Our favourite low-calorie recipes for healthy suppers
Kickstart your meal prep with these healthy, low-calorie recipe ideas.
On a bit of a health kick this year? You're not alone. It's never too late to reset and think about resolutions that might be important to you and one of the simplest ways to kickstart a healthy habit is by looking for nutritious meals that are low in saturated fats and full of fibre and legumes to promote a healthy gut.
We've pulled together some of our favourite, low-calorie recipes. From a tomato butter bean stew, to a simple fragrant chicken pho. All of these recipes come in at 500 calories or less per serve, and contain plenty of veg and complex carbs to keep you going all day.
Tomato, kimchi and butter bean stew
This decadent dish is the perfect winter warming stew to try and uses the slow-cooker for a hands-off approach.
Chicken Pho
This warming and satisfying chicken pho with noodles is a great low-calorie recipe idea. Use pre-cooked chicken to save more time, too.
Recipe: Chicken Pho
Smoked haddock fish pie
We love using smoked haddock for a lovely hit of flavour to a dish, and this low calorie pie is topped with crispy, golden breadcrumbs.
Recipe: Smoked haddock fish pie
Chilli con carne
A classic dish to serve during the week, this one uses lean beef mince, plenty of beans and a good hit of tomato to keep it flavoursome.
Recipe: Chilli con carne
Spicy butternut squash soup
This hearty soup is always a crowd-pleaser and we've added harissa to give it a slight warming kick.
Recipe: Spicy butternut squash soup
Chicken Cacciatore
Recipe: Chicken cacciatore
This low calorie chicken dish is easy to make and takes 30 minutes to cook.
Healthy fish chowder
Recipe: Healthy fish chowder
Adding just a drizzle of cream makes this soup velvety yet still low in calories.
Guilt-free Korma
Recipe: Guilt-free korma
Delicious but typically high in saturated fats, this normally cream-laden curry tastes just as good if you swap the cream for quark, a soft creamy cheese.
Chicken and barley stew
Recipe: Chicken and barley stew
This hearty but healthy stew is low in fat but high on the satisfaction scale.
Swedish baked fish
Recipe: Low calorie Swedish baked fish
This sweet-mustard dressing would work beautifully with trout or salmon, too.
Low-fat lentil and beef burgers
Recipe: Low-fat lentil and beef burgers
Lentils add extra fibre and texture to this delicious low-calorie dish.
Pork tenderloin Thai salad
Recipe: Pork tenderloin Thai salad
The perfect supper filled with lean pork and rice noodles, with loads of flavour so no sacrifice for those watching their weight.
Aubergine and tomato bake
Recipe: Aubergine and tomato bake
Quinoa is a protein-rich seed with a fluffy texture and a lovely nutty flavour.
Beef pho
Recipe: Beef pho
Delicately spiced, this healing soup is reviving and restoring, while keeping calories low.
Crispy spinach pie
Recipe: Crispy spinach pie
If you're trying to lose weight, be sure to use lean lamb mince and drain off fat.
Roasted fruit
Recipe: Roasted fruit
This autumn sweet treat is delicious and low-fat. If you cant find ripe peaches, use nectarines instead.
Cinnamon pancakes
Recipe: Cinnamon pancakes
These delicious pancakes are set to be firm family favourite with the addition of warming cinnamon and fruit compote.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
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