16 Healthy, Simple, And Impressive Dinner Party Dishes

Hosting a dinner party can seem like an overwhelming task. It sounds like a brilliant idea to host your friends round your dinner table, but you always underestimate the amount of time, organization, and skill that it takes. However, that doesn't need to be the case: These 16 recipes are the solution to hosting a stress-free, but still impressive, dinner party.

The much-loved combination of sweet pears and salty blue cheese becomes an impressive salad with the addition of some healthy baked chicken breasts and handfuls of lightly wilted spinach. Serve as a warm salad in the winter months, and swap the cooked spinach for raw baby spinach and serve at room temperature in the summer.

For the Baked Chicken With Spinach, Pears, and Blue Cheese recipe, click here.

Risotto may not be what springs to mind when you're planning a healthier dinner, but this beet and barley risotto is an easy way to lighten up a classic, rich Italian risotto. Roasted beets turn the risotto a beautiful, vivid color, and the barley adds a nutty, wholesome taste.

For the Beet and Barley Risotto recipe, click here.

Frozen yogurt is so much easier to make at home than ice cream or sorbet. Simply combine roasted blueberries with chilled yogurt, and churn in your ice cream machine. If you're looking for a soft-serve texture, this will be ready to serve immediately, and for a firmer texture, simply leave in the freezer for a couple of hours after churning.

For the Blueberry Frozen Yogurt recipe, click here.

Bake the salmon fillets in olive oil and serve either warm or cold, with a pile of arugula and a fresh yogurt dressing. The dressing is what really elevates this dish, and all it involves is whisking together the yogurt, herbs, lemon juice, and honey.

For the Chilled Poached Salmon Salad With Honey-Yogurt Dressing recipe, click here.

The long list of ingredients for this recipe may intimidate those of you who aren't confident cooks, but don't shy away just yet. This stew can be made in just one pot — a miracle when it comes to saving on washing up time later — and has so many amazing layers of flavor from the spices, the fish, and the vegetables.

For the Creole Fish Stew recipe, click here.

When you're craving comforting, rich lasagna, but want to serve something simpler and slightly less heavy, this zucchini lasagna will come to your rescue. The sheets of pasta have been replaced with thinly sliced zucchini, and we've subtly removed the calorie-laden béchamel sauce for an easier, healthier, but just as delicious, bubbling, baked lasagna.

For the Gluten-Free Vegetable Lasagna recipe, click here.

This hot niçoise salad is a one-pan dish, which has beautiful, lightly roasted tuna steaks as the centerpiece. Filled with vegetables, and dressed simply with a squeeze of lemon, a hot niçoise salad makes for a colorful, quick, and healthy dinner party dish.

For the Hot Niçoise Salad recipe, click here.

Cooking a hearty, homemade ramen doesn't have to be time-consuming and complex, but it doesn't have to come from a packet of instant noodles either. Using a light miso paste here makes for a delicate Japanese broth that is poured over fine, wheat noodles and served with lightly seared slices of fresh tuna.

For the Miso Broth With Ramen and Seared Tuna recipe, click here.

This is a fresh, zingy dessert, which can be ready in a matter of minutes. The combination of pineapple and mint makes a healthy dessert, which will be really popular in the summer when you want a light, fruity end to a meal.

For the Pineapple With Smashed Mint Sugar recipe, click here.

A vegetable gratin is a favorite comforting dinner party dish. The autumnal mixture of pumpkin, olive oil, hazelnuts, breadcrumbs, and Parmigiano-Reggiano are roasted together to create a soft casserole with a crunchy, golden-brown top. Serve with a simple green salad for an impressive, well-balanced meal.

For the Pumpkin Gratin recipe, click here.

Fish is often a popular option when looking for a quick, healthy dinner. This marinated salmon cooks in just five minutes, and is served with a crunchy, citrusy salad of corn, tomatoes, and avocado.

For the Salmon With Chesapeake Corn, Tomato, and Avocado Salad recipe, click here.

A slow-cooked Spanish lentil and chorizo stew tastes as if you've spent hours over the stove, stirring and seasoning, until it's cooked to perfection. In actuality, you just need to add everything to your slow-cooker and leave for five hours, before serving garnished with some fresh parsley. It really couldn't get any easier.

For the Slow-Cooker Spanish Lentil and Chorizo Stew recipe, click here.

A bowlful of crab linguine will impress even your most critical guests, and will have taken you under 30 minutes to prepare. The ingredients in this dish are wonderfully simple: pasta, crab meat, chile, lemon juice, basil, and olive oil. For an even healthier dish, swap the plain pasta for whole-wheat linguine, and serve with a simple side salad.

For the Spicy Crab Linguine With Basil recipe, click here.

Steak doesn't have to come with garlic butter and French fries. This Asian-inspired salad just needs you to marinate the steak in soy sauce before grilling and serving with crunchy vegetables and an easy ginger dressing.

For the Spinach and Steak Salad With Ginger Dressing recipe, click here.

This citrusy-fish dish is such an elegant entrée, and is a dinner party favorite we turn to again and again. Capers, lemon juice, and mustard make a classic French dressing where simple flavors come together to elevate a simply cooked white fish to an impressive meal.

For the White Fish With Lemon, Capers, Mustard, and Parsley recipe, click here.

There's little that is more impressive than serving a whole roasted fish at a dinner party. The good news is, this striking dish is easy to cook, packed full of flavor, and really healthy. Use whichever fish your fishmonger has available, and just remember to vary the cooking time according to its size.

For the Whole Roasted Snapper With Herbs recipe, click here.