New Year’s Recipes You’ll Feel Good About Eating
Updated: 04/08/2025
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If you’re looking for some New Year’s recipes you can feel good about eating, you’ve come to the right place. Below, you’ll find our favorite recipes that deliver big-time on flavor and will leave you feeling full and satisfied. They’re a great way to start the new year!
The start of the year always feels like the right time to eat meals that make you feel great. Even if you’re not into making resolutions, having a few good-for-you New Year’s recipes in your back pocket will feel great this January.
And you don’t have to sacrifice flavor to eat well. These New Year’s Recipes are deliciously flavorful. Whether you choose one of our flavor-packed chicken recipes with roasted vegetables or opt for something cozy like our smoked salmon pasta, you’ll find the perfect New Year’s recipe here for you.
New Year’s Recipes You’ll Love
Thai Coconut Chicken Curry (made in your slow cooker)
We all love an easy, flavorful dinner – enter this crockpot Thai chicken curry. This is my go-to when I have a busy week, but don’t want to skimp on flavorful, satisfying meals. I’ll show you how to prep everything so the crockpot does all the work, and you can come back to a winning dinner!
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Green Goddess Chicken Recipe
Green goddess chicken is juicy and deliciously flavorful. Chicken thighs are marinated in our favorite green goddess dressing and then quickly cooked in a pan. It's a dinner recipe that's easy to make and big on flavor.
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Spaghetti Squash Shrimp Scampi Recipe
Spaghetti Squash Shrimp Scampi is a delicious dinner made with saucy garlic lemon shrimp tossed with noodle-like spaghetti squash. It's a simple recipe that everyone loves!
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Crispy Coconut Salmon with Curried Cabbage Recipe
We love this 25-minute salmon and cabbage dinner! The salmon is coated in coconut and then pan-fried until crispy. It is served with curried coconut cabbage for a delicious meal.
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Coconut Red Lentil Peanut Soup Recipe
Coconut red lentil peanut soup is a hearty, meat-free, West African inspired soup recipe. The coconut milk and lentils make it thick and creamy and the peanut butter gives it the best flavor. Bonus that it's easy to make and incredibly delicious.
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Mango Chicken Curry Recipe
Recipe video above. Mango chicken curry is an incredibly delicious Indian curry recipe. The fresh or frozen mangos give the curry the perfect sweetness without adding any sugar. This easy 30-minute dinner recipe is sure to become a family favorite!
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Dairy-Free Tortellini Soup with Creamy Cashew Cream
This delicious Creamy Tortellini Soup is a cozy weeknight dinner recipe that is made in only 25 minutes. Instead of being loaded with cream (like most tortellini soup recipes), this one is thickened and made creamy with a little cashew butter.
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Vegetarian Chili Recipe (easy to make with lots of veggies)
This easy vegetarian chili recipe is our family's go-to, one-pot dinner. It's full of vegetables, made with pantry staple ingredients, and is so easy to make. It's a delicious vegan chili that everyone raves about!
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Cauliflower Fried Rice Recipe
This cauliflower fried rice is a delicious spin on a Chinese takeout favorite. It's made with cauliflower, eggs, your favorite veggies, garlic, ginger, cashews, and sesame seeds. It's an easy-to-make main or side dish, and it's ready in just 25 minutes!
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Baked Lemon Fish with Garlic Butter
This baked fish is our absolute favorite baked white fish recipe. It's cooked in a delicious lemon garlic butter sauce until tender and flaky. It's a 20-minute dinner recipe you don't want to miss!
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Creamy Pesto Chicken Recipe
Creamy Pesto Chicken is easy to make and SO DELICIOUS. It's made with a cashew butter cream sauce so it's completely dairy-free.
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Quinoa Vegetable Curry Stew Recipe
This vegetable curry stew is loaded with veggies, quinoa, black beans, and spices. It's a delicious one-pot meal that's ready in 30 minutes.
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The BEST Baked Salmon Recipe (made in just 8 minutes!)
This baked salmon recipe is my go-to for tender, perfectly flaky salmon every time. It’s quick enough for a weeknight but still feels special enough for guests. Check the notes section for my favorite seasoning blends so you can switch things up whenever you make it.
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Greek Chicken Skillet Recipe
This Greek chicken skillet is an easy, one-pan meal made with seasoned Greek chicken breasts simmered in a delicious sauce made with tomatoes, olives, and feta.
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Mexican Quinoa Soup Recipe
This hearty and comforting one-pot Mexican quinoa soup is layered with the robust flavors of chorizo sausage in a deep, delicious broth that uses salsa instead of some tomatoes. The result is a fresh and bold soup!
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New Year’s side dish recipes
To start the new year off right, you need a handful of side dishes to add some veggies to your meals. Here are a few of our favorites.
- Roast Carrots, Onions, and Potatoes – this recipe has full-on cozy vibes and is packed with flavor thanks to spices and little parmesan cheese.
- Lemon Garlic Butter Shrimp make a delicious side next to a juicy steak.
- Hummus is usually thought of as a snack, but makes a great side, too. Try serving it with some garlic butter rice, tender baked chicken breast, and a cucumber salad for a simple and delicious New Year’s recipe.
- Spicy Sweet Potato Fries will give you the feeling that you’re indulging.
- Irish Cheddar Cauliflower – In this delicious side, we sprinkle Irish cheddar cheese over baked cauliflower, which gives it the most wonderful flavor.
- Wheat Berry Recipe with bacon, caramelized onions, butternut squash, and spinach is a hearty and very tasty grain salad.
- Vegan Mushroom Sauce is pure magic. It’s made creamy with cashews and has a fantastic mushroom flavor that is delicious over spaghetti noodles, veggies, or your favorite protein.
- Corn Salsa with black beans is a fresh side and tastes great spooned over chicken or fish.
- Cashew Sour Cream doesn’t taste exactly like the real thing, but it’s a dairy-free alternative.
7 lucky foods to eat on New Year’s Day
The start of the year is steeped in symbolism. If you’d like to try your hand at eating your way to a great year, you can serve any of these lucky foods on New Year’s Day or even on NYE.
- Greens are often thought to represent money and wealth. Try eating one of our kale salads on New Year’s Day!
- Black-Eyed Peas represent coins and have been eaten during celebrations all the way back to ancient Egypt. Try this black-eyed pea salad; it makes a great New Year’s recipe!
- Cornbread is thought to attract gold, and who doesn’t want that? Try adding these zucchini cornbread muffins.
- Cabbage in the form of sauerkraut is thought to bring luck in some parts of Europe. Try our crispy coconut salmon and cabbage or bratwurst sausage and sauerkraut to add a little good luck to your day.
- Pomegranate seeds represent fertility and life in the Greek tradition. Enjoy this spinach pomegranate salad this new year.
- Fish often represent prosperity. Our baked fish with lemon garlic butter sauce is a delicious recipe for the new year!
- Pork is often thought of as a luxury food, and so it’s considered lucky throughout many parts of the world. Our baked pork chops are a wonderful way to add a little (inexpensive) luxury to your new year.
Thanks for the pin!
The paleo orange chicken looks awesome, it definitely worths a try!
It is awesome! It’s one of my fav paleo chicken recipes. 🙂
Yay! Thanks for sharing my mushroom ramen soup! This is a great list, I can’t wait to try out a bunch of the other recipes. Happy New Year!
-Molly
apolloandluna.com
You’re welcome! Your mushroom ramen looks so good!!
Your veggie sliders look so good … as do your mushroom burgers. Yum!!