26 DASH Diet Recipes To Jazz Up Your Day

I know you are going to love these Delicious DASH diet recipes.

The DASH diet stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension and is based on guidelines for a healthy heart. The aim is to try and combat high blood pressure using the diet in a bid to reduce conditions associated with this condition.

In a nutshell, it looks at reducing the trans and saturated, or ‘bad’ fats, sugar, and salt while increasing the intake of nutrient-rich foods. Foods high in potassium, magnesium, and calcium are encouraged.

According to a review by Harvard University, “Numerous studies show wide-ranging health benefits of the DASH diet. A consistent body of research has found that DASH lowers blood pressure in people with high blood pressure but also normal blood pressure even without lowering sodium intake. It can produce greater reductions in blood pressure if sodium is restricted to less than 2300 mg a day, and even more so with a 1500 mg sodium restriction. ”

The DASH diet recipes listed in the round-up below can help you reap the benefits of this eating plan, which include weight loss, reduced risk of kidney disease, lowered risk of type 2 diabetes, as well as the obvious of lowered blood pressure.

It doesn’t have to be boring. These DASH diet recipes use healthy but delicious flavors to make heart-healthy eating seem like a treat!

1. Chef de Home’s Sweet Potato Oat Waffles

When you think of healthy eating, waffles don’t spring to mind. But by tweaking some ingredients Chef De Home has created this delicious Sweet Potato Oat Waffles recipe, allowing you to enjoy this breakfast comfort food any time of day. Adding almond milk, oats, and sweet potato makes this recipe especially heart-healthy, packing this recipe full of beta-carotene. Add sliced fruit on top for even more vitamins!

2. Taste of Home Shrimp and Nectarine Salad

Salads don’t have to be boring with this delightful combo. The nectarine adds a sweet and juicy flavor, while the shrimp keep it light and healthy. The flavors are reminiscent of late summer days, lazing around with the family in the backyard.

3. Minimalist Baker Peanut Butter Overnight Oats

There’s a reason they say breakfast is the most crucial part of the day! If you don’t fill up on something that’ll give you slow-burning energy, you’ll be starving by mid-morning and craving a sugar fix. These overnight oats are perfect for a busy life as you mix them up the night before and grab them in the morning. Peanut butter is healthy for your heart due to the unsaturated fats, but with enough protein to start your day out right.

4. Eating Well Roasted Tofu and Peanut Noodle Salad

Tofu is a wonderful food – as long as it’s cooked right. Let’s face it, we’ve all had a bad tofu experience. It can be sloppy and boring. This recipe crisps up the tofu by roasting it, and the peanut noodle salad is a perfect accompaniment.

5. Minimalist Baker Southwest Tofu Scramble

Another tofu recipe makes a place on the list! This recipe uses tofu in a completely different way and sees it as more of an egg substitute. It’s a good ‘first tofu’ dish to try out because it does taste like scrambled egg and is impossible to mess it up. The southwest flavors turn it into a lunch or dinner to make DASH dieting delicious!

If you are looking for more Tofu recipes check out my these 25 amazing silken tofu recipes.

6. Cooking LSL Red Lentil Soup

Lentils are a superfood on so many levels – they are cheap, cook quickly and easily, and pack such a punch of nutrition and protein. Often people find them boring, so it’s all about finding the right spices and flavors to spice them. This soup is perfect to warm you up on a cold, winter’s day and fill up that belly.

 

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7. Jessica Gavin’s Shrimp Spring Rolls

This appetizer is a fantastic way to sneak healthy, DASH diet-friendly foods onto a party spread. You might be thinking that I thought spring rolls were fried and unhealthy. These are Vietnamese-style, so mostly raw and not fried! And even more delicious, in my opinion. The ingredients are all fresh and give the roll a good crunch. The peanut dipping sauce is a must-make, the flavor it brings to the shrimp is seriously drool-worthy.

If you are looking for more shrimp ideas, these delicious shrimp tacos come in at less than 400mg sodium per serving.

 

8. Vegan Cocoette’s Quinoa and Vegetable Stew

Quinoa is another superfood ingredient, the only plant protein that is a complete protein. Meaning it contains all nine essential amino acids, which our bodies need but cannot make themselves. One cup of cooked quinoa gives you about eight grams of protein, so what are you waiting for? Whip up a batch of this tasty stew now!

9. California Walnut’s California Chicken, Walnut, and Olive Tagine

This tagine recipe is tasty and approved for the heart. Chicken is a superior lean protein, and walnuts and olives are brimming with goodness and healthy fats. Often you’d see these ingredients in a salad, so it’s nice to have an alternative recipe from these ingredients. This Morrocan dish uses tasty flavors such as cilantro and lemon.

10. Recipe Girl’s Spinach Salad with Chicken, Avocado and Goat’s Cheese

The best ingredients for a salad have got to be goat’s cheese and avocado. Unfortunately, bacon isn’t going to do your blood pressure any favors, so this recipe omits that and opts for a healthy chicken. Any green leaf base can be used but the choice of spinach here is perfect to add a boost of iron and protein.

11. The Way To His Heart’s Herbed Balsamic Grilled Chicken

Grilled chicken on a healthy eating plan is nothing new, but the key to staying successful on your eating plan is making the food taste good. This dish turns a grilled chicken into something you’ll look forward to. The flavor combination of the herbs and balsamic vinegar almost makes you feel like you’re sitting in a cafe in Italy…

12. Cooking Classy’s Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos

I think we all agree that Mexican food is delicious. However, it can often be loaded with saturated fats like sour cream and cheese. This recipe keeps all of the great flavors without all the unnecessary calories. A great sub for sour cream is fat-free Greek yogurt as it has a creamy texture and is an excellent protein source.

13. The Lazy Dish’s Banana Oatmeal Pancakes

This three-ingredient recipe is a quick and easy breakfast. It’s healthy and more fun than a bowl of oatmeal! All you need are bananas, oats, and an egg. Mix them up, add a scoop to a pan, and your pancakes are ready in a few minutes. It works even better if you blend the oats into flour, but either method will work. Change your recipe a bit by adding spices like cinnamon and fruits like raspberries to the batter.

And if you are looking for a twist on banana pancakes check out this Dash friendly recipe.

14. Meals with Maggie’s Mediterranean Egg Bites

For a burst of energy with the sugar, these egg bites are liked the most. They can be eaten as a quick breakfast as you’re dashing out of the door or as a snack, during the day. Eggs are cheap, readily available, and such a good source of protein. They once had a bad rap because of cholesterol, but now we know they only have good cholesterol; they are a DASH diet-approved food.

15. Eating Well’s Jerk Chicken and Pineapple Slaw

The spicy chicken is offset beautifully by the sweet pineapple slaw that accompanies it. It’s a very simple chicken dish to make, the main part being covering the chicken in jerk seasoning and letting the flavors seep in. The slaw sneaks in raw vegetables that are packed with goodness but doesn’t have the feel of a traditional salad dish.

16. Two Peas & Their Pod’s Breakfast Pizza

Pizza for breakfast on a diet? You’ve heard it right. The pizza isn’t the regular cheese-loaded pizza, and to be honest, it is more like a dessert! It takes a wholemeal pita, adds a layer of cream cheese, and then piles on the fruit. Making it a refreshing and tasty breakfast packed with whole grain carbs, protein from the cream cheese, and flavorful vitamins from the fruit.

17. Erin Loves Whole’s Chickpea Brownies

Stop pulling that face, these chickpea brownies are delicious! The name conjures the image of a kind of hummus-tasting brownie, but it’s not the case at all. If you have high blood pressure but are just a dessert person, or crave sugar or chocolate, check out this recipe for a DASH diet-friendly treat.

18. Creative Green Living’s Strawberry Basil Smoothie

Smoothies are an easy way to get enough food in your body without having to sit down and eat anything. They are perfect for people who are in a rush, and need to make sure they get something nutritious to start their day. Strawberry Basil Smoothie is an unusual combo, and it works beautifully. Sub out the coconut milk for almond or oat milk for an even more heart-healthy recipe.

 

19. The Kitchen Magpie’s Blueberry Kale Smoothie

Another great smoothie recipe that uses blueberries instead of strawberries, as the main flavor. The superfruit and kale combo leaves you with a hit of antioxidants. The bananas in smoothies not only add substance but make them creamy. If you prefer a texture similar to a milkshake, use frozen bananas instead.

20. Dash Diet Phase 2’s Lime Chicken Tacos

The trick with making Mexican food healthy is to make it at home and use whole ingredients. So step away from the pre-packaged taco mix. Just use ingredients like chili powder and limes. This way you’re not dumping a ton of salt and sugar in as well. Salsa is extremely versatile and you can use it as a way to sneak extra veg into your meal.

21. Gimme Delicious Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

Super easy, super delicious, and super healthy. This recipe ticks all three boxes! Oh, it’s really quick, too. This recipe has to chop up an assortment of rainbow veggies and chicken, cover them in healthy seasonings like paprika, black pepper, and olive oil, and pop them in the oven to roast. Simple!

22. The Gracious Pantry’s Cinnamon Carrots and Chicken Sheet Pan

This chicken and carrot recipe used an unusual flavor – cinnamon. When you’re trying to stick to a certain style of eating, it’s important to have variety and so this recipe is in my list. The flavor is completely different from most other dinner ideas. It uses warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger to give a unique taste to the carrots and chicken.

23. Allrecipe’s Mexican Bake

If you don’t have time to make all the parts of a taco dish or want something everyone at home can eat at different times, a bake is a convenient choice. This delicious dish takes the components of a burrito and throws it all together in a bake. Brown rice, chicken, corn, cumin, and cilantro are some of the yummy ingredients. Of course, all foods are good for you as well!

24. Diethood’s White Bean Soup

Soup is a great healthy food for the colder months. Or if you live somewhere tropical, crank up that AC and enjoy a bowl! They are such a good way to add lots of vegetables to your meal, not only giving you all the health benefits but it adds a lot of volumes so your belly feels full.

25. Averie Cook’s Turkey Noodle Soup

This is a recipe that uses leftover turkey from celebrations like Thanksgiving, or if you’ve had a big roast dinner. It adds lovely herbs like oregano for a tasty flavor, and if you’re feeling especially adventurous you could even make your turkey broth from the roast.

26. A Sweet Pea Chef’s Healthy French Onion Soup

How to turn French Onion Soup into a heart-healthy meal? This recipe used a low-fat cheese such as mozzarella so you can still enjoy the full experience of the soup but with fewer calories to keep your body healthy. The ingredient list is so short for this one, you’ll likely have them in your house already!