Healthy, Quick & Easy Dessert Recipes

Find quick and easy dessert recipes including easy cake, cheesecake and cookie recipes. Healthier recipes, from the food and nutrition experts at EatingWell.

Most Popular

Mint Chocolate Cake

This mint chocolate cake is an homage to Andes Crème de Menthe Thins. It's rich and quite easy to whip up. Add a touch of food coloring to make the mint buttercream filling pale green if you'd like.
By Kristen Hartke

Spritz Cookies

Rating: Unrated
1
It's time to break out your spritz cookie press for these festive Christmas spritz cookies! These easy Christmas cookies can be decorated with sprinkles or flavored with citrus, spices or sweet sugar glaze. And if you're looking for healthy cookies, these fit the bill thanks to whole-wheat pastry flour that keeps their texture soft while giving them a boost of fiber. For ideas on how to dress up these spritz cookies even more with different flavorings or a glaze, see Tips below.
By Ivy Odom

Apple Mini Fruit Pizzas

Rating: Unrated
1
Round apple slices make a sweet, crisp, no-bake crust for these easy fruit pizzas topped with almond butter, chocolate chips and crunchy pistachios. This fun snack or healthy dessert cuts carbs from a classic cookie-crust fruit pizza.
By Hilary Meyer

2-Ingredient Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream

Rating: Unrated
5
Whir up frozen bananas into an “ice cream” without the cream! Peanut butter adds a natural swirl of flavor for a sweet and satisfying dessert with no added sugar.
By Carolyn Casner

Vegan Gingerbread Cookies

Rating: Unrated
1
Coconut oil stands in for butter in this dairy-free, eggless cookie recipe for completely mouthwatering gingerbread cut-outs. Decorate cookies with a simple vegan icing or sanding sugar.
By Carolyn Casner

Cinnamon Swirl Apple Pie

Rating: Unrated
1
Instead of topping your apple pie with a full crust, cover the dough in cinnamon sugar, roll it up and slice it like cinnamon rolls to make beautiful cinnamon swirls to top the pie. The fragrant cinnamon bun-like topping makes homemade apple pie even more special!
By Stephanie Olson

Mug Brownie

Rating: Unrated
2
You might want to keep a copy of this recipe in the pantry beside the cocoa for those moments when you crave a chocolaty treat. Cook this fudgy brownie in a mug in the microwave and it's ready in less than a minute!
By Carolyn Casner

Peanut Butter-Oat Energy Balls

Rating: Unrated
6
Sweet, sticky dates act as the glue for these no-bake energy balls. Perfect for hikes or during sports, this healthy snack travels well. For the best flavor and texture, use Medjool dates--the largest and most luscious date variety. Look for them in the produce department or near other dried fruits.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Chocolate & Nut Butter Bites

Rating: Unrated
13
Sweet satisfaction in seconds.
By Mariana Velasquez

Dark Chocolate Truffles

Ready in under 30 minutes, this truffle recipe is easy to make and you'll love the different coating options!
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Pineapple Nice Cream

Rating: Unrated
3
All-fruit, dairy-free and with no added sugar--these are the hallmarks of nice cream, a healthy alternative to ice cream. This pineapple nice cream has tropical flavors, thanks to a hit of mango and lime. It takes just minutes to make this naturally sweet frozen dessert in the food processor or a blender. Enjoy it alone, or top with fresh fruit and toasted coconut.
By Carolyn Casner

Fresh Fruit Salad

Rating: Unrated
2
This refreshing fruit salad is a classic combination that will be the favorite at any potluck or cookout. Serve with a creamy yogurt dressing to take this side (or dessert) to the next level.
By Carolyn Casner

Inspiration and Ideas

Red Wine Chocolate Lava Cakes

Red Wine Chocolate Lava Cakes

Underbaking these cakes slightly leads you to a treat with a gooey, molten center filled with chocolate and red wine—what could be better?
How to Make Pineapple Nice Cream

How to Make Pineapple Nice Cream

Keep frozen pineapple and mango stocked in the freezer so you can satisfy any sweets cravings without any guilt.
Apple “Donuts”

Apple “Donuts”

32 Make-Ahead Christmas Cookies That Will Make Your Spirits Bright

32 Make-Ahead Christmas Cookies That Will Make Your Spirits Bright

Chocolate-Fudge Pudding Cake

Chocolate-Fudge Pudding Cake

Rating: Unrated
9
Snowman Meringue Cookies

Snowman Meringue Cookies

Everyone Loves This Fruitcake

Rating: Unrated
2

Ah, the maligned fruitcake. Many store-bought varieties, stuffed with unrecognizable candied bits, deserve their bad reputation--but not these wonderful cakes, made with a generous serving of dried fruit and candied orange peel in a light batter. There's only one trick: buy the best-quality, moist dried and candied fruit you can afford.

All Healthy, Quick & Easy Dessert Recipes

Warm Chocolate Pudding

Rating: Unrated
25
This warm pudding has a marvelous deep chocolaty flavor, but it's low in fat and super-quick to make. Don't skimp on the quality of cocoa with this one--treat yourself to the good stuff.
By Kathy Farrell-Kingsley

Purple Fruit Salad

Rating: Unrated
2
Serve this refreshing fruit salad featuring juicy plums, grapes and berries on its own or with other colorblock fruit salads (like red, green and orange) for a fun, crowd-pleasing rainbow side dish.
By Carolyn Casner

Crumble Topping

Rating: Unrated
4
This quick crumble topping is convenient to have on hand.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Ricotta & Yogurt Parfait

Rating: Unrated
2
Reminiscent of a lemon cheesecake, this healthy breakfast recipe is easy to throw together in the morning. Or stir together the filling in a jar the night before and top with the fruit, nuts and seeds when you get to work.
By Sara Haas, R.D.N., L.D.N.

S'mores Energy Balls

These two-bite, protein-packed snacks have all the flavors of a campfire favorite rolled right in. Mini chocolate chips and graham cracker pieces are blended into the base mixture, while a mini marshmallow is tucked into the center. Even better, they're no-bake and you can make a big batch in about 30 minutes.
By Joy Howard

Boot Tracks

Rating: Unrated
26
Patti Anderson, a professional quilter, had never entered a cooking contest before she took our challenge. This quick, no-fuss, chewy chocolate cookie is made on your waffle iron. No need to haul out the big mixer, you can mix the batter with a small hand mixer or even by hand. Kids love these!
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Chocolate Cookie Icing

This easy chocolate cookie icing recipe is healthier than traditional chocolate icing recipes as it has substantially less sugar. Unlike chocolate icing used for decorating cakes, this thinner icing is perfect for drizzling on cookies or to fill thumbprints.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Quick Mixed Berry Topping

Rating: Unrated
2
Frozen mixed berries become an almost instant fruit topping in the microwave. Serve over angel food cake or Greek-style yogurt.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Strawberry & Yogurt Parfait

Rating: Unrated
2
This healthy yogurt parfait recipe combines fresh fruit, Greek yogurt and crunchy granola for an easy breakfast. Pack the parfait in a mason jar for a healthy breakfast on the go.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Broiled Mango

Rating: Unrated
1
Broiling fruit brings out its inherent sweetness. A squeeze of tart lime juice balances it out. Try this technique with pineapple as well.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Apple “Donuts”

Rating: Unrated
1
This so-simple 3-ingredient recipe turns apple slices into “donuts.” Topped with nut butter and coconut, they make a satisfying no-added-sugar dessert or healthy snack.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Chocolate Banana Oatmeal

Rating: Unrated
2
Have your fruit and a little luxury too with this kid-friendly healthy chocolate and banana oatmeal recipe. Short on time in the morning? Try our overnight oatmeal variation.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Chocolate Avocado Shake

Rating: Unrated
8
This rich, healthy chocolate shake recipe is dairy-free and gets its creaminess from avocado instead of ice cream. If you aren't avoiding dairy, you can use regular low-fat milk and any type of semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips in place of the nondairy chocolate chips.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Brown Sugar Broiled Grapefruit

Rating: Unrated
1
Grapefruit for dessert? Why not! In this broiled grapefruit recipe, grapefruit halves are topped with spiced brown sugar, caramelized under the broiler then topped with a dollop of vanilla-infused whipped cream.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Cinnamon Oranges

Rating: Unrated
9
This simple dessert works any time of the year, but its flavors will be the best and brightest in the winter when oranges are at their peak.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Strawberry-Mango Nice Cream

This creamy strawberry-mango nice cream is a delicious healthy ice cream alternative. It's all fruit, dairy-free, vegan and contains no added sugar. And this three-ingredient dessert is super-fast and easy to prep. Serve it as a snack or light dessert on the hottest days of the summer--or any time you want a refreshing treat.
By Carolyn Casner

Cinnamon-Sugar Microwave Popcorn

This easy cinnamon-sugar microwave popcorn recipe serves up a hint of something sweet in a whole-grain snack you can feel good about enjoying.
By Devon O'Brien

Cream Cheese Frosting

Rating: Unrated
2
This healthy and easy cream cheese frosting recipe is ready in just five minutes and makes enough to frost the top and sides of one 9-by-13-inch sheet cake. We made this frosting healthy, with less saturated fat and calories than traditional versions, by using reduced-fat cream cheese instead of full-fat cream cheese, using Greek yogurt in place of butter and keeping sugar to a minimum.
By Katie Webster

Nut & Berry Parfait

In this quick high-protein breakfast recipe, Greek yogurt is topped with healthy berries and almonds and lightly sweetened with honey.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Brûléed Blood Oranges with Yogurt & Cardamom

Fresh blood oranges are so sweet they almost create their own caramel under the broiler--a little brown sugar on top seals the deal. A hint of cardamom enhances their aroma. Once you scoop out and eat the caramelized sections, squeeze the remaining blood orange juice over the yogurt.
By Judith Fertig

Hot Chocolate

Rating: Unrated
2
Our hot cocoa is rich and chocolaty without the overly sweet taste of some packaged mixes. We give it a luxurious froth with a whisk or blender--or use a cappuccino frother if you have one.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Chocolate Peanut Butter

Turn your food processor into a nut-butter-making machine with this easy recipe for homemade chocolate peanut butter. Try it on toast, spread on a banana or for a treat right off the spoon.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Natural Cookie Icing

This natural cookie icing recipe is quick and uses natural dyes to create vibrant colors for decorating cookies. The basic icing recipe makes natural white icing and has substantially less sugar than traditional cookie icing recipes. For creating colored cookie icings, try thawed juice concentrates: cranberry for pink, orange for pale orange or Concord grape for pastel purple.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Turtle Brownies

Chocolate, nuts, and caramel are certainly hard to resist so it's easy to see why turtle brownies are always a favorite. This recipe has black beans in the batter for added fiber. We won't tell if you won't--and we promise nobody will ever know!
By Diabetic Living Magazine
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