If this year has taught us anything, it’s that the nation is permanently torn between wanting dinner now and wanting dinner that won’t derail the week. Enter Alex Hughes – the NHS-worker-turned-recipe-creator whose “kitchen bangers” have amassed a 1.5 million-strong following and proved, convincingly, that calorie-conscious food doesn’t have to taste like penance.

Her new book, 20 Minute Low-Cal Kitchen Bangers, is essentially a love letter to people who are hungry, busy and frankly bored of being told they can’t have tacos. Everything here lands under 600 calories, hits the table in the time it takes you to scroll TikTok once (fine, twice), and still tastes like something you actually want to eat. Think breakfast burrito bowls stacked with smoky potatoes, lasagne soup that eats like the real thing without the faff, and those crispy chicken snack wraps that the fast-food chains abandoned but Hughes has resurrected – only lighter, crunchier and with more protein.

Hughes knows her audience: the meal-preppers, the air-fryer devotees, the macro trackers and anyone who believes flavour should come first. Each recipe comes with calorie counts, protein breakdowns and clever swaps baked in, so you can tweak without thinking too hard – from subbing chicken chipolatas for extra protein to turning a wrap into tomorrow’s packed lunch.

It’s comfort food redesigned for real life: fast, full-flavoured and genuinely satisfying. Or, as Hughes might put it, a banger.

Breakfast burrito bowls

This is an absolute banger. If you can’t get lamb’s lettuce, sub it for some spinach. To boost the protein, opt for chicken chipolatas or add some scrambled egg, and to make this dish vegetarian, opt for meat-free sausages.

Serves: 2

Calories: 433 per portion | Protein: 26.4g | Fat: 18.3g | Carbs: 35.2g

Ingredients:

250g Maris Piper potato, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp dried parsley

Olive oil spray

4 reduced-fat pork sausages

1 tsp taco seasoning

50ml water

1 small green pepper, finely diced

1 small red onion, finely diced

1 large salad tomato, diced

40g lamb’s lettuce

50g avocado, cubed

20g reduced-fat cheddar, grated

Sauce

50g fat-free Greek yoghurt

½ tsp chipotle paste

1 tsp lime juice

Salt

Method:

1. Start by patting the potato dry with kitchen paper and placing it directly into the air fryer drawer. Season with the smoked paprika and parsley along with some salt and pepper. Shake well to distribute the seasonings, spray with a few pumps of olive oil spray and air fry for 17 minutes at 200C shaking every 5 minutes or so.

2. Next, add a few pumps of olive oil spray to a large frying pan. Squeeze the sausages out of their skins directly into the pan. Fry over a high heat, breaking the meat into smaller pieces. Cook for 7 minutes or so, until browned.

3. While the sausage meat cooks, prepare the sauce by mixing together all the ingredients and set to one side.

4. Once the sausage meat has browned, add the taco seasoning, mixing well to combine, and then pour in the water. Mix for a further minute and remove from the pan.

5. Add the pepper, onion and tomato to the same pan. Sauté for a minute or two until they have slightly softened, then take off the stove.

6. While the potatoes finish cooking, build the bowls. First put in the lettuce, followed by the veggies, sausage meat, avocado, grated cheddar and finally the cooked potatoes.

7. Finish by drizzling over the sauce.

Oven: For the potatoes, place them directly onto a baking tray. Cook for 20-25 minutes at the same temperature, tossing regularly throughout.

Note: If meal prepping, add the lettuce and avocado fresh.

Lasagne soup

All the cosy, tomatoey depth of a slow Sunday lasagne, minus the effort and the washing up (Ellis Parrinder)

If you’re in serious need of some comfort food, make this recipe; it’s how I imagine a hug from food would feel like. If you don’t like ricotta, you can omit this; the soup will taste just as good without it! You can also easily double it and store it in the fridge for up to four days as meal prep.

Serves: 2

Calories: 573 per portion | Protein: 52.5g | Fat: 18.45g | Carbs: 44.15g

Ingredients:

Olive oil spray

1 white onion, diced

1 heaped tsp chopped garlic

250g lean beef mince

1 tsp Italian herb seasoning

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tbsp tomato purée

1 tsp granulated sweetener (optional)

300g good-quality passata

400ml hot beef stock made with 2 cubes

50ml reduced-fat single cream alternative (I use Elmlea; you could use milk left to come to room temperature instead)

5 fresh egg lasagne sheets (25g per sheet)

2 handfuls of spinach, chopped

50g ricotta

40g mozzarella, grated

5g Parmesan, grated

Salt and pepper

A few fresh basil leaves, to garnish

Method:

1. Start by spraying a large pan with olive oil spray. Over a high heat fry the onion for 1 minute, until slightly soft, then add the garlic for 30 seconds.

2. Next, add the beef, continuing to cook over a high heat for 3-4 minutes until almost browned. Then turn down the heat slightly while you add the seasonings – the Italian herb seasoning, smoked paprika and oregano along with some salt and pepper to taste. Mix into the meat.

3. Once the seasonings are combined, add the tomato purée, sweetener, if using, passata, beef stock and cream. Bring to a high heat and cook for a minute.

4. While the sauce is boiling, slice the lasagne sheets in half and then half again. Add them to the pan, mixing well to ensure they are covered in the liquid. Leave over a medium heat for 3 minutes or so, by which time they should start to soften.

5. Add the chopped spinach and cook for a further 2 minutes.

6. While the spinach wilts, in a bowl, season the ricotta with salt and pepper, then whisk together and set to one side. Once the spinach has wilted, stir through the grated mozzarella.

6. Remove the pan from the heat. Dollop the ricotta on top of the lasagne, then sprinkle with the Parmesan and garnish with fresh basil leaves.

Note: If you like your soup to be more “brothy”, add an extra 100ml of water.

Crispy chicken snack wraps

Fast-food nostalgia, but upgraded: lighter, crunchier and with enough protein to keep you going (Ellis Parrinder)

When a certain fast food chain stopped snack wraps, that meant rustling them up at home, and I’m not mad about it. My version is less processed and has more protein to help keep you fuller than the wraps otherwise would. This combination uses chilli heatwave tortilla chips to coat the chicken with a seasoned spicy-style mayo sauce.

Makes: 2

Calories: 252 per snack wrap | Protein: 23.1g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 19.1g

Ingredients:

1 tsp garlic granules

1 tsp onion granules

1 tsp smoked paprika

2 × 60g chicken breast tenders

15g chilli tortilla chips, finely crushed

20g egg whites

2 mini tortilla wraps

4 roundhead lettuce leaves

1 light cheese slice, halved

Sauce

30g lighter than light mayonnaise

½ tsp sriracha sauce

1 tsp distilled white vinegar

¼ tsp dried parsley

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 205C/185C fan.

2. Start by mixing the garlic and onion granules and smoked paprika together in a bowl to make a seasoning.

3. Set aside ¼ teaspoon of the seasoning for the sauce. Spilt the remaining amount in half, and use half to coat the chicken on both sides, and half to season the tortilla chips, mixing well.

4. Dip each tender into the egg white, shaking off the excess egg, and then dip into the crushed tortilla chips.

5. Transfer to a non-stick baking tray (or line a tray with baking paper) and bake in the oven for 18 minutes.

6. While the chicken cooks, mix together all the sauce ingredients with the ¼ teaspoon of reserved seasoning. Add a tablespoon of hot water if needed to get your desired consistency.

7. Warm the tortilla wraps in the microwave on high for 10 seconds.

8. On each wrap, layer the sauce, followed by the lettuce, cheese slice and cooked chicken, leave some space at the bottom. Fold up the bottom first, followed by the two sides and wrap each in foil or parchment paper to hold it together.

Air fryer: Cook the chicken at 185C for 14 minutes.

Note: If wrapping these up for later, allow to cool completely. I would only keep them in the fridge for one day.

‘20 Minute Low-Cal Kitchen Bangers’ by Alexandra Hughes (Ebury Press, £20).