How do you want to spend your summer?
I can’t stick my head through your screen and hear your answers. But I can make a wild guess that you didn’t say, “Spend more time in my kitchen, please!”
Summer is a whirlwind—ideally, a fun one. It’s a time when most of us are looking for something fast and filling to put on the table. We need the recipes that say, “Forgot about dinner until 5:30 again? No problem. I take ten minutes.”
Here’s the catch that stumps all of us:
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- Fast dinners? We can make that work.
- Healthy dinners? We can do that too.
But do them at the same time? When we’re scrambling to get scraps on the table, it’s hard to hit our health goals…until now.
Here’s a list of 14 fast and fit Summer dinners. Each takes under 30 minutes of kitchen time and packs in over 25 grams of protein per serving. You’re welcome!
Plus, I’ve added a two-week menu so you can ditch the kitchen and get back to the pool party.
14 Speedy, High-Protein Dinners You’ll Love
- Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs: Full of protein, naturally sweetened with tangy pineapple, and ready in under 30 minutes, these Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs are a weeknight win. You’ll love them served over rice and veggies with an extra drizzle of teriyaki sauce.
- Shrimp Scampi Pasta: This one’s a winner. It’s filling, it feels fancy, and it’s done in a flash. I swap the light butter for grass-fed butter and toss in a big handful of arugula to my serving at the end.
- Balsamic Steak Salad: Oh my gorgonzola—you’re going to die when you see this salad. I throw my steak in a bag with the marinade earlier in the day. Then, it takes me 20 minutes to combine everything on our plates—but you’d never know it. This salad is packed with vibrant flavors from grilled corn, acidic tomatoes, spicy red onion, rich balsamic vinaigrette, and pungent gorgonzola cheese.
- Honey Sriracha Salmon Bowls: Savory and spicy meets sweet in these Honey Sriracha Salmon Bowls. This dish is layered with soft rice, crunchy cucumber, creamy avocado, crispy salmon chunks, fresh edamame, and a drizzle of sriracha mayo. It’s a decadent one-bowl meal done in 20 minutes. Plus, each serving is packed with 43 grams of protein!
- Chicken Fried Rice: Combine brown rice, chicken, and any veggies you have on hand to make this fast, restaurant-style Chicken Fried Rice. It’s simple, savory, and coated in a delicious stir-fry sauce. Whip it up in one skillet for quick cleanup.
- Skillet Lemon Parmesan Chicken and Veggies: I love a good summer pasta recipe. This one is bright and flavorful, seasoned with lemon zest and fresh parsley. It comes together in one pan for faster cleanup post-dinner.
- Salsa Verde Chicken: On Taco Tuesdays, I whip out my Instant Pot and make this Salsa Verde Chicken. Then, I grab whatever toppings we have—usually Greek yogurt or sour cream, cilantro, microgreens, jalapeno, red onion, and avocado. Make a big batch and use this chicken for another dinner or a burrito bowl lunch prep.
- Easy Baked Pesto Chicken: This easy comfort meal doesn’t require any pre-cooking. Just add it all into the dish and bake. I like to layer mine on top of one of my favorite high-protein pastas.
- Creole Chicken and Shrimp: This recipe gets you in and out of the kitchen in just 20 minutes. I take a shortcut and simply toss all the ingredients on a sheet pan and bake. Then, I wait as the medley of spices wafts through my home.
- Chicken Tenders and Broccoli: Dinner takes 15 minutes, and cleanup takes 2 with this sheet-pan recipe. I add a sweet potato or two that I’ve chopped into extra small cubes, then I serve the dish with my favorite ranch dressing.
- Chicken Salad with Cranberries and Walnuts: The perfect picnic dinner—this recipe whips together in 10 minutes! You’ll love the zippy, sweet addition of dried cranberries and the crunch from the chopped walnuts and apples.
- Chicken Enchiladas: These quick Chicken Enchiladas make a great weeknight meal. Tender chicken meets creamy cheese and a tangy enchilada sauce. It’s packed with fiber and 38 grams of protein per serving!
- BBQ Chicken Bowl: Got 10 minutes to make dinner? This is your recipe. Grab a rotisserie chicken, your favorite BBQ sauce, and a pile of veggies. The recipe calls for cooked rice, so on nights we don’t have that on hand, we serve this dinner over a microwaved sweet potato.
- Ramen Noodle Beef Bowl: This recipe is a family favorite! On extra speedy nights, I grab pre-cut veggies (like slaw, shredded carrots, chopped onions, and minced garlic). Each serving is only 388 calories and a whopping 34 grams of protein. You and the family will love it!
Your 2-Week Menu of Fast, High-Protein Dinners
Reach Your Goals. Get Back to What Matters.
Health can become all-consuming, especially when we feel self-conscious about our weight.
Most strategies for weight loss tell us things like:
- You have to eat separate meals (like limp salads and thin veggie soups) from your friends and family.
- You have to spend lots of time every day making food that matches your diet requirements.
- You have to stay hungry, which means you’re constantly thinking about your next meal.
- You have to put your life on pause until you reach that number on the scale.
I wish I could sit across from you right now, take your hand, and tell you there’s really good news.
After decades working with people and watching them shed pound after pound, I know that hitting your goals doesn’t mean your life has to stop. Sure, weight loss is hard work, but the best kinds of weight loss strategies (the kinds I see my clients loving) fit into real life.
That is the heart of LEAN—my 7-week program, Living Energized and Nourished. Yes, you will see pounds of weight drop off. Yes, you will learn the best, science-backed weight loss strategies that work. But you’ll also realize that you can do it. Because everything we teach at LEAN has to work in the gritty, day-to-day, hectic lives of real people, like you and me. Right?
Join us! Join the real people losing real weight and keeping it off for life. It’s work, but I bet it’s a lot easier than you think…Find out how you can reach your goals and get back to what matters.
