Mediterranean food is a big part of what I grew up eating. Fish, grilled meat, vegetables, olive oil, garlic, and simple sauces were normal everyday food rather than something we thought of as a particular diet.
And Mediterranean food covers a much bigger area than just Greece and Italy. The way people cook changes as you move around the region, but you’ll see many of the same ingredients and flavors again and again.
These Mediterranean recipes include everything from Greek moussaka and tzatziki to fish, chicken, pasta, and a couple of Balkan recipes I grew up with.
Authentic Greek Moussaka With Eggplant
Moussaka isn’t a meal I’d make when I need dinner in hald an hour, but it’s worth the extra work.
This Greek moussaka starts with layers of roasted potatoes, eggplant, and zucchini. They’re topped with a rich beef or lamb sauce made with tomatoes, red wine, oregano, thyme, cinnamon, and nutmeg, followed by a thick layer of cheesy béchamel.
It’s a great Sunday dinner and you can assemble it ahead of time if you don’t want to do everything at once. Just make sure you let it rest after baking so those layers stay together when you cut it.
Lemon Butter Chicken
Garlic, lemon, olive oil, and fresh herbs are flavors you’ll find all over Mediterranean cooking, and they work especially well with chicken.
This one-pan chicken is finished in a lemon butter sauce with plenty of garlic and parsley. Add roasted vegetables, potatoes, or a simple salad on the side for an easy Mediterranean-style dinner.
Air Fryer Greek Chicken Salad
This Greek chicken salad is a much lighter dinner and a good one for warmer days.
The chicken breast is marinated with Greek yogurt, garlic, oregano, and smoked paprika before cooking in the air fryer. It’s served over a salad with tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, Kalamata olives, and feta.
A simple olive oil and lemon dressing is really all it needs. You get plenty of vegetables and protein in the same bowl without making dinner complicated.
30-Minute Tomato Basil Cod
Fish was regular everyday food when I was growing up near the Mediterranean, and this tomato basil cod is exactly the type of simple fish dinner I like.
Cod cooks with tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, oregano, and fresh basil, so there isn’t much prep involved. The whole thing takes about 30 minutes.
Serve it with some crusty bread to soak up the tomato sauce, or add potatoes, rice, or a simple salad if you want a bigger meal.
Air Fryer Cod Salad
Cod also works really well when you want something lighter than the usual fish-and-potatoes dinner.
Cooking it in the air fryer keeps things simple, and serving it over a fresh salad turns it into an easy Mediterranean-style lunch or dinner.
It’s particularly good during summer when you don’t want to turn on the oven or eat something heavy. Add a little olive oil and lemon and you really don’t need much else.
Garlic Butter Shrimp Orzo
Shrimp, garlic, olive oil, and fresh herbs are right at home in Mediterranean cooking.
Here they’re paired with orzo, which cooks in the same pan and absorbs all the flavor from the garlic butter sauce.
Finish it with fresh lemon for a bright seafood dinner that doesn’t require much cleanup.
Cayun Style Shakshuka
Shakshuka has its roots in North Africa and is now eaten throughout much of the Mediterranean and Middle East.
Eggs are cooked directly in a tomato and bell pepper sauce, so you only need one pan. My version adds Cajun seasoning for a little more heat while keeping the basic idea of the traditional dish.
Air Fryer Salmon Skewers
These salmon skewers are another easy way to get more fish on the table.
Chunks of salmon and vegetables are threaded onto skewers and cooked in the air fryer until the salmon is tender and flaky and the vegetables have softened.
They’re quick enough for a weeknight dinner but also look good enough to put out when you have people over. Serve them with a salad, rice, roasted vegetables, or tzatziki on the side.
Air Fryer Chicken Pesto Pasta
Pesto, pasta, and chicken make this one of the more filling Mediterranean-inspired meals on the list.
The air fryer handles the chicken while you prepare the pasta, and pesto brings everything together without needing to make a complicated sauce.
It’s a good middle ground when you want Mediterranean flavors but also want a proper bowl of pasta for dinner. Add a simple tomato or green salad on the side and that’s enough for a complete meal.
Vegan Tuscan Butter Beans With Spinach
Butter beans are a great base for a simple Mediterranean-style meal, especially when you want something filling without meat.
This Tuscan-inspired recipe combines creamy butter beans with spinach in a rich sauce. It’s the kind of dinner that works well with a piece of crusty bread for soaking up everything left in the bowl.
It’s also an easy way to add a meatless meal to the week without feeling like you’re eating a side dish for dinner.
One-Pot Pepper Pasta
This one-pot pepper pasta keeps things simple with pasta, peppers, tomatoes, and Mediterranean-inspired flavors all cooked together.
Since everything goes into one pot, there’s less cleanup afterward, which is always a plus on a busy weeknight. The peppers add plenty of flavor and a little sweetness as they cook down.
Serve it as it is for an easy meatless dinner, or add a simple salad on the side.
One-Skillet Pizza Beans
Pizza beans take familiar Italian flavors and turn them into a filling bean-based dinner.
The recipe combines beans with tomatoes, olive oil, mozzarella, and Parmesan, giving you plenty of the flavors you’d expect from pizza but in a completely different form.
Everything comes together in one skillet, so it’s an easy dinner when you don’t feel like doing much cooking. Add some crusty bread on the side for scooping up the beans and melted cheese.
Easy Tzatziki Sauce
Tzatziki is one of those recipes that’s useful for far more than one meal.
The Greek sauce combines yogurt, cucumber, garlic, herbs, and olive oil for something cool and fresh that works particularly well with grilled meat.
Serve it with chicken, vegetables, pita bread, or use it as a dip. It’s also a natural match for the salmon skewers and ćevapi in this list.
Ćevapi
We’re moving a little farther north in the Mediterranean region with these Balkan ćevapi.
Ćevapi are small grilled meat sausages found throughout the Balkans, particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. A proper ćevap is mostly about good meat and getting the preparation right rather than adding a long list of ingredients.
This version uses beef seasoned with garlic, salt, and pepper. The meat rests before being ground and shaped, which helps give ćevapi their characteristic texture.
They’re best straight from the grill with bread, chopped onion, and, of course, ajvar.
Ajvar
And if you’re making ćevapi, you might as well make ajvar too.
Ajvar is a traditional Balkan spread made primarily from roasted red peppers. Depending on the family and region, you’ll find versions with eggplant, versions without it, and plenty of small differences in how it’s prepared.
My version uses roasted red peppers, eggplant, garlic, oil, and a little vinegar. The vegetables are roasted first, then peeled and cooked down until you get that thick, rich texture.
Serve it with grilled meat and bread, spread it on sandwiches, or simply put a bowl on the table alongside dinner. In our house, we never add sugar to it.
Roasted Rack of Lamb
When I was a kid living in Dalmatia, lamb was cheaper than pork and something we ate regularly.
After I moved farther inland in Europe, it took me a surprisingly long time to get used to the opposite. Pork was the everyday meat, while people saved lamb for special occasions.
This roasted rack of lamb still reminds me of Mediterranean cooking. It’s seasoned simply with garlic, rosemary, thyme, and olive oil and roasted until browned on the outside and tender inside.
Goat Cheese Flatbread with Fresh Blueberries
This flatbread combines creamy goat cheese with fresh blueberries for a mix of sweet and savory flavors.
Fresh herbs add even more flavor, while the flatbread keeps everything simple and easy to serve.
You can cut it into smaller pieces for an appetizer or serve larger slices for a light lunch. It’s also a nice change when you want something other than the usual pizza or sandwiches.
Blueberry Grape Salad with Balsamic Glaze
This salad starts with mixed greens, cucumber, and avocado, then adds blueberries, grapes, blue cheese, and seeds.
A homemade balsamic glaze goes over the top, giving you a mix of sweet, salty, and tangy flavors. I like it alongside grilled chicken or fish when I want something fresh on the side.
Italian Sausage Pasta with Spinach and Parmesan
Italian sausage, garlic, basil, spinach, and Parmesan give this pasta a lots of of Italian flavor.
A little cream brings the sauce together without making it too heavy, while the fresh spinach is added right at the end. It’s ready in about 25 minutes and works well for an easy Mediterranean-style dinner.
Creamy Tuscan Chicken with Spinach and Tomatoes
My kids love this creamy Tuscan chicken, so it’s a recipe I make quite often at home. I use chicken breasts with cherry tomatoes, spinach, garlic, Parmesan, and cream, all cooked together in the same skillet.
I especially like using fresh cherry tomatoes here instead of sun-dried tomatoes because they add a little sweetness and freshness to the creamy sauce. We usually eat it with pasta or some crusty bread on the side to soak up the sauce.