Diets are a dime a dozen, but it turns out that there’s one we *actually* love. The Mediterranean diet is more of a guideline than a capital D diet. For the uninitiated, it focuses on foods found in the Mediterranean (ingredients from Greece, Italy, Israel and the Middle East are all fair game). It doesn’t exclude any food groups, meaning you can have just about anything in moderation. But the meal plan does focus on plant-based protein more than meat, fish and dairy, plus grains, veggies, fruits and healthy fats. To give you a taste, here are seven dinners to cook this week that are inspired by the Mediterranean lifestyle.
Here’s What to Cook Every Night This Week (March 6 – 12)
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Published Mar 1, 2023
Liliia Yurkevych
Shopping List
Produce
2 pints cherry tomatoes
2 ounces baby spinach
10 garlic cloves
2 large yellow onions
1 large head escarole
7 lemons
3 large red onions
1 medium shallot
4 ounces baby arugula
1 small bunch basil
2 bunches parsley
1 large bunch dill
1 bunch oregano
2 bunches kale
Meat
1¼ pounds ground lamb
6 chicken thighs
8 eggs
Dairy
8 ounces mini mozzarella balls
4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
One 10- to 12-ounce block feta cheese
3 ounces milk
6 ounces crumbled goat cheese
Grains
1 pound orecchiette
2 small whole-wheat pitas
5 ounces kamut
7 ounces long-grain rice
White pita, for serving
Canned and Packaged Goods
4 ounces hummus
2 tablespoons pitted kalamata olives
64 ounces broth, any kind
One 15½-ounce can gigante or cannellini beans
2 ounces dried sour cherries
2 ounces walnuts
20 ounces chicken broth
6 ounces green olives
One 15-ounce can chickpeas
14 ounces roasted red peppers
Pantry Ingredients: kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, extra-virgin olive oil, dried oregano, dried basil, dried thyme, dried rosemary, dried parsley, dried dill, onion powder, garlic powder, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, tomato paste, ground coriander, ground cumin, ground turmeric, paprika, flaky sea salt, crushed red pepper flakes
Monday: Caprese Pasta Salad
Mini mozzarella balls, juicy tomatoes, fresh basil and tender orecchiette, all tossed in balsamic-mustard dressing—now that’s amore. There’s no easier (or tastier) way to feed eight people in 30 minutes flat, trust.
Tuesday: Mediterranean Pita Pizzas
Who needs red sauce or pizza dough when store-bought hummus and pita exist? The real star here is the homemade Greek seasoning, which calls for a bunch of pantry staples that you likely already have on hand.
Wednesday: Spiced Lamb Meatball and Escarole Soup
If you ask us, lamb is *so* slept on. Here, it’s spiced like shawarma and given the Italian wedding treatment (meaning it’s shaped into tiny meatballs) to create a one-of-a-kind soup for the books.
Thursday: Kamut and Sour Cherry Meze
Friday: Greek Chicken and Rice Skillet
Easy, stunning and prepared in one pan, this entree checks your most important boxes. Our favorite part? The rice cooks right alongside the chicken, so you won’t need to wait for a separate pot of water to boil.
Saturday: Baked Feta with Garlicky Kale and Chickpeas
Consider TikTok feta pasta’s 15 minutes of fame a wrap: This cheesy dish is taking its place in the spotlight. It’s endlessly customizable, so you can substitute mustard greens or Swiss chard for kale, onion for shallot and white beans for chickpeas.
Sunday: Slow Cooker Mediterranean Frittata
Your Crockpot is about to make magic again, this time with only eight simple ingredients and two main steps (whisking the eggs and combining the ingredients in the slow cooker—that’s it). Add whatever less-than-perfect produce and leftover meat you have to the mix, too.
Taryn Pire is PureWow’s associate food editor. A former bartender and barista, she’s been writing about all things delicious since 2016, developing recipes, reviewing restaurants and investigating food trends at Food52, New Jersey Family Magazine and Taste Talks. When she isn’t testing TikTok’s latest viral recipe, she’s having popcorn for dinner and posting about it on Instagram @cookingwithpire.
