Cozy Fall Dinner Recipes

We are jazzed about the change in seasons and the opportunity to roast, toast and get hearty with the harvest. 

Everything at the markets looks fantastic right now. As temps drop and days get shorter, we seem to crave bigger and heartier flavors. Enjoy big fall flavors while still maintaining an ALL whole food baseline with these cozy fall dinner recipes.

Here are the recipes we’re putting on the dinner table this season.

A Big Fall Salad

Kale, Apple and Almond Chicken Salad
Hannah Kinger, Cooking Light 2016

A simple yet satisfying dinner. The vinaigrette doubles as a marinade. Pat the chicken dry before searing. Can sub romaine or spinach if you don’t love kale.

1/4 cup olive oil 
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind 
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme 
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided 
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided 
12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken thighs or breasts
6 cups baby kale 
2 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced diagonally 
2 celery stalks
Thinly sliced apple
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Fast, Easy + Delicious Fish Dinner

Crab Cakes on Greens
Kinda fancy without a lot of work!

A cup of mixed crab meat, white and brown
1 egg
a tsp of Dijon mustard
⅛ tsp white pepper
light olive oil or butter (or ghee) for frying
½ cup almond flour (can sub regular)
pinch of salt
3-4 tbsp ground almonds
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
3 handfuls of baby spinach or baby leaf salad
quarter of a cucumber, deseeded and sliced
lemon wedges for serving

Combine crab, egg, mustard, and parsley, flour and salt. Form into 4 patties. Refrigerate for 30 min. Heat 1 tsp oil in sauté pan. Fry 10 min per side. Place on a bed of lettuce. Top with almonds. 

Hearty Autumn Soup

Roasted Red Pepper + Tomato Soup
Modified from Cookie + Kate

This soup is a great combo of late-summer harvest veggies. The recipe is big (about 12 cups), so you can ½ it, or freeze some for later.

8 to 9 medium tomatoes (about 5 pounds), cored and quartered
3 red bell peppers (about 1 pound), seeded and quartered
2 small yellow onions, cut into wedges about ¾” wide on the outer edges
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
4 cups (32 ounces) vegetable broth (chicken broth can be subbed)
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two large, rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the quartered tomatoes on one of the prepared baking sheets. Place the quartered bell peppers and onions on the other baking sheet. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over each baking sheet. Gently toss the tomatoes until lightly coated in oil. Gently toss the onions and red peppers until they are lightly coated in oil. Add the unpeeled garlic cloves to the sheet. Place the tomatoes on the top rack of the oven and the peppers and onion on the middle rack. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and golden on the edges. 

When the vegetables are sufficiently softened, bring the broth to boil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Peel your garlic and toss it in. Add the roasted vegetables, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, if using, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Simmer for 10 minutes.Purée the soup using an immersion blender or transfer the soup to a blender in batches, several cups at a time. Season to taste with salt (I added another ½ teaspoon) and pepper. This soup keeps well in the refrigerator for a couple of days and freezes beautifully. 

Surprisingly Good Veggie Main

Lentils with Asparagus, Roasted Potatoes, and Lemon Mustard Dressing
From Angela Liddon, Oh She Glows

Different and delicious!

For the salad:
1 cup uncooked French green lentils/du Puy lentils (about 2½ cups cooked)
3 medium yellow potatoes, diced (about 3½ cups) (or sub carrots for fewer carbs)
1 bunch asparagus, ends broken off and chopped
½ medium red onion, diced (about 1½ cups)
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
handful minced fresh dill, for garnish (optional)

For the dressing (makes 2/3 cup):
2 tbsp coarse seeded/old fashioned mustard 
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3-4 tbsp fresh lemon juice, to taste
pinch or two fine grain sea salt or pink salt

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Use a fine mesh sieve to rinse and drain lentils. Add lentils and 3 cups of water to a pot. Heat until boiling and then simmer until tender, about 18-20 minutes. Drain lentils and add sea salt to taste. Place parchment paper on two baking sheets. Toss chopped potatoes with ½ tbsp oil, salt, and pepper on one of them and place in the oven. Roast for 15 minutes and flip.

While potatoes cook, toss asparagus, red onion (if you’d like to roast it), ½ tbsp oil, salt, and pepper on the other baking sheet. Place in oven when you flip the potatoes and roast both potatoes and asparagus for 12-15 minutes until potatoes are golden and asparagus is tender. Remove from oven and place in bowl with lentils. In a small bowl, mix the dressing ingredients. Toss lentils and vegetables with dressing.

A Colorful Side

Cauliflower Steaks
Modified from Mark Hyman, FOOD

A great alternative to regularly roasted cauliflower.

Cauli Steaks:
2 heads of cauliflower
¼ cup avocado oil
1 ½ tbsp lemon juice
1 ½ tbsp capers, rinsed and minced
¾ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp paprika
¾ tsp sea salt
½ tsp pepper

Remove green leaves, trim and cut in half. Then cut 1 ½ inch steaks. There will be lots of florets that fall off. Save them for later. Arrange the steaks on baking sheets. Mix the avocado oil, lemon juice, capers, and spices in a bowl. Drizzle or brush on mixture on both sides. Bake at 450 degrees for about 12 min. Flip, add remaining mixture and bake another 13 min, until steaks are brown. They are done when you can pierce with a fork.

Chermoula Sauce:
¾ cup slivered almonds
2 cups finely chopped fresh parsley
1 cup loosely packed cilantro, chopped
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp tamari
3 tbsp capers
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp minced jalapeno
½ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp salt

Toast the almonds in a sauté pan til brown. Blend or food process the almonds with the rest of the ingredients. Serve on top of cauli steaks.

A Smoky Snack

Roasted Pepitas 
A great spice combo on these nuts!

Half tsp each of: salt, smoked paprika, garlic (granulated, if possible, but powder works in a pinch)
1 tsp olive oil 
½ cup raw hulled pumpkin seeds

Combine spices and garlic. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the pepitas and cook until browned around 4-5 min. Turn off the heat and mix with spices.

A Decadent Fall Dessert

Cocoa Walnut Truffles
Modified from The Clean Plate, Gwyneth Paltrow

Love these in the fall!

Half cup each of: Medjool dates, pitted and chopped, raw cashews, raw almonds
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp raw cacao powder
Pinch of sea salt
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp chopped walnuts

Simply combine all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until smooth. Stir in the chopped walnuts. Shape the mixture into 12 tablespoon-sized balls. Store in the fridge until ready to eat. 

Visit our blog for more seasonal recipes and healthy eating tips. To see if Healthy Nest Nutrition is right for you, reach out for a complimentary consultation.