Our Most Popular Easy, Healthy Recipes of 2017

~ From an entire year filled with easy, healthy recipes, these emerged as the must-try favorites. Our most popular recipes of the year – as chosen by you, our readers! Did your favorite make the list? ~

It’s always a little bit of a surprise …

What makes our annual “Top 10” list each year, and what doesn’t.

I guess that’s why it’s such fun, taking a moment to dig back through all our analytics from a year gone by, to see what our readers (that’s you!) loved best – the 10 recipes that were most viewed out of everything we posted all year long.

I have to confess, though: I almost didn’t bother to make a list for 2017. After several years at this, I guess I felt a little tired of putting the list together. But I’m so glad I did it again anyway!

Sure, it’s always rewarding to see which of our recipes really resonated with you. (I just knew that BLT Pierogi Skillet would grab ya!)

But I think it’s especially fun to unearth the surprises – the recipes that I personally loved, but that for one reason or another I wasn’t sure would really have broad, sweeping mass appeal. Case in point: Salmon. It can be a hard sell. Still, I completely adore our Smoked Salmon Breakfast Wraps, and made it all the time for myself, so I decided to post it anyway – even if not everyone adores salmon like I do. And looky there … it absolutely surprised me, clocking in at spot #4 for the year! Yay, salmon!

As we head into 2018, I just want to say thanks for another spectacular year, friends!

Last year was amazing here at THK. It often felt to me like we were practically bursting at the seams with ideas, new readers, and so much to do! Oh yeah … and it was also the year that we tackled a total redesign of our site (I get stressed out, just thinking back on that!).

No doubt, 2017 was an exciting ride around here, and I’m so glad you were here to enjoy it with us!

Now buckle up, ’cause 2018 is gonna be great, too!

But first, with thanks in my heart … here’s a look back at your 2017 faves …

1) Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower Pasta with Parmesan, Lemon and Garlic

I’m not surprised that you adored this recipe! So deeply flavorful and satisfying, yet so very simple. Quintessential THK. Interesting, though, that a VEGETARIAN recipe claimed the top spot this year. Our readers so often seem to lean toward chicken recipes. Hmmmmmm … are you guys trying to tell me something? More veg-forward recipes??? Ok – I hear ya!

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2) DIY Ta-Cones: Fun, Healthy & Portable Taco Cones

These are the perfect way to transform taco night into a quick, portable, grab-and-go meal! Better yet? They can even be prepped ahead and rewarmed all week long, whenever your family is ready to eat! Psssssst … if you haven’t tried this recipe yet, I definitely suggest rolling it out for a Super Bowl taco bar party!

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3) Cheesy BLT Pierogi Skillet Dinner

One pan and 30 minutes. Enough said.

Oh right … and then there’s all that cheesy BLT goodness goin’ on. Is there any doubt why this one made our Top 10?!?

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4) Easy Smoked Salmon Breakfast Wrap

Warm, fluffy eggs combine with luxurious smoked salmon, velvety cream cheese, and bright, fresh veggies in this super-fast breakfast wrap that’ll have you out the door in no time flat. Totally my kind of keep-you-powered-up breakfast … and turns out that it’s your kinda power breakfast, too!

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5) 5-Minute Avocado Ranch Dip with Greek Yogurt

SURPRISE!!!! What’s this doing in the Top 10?!?! Ok, ok … totally not surprising because this dip is so yummy. Like, face-in-the-bowl, licking-up-every-last-bit yummy. In fact, one of my husband’s coworkers pulled me aside at the company Christmas party to tell me all about how much he loved this dip. Sooooooo … why is it a surprise to find our pretty green hero here, hanging out at #5? Because we just posted this recipe on December 14! It had only 2 1/2 weeks to claw its little avocado-y way into our Top 10. If that doesn’t just whisper in your ear, “Hey there – you must try me now!” then I sure don’t know what does! Make this. Seriously!

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6) Spooky Spider Halloween Appetizer Dip

You guys always seem to go crazy for our Halloween creations. (Remember our Franken-kiwis and our Apple Mummies?) But this adorable spider absolutely rocked the charts! So easy to make, and it turns any Halloween Dip into a festive showstopper! But of course, we highly recommend you plunk your spider on top of our Avocado Ranch Dip because … well … see #5 above!

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7) Easy Chicken Pot Pie Hand Pies

All that comforting, homestyle goodness you love about traditional chicken pot pies, but these are easy, nutritious and totally portable for all those on-the-go nights. Yeah – we’re talkin’ healthy food to go (no McDonald’s needed!). Plus, these freeze beautifully, so you can stock the freezer with your own nutritious, homemade “Hot Pockets”!

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8) Parmesan Roasted Broccoli Stalks

Hey there, veggie lovers! This easy little idea’s for you! You know all those broccoli stalks you usually toss out? Uh-uh! Save ’em for this recipe – a totally kid-approved munchie or side dish! (Check out some of our adorable, fun, kid-pleasing shapes … hello, space invaders and broccoli turtles!)

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9) Cherry-Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Decadent. A chocolate lover’s dream with a double layer of rich, deep chocolate flavors. Dense, luxuriously moist, and studded with chocolate chips and sweet-tart cherries. You need this in your life. (Oh – and it freezes beautifully, too – so you should probably just go ahead and make a double batch!)

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10) Easy Zoodles Recipe (Zucchini Noodles for Beginners)

Did you find a spiralizer under the tree this Christmas? Or maybe you’ve got one collecting dust on the pantry shelf because you can’t figure out a good way to get your family excited about zoodles? This is the perfect way to begin! (And then … go check out our post filled with 33 more gorgeous, inspiring, “Game Changing” Zoodle Recipes!)

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Our Family Favorite

Every year, we always pick some personal faves, along with your Top 10. Sleepers that somehow didn’t make the Top 10 list, even though they totally should have.

This year, I’m picking just one.

But it’s a doozy!

Lightened-Up Pasta with Peas and Bacon (aka “Betsy’s Peas and Pasta”)

Unlike a lot of bloggers who might test a recipe a couple times just to get it posted, and then may not ever make it again, we like to post tried-and-true family favorites – recipes we actually enjoy eating ourselves, and come back to again and again. It’s really hard to choose my own favorites!

Still, if I had to pick, from among all our favorite dinner recipes, the ones that my kiddos request most often, over and over and over, I’d probably start by naming off our Lightning-Fast Cheesy Three-Pepper Ravioli from back in 2013, our One-Pot Mexican Rice Skillet Dinner from 2016, the Easy Honey-Glazed Salmon from 2015 (which even my picky eater …. ahem, Amy … requests), and both our Cheesy Pepperoni Pizza Burgers from 2014 and the Pizza Pasta Bake from 2015 (because under the dictionary definition of “kid” is the description “small human who loves pizza”).

But, above and beyond any of those is “Betsy’s Peas and Pasta.” If I could choose one – and only one – of all my beloved dinner recipes to cite as our family’s very most favorite weeknight meal, without question, this would be it. I have no idea why it didn’t vault into the Top 10, because it’s for sure #1 in our hearts. Trust me. Make this … often.

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More Top Healthy Recipes

In case you missed some, or are just now joining us on our healthy eating journey here at THK, here’s where you can find all the most popular recipes from years past: