Mentioning a high-fiber meal or a high-fiber diet can be off-putting for some people, and they usually have the assumption that the food isn’t going to be very flavorful.
The following recipes are great ways to get fiber into your weeknight meals and make the meals taste good as well, without it being over the top or tasting like wood.
1) Lentil Vegetable Soup
This is a soup made with carrots, onions, and celery, typically canned tomatoes, and either brown or green lentils, but red lentils would also work. I like to cut my onions and carrots and celery kind of small. A good rule of thumb is that you want them to be small enough to fit in a spoon while you’re eating the soup.
Get a good sweat and even a nice light brown on your harder vegetables before you add your canned tomatoes and then your lentils. I like to add chicken or vegetable stock to this as well to give some liquid for the lentils to cook in. Add some cumin and a little bit of lemon juice for a real authentic flavor.
If you want a little bit of extra thickness, take some of the soup and set it aside in a small sauce pot, blend it with an immersion blender, and then mix it back in to thicken it up.
2) Black Bean Tacos
This is canned black beans with cumin and garlic served in a corn tortilla with cabbage slaw, and avocado if you have it. I like to make refried beans out of my canned black beans by sauteing diced onion in a little bit of butter, then adding the beans and kind of mashing them up a little bit, adding a little bit of hot sauce or salsa and chicken stock, and then letting the liquid cook down a little bit.
Warm your corn tortillas up just a little bit in the pan first, or even in your microwave, so they don’t break when you’re trying to fold them. I like to do a light dressing on the cabbage slaw, just mayo, salt, pepper, a little bit of lime juice, and garlic powder.
3) Chickpea Spinach Curry
This is canned chickpeas served in a warm coconut curry tomato sauce with spinach mixed in, brown rice optional. Cook your curry paste and your ginger in a little bit of oil to really wake up the flavor before you add your coconut milk and your tomatoes, and then finally your chickpeas at the end, then your spinach.
I know some people don’t really love brown rice, but if you add lots of butter and salt to it, it’s pretty great. Cilantro is a really great topping for this one too.
4) Quinoa Bowl
This is roasted vegetables and quinoa with sweet potato, a tahini lemon sauce, and the option to add pumpkin seeds. Roast your vegetables and cook your quinoa separately, and once your quinoa is nice and fluffy, mix your veggies in.
I like to cook my quinoa in veggie stock or chicken stock to give it extra flavor. If you want to add the pumpkin seeds to this, just go ahead and toast them a little bit first. When I make a tahini sauce, I’ll add some dried dill to it as well to really punch up the flavor.
5) Whole Wheat Pasta
This is smashed up white beans served with hot whole wheat pasta, pasta water, and oil mixed into a creamy sauce, with the option to add kale or spinach. You could fry up a little bit of bacon in the pan first before you add your white beans and smash them, and then throw some fresh herbs and a little bit of olive oil in there to really add some more depth of flavor to your beans.
Kale and spinach both do really well if you cut them up and cook them down first before you add them to the beans. That way they’re not too tough, and you’re not overcooking the beans waiting for the greens to cook. When you cook your pasta, drain it and save some of the water, because it’s critical for making the sauce.
6) Salmon on a Sheet Pan
This is salmon that’s been seasoned and roasted on a sheet pan along with veg and rice. I think I’d probably do the rice on the side for this. It doesn’t take that long to cook, and you probably won’t have to mess around with trying to time out the salmon and the veggies and the rice, which all kind of cook differently.
Make sure not to cut your veggies too large. If you’re using one pan for the salmon and the vegetables, you don’t want the salmon to overcook while you’re waiting on the veggies. Cook your salmon skin side down on the sheet pan, that way you can just slide a spatula between the skin and the fish and lift it right off.
7) Three-Bean Chili
This is a chili made with kidney beans, black beans, and pinto beans, diced tomatoes, and corn. I like to cook onions in all my chili and sometimes bell pepper, and then I’ll add garlic and then all my dry spices and cook those in oil for a little bit with the aromatic vegetables before adding the beans and the diced tomatoes, canned corn, and then typically beef or chicken broth.
Make sure to add plenty of extra chili powder too if it doesn’t quite have that chili flavor. I like to serve this one with pickled jalapeno and hot sauce on the side, along with tortilla chips and sour cream.
8) Baked Potato Bar
These are baked potatoes cooked in the oven with the skin on, served with all the stuff on the side, beans, broccoli, hot sauce, and then everyone kind of builds their own. My favorite way to do baked potatoes is to take a large Ziploc bag, take all of your potatoes, poke them all over with a fork like you typically would, then put them in the bag with plenty of oil, salt, and pepper.
Toss them around a lot with the bag closed and then bake them in the oven. You get a really great skin, and plenty of salt and pepper makes its way in through the holes.
This one’s really fun for kids because they kind of get to build their own and put whatever they want on there. So make sure you have lots of options like bacon bits and shredded cheese. You could even steam some broccoli.
9) Brown Rice Fried Rice
This is leftover brown rice turned into fried rice with frozen mixed veg, soy sauce, sesame, other Asian condiments, edamame beans, and egg. Leftover rice is typically what they tell you to use for fried rice, but if you don’t have any, you can just cook some rice and then try to cool it off on a cookie sheet in the fridge so it’s plenty cold when you go to fry it.
For the scrambled egg on this one, I always like to do a little bit of sesame oil and soy sauce, whisk the egg really well with it, and then fry it in your pan or your wok on a nice high heat with a little bit of oil. This will get you nice little fried up pieces of egg instead of big chunks. Take the egg out and set it aside, make your rice and everything else, and then put the egg in at the end.
Let your rice get a good fry on it before you add your frozen mixed veg. Those tend to have a lot of water in them, and if you add them first, you’re never gonna get that crispiness on the rice.
10) Stuffed Bell Peppers
These are bell peppers filled with brown rice, black beans, and seasonings, cheese optional. Make sure to let these sit once they come out of the oven before you eat them. I like to do a little bit of ground beef or ground turkey in here too so it’s not just all rice. But if you are sticking with rice and beans, cook your rice in chicken stock or veggie stock to give it a lot more flavor.
If you’re using black beans, don’t be shy with the seasoning. They can take on lots of flavor. When you’re picking out the peppers for this one at the store, try to find ones that’ll stand up on their own on the base so they don’t tip over when you’re baking them. I like to do lots of cheese in these. I find it helps hold the filling together.
11) Vegetable Barley Stew
This is a hearty stew made with barley, carrots, onions, and mushrooms, with lemon added at the end. Anytime I’m putting mushrooms in a soup, I like to slice them thin and then pan fry them to get all the water out of them and a nice golden brown on them, and then add them in towards the end. Otherwise, you’ll never get them cooked like that cooking them in liquid.
Cook your onions and carrots and then add your precooked mushrooms in. Add your barley and your stock and cook it until your barley is nice and tender. You can add lemon to this one, or plenty of parmesan cheese.
12) Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
This is a cold salad of cucumber, tomato, and chickpeas with a lemon oregano dressing and feta cheese, served with either pita bread or grains on the side. I would maybe do rice if you want something a little heavier. Open your canned chickpeas and give them a good rinse and drain before you add them in here.
When you’re prepping the cucumbers, make sure to seed them before you chop them up so your salad doesn’t become overly watery. For the dressing, you could blend a little oil and lemon and your oregano and seasonings in a little mason jar with an immersion blender to make it emulsified and creamy.
Warming up the pita and serving it on the side is a really nice trick. The contrast between the cold salad and the warm bread is really nice.
13) Split Pea Soup
This is your typical split pea soup, carrots, onions, celery, etc., with a splash of vinegar at the end. I always like to try to go for ham or ham hock with this one. If you have a ham hock, brown it in the pan and then cook everything around it, and take it out at the end.
If you don’t have a ham hock, you could always use bacon. A little bit of that goes a long way. Cut it up, cook it, and then cook your carrots and onions and celery and whatever else in the bacon fat before you add your peas and your stock. Cook it until the peas are really tender. You can even blend it with a stick blender if you need to.
I like to add lemon juice instead of vinegar to really help cut through the salty fattiness that comes from the pork.
14) Veggie Hummus Wrap
These are whole wheat tortillas lined with hummus and crunchy veggies, with seasoned lentils on the side if you want a little bit more filling of an option. Warm up your tortillas in a warm oven, on the stove on low, or in the microwave a little bit first before you try rolling them up. This will keep them from breaking on you.
Try to cut your crunchy veg into long thin strips so it’s easy to eat in a wrap and you’re not pulling out too big of a piece when you’re eating it. Some crumbled feta cheese or even some sliced olives on the side are a nice addition to this if you’re looking for something a little bit salty. Veggies, hummus, and whole wheat tortillas tend to have a more muted, mild flavor, so a little extra salt is pretty nice.
15) Overnight Oats for Dinner
These are oats and chia seeds, sweet berries, nuts, really whatever you want, and then they are slowly soaked overnight in the fridge to make them soft, as opposed to cooking them on the stove. There is an option here to also go savory with miso paste and serve it with a soft egg on top.
I like to do frozen blackberries or frozen raspberries for this because they fall apart really well on the oats. These are really good served with a little dollop of vanilla yogurt on top too, or even a drizzle of maple syrup and honey, and if you have kids and you want them to really get into it, you could always throw a few sprinkles on top.
If you’re adding nuts, try to go with a shaved one or something that falls apart easily, like a pecan, as opposed to a whole almond, which might be kind of hard to eat.
16) Lentil Bolognese
This is a typical bolognese sauce, but with lentils subbed out for the beef. You’re trying to cook the lentils until they’re soft with garlic and herbs and crushed tomatoes, and serve it with pasta.
This time, instead of cooking your beef first and adding your veggies like you would for a bolognese, you’re gonna do your veggies first, then add your lentils, and then add your canned tomatoes and a little bit of liquid to really cook the lentils in and get them to soften up. If you find it’s too wet of a texture, just cook it a little bit on low or medium low until some of the moisture evaporates.
Use lots of fresh garlic and plenty of fresh herbs, just not too much rosemary, because that can really tend to be overdone. Serve it with regular spaghetti noodles and no one will notice the difference.
17) Crispy Tofu Bowl
This is tofu that has been pressed to get the excess moisture out, served with broccoli, brown rice, and a soy ginger sauce, sesame optional. For the tofu, I would cut it up first and then press it. This gets more surface area so more water comes out, and then you can pan fry it a little bit to make it really crispy.
Then add your broccoli, cut up small, and then your sauce. Cook all that together and then serve it with brown rice on the side. Brown rice for some reason can just be a little bit blander, so I like to have soy sauce on hand for people to add on their own.
18) Red Beans and Rice
This is red beans served over brown rice with broth, bell pepper, onion, paprika, thyme, and typically smoked sausage of some kind as well. If you’re using dried beans, you want to make sure to give them a good long soak overnight before you try to cook them in this dish. Even though the beans are cooking for a really long time, it’s important to soak the dried ones.
With this one, you’re cooking all your vegetables and your beans and whatever sausage you add into almost a real thick sauce that you’re gonna serve over the rice. For most red beans and rice preparations, you want to use something they refer to as the Holy Trinity in Creole or Cajun cooking. It is diced onion, carrot, and green bell pepper. You want to cook that with some sausage, garlic, and then your beans, and let it go all day long until it gets nice and soft. Then make your rice at the end and serve your beans over the top.
I like plenty of hot sauce, like a vinegar-based Tabasco or Louisiana hot sauce, and saltine crackers.
19) Cauliflower Lentil Salad
This is roasted cauliflower and lentils made into a salad, served either warm or cold. Cut your cauliflower into pieces smaller than dipping-size florets. You want it to be kind of small so you can get lots of roasted pieces, and it’ll be easy to eat with the small lentils in a salad format.
I would probably cook the lentils by themselves in some sort of broth, then roast the cauliflower, cool the lentils off, and mix the two together to make the salad. You can probably get away with some feta cheese, grape tomatoes, olives, or even cucumber in this one too.
A nice lemon olive oil vinaigrette would be great too. If you have something like a NutriBullet or a blender at home, do some olive oil, a couple garlic cloves, lemon juice, vinegar, some herbs, and a little scoop of mustard, and boom, you’ve got a great dressing.
20) Vegetable Minestrone
This is your classic minestrone soup, typically beans and vegetables with small pasta added in at the end, served with olive oil, parmesan, and crusty bread. When I make minestrone, I just make the pasta separately. Instead of trying to mess around with making it in the soup, or letting it sit in the fridge too long so the pasta gets all mushy the next day, just make all your noodles, leave them on the side, and add a little bit to each bowl.
Go with a whole wheat pasta for this one if you’re trying to get the fiber level up. You could also probably serve this one with something like barley or farro for a really nice grain to sub out for the pasta. Just cook it with a little bit of stock and serve it like you would a rice.
Add lots of canned tomatoes to the minestrone, plenty of onion, bell pepper if you’ve got it, and a diced up zucchini added towards the end. Use lots of parmesan cheese for extra protein and salt, and if you have a parmesan rind from real parmesan cheese, throw it in and cook it all day with that in there, and then just take it out at the end.
21) Warm Farro Salad
This is farro, a grain similar to orzo-sized pasta, with mushrooms, arugula, lemon, and white beans if you want it to go a little bit farther. For this one, I would cook the farro by itself, then set it aside on a cookie sheet and cool it off once it’s cooked. Probably cook it with stock or lots of seasoning, because it’s pretty bland on its own.
Slice your mushrooms thin and saute them in butter to get all the liquid out and get them nice and golden brown. Then add your beans, then add your farro, shut the heat off, stir it up, and add arugula and lemon. I think this one could really benefit from some dried dill or some feta cheese mixed in too.
22) Bean Sweet Potato Skillet
This is a roasted sweet potato, black bean, pepper, and onion skillet with the option to add a fried egg. I think for this one, I would probably roast the sweet potatoes in the oven first and have them ready to go. Then you add them to the skillet with your black beans and your peppers and everything else and cook that all together. Otherwise, you’re gonna have a hard time getting the sweet potatoes to cook at the right time with everything else.
Add some shredded Mexican cheese, or even cotija cheese if you have it, to really help the saltiness balance the sweetness of the sweet potato. An over-medium or even sunny-side up fried egg is perfect with this.
Make sure to drain and rinse your beans and then season them heavily, because beans kind of taste like nothing. Cook your peppers and onions first, then add the beans and the roasted sweet potato. You can garnish with lime and cilantro, and serve with hot sauce.
23) Whole-Wheat Couscous
This is cooked couscous, and then you’re gonna take chickpeas, cook them in oil and spices with zucchini and other veg, lemon, and oil, and then mix them together with the couscous. Chickpeas are great shallow fried in a little bit of oil and heavily seasoned.
I would cook the chickpeas first, then add the zucchini at the end. You can just pan fry it right in there with them. If you’re trying to add any other roasted veg, just roast them in the oven on a sheet pan, add them in at this point, and then mix in your couscous.
24) Bulgur Grain Bowl
This is a bowl made with bulgur wheat and lentils. Bulgur is kind of similar to farro or rice in the way it eats and the way it cooks. A tabbouleh salad is mentioned here, so I think this recipe is going to include chopped up parsley and tomato and cucumber and bulgur, and mint also, if you have it.
If you’re adding a ton of chopped parsley to this to try to mimic tabbouleh, just cut it up really fine and try to get as many stems out as you can. Mix it in with your bulgur, lots of cucumber and diced tomatoes, salt, lemon juice, and fresh garlic.
These would be great served warm as well, with a little bit of feta cheese or goat cheese mixed in until it starts to melt and get really creamy. If you’re using dried mint, just be careful, because a little goes a long way.
25) Baked Eggplant
This is a tomato sauce with chickpeas, plenty of oil, and eggplant baked in the oven, with brown rice or bread on the side. Slice and peel your eggplant. This will give you an easier time roasting it, and you can just cube it up and roast it like you would a sweet potato or a potato.
While it’s roasting in the oven, I would probably saute the chickpeas in a little oil and seasoning, add the tomato sauce, and then take the roasted eggplant out and incorporate it into the sauce. This would be good over brown rice with lots of butter and salt.
If you’ve got some picky eaters that don’t like eggplant because of the texture, you could always do some sweet potatoes or regular potatoes or zucchini roasted in the oven, and kind of split the batch and make some with eggplant and some without.
26) Soba Noodle Bowl
This is soba noodles, cabbage, and edamame with a nice soy, rice vinegar, and sesame sauce, plus honey or chili crisp if you’re looking for something spicy or a little more sweetness. This would be really good with a soft boiled egg as well as some green onions, shredded carrots, or shredded cabbage.
Because this one is served cold, you can cook the noodles ahead of time and just pull them out of the fridge and make this for dinner. Sesame seeds make this look really nice, and you’re definitely going to want something like sriracha or chili crisp or some sort of Asian hot sauce, even chili oil, or maybe a little bit of soy sauce.
If you’re adding edamame, go for the shelled edamame, and maybe even give it a light steam or pan fry before you add it so it’s not raw.
