These 31 healthy Mexican dinner recipes are ones you can feel good about, whether you’re celebrating Cinco de Mayo, Taco Tuesday, or just your average weeknight.
Happy May!
Cinco de Mayo is fast-approaching, and while I really don’t need an excuse or a designated day to enjoy Mexican food, I will definitely jump at a holiday that encourages me to celebrate by eating a taco or two! Are you with me?
Mexican food is one of my favorites and the proof is in the number of recipes here on the blog like my favorite guacamole to slow cooker Chile Verde, to stuffed pasilla peppers here in my recipe archives. But today we’re leaning into our healthier main meal frame of mind and that’s where these 31 recipes come in.
These 31 recipes are all weeknight-friendly (you can make many of them in just 30 minutes), low-carb, and full of lean protein and veggies. Plus, there are several seafood and vegetarian options. Guilt-free, easy Mexican meals you can make any night of the week? Now that calls for my favorite margarita! Because you know…balance.
From burrito bowls that blow Chipotle out of the water, to big, hearty salads with all of the fixins, these 31 healthy Mexican recipes are the perfect way to kick off May and celebrate Cinco de Mayo!
First, download this free printable weekly meal planner/to-do list to fill in, tape to the fridge, take to the grocery store, or use for reference next year when you can’t remember what the heck were your fave recipes from this one.
And then sign up for your free weekly meal plan and prep list here.
You get the idea. Now let’s dig in.
These lightened-up Mexican meals are coming at you just in time for Cinco de Mayo! So without further ado…
One pot and 30 minutes are all you need to make this easy orzo made primarily with pantry staples you likely already have hanging around. It’s studded with plenty of healthy shrimp and zucchini, and is full of great Mexican flavors, making it an obvious choice for any night of the week!
Casseroles are notoriously known for excessive calories and globs of cheese, but not this one. It’s made with protein-packed quinoa, black beans, and chicken, and has a healthy does of veggies. And thanks to Greek yogurt and a reasonable amount of cheese, it’s just as creamy and satisfying as a casserole should be.
Stuffed peppers are the ultimate comfort food and these babies are low-carb, gluten-free, perfectly cheesy and spicy, and they come together in just 20 minutes!
Inspired by Mexican street corn (yaas), these colorful burrito bowls are guilt-free and full of so much awesome flavor.
This kale salad represents what all kale salads should be (totally hearty, tasty, and yes, healthy). This one one is loaded with honey chipotle chicken, black beans, corn, radishes, a quick pico de gallo, pepper jack cheese, and a roasted jalapeño lime vinaigrette that will be your new favorite summer salad dressing, and it’s a keeper in our book.
You know the drill — warm weather means grilling season, and these shrimp tacos with shredded cabbage and avocado crema are definitely worth firing up the grill for. The shrimp are marinated in a citrus-rum mixture beforehand (um, yes please), and everything comes together in under 30 minutes.
Think outside the tortilla with these ground turkey and lettuce tacos with tomato, avocado, and a super refreshing cilantro lime crema that’s buy delicioso.
Breakfast for dinner never tasted so good. This crave-worthy classic features tortilla chips, runny eggs, and an authentic enchilada sauce that’ll knock your socks off. Plus, it can be on your table in under 20 minutes.
The words enchiladas and light can actually exist in the same sentence. Filled with shredded chicken, white beans, and green chiles, and topped with a green chile enchilada sauce and just enough cheese, these hit the spot.
This gluten-free and vegan burrito bowl is for vegans and carnivores alike. It’s easy, healthy, filling, and completely versatile (try quinoa or cauliflower rice instead of traditional brown or white rice, or mix up the type of beans you use). Whatever you do, definitely don’t miss out on the avocado-lime sauce!
This super flavorful, chipotle-spiked chili tastes like it spent all day simmering away on the stove, but it only takes 30 minutes in the Instant Pot.
Take an hour on a Sunday and prep these yummy bowls for quick and healthy lunches or dinners all week long. You can cook the carnitas in the slow cooker, and while they’re cooking, make your cilantro lime rice, chop your lettuce, and prep your beans and street corn.
Ditch the carb-heavy tortillas and turn your fajitas into a big, hearty, healthy salad. This one’s bursting with flavor, especially thanks to tender chicken thighs in a chili-lime marinade that doubles as a vinaigrette, stir-fried peppers and onion, and cool, creamy avocado.
This loaded salad has everything you love about fish tacos — flakey, blackened fish, juicy tomatoes, avocado, kidney beans, red onion, jalapeño, roasted corn, cilantro, and tortilla chips, all on a mixed bed of lettuce and kale. And don’t even get us started on the avocado lime cotija dressing.
If huevos rancheros is on the menu, we’re ordering it. This vegetarian dish may be a popular choice for breakfast and brunch, but we love it so much, we eat it for dinner just as often. And with plenty of protein from refried black beans and a perfectly runny fried egg, it always fills us up.
This honey-chipotle marinade has become one of our favorite ways to flavor chicken on the grill. Paired with fluffy coconut-lime quinoa and a fresh and zesty side salad, these chicken bowls are the perfect light but hearty summer dinner we crave.
These healthy vegetarian tacos feature turmeric-roasted cauliflower, black beans, avocado, and a zippy tahini-lime crema you’ll definitely want to put on everything.
Marinated chili-lime chicken, avocado, mango salsa, and grilled red peppers bring mega flavor to this satisfying salad that’s so tasty you don’t even need dressing.
These Baja-style Cajun-spiced fish tacos are filled with a cool and refreshing avocado and cilantro tartar sauce, shredded cabbage, and fresh cilantro, beach-view and cerveza not included (but definitely recommended).
These refried bean and chicken enchiladas were lightened-up with a few simple tweaks, like baked and shredded chicken breast (instead of rotisserie chicken, which has more calories and fat), less cheese, and refried black beans, feature and a wonderfully authentic homemade enchilada sauce that will have you vowing to never use the store-bought stuff again.
Slow cooker Mexican flavored beef gives these savory enchiladas their start, with a healthy dose of butternut squash to round out the healthier side. Give these an even lighter bite when you go easy on the cheese—if you can.
Restaurant-worthy shrimp fajitas in just 20 minutes? We’re so there.
You won’t miss the meat in this hearty, nutritious, and smoky 3-bean chili, made with fire-roasted tomatoes, toasted ancho chili peppers, veggies, and kale.
Forget the soggy, bland iceberg lettuce and greasy ground beef taco salads you used to know, because this one’s getting a healthier (and tastier) makeover. Made with lean ground turkey, black beans, crispy tortilla strips, tomatoes, avocado, crunchy romaine lettuce, and a Greek yogurt salsa dressing (yes, please), this taco salad will be your new favorite.
This slow-cooker shredded Mexican chicken takes just 10 minutes to prep and is perfect for your next DIY burrito bowl, tacos, salad, nachos, and more.
A bold marinade brings awesome flavor to the grilled chicken in these Mexican street food-inspired tacos. Even if you skip the taco part, make. this. chicken, because it’s all about that marinade, baby.
This 30-minute vegetarian salad (easily made vegan, by the way), starts with a bed of crisp romaine that then gets topped with crunchy tortilla strips, spiced chickpeas, corn, poblano pepper, avocado, and cotija cheese, and tossed with a lemon-honey dressing.
You can have the whole enchilada with this easy, low-carb chicken, baked with black beans, corn, tomatoes, and a homemade enchilada sauce. It all get topped with cheese, green onions, cilantro, and black olives, and it seriously could not be simpler to make.
Steak doesn’t have to be expensive. These tacos call for flank steak — an inexpensive but super flavorful cut that’s perfect for the grill. The steak’s marinated in a spicy, tangy citrus-adobo sauce, so it’s nice and tender and bursting with flavor. Top the tacos with some chopped onion and tomato, cotija cheese, avocado, fresh cilantro, avocado, and a squeeze of lime, and you’ll really be livin’ right.
The classic cobb gets a Mexican spin with this totally loaded but healthy salad recipe. It’s got shredded romaine, spicy sautéed shrimp, black beans, cheese, guac, and pico de gallo, and we could seriously eat this salad every day.
Thanks for stopping by and visiting FoodieCrush. Have something to say or a recipe round-up request to make your dinnertime meal making easier? I’d love to hear from you. Email me at [email protected] or let me know in the comments below.
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Post tags: Cinco de Mayo, dinner, mexican, recipes
The post 31 Healthy Mexican Recipes to Make in May appeared first on foodiecrush.