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Eat well

Healthy fakeaway recipes

Craving a takeaway but want to save money and be kind to your heart? Discover 9 heart-healthy fakeaways that are budget-friendly.

A tray of Portuguese-style chicken and chips with corn on the cob, on a table with a bowl of green  salad.

For those evenings when only the most filling and flavourful meal will do, our fakeaway recipes are the perfect solution. Warming and delicious, they’re also lower in salt, sugar and saturated fat than most traditional takeaways.

1. Oven baked Portuguese-style chicken and chips

When you fancy a meal that's satisfying, crispy, and with a hint of spice, this is the recipe for you. This Portuguese-inspired dish is colourful and bright and great to share with friends or family. As it's oven baked, the flavours of the herbs and spices infuse beautifully into the chicken and chips, and with less salt and saturated fat and more veg than you'll get from traditional takeaway options.

2. Chicken noodle stir fry

Chicken noodle stir fry with lime, red peppers, chicken and noodles in white bowls on a red tablecloth.

For a dish with real freshness and zing, look no further than this chicken noodle stir fry recipe. Garlic, ginger and chilli pack a flavourful punch while the salt content is kept low. The wide variety of vegetables in this clever fakeaway will also help you on your way to reaching your 5-a-day.

3. Cauliflower, pea and potato curry

Curry in a frying pan with cauliflower, peas and potato on a pink table cloth.

The blend of spices in this curry is warming and mellow, ideal for colder winter evenings. It's made with lots of veg, so it's perfect for a meat-free meal (and if you leave out the yogurt or fromage frais it's also suitable for vegans). The softened potatoes and yogurt give the creaminess we all crave from a curry, but without the higher levels of saturated fat and salt typically found in takeaway curries.

4. Healthy fish and chips

A fillet of fish with a herbed crumb and baked potato wedges, tomatoes and peas.

It's a British classic that we simply had to include in this round-up: our version of fish and chips will delight your taste-buds and be kind to your heart. The crispy lemon and herb crumb gives a light crunch that goes perfectly with the soft, flaky fish, while the addition of peas and roasted tomatoes add sweetness. Baking the potato wedges in the oven with a little olive oil keeps the saturated fat low compared to chip-shop chips.

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5. Cauliflower and chickpea burger

Cauliflower and chickpea burger 

Some days only a burger will do, but don't worry, we've got your back with our clever fakeaway cauliflower and chickpea burger recipe. This dish relies on plant-based protein for a delicious heart-healthy main meal. If you want to include buns, use wholemeal instead of white or brioche buns to add fibre. Finish it off with crisp, fresh salad.

6. Special vegetarian stir-fried rice

Vegetarian fried rice 620x400 ss noexp 

For an easy, vegetarian fakeaway that’s full of colour and vitality, try this simple recipe. It’s made using a variety of frozen vegetables and you can easily swap in, or add, other leftover vegetables that you might have available. If you’d like to make it even more filling, you can add in a beaten egg when stirring in the rice.

7. Vegetable Balti

Vegetable Balti with cauliflower and chick peas, served with a colourful herb and yogurt sauce.

Another one for the curry-lovers, this vegetable Balti recipe is vibrant and warming. Chickpeas, cauliflower, onion and peppers come together with a tomato base and variety of spices to make a truly fragrant dish. For a healthy swap we've used vegetable oil instead of ghee, to reduce the amount of saturated fat in the dish. 

8. Prawn and pineapple fried rice

Prawn and pineapple fried rice with lemon on the side served in white bowls.

We all have our favourite takeaways, so for those who love a fried rice dish that's both salty and sweet, why not try out this prawn and pineapple fried rice recipe. Meaty prawns and sweet pineapple are the stars of this dish, and the addition of lemon zest and spring onion really makes the flavours sing without using extra salt or sugar. Brown rice is a great way to add more fibre into your diet, so we've used it here instead of white rice.

9. Pho 

Pho noodles with ribbons of carrot, fresh herbs and wedges of lime in a white bowl on a bamboo matt.

Pho is a popular Vietnamese soup dish consisting of broth, noodles, meat and topped with vegetables or herbs. It makes a simple yet filling meal. We've used skinless chicken thighs here for the meat as they are very tender when cooked and give a lovely flavour to the broth. It's infused with classic South-Asian ingredients like garlic, ginger, chilli and lime which make this warming bowl of goodness sparkle with flavour.

  • Get the recipe for pho

What to read next...

Is a stir fry healthy?

Read the article

A stir fry in a wok.

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