Last Updated on March 9, 2022 by Corinne Schmitt
If you have a demanding sweet tooth but want to be healthy, you’ll love these healthy desserts. It turns out you can have your guilt-free cake and eat it too!
Healthy Desserts Made with Fruit
Most fruit is naturally sweet so they’re the perfect base for a healthy dessert. Check out all of these tasty options made with fruit or fruit juice!
- Sorbet
- Popsicles made from fruit juice or fruit purees
- Angel food cake (topped with berries—I buy frozen berries and thaw them in the microwave which creates a nice syrup that soaks into the cake)
- Grilled pineapple topped with brown sugar
- Baked apples
- Creamy fruit & yogurt parfait (combine low-fat cream cheese with vanilla yogurt and honey, layer in between berries)
- Brown-sugar sautéed bananas
Healthy Chocolate Dessert Choices
As a chocoholic, these are the first desserts I go to. Thankfully, if you choose the right chocolate desserts you’ll not only satisfy your sweet tooth, but give your health a boost too!
Dark chocolate is a wonderful dessert choice since it’s rich in antioxidants and helps lower blood pressure and the risk of heart disease. To get the full benefit of dark chocolate, avoid brands that say “processed with alkali” since this strips away helpful flavanols.
If you want some added sweetness, instead of adding refined sugar, pair your dark chocolate with fruit! Try dark chocolate covered strawberries or bananas.
Chocolate Chia Pudding add the nutritional punch of chia seeds to your dessert. Chia seeds are full of omega-3 fatty acids and fiber. You should also try this Chocolate Avocado Mousse.
In the summer, put the pudding in popsicle molds and freeze them for a healthy frozen treat!
If you want a chocolate dessert with more substance, you’ll love this Chocolate Skillet Brownie. It’s gluten-free and vegan!
When you’re craving a peanut butter cup, opt instead for these Healthy Peanut Butter Balls.
More Healthy Dessert Options
One of my favorite healthy dessert choices is to start with creamy Greek yogurt and add toppings based on my craving at the time. See these yogurt topping ideas for inspiration.
Gelatin is a wonderful dessert choice since it’s filled with amino acids. All gelatin bears health benefits, but your best choices are those made from grass-fed animals
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During warm weather, frozen yogurt is a great alternative to ice cream. You can make homemade strawberry frozen yogurt or buy a variety of flavors at the store. If you choose store-bought, try to choose one with ingredients you recognize and can pronounce.
Ricotta desserts (these are great if you are a cheesecake lover because you get the same texture and flavor but with far fewer calories)
- Chocolate: ½ c ricotta + ½ teaspoon cocoa powder + ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract + 1 teaspoon honey + small handful of mini chocolate chips
- Vanilla: ½ c ricotta + ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract + 1 teaspoon honey
- Lemon: ½ c ricotta + ¼ teaspoon lemon zest + ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract + 1 tsp honey
Mousse (chocolate, raspberry, lemon—whatever flavor you choose, you can enjoy it with far fewer calories than a cake or pie version)
Of course, what fun is life if you deprive yourself of the things you love most? So if you really want to enjoy a hot fudge brownie sundae or a slice of cheesecake, by all means indulge yourself ONCE IN AWHILE. But if you are like me and crave something sweet every day, try the options above to keep you on track towards good health. As always, if you have your own favorite that isn’t on my list, please share it in the comments.
Oh my gosh… that picture looks fantastic. I can’t use splenda but would replace it with stevia.
Great information! I have a serious sweet tooth, but, of course, need to be careful about my intake. This is great to keep handy!
I’m a dessert fiend so this list is great thank you!
This stuff is all perfect for summer, too!
Healthy diet and a regular exercise is great combo!
Thanks for this great list. I love eating healthy.
I love JELLO–my absolute favorite food. My Mom used to have to make me Jello birthday cakes! Of course now I use the sugar free variety which tastes about the same to me and sometimes a dollop of whipped cream–
Who wouldn’t love ice cream and the fact that it is healthy, oh yeah i’ll take it hehehe
Thanks for the great list of healthy choices for dessert.
My son really likes sorbet and pudding and I am glad
A great list of tempting delights. I love Angel Food Cake with strawberries. One of my favorites.
Well I just finished off some Peeps from Easter and they were not on that long list. I would love to try some of these, had pudding pops before and love them. Always forget about them though.
Fruit juice popsicles were my favorite growing up.
Some things I can eat half fat or low in calorie but some things just do not taste that great too,. Thanks for some ideas.
yummy i need a snack
If this came in a cherry vanilla, I would be all over it…lol.
I strive to eat healthy on a daily basis but I enjoy sweets and the recipes you have shared with me are a much healthier alternative to candy and ice cream. Thanks for sharing all these healthy treats.
Nicole Orozco
http://www.MompreneurMedia.com
I love dessert, too. This is a great lists to follow. Thanks!