Healthy Low-Sugar Desserts Recipes

Find healthy, delicious low-sugar dessert recipes including breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Healthier recipes, from the food and nutrition experts at EatingWell.

Staff Picks

Strawberry-Chocolate Greek Yogurt Bark

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Lightly sweetened Greek yogurt gets studded with fresh strawberries and chocolate chips then frozen so you can break it into chunks just like chocolate bark (but healthier!). This colorful snack or healthy dessert is perfect for kids and adults alike. Use full-fat yogurt to ensure the creamiest bark possible.
By Carolyn Casner

Peanut Butter-Oat Energy Balls

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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

Meringues

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Perfect meringues depend on totally yolk-free whites. The seemingly fussy step of separating each egg into a small bowl before combining them guarantees yolk-free whites for bakeshop-quality meringues every time. These crispy little morsels travel well and make great gifts too.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Raspberry-Pistachio Greek Yogurt Bark

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Mix Greek yogurt with sweet jam and crunchy pistachios and freeze so you can break into chunks just like chocolate bark (but healthier!). This colorful snack or healthy dessert is perfect for kids and adults alike. Use full-fat yogurt to ensure the creamiest bark possible.
By Carolyn Casner

Roasted Pear with Crumble Topping

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Roasted pears and vanilla ice cream complete this diabetic-friendly dessert.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

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

Vegan Chocolate-Dipped Frozen Banana Bites

These bite-size frosty morsels of frozen banana, peanut butter and vegan chocolate make a perfect low-calorie snack or easy dessert. These banana bites store well in the freezer, so make some ahead and keep them on hand for those moments you crave a taste of something sweet.
By Carolyn Casner

Mini New York Cheesecakes

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These mini cheesecakes aren't just adorable--baked in a muffin tin, they're quicker to make than traditional cheesecake and perfectly portioned.
By Breana Killeen

Mini Berry Cream Pies

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Try this Mini Berry Cream Pies recipe the next time you want to whip up a quick healthy dessert. For this red-white-and-blue dessert, frozen mini phyllo cups work the best. Keep them nestled in their tray for easy transport to a picnic or potluck.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Vegan Gingerbread Cookies

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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

Cranberry Bread Pudding

This delicious cranberry pudding recipe is diabetic-friendly.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Butter Pastry Dough

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This easy pastry and pie dough recipe makes enough for one double-crust pie or two single-crust pies. Use it for apple, pumpkin, pecan or any fruit pie.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen
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Inspiration and Ideas

7 Nice Cream Recipes to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth
Our healthy vegan ice cream recipes are the perfect treat for those sweltering hot summer days. These dairy-free treats can be blended up in just 10 minutes, although some require a long freeze time, so plan accordingly. You can easily indulge your sweet tooth with these recipes, which contain little to no added sugar. Recipes like Strawberry Nice Cream and Mint Chocolate Chip Nice Cream are healthy, delicious and refreshing.
Bourbon Whipped Cream
This easy vanilla-bourbon homemade whipped cream recipe makes a sophisticated topping for any pie, crisp or crumble, or dollop in after-dinner coffee for an elegant treat.
Poppy Seed Dressing
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Almond & Pear Rose Tarts

Strawberry-Oat Streusel Bars

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The dough in this easy dessert recipe does double duty--it creates a sturdy crust to hold all the gooey strawberry filling and also makes a crisp crumb topping. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream to take this to the next level.

All Healthy Low-Sugar Desserts Recipes

Lemon Icebox Pie with Coconut-Graham Cracker Crust

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Light and delicious, this easy old-fashioned lemon icebox pie takes dessert up a notch thanks to coconut in the crust, which boosts both flavor and texture. For the brightest hit of citrus use fresh-squeezed lemon juice. Look for graham crackers made with 100% whole-wheat flour to get the most fiber. Seeing graham flour on the label? Good news--that's coarsely ground whole-wheat.
By Sarah Epperson

Cherry Sorbet

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

Lemon Poppy Seed Chiffon Cake

Beating the egg whites separately and then folding them into the batter gives this chiffon cake recipe great height, while the egg yolks make this healthy cake recipe rich and tender. Be sure to use a completely clean bowl and whisk when beating the whites-if the whites come in contact with any fat they won't whip up airy and light.
By Joanne Chang

Venetian Spice Cookies (Bicciolani)

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The intense blend of spices in these cookies is a tip of the hat to Venice's history as a conduit for the spice trade between Europe and the Far East.
By Mauro Stoppa

Hot Cocoa Microwave Popcorn

When it's chilly outside, enjoy the best of two spectacular snacks with this delicately sweetened popcorn treat made in the microwave.
By Devon O'Brien

Pumpkin Cheesecake

This delicious pumpkin cheesecake boasts a chocolate graham cracker crust and a lighter filling, thanks to a blend of reduced-fat cream cheese, tofu and fat-free Greek yogurt. Topped with a drizzle of chocolate syrup and light dessert topping, this dessert can be served at any time of the year.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Vegan Meringue Cookies

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Magical aquafaba--the liquid from canned chickpeas that often gets poured down the drain--mimics egg whites in these airy vegan meringue cookies. The other magical thing? These cookies require just three ingredients! Save the chickpeas themselves for hummus, stew or any one of our other recipes that call for canned chickpeas.
By Breana Killeen

Pomegranate Poached Pears

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Pears are simmered in a blend of tart pomegranate juice and sweet dessert wine with gorgeous garnet-red results. The pears are served with the reduced poaching liquid and a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds. A striking finale to any festive meal, garnish the pears with toasted slivered almonds and a touch of tangy Greek yogurt.
By Kitty Morse

Lavender Cheesecake

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Baking homemade graham crackers with a touch of brown sugar and honey makes this cheesecake recipe an extra-special dessert.
By Kristina Dula

Mango & Kiwi with Fresh Lime Zest

Kiwi and mango get a burst of citrus flavor in this easy fruit salad recipe.
By Sara Haas, R.D.N., L.D.N.

Natural Decorating Sugar

This natural decorating sugar recipe replaces artificial food coloring with fruit juice or natural dyes to produce colorful sanding sugar perfect for creating beautiful cookies.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Breakfast Parfait

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A little low fat dairy and some vitamin-rich fruit and you've just started your day right, nutritionally speaking.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Winter Fruit Salad

Fruit salad isn't just for summer; orange, grapefruit, pineapple, star fruit and pomegranate combine for a satisfying dish your body craves.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Chocolate-Dipped Clementines

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

Pudding Pops

Chocolate pudding and banana cream pudding make delicious low-calorie and fat-free diabetic-friendly frozen treats. Experiment with your own favorite flavors.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Coconut Macaroon Thumbprints with Key Lime Curd

In this healthy coconut macaroon recipe, Key lime curd brightens the center of a lightly sweetened coconut cookie. If you can't find ripe Key limes, you can substitute bottled Key lime juice, which is widely available, or try another citrus flavor like more traditional Persian limes, lemons or even bright blood oranges that will produce a coral-colored curd.
By Virginia Willis

Vanilla Yogurt with Apricots

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

Rainbow Fruit Kebabs

Eating clean doesn't have to be boring! This fruit-salad-on-a-stick is the natural way to get in on the rainbow trend for a fun healthy snack or no-added-sugar dessert.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Ricotta Cheesecake with Apple Topper

Light ricotta cheese and reduced-fat cream cheese help make this creamy dessert a smart choice for a diabetic meal plan. The scrumptious cooked apple topping has a touch of sweet honey and apple pie spice.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Toasted Almond-Coconut Meringues

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Perfect meringues depend on totally yolk-free whites. The seemingly fussy step of separating each egg into a small bowl before combining them guarantees yolk-free whites for bakeshop-quality meringues every time. These crispy little morsels travel well and make great gifts too.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Tropical Fruit Ice

This super-simple recipe makes an exotic ice with intense flavor. To turn it into a showstopper dessert, garnish with sliced fresh tropical fruit and toasted coconut. Welch's frozen passion fruit concentrate can be found in supermarkets. Substitute the same size can of other frozen juice concentrates for endless variations.
By Susanne A. Davis

Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Strawberries

This creamy Italian dessert is flavored with vanilla bean and topped with fresh strawberries. Feel free to mix it up and substitute blueberries or raspberries, or a combination of all three!
By Diabetic Living Magazine

"Cocoa-Nut" Bananas

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Cocoa- and coconut-crusted bananas are a treat for the whole family.
By Mariana Velasquez

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie

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Put down that cookie scoop! Baking one giant cookie in a skillet saves time and produces craveable results: a cookie that's crispy on the edges and oh-so-soft on the inside. This easy dessert is sure to please your family and friends.
By Anna Theoktisto
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