Mediterranean Recipes & Food Ideas

These vibrant dishes were easy to love.

It never fails to save me.

Pistachio-crusted cod meets a trio of the season's best vegetables.

This 30-minute meal will wake up your tastebuds.

Why boil when you can roast?

Topped with crispy kale chips and lemony yogurt, it's the ultimate way to usher in soup season.

It will have you primed and ready for sweater weather.

It gets even better as it sits.

A fast and fancy dinner for any night of the week.

From saucy shrimp to chocolate olive oil cake, these unfussy recipes will become instant favorites.

Make this rule-breaking, one-pan dinner ASAP.

It's totally foolproof and utterly delicious.

Your taste buds are going to have to try to keep up.

Leftovers make a fantastic lunch, too.

Take a trip to Italy with this Mediterranean meal.

It deserves a permanent place in your fridge this summer.

It's a feel-good, meatless meal for any night of the week.

Use them as the base for a Mediterranean-inspired spread.

And you can make it with practically any veggies you've got.

It's like a blanket in a bowl.

It's the feel-good vegetarian dinner you've been searching for.

This week's meal prep plan will set you up with a week of wholesome Mediterranean Diet-inspired vegetarian breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.

No airfare required.

One hot, sunny day in late June I found myself in a tiny Arab market in Jaffa, Tel Aviv, sifting through a box of cucumbers. I was with Deanna and Danya, the lovely ladies behind the popular Israeli food blog Matkonation, and we were ingredient shopping for an afternoon cooking expedition. On the menu: stuffed grape (or vine) leaves made with spiced lamb, fresh mint, dried currants, and a cooling cucumber-yogurt sauce.

Now that's how you finish a meal.

Tuna salad that’s loaded with mayo and stuffed between two slices of wheat bread doesn’t thrill me — this guy, however, absolutely does. It’s the polar opposite: loaded with fresh vegetables and herbs, with not a trace of goopy mayo in sight. Taking inspiration from Greek ingredients and flavors, this tuna salad practically whisks you away to a breezy Greek island, even if you’re only digging into it at your desk.

A 30-minute dinner that's light and satisfying.

Brandade noun: Originating from the south-central French regions of Languedoc and Provence, brandade is a simple, yet hearty spread made of salt cod, olive oil, and milk. Sometimes garlic or potatoes are added. It’s served warm on slices of crusty, rustic bread with a green salad.There are similar versions of brandade in the other Mediterranean countries where salt cod is a staple, such as Spain and Italy.BrandadeIngredients1/2 lb (8 oz.

This is the full-on maximalist tomato salad: tossed gloriously with red pepper, feta, dill, cucumber, and olives.

These stuffed tomatoes are the essence of summer. Field-fresh tomatoes, stuffed with an aromatic, Mediterranean-inspired mixture of couscous, fresh herbs, mushrooms and olives, topped with creamy goat cheese — all together, this makes a delicate, light and fresh side dish for a barbecue or a late summer dinner.

Keep a big bowl in your fridge for endless possibilities.

If you think boneless, skinless chicken breasts can never be succulent and moist, consider this the cooking method that will change your mind. The secret is feta. Yes, that salty, tangy cheese that you crumble over your salads can actually be transformed into a salty, tangy brine for your meat with the help of your trusty blender. What it does to the chicken is almost magical.

If you, like me, consider a tub of hummus to be a staple in your fridge for mid-afternoon snacking sessions, this is your ultimate pantry pasta. Hummus is far more than a dip — it’s a garlicky, creamy condiment that’s begging to be transformed into pasta sauce. It coats pasta just enough that it provides a luscious mouthfeel yet hardly weighs it down, which means there’s plenty of room for additions.

This recipe is my go-to meal for nights when I want to cook but I don’t want it to take all night. Filled with flavor, you’d never think that cooking time is only 20 minutes. And it has another key time-saving secret! That’s right: rotisserie chicken! Picking up a freshly roasted chicken and pulling the meat off the bones results in chicken that tastes like it’s been stewing all day. And you usually can even do this without a knife.

Ah, couscous! The food so nice they named it twice. Except this isn’t really couscous. It’s cauliflower. And I feel like I won a gold medal in the kitchen when my couscous-loving husband didn’t bat an eye while he gobbled up this “pretend” version. I’ll be the first to admit I don’t usually like when food is referred to something it’s not.

How do you make tuna noodle casserole better? How about some artichokes and capers? A few easy upgrades turn this classic into a fast and fancy French-inspired supper.

It's a fun, flavorful twist on the classic.

It's a natural companion to the sweet fruit.

For a vegan breakfast sandwich that will power you through the morning, look to this pita pocket stuffed with a blend of spiced chickpeas and sautéed veggies. It’s prepared in advance, then stashed in the freezer, ready to be reheated in the oven while you buzz through your morning routine.

They're light, fresh, and full of flavor.

Curious about the benefits of the Mediterranean Diet? Here's a whole week of meals to get you started.

Hello, gorgeous. (And it's all thanks to one secret ingredient.)

Here's your excuse to eat dip for dinner.

Equal parts wholesome and delicious.

We make these every week.

Don't skimp on the creamy lemon tahini dressing.

This simple salad is bright, fresh, salty, rich, briny, and crunchy. Need we say more?

We think Cher would approve.

I could eat it any time of day, any day of the week.

You'll never get tired of these refreshing flavors.

It comes together in five minutes.

It's easy to make this gorgeous, make-ahead dish at home.

Summertime is all about easy entertaining and easier food: bountiful produce allows us to spend less time fussing in the kitchen and more time al fresco with friends. I’m all about quick recipes that produce big flavor, and these marinated mozzarella balls do just that. The best part? They get better the longer they sit, so make a triple batch and you’ll always be ready for unannounced guests that come your way.

Creamy, seasoned feta cheese tossed with Kalamata olives and green onions, wrapped in crispy layers of paper-thin phyllo? Oh, yes! These Mediterranean-inspired cigars are a really great appetizer to have in your back pocket as the holidays approach. You might even have all of the ingredients stashed away in your fridge and freezer. Get rolling! Although working with phyllo might sound intimidating, I truly believe that with patience and the right tools, these can be made effortlessly.

Kelli and Ariel recently hosted a dinner party inspired by The Kitchn Cookbook, and this week they’ve been sharing all the recipes and tips! Every party deserves a good cocktail, and for this one, we decided to make something new, inspired by the Mediterranean appetizer and dessert — both of which included pomegranate. This complex and vibrant cocktail is perfect for one and easily adaptable for a gathering.

If you’re inviting friends over who may be on the fence about feta, make them this dip. It’s guaranteed to make a feta believer out of anyone. Instead of the cheese being in its usual crumbled state, it’s whipped in a food processor with Greek yogurt into a gloriously creamy, tangy dip. A heaping spoonful of basil pesto drizzled over top seals the deal, making this a flavorful appetizer you can make for around five bucks.

Welcome to Next Week’s Meal Plan! I want to help you find inspiration and ease some of the pain points that come with getting dinner on the table night after night, whether you’re cooking for one or a family of eight. That’s why, as promised, this series is shifting — every week I’ll be answering reader requests and sharing meal plans that you want to see.It’s not too late! What type of meal plans would you like to see?

We'll be making it all spring and summer long.

At Kitchn, our editors develop and debut brand-new recipes on the site every single week. But at home, we also have our own tried-and-true dishes that we make over and over again — because quite simply? We love them. And we decided to start sharing some of our absolute favorites with you. Here’s a peek into what we’re cooking and eating in our own kitchens.

It's a colorful recipe that begs to be served over rice.

I’ve never been the type of person who chooses a bottle of wine or a chocolate bar based on the label alone. Until now, that is. If you’ve seen the movie Bridget Jones’s Baby, this flavor-packed salmon will immediately ring a bell. And now, thanks to Ottolenghi’s new cookbook, Simple, you can recreate it at home.

Put this one on repeat.

We love classic burger condiments as much as the next person. But what if we told you that you could spread your burger bun with baba ghanoush, top the burger patties with sun-dried tomatoes, and opt for goat cheese instead of cheddar? That’s exactly what happens in these juicy chicken burgers, which are a leaner alternative to the classic cheeseburgers. Use this recipe as inspiration, then consider all the delicious flavor combinations you could create.

Because you can go from dried beans to the smoothest hummus in under an hour!

Take a Mediterranean vacation without leaving home, thanks to feta salsa, orzo soup, and the best Greek salad you've ever had.

You probably feel like you need a vacation right now — don’t we all? Well, how about Greece? Yes, sure, it’s a Tuesday and you have work tomorrow, but let’s go anyway. A flight tonight is probably out of the question, so escape to Greece via your kitchen instead, for an inspired dinner that will have everyone around the table cheering. Just keep a close eye on the plates. If you think you need a whole pantry of new ingredients to make your escape, you’re mistaken.