20 Easy Dinners Under 400 Calories (2024)

Want to cut down on your calories but still eat well? These 20 easy dinners are all under 400 calories per portion, but are packed with flavour, easy to make and family friendly too (so no more having to cook separate meals!)

One of the most popular posts on my blog is my 20 Easy Dinners Under 500 Calories post. You guys just can’t get enough of my those easy peasy, super tasty dinners, that just so happen to be under 500 calories!

But I also know that some of you need recipes that are even lower in calories, to meet your weight loss targets, so in this post I’m sharing 20 Easy Dinners Under 400 Calories!

Now I’ll admit, reducing dinners down to under 400 calories is a bit more of a challenge. I’ve found the trick to it is usually to go one of two ways…

Either go low carb – think curries with cauliflower rice, bolognese with courgetti (AKA zoodles), bunless burgers…

Or, go vegan! Many of my vegan dishes are naturally low in calories.

However, in compiling this list I did come across a few awesome surprises… it turns out that both salmon fishcakes and lamb hotpot are surprisingly low in calories – who knew?

To make your life even easier, I’ve made sure for each recipe I’ve included:

A link to the recipe
Total time
Number of portions the recipe makes
Number of calories per portion
Any adaptations you’ll need to make to keep it under 400 calories

The lovely thing about these recipes is that they are all family friendly – meaning you don’t have to cook a totally separate meal for the rest of your family! (Though you may have to make a few tweaks or adaptations for your portion – for example, bunless burgers or cauliflower rice rather than regular rice.)

20 Easy Dinners Under 400 Calories

1. Slow Cooked Chicken Bhuna

Get the recipe =>Slow Cooked Chicken Bhuna
Takes =>1 hour 40 minutes
Makes=>4 portions
Calories per portion=> 277kcal
Notes => Yes, you can have curry on a diet! So long as it’s a portion of healthy homemade chicken curry that is. To keep this under 400kcal, serve it with either a very small portion of basmati rice (50g cooked basmati rice = 65kcal) or a portion of my Pilau Cauliflower Rice (100kcal per portion).

2. Easy One Pot Chicken Ramen

Get the recipe =>Easy One Pot Chicken Ramen
Takes => 20 minutes
Makes=>4 portions
Calories per portion=> 353kcal
Notes => Naturally low in calories, this easy one pot ramen dish needs no adaptations. Just follow the recipe exactly as written.

3. Easy Yellow Split Pea and Spinach Dhal

Get the recipe =>Easy Yellow Split Pea and Spinach Dhal (Vegan)
Takes => 1 hour
Makes=>4 portions
Calories per portion=> 285kcal
Notes => Naturally low in calories, this easy vegan curry needs no adaptations. Just follow the recipe exactly as written. Delicious served with a very small portion of rice (50g cooked rice = 65kcal) or half a portion of my easy peasy Cumin Roasted Cauliflower and Butternut Squash (72kcal per half portion).

4. Pressure Cooker Spaghetti Bolognese

Get the recipe =>Pressure Cooker Spaghetti Bolognese
Takes => 30 minutes
Makes=>4 portions
Calories per portion=> 361kcal
Notes => Want to eat spaghetti bolognese on a diet? Totally possible. Just swap the spaghetti for courgetti (AKA zoodles). The bolognese sauce in this recipe is just 361kcal and there are only 33kcal in a medium courgette (AKA zucchini).

5. Lamb, Feta and Mint Burgers

Get the recipe =>Lamb, Feta and Mint Burgers
Takes => 20minutes
Makes=> 6 burgers
Calories per burger => 228kcal
Notes => You’ll need to go bun-less if you want to keep this under 400 calories. Serve your bunless lamb burger with a large salad and a portion of my Easy Peasy Tzatziki (25kcal).

6. Easy Peri Peri Chicken Breasts (Nando’s Copycat)

Get the recipe =>Easy Peri Peri Chicken Breasts (Nando’s Copycat)
Takes => 20minutes
Makes=> 4 portions
Calories per portion => 342kcal
Notes => Cheeky Nando’s on a diet? You bet! One of these Easy Peri Peri Chicken Breasts is just 342kcal. Serve with a large green salad and/or a portion of plain cauliflower rice (25kcal) to keep it under 400kcal.

7. Easy Chicken Stroganoff

Get the recipe =>Easy Chicken Stroganoff
Takes => 20minutes
Makes=> 4 portions
Calories per portion => 331kcal
Notes => An easy way to cut calories is to use chicken in place of other meats. This delicious stroganoff uses chicken instead of the more typical beef or pork. Serve with green veg and/or a very small portion of rice (50g cooked rice = 65kcal) to keep it under 400kcal.

8. Easy Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas

Get the recipe =>Easy Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
Takes => 30minutes
Makes=> 4 portions
Calories per portion => 174kcal
Notes => A couple of different options here… You can serve 1 portion of the chicken fajita traybake in 1 large tortilla (175kcal), plus a tablespoon of sour cream (25kcal). OR you can serve 1 portion of the traybake with a large salad and a portion of homemade guacamole (182kcal).

9. Easy Pressure Cooker Beef Curry

Get the recipe => Easy Pressure Cooker Beef Curry
Takes => 40minutes
Makes=> 4 portions
Calories per portion => 375kcal
Notes => Serve this delicious beef curry with a portion of plain cauliflower rice (25kcal) to keep it under 400kcal.

10. 15 Minute Hidden Vegetable Pasta Sauce

11. Easy Prawn Korma

Get the recipe => Easy Prawn Korma
Takes => 20 minutes
Makes=> 4 portions
Calories per portion => 304kcal
Notes => Another low calorie curry! Serve this one with a very small portion of basmati rice (50g cooked rice = 65kcal) or a portion of my Indian Spiced Cauliflower Rice (70kcal).

12. Sticky Chicken Traybake

Get the recipe => Sticky Chicken Traybake
Takes => 35 minutes
Makes=> 4 portions
Calories per portion => 328kcal
Notes => Serve this sticky chicken traybake with green veg or a big green salad to keep it under 400kcal. (You could also add a very small portion of white rice – 50g cooked rice = 65kcal).

13. Spicy Moroccan Lamb Burgers

Get the recipe => Spicy Moroccan Lamb Burgers
Takes => 20minutes
Makes=> 4 burgers
Calories per burger => 188kcal
Notes => You can actually eat TWO of these burgers and still keep it under 400kcal! (So long as they are bun-less, that is…) Alternatively serve ONE of these burgers in burger bun (176kcal) with a portion of tzatziki (25kcal). OR serve ONE of these burgers (no bun) with a portion of Homemade Parmentier Potatoes (161kcal). Either way, serve a big green salad on the side!

14. Chicken Shish Kebabs

Get the recipe => Chicken Shish Kebabs
Takes => 20minutes
Makes=> 4 kebabs
Calories per kebab => 275kcal
Notes => Kebabs on a diet? Yep, that too! Serve one kebab, with one small flatbread (100kcal), a portion of homemade tzatziki (25kcal) and a large green salad, and you’ll just squeak in under 400kcal.

15. Jerk Salmon with Mango and Avocado Salsa

Get the recipe => Jerk Salmon with Mango and Avocado Salsa
Takes => 25 minutes
Makes=> 4 portions
Calories per portion => 402kcal
Notes => OK, OK, so this one actually comes in at 402kcal… but it’s so good, I just had to include it! Just give one piece of avocado from your portion to someone else and you’ll easily squeak under 400kcal 😉 There are no spare calories left for rice here, so just serve the salmon and salsa with a big green salad instead.

16. Easy Salmon Fishcakes

Get the recipe => Easy Salmon Fishcakes
Takes => 30minutes
Makes=> 4 portions (3 fishcakes per portion)
Calories per portion => 329kcal
Notes => These easy peasy fishcakes are surprisingly low cal: you can eat 3 of them for well under 400kcal. Serve with a big green salad or a big portion of green vegetables, such as broccoli or green beans.

17. Sweet Potato and Red Lentil Soup (Vegan)

Get the recipe => Sweet Potato and Red Lentil Soup (Vegan)
Takes => 40 minutes
Makes=> 4 portions
Calories per portion => 376kcal
Notes => Sadly not enough spare calories for bread here, but this delicious soup is surprisingly filling on it’s own. Plus it’s packed full of goodness, thanks to the sweet potato, red lentils, carrots, parsnips, peppers, ginger, garlic and chilli.

18. Chorizo, Chickpea and Sweet Potato Stew

Get the recipe => Chorizo, Chickpea and Sweet Potato Stew
Takes => 30 minutes
Makes=> 6 portions
Calories per portion => 346kcal
Notes => Not enough spare calories for rice, so instead serve this delicious stew with a large portion of green veg, such as broccoli, green beans and/or kale.

19. Roasted Aubergine and Red Lentil Dhal (Vegan)

Get the recipe => Roasted Aubergine and Red Lentil Dhal (Vegan)
Takes => 40 minutes
Makes=> 4 portions
Calories per portion => 325kcal
Notes => Serve this delicious vegetarian curry with a very small portion of brown or basmati rice (50g cooked rice = 65kcal). Alternatively, serve it with a portion of myIndian Spiced Cauliflower Rice (70kcal).

20. Easy Lamb Hotpot

Get the recipe => Easy Lamb Hotpot
Takes => 1 hour 40 minutes
Makes=> 4 portions
Calories per portion => 310kcal
Notes => I love the fact that this easy lamb hotpot is naturally so low in calories! Serve with a big portion of green veg and you’ll still be well under 400kcal!

Did you find a new favourite?

I hope you enjoyed this roundup and have found lots of new favourites 😀 If you have tried and enjoyed any of these recipes I’d love to hear about it! Either let me know in the comments below, or snap a quick photo and share it on social media. Tag me @easypeasyfoodie and I’ll like and comment on as many as I see!

If you enjoyed this roundup…

…then you might also enjoy these:

20 Easy Dinners Under 600 Calories
20 Easy Dinners Under 500 Calories
20+ Easy UPF-Free Dinners
31 Easy Vegan Dinners
18 Easy Peasy Salad Recipes
27 Easy Chicken Dinners

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Disclaimer

Nutrition advice is approximate and meant as a guideline only. I have done my very best to ensure nutrition information is as accurate as I can make it, however there will obviously be some variation depending on the exact ingredients you use.

I am a food blogger NOT a nutritional health professional, so while I do try to make (mostly) healthy recipes, none of this should be read as professional advice about weight loss!