roasted broccoli and cauliflower, sauteed green beans, roasted broccoli or roasted broccolini.