Healthy MyPlate-Inspired Dessert Recipes

August 27, 2019
These delicious dessert recipes make it easy to eat healthfully and in line with the USDA's MyPlate Guidelines. These healthy recipes meet the MyPlate guidelines for calories, portion size, sodium, saturated fat and added sugars. To make these recipes part of a complete meal, please refer to our serving suggestions included with the recipe.
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Melon & Apple Granita

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This granita uses sweet ripe melon for flavor, apple juice instead of sugar and a touch of lime juice to perk up the flavors. Berries look beautiful on top; or if you can find fresh figs, add them. For a vibrant look, make with an orange-fleshed melon, such as cantaloupe, Charentais or orange honeydew.

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Strawberry-Rhubarb Quinoa Pudding

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Think of quinoa pudding as a delicious whole-grain cousin of tapioca pudding. This healthy quinoa pudding recipe is flavored with tart rhubarb and sweet strawberries and topped with sweetened, creamy yogurt for a delicious, healthy dessert.

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Grilled Nectarines with Mascarpone Cream

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Serve these grilled nectarines with lightly sweetened mascarpone (Italian cream cheese) as a first course or a sophisticated dessert. Look for balsamic glaze near balsamic vinegar in well-stocked supermarkets or use honey for a sweeter taste.

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Cherry Sorbet

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Try this cherry sorbet recipe with a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream or some more chopped cherries on top.

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Caramelized Spiced Pears

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Serve these caramelized pear slices over ice cream, stir into plain yogurt or enjoy as a topping for pancakes or waffles. Brown-skinned Bosc pears hold their shape during cooking, but any variety of pears tastes delicious.

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Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries

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Perfect for Valentine's Day or a birthday, these chocolate-dipped strawberries are a cinch to make and are a healthy dessert. A bit of fresh lime zest adds an unexpected finish to this easy chocolate-dipped strawberry recipe.

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Rhubarb Fruit Salad

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Rhubarb cooked with a little honey and orange liqueur makes a bright, tangy “sauce” to toss with grapes, melon, mango and strawberries.

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Banana-Caramel Crêpes with Nutella

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Try these banana and Nutella crêpes for a special brunch or luscious dessert. In this method, we fold the crêpe into a square leaving a little “window” in the middle to show off what's inside. Feel free to roll or fold your crêpes around your filling any way you choose.

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Strawberry-Banana Smoothie Pops

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Turn a strawberry-banana smoothie, or your favorite blended concoction, into freezer pops for a cool treat.

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Banana-Coconut Dairy-Free Ice Cream

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When blended with frozen ripe bananas, coconut meat (a.k.a. coconut manna or coconut butter) is transformed into the base for this creamy banana-coconut dairy-free ice cream. This dairy-free banana-coconut ice cream recipe uses coconut butter, which is made from finely ground whole coconut meat and has the texture of natural peanut butter. Coconut butter can be found in jars near other nut butters, baking oils and sometimes even in the supplement department of natural-foods stores and well-stocked supermarkets.

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Lavender-Poached Peaches & Blackberries

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Serve this colorful lavender-spiked blackberry-peach compote at a brunch or with small scoops of vanilla frozen yogurt for a glorious yet healthful dessert. If you can, choose freestone over cling peaches for this recipe: the pits will pull out more easily, which helps keep the peach halves intact. Recipe by Nancy Baggett for EatingWell.

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Chocolate-Dipped Apricots

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Satisfy your sweet tooth with these chocolate-dipped dried apricots for a healthy dessert. Try this chocolate-dipped fruit recipe with slices of your favorite dried fruit.

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Mango-Strawberry Jello

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Tropical mango and sweet strawberries are the perfect marriage in this pretty, crowd-pleasing jello recipe. We like the subtle tang the orange juice provides in this strawberry jello recipe, but using all mango juice works well too.

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Pink Grapefruit-Tarragon Sorbet

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Clean, fresh and icy-cold, this bracing tarragon-infused grapefruit sorbet is a perfect way to lift flagging spirits on a sultry day. Garnish with grapefruit zest and tarragon sprigs, if you like. Cranberry juice concentrate brightens the color, but can be omitted. Vodka helps smooth the texture, but it, too, can be left out if you prefer; just let the frozen mixture soften a bit before serving. This recipe also works well with 10 to 12 spearmint sprigs and 2 teaspoons chopped spearmint instead of the tarragon. Recipe by Nancy Baggett for EatingWell.

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Frozen Chocolate-Covered Bananas

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Kids will love dipping bananas in melted chocolate and rolling them in coconut to make this tasty frozen treat.

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Maple-Cinnamon Applesauce

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Turn fresh fall apples into delicious maple-and-cinnamon-spiked homemade applesauce with this easy recipe.

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Chocolate-Dipped Pineapple Rings

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Dried pineapple rings dipped in melted chocolate and sprinkled with chopped macadamia nuts are a healthy dessert with tropical flavor. Customize this chocolate-dipped fruit recipe by using different nuts or even dried papaya spears instead of pineapple.

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Vanilla-Orange Freezer Pops

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These creamy vanilla-flavored orange juice pops will transport you back to the days of standing in line at the ice cream truck. Add a couple drops each of yellow and red natural food dye to give them a more vivid orange color.

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Creamy Cherry Jello

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Here we flavor plain gelatin with 100% cherry juice, and stir in creamy yogurt and fresh cherries to make a special treat. Experiment with other fruit juice and fruit combinations.

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Raspberry Jello

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We combine cran-raspberry juice with sparkling white grape juice to make a dazzling raspberry jello recipe. We like to add fresh raspberries to enhance the flavor but any small berry would work well too.

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Chocolate-Dipped Clementines

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Dip clementine segments into melted chocolate for a healthy dessert. Chopped crystallized ginger is a zesty garnish for this chocolate-dipped fruit recipe.

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Citrus-Infused Strawberries

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A touch of lemon juice and Grand Marnier add zippy citrus notes to fresh strawberries. Serve with a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream.

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Strawberry-Raspberry Sundaes

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Nothing says summer like fresh berries. Try this simple sundae sauce over frozen yogurt for a scrumptious summertime treat.

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