5 Mediterranean Diet Dinners That Are Good for Your Heart

If you're following a Mediterranean diet, your meals are probably high in healthy fats, whole grains and lean protein — and that's a solid (and tasty!) formula for promoting heart health.

Cutting back on red meat and sodium while increasing your unsaturated fat intake is a great way to give any Med diet dinner a heart-healthy boost. For easy and delicious suppers that fit the bill, try these Mediterranean diet dinner recipes to keep your ticker in tip-top shape.

High in healthy, unsaturated fat and low in both cholesterol and sodium. While saturated fat is a no-go for heart health, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can help reduce cholesterol levels and reduce the risk for heart disease, according to the American College of Cardiology.

These healthy fats can be found in nuts or seeds, avocado and fish — and this recipe includes all three! Opt for cooking your salmon with olive oil, another heart-healthy fat.

This 20-minute recipe is simple in ingredients and quick to prepare — and it makes for a great side salad to pair with a piece of fish.

If you're looking out for your heart health, beets are a great veggie to incorporate. Beets are high in potassium, providing about 11 percent of your daily value per cup, cooked. Potassium is a prime nutrient for managing high blood pressure, as it works to lessen the effects of sodium, according to the American Heart Association. So, the more potassium you eat, the more sodium you excrete, which helps keep your heart healthy.

These tilapia fish tacos are low in saturated fat and high in protein, making for a perfect dinner dish. You'll get added satiating fats from the avocado, too. The mascot of healthy fat is made up of mostly unsaturated fats and is a source of beta-sitosterol, a plant chemical that helps reduce cholesterol absorption, per an April 2001 report in the ‌Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics‌.

Fish is a staple protein in the Mediterranean diet, which was named the Best Diet of 2021 for the fourth year in a row by the U.S. News & World Report. You should be eating fatty fish like salmon, mackerel or herring about twice per week, according to the American Heart Association.

Salmon, specifically, is known for packing omega-3s, an unsaturated fat that supports heart health. And while this fatty acid is heart-healthy, omega-3 supplements have not been shown to help protect against heart disease, per the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. So, in order to get all the fish oil benefits, incorporate salmon into your dinner.

Burgers can be a part of a healthy heart-healthy diet — especially when they're veggie-based. These grilled vegetable burgers are vegan and Med diet-friendly, low in calories and only take 22 minutes to make.

Eggplant, the main component of this recipe, is high in fiber, a nutrient that most Americans don't eat enough of. Fiber helps keep digestion regular, promotes satiety and may even help minimize your risk of heart disease, according to Harvard Health Publishing. You can pair this dish with a whole grain like quinoa or farro to add even more fiber to your dinner.