…sweet potato soup more than 42 grams.)

Quentin Bacon
1 of 20

Roast Chicken With Pancetta and Olives

This roast chicken with pancetta and olives and garlic from Gourmet magazine is braised in white wine to keep the chicken tender. A LOT of folks are calling it the best chicken recipe they’ve ever made.
Recipe
A white plate of larb--salad greens, ground beef, onions, and cashews.
Ellen Silverman
2 of 20

Thai Beef Salad ~ Larb

This Thai beef salad is one of my favorite meals–at home and when eating out. Spices, tangy lime juice, pungent fish sauce, tender beef, and loads of veggies make this a well-rounded dish.
Recipe
Skillet with four seared pork sausages with roasted grapes on a baking sheet nearby.
Christopher Hirsheimer
3 of 20

Pork Sausages with Roasted Grapes

These pork sausages with roasted grapes are a traditional Umbrian dish that juxtaposes rich sausage with sweet grapes.
Black pottery bowl filled with the Chinese dish gung bao chicken
William Lingwood
4 of 20

Gung Bao Chicken

This gung bao chicken, made with boneless chicken breast, chiles, Szechuan peppercorns, and peanuts, is authentic Szechuan fare.
Recipe
Catalan lamb skewers on sliced cucumbers topped with a romesco sauce
Johnny Autry
5 of 20

Catalan Lamb Skewers

These tender, marinated Catalan lamb skewers are served with a spicy pepper sauce and cooling cucumber-yogurt salad. Full of flavor, spicy and cool, all at once.
Recipe
A large coil of Italian sausage and broccoli rabe in an oval skillet.
Christopher Hirsheimer
6 of 20

Italian Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

This Italian sausage and broccoli rabe is made by pan-frying sausage and sautéing broccolini with oil, garlic, and pepper flakes. A simple and easy weeknight meal.
Recipe
Korean chicken wings piled around a white container of dipping sauce.
Aki Kamozawa | H. Alexander Talbot
7 of 20

Korean Chicken Wings

These Korean chicken wings are actually baked, not fried, yet are still impossibly crisp. And they’re served with a finger-lickingly lovely sweet and spicy dipping sauce. Move over, Buffalo wings.
Recipe
A ceramic bowl filled with hot and sour soup.
Michael Harlan Turkell
8 of 20

Hot and Sour Soup

Hot and sour soup may be something you’re used to ordering from your closest Chinese restaurant. But this easy and authentic version, filled with ground pork, tofu, and mushrooms, is done in less time than it takes to order takeout. And, quite honestly, it’s the best we’ve ever had.
Recipe
Cooked pieces of chicken shawarma and wedges of red onion on a rimmed baking sheet.
David Malosh
9 of 20

Chicken Shawarma

Serve this incredibly flavorful chicken shawarma with your favorite sides and toppings for an easy weeknight meal everyone will love. Plus, nothing beats a sheet pan dinner, am I right?
Recipe
A black skillet containing a cheese omelet, topped with chives and Gruyere.
Åsa Dahlgren
10 of 20

Cheese Omelet

This cheese omelet is fluffy and filled with fresh herbs, goat cheese, Gruyère, and sour cream. A classic that’s easy, simple, and satisfying any time of day. Here’s how to make it.
Recipe
Two whole roasted branzino with lemon and shaved fennel salad on a blue plate with a fork, two glasses, and two grey plates beside it.
Eva Kolenko
11 of 20

Whole Roasted Branzino with Lemon and Shaved Fennel Salad

This whole roasted branzino with lemon and shaved fennel salad tossed in white wine vinaigrette is an easy, healthy meal that’s on the table in just 40 minutes.
Recipe
A steel wok filled with mushrooms, greens, broth, and carrots, with a wooden spoon resting inside
Connie Miller
12 of 20

Mushroom Miso Soup

Mushroom miso soup. Quick. Easy. Healthy. Vegan. And yes, it even tastes spectacular.
Recipe
A sheet pan filled with roasted sausages, peppers, and onions.
Maura McEvoy
13 of 20

Sheet Pan Sausage and Peppers

Sheet pan dinners, in this case sausage and peppers (plus tomatoes, garlic, and onions) demands just one thing of you: Toss everything together on a single pan and shove it in the oven. Dinner: done.
Recipe
Spicy eggs in hell in a small cast-iron skillet, and half a piece of toasted bread.
Petrina Tinslay
14 of 20

Spicy Eggs in Hell

Eggs in purgatory is what to eat when you’re feeling like hell. I’m not saying that you have to have a hangover, but after an evening of carousing, eggs cooked in a fiery tomato sauce can feel like heaven.
Recipe
A sliced steak chimichurri with a gravy boat filled with chimichurri on the side.
tbralnina
15 of 20

Steak Chimichurri

Steak chimichurri is a classic Argentinian dish that marries tender grilled beef with a punchy herb and vinegar sauce. Here, rib eye steak is marinated in the chimichurri, grilled to perfection, and served with more chimichurri on top.
Recipe
A piece of pan-fried fish on top of cauliflower "couscous" and cauliflower puree on a white plate.
Jonathan Gregson
16 of 20

Pan-Fried Fish with Cauliflower

This dish features cauliflower two ways: in a smooth, creamy mash and as an innovative "couscous" accented with preserved lemons, mint and pistachios.
Recipe
A skillet filled with spicy scrambled eggs with a wooden spoon inside.
James Murphy
17 of 20

Spicy Scrambled Eggs ~ Ande Bhurji

These spicy scrambled eggs, made with eggs, fresh green chiles, onions, tomatoes, and cumin, make for an unexpected and satiating stand-in for any time of the day.
Recipe
A white plate with a piece of pan-seared Moroccan salmon on a bed of orange slices, red onion, and greens with three black olives on the side.
Quentin Bacon
18 of 20

Pan-Seared Moroccan Salmon

This pan-seared Moroccan salmon is gently but perfectly spiced, comes together in minutes, is perfect for crazy weeknights yet impressive enough for entertaining, and healthy enough to remind you how good it can taste to take care of yourself.
Recipe
White oval dish with four chicken drumsticks, chopped green tomatillos, cilantro, onion, sliced chiles.
Erin Kunkel
19 of 20

Braised Chicken with Tomatillos

This braised chicken with tomatillos has a slightly tart green sauce made from tomatillos, onions, peppers, garlic, lime, and cilantro that’s perfect with chicken cooked until falling apart tender, whether on the stovetop or in the slow cooker.
Recipe
A cataplana with slices of spicy chouriço sausage and sweet clams in a tomato-onion broth.
Nuno Correia
20 of 20

Portuguese Clams and Sausage

These Portuguese clams and sausage are slowly cooked with chouriço, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and spices in a cataplana, the Portuguese precursor to the wok.
Recipe



About David Leite

I count myself lucky to have received three James Beard Awards for my writing as well as for Leite’s Culinaria. My work has also appeared in The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Bon Appétit, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Yankee, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and more.


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2 Comments

  1. Thanks so much for this! My husband and I are eating low-carb and will try many of these in the coming days.

    I’m also grateful to have a recipe for Hot and Sour Soup, one of my great loves.

    Eggs are a great no-carb source of protein so souffles and fritattas are also good options and can be flavored so many ways. I’m having some leftover souffle with a salad for lunch. I find souffles not the least fussy or temperamental and, cold, they still have an interesting texture and all their flavor so, sliced into ribbons, they’re a great protein addition to a salad.

    1. Great suggestion! Thanks, Rainey. I’m so glad these recipes can provide you with some inspiration.