Healthy Apricot Recipes

Apricots signal the start of the stone-fruit season. Here they're tossed with a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of nutmeg, which highlights their flavor. You can also make this easy pie recipe with nectarines or peaches.

This pavlova is a great way to show off fruit that's at its peak, plus it's super-adaptable. The easy-to-make meringue, which is crisp outside and marshmallow-like inside, can be topped with any assortment of stone fruits and berries that are ripe and ready. Bonus points for the fact that this impressive summer dessert requires just 25 minutes of active prep time.

When you have a hankering for pie, try making crostatas instead. These open-face hand-pies are just right to highlight the sunshine flavor of fresh ripe peaches, nectarines, plums or pluots. Sprinkle a little sugar on top before baking for extra sparkle and crunch. This is a great summer dessert for any party and can even be made ahead.

For this easy grilled pork tenderloin recipe, both the pork and the salsa ingredients are cooked on the BBQ, so you don't have to heat up the kitchen to prepare a healthy summer dinner. Grilling stone fruit caramelizes its sugars, enhances its sweetness and infuses it with smoky flavor. Any combination of peaches, nectarines, plums and apricots will work in this salsa--use 3 medium fruit total or about 4 to 5 small fruit. Try the salsa on chicken or fish too.

This moist spiced applesauce bread recipe has a luscious, tangy apricot flavor. Serve it with butter or cream cheese, and add a little sugar-free apricot jam for extra zing.

This hand-shaped tart is meant to look rustic, so there's no need to fuss with crimping the edges. Just fold the cornmeal crust up and over the fruit filling and everything will be held neatly in place while it bakes.

In this healthy grilled chicken recipe, ancho chile powder adds a rich, mild flavor to lean chicken breasts. If you can't find ancho chile powder, feel free to use mild chili powder in its place. A vibrant salsa with avocado and grilled apricots, nectarines and/or peaches completes the pretty picture. Grilling not-quite-ripe stone fruit is a mouth­watering way to bring out its natural flavor and sweetness--plus, the fruit is grilled right alongside the chicken, making for a quick recipe.

This healthy and easy salad is designed to be made with precooked or leftover salmon. To quickly cook salmon, lightly brush with olive oil, then roast in a 450 degrees F oven until the fish is opaque and firm, 8 to 12 minutes.

Make a big batch of these no-bake energy balls to keep on hand when hunger strikes or you need a healthy pick-me-up.

This homemade rice pudding is a sweet treat after any meal. Apricots and orange peel combine with the complex flavor of cardamom to deliver intense flavor to this simple dessert recipe.

Channel the flavors of the Mediterranean in this bountiful appetizer board. A duo of classic hummus and roasted eggplant dip offers dunking options for seeded crackers, carrot sticks and raw fennel slices. Juicy grapes and dried apricots provide a sweet counterpart to salty prosciutto and feta cheese.

Hot pepper sauce and apricots add a zesty zap of flavor to salmon steaks in this 30-minute main dish recipe.

This sweet dessert pastry is made with thin, flaky, buttery layers of phyllo dough and filled with sweet apricots, lightly salted pistachio nuts, and a bit of brown sugar. An apricot caramel sauce is drizzled over the cooled baklava and the entire dessert is sprinkled with coarse salt, providing a sweet and salty bang with each bite.

Spicy wasabi-flavored peas are a great snack on their own but can sometimes be too hot. In this snack mix, the wasabi spice is tamed just a bit with the addition of a crispy cereal, pretzel sticks, almonds, a ginger-soy sauce, and sweet chewy dried fruit. Try it at your next party or tailgate!

Wonderfully chewy wheat berries have a nutty flavor and are great in soups, stews, and salads. This fruity salad is delicious at room temperature but is also good eaten cold as a packed lunch.

This spinach salad has black beans which add fiber and protein. And there's a double dose of apricots--dried apricots in the salad provide fruity taste and nice texture and apricot nectar adds body to the ginger-soy dressing.

Dried apricots give plain vanilla yogurt a tart-sweet boost of flavor, plus potassium and fiber.

For a satisfying and quick snack or dessert, assemble your own cheese board for one, adorned with apricots, almonds and carrots.

Phylllo-filled fruit triangles dipped in an orange- and honey-flavored, yogurt-based sauce--this dessert takes only 40 minutes to prepare.

Add dried apricots, currants, and chopped walnuts to oatmeal cookies for a delicious treat.