Healthy Almond Recipes

Homemade poppy seed dressing pairs beautifully with tender spinach, crunchy almonds and juicy berries for a fantastically refreshing and easy spring salad. To make ahead, whisk dressing, combine salad ingredients and store separately. Toss the salad with the dressing just before serving. To make it a complete meal, top with grilled chicken or shrimp.

Enjoy the flavors of the season with this summer farro salad. This dish is also great with wheat or rye berries instead of farro: skip the toasting step and cook in a pot of simmering water until tender, about 50 minutes. If your celery doesn't have any leaves on it, substitute fresh parsley instead.

This thumbprint cookie uses honey as the only sweetener and tender ground almonds to replace much of the butter found in similar cookies. Just a touch of butter mixed with honey in the filling gives it a rich flavor without too much saturated fat.

Double, triple or quadruple this healthy trail mix recipe and keep it on hand for when you need a sweet snack.

These easy pumpkin-spiced coconut oat balls make a great, packable afternoon snack or a delicious party appetizer.

For a snack or sweet dessert, enjoy one of these flourless cookies. Drizzle chocolate on top for added pizzazz.

There are plenty of granola bar options at the grocery store, but they're also easy (and often healthier) to make at home. Feel free to vary the add-ins to your taste, swapping 2 cups of any combination of small (or chopped) dried fruit, nuts, seeds and/or chocolate chips for the dried cranberries and nuts in this version. We tested several sticky sweeteners, including maple syrup and honey, but found brown rice syrup held the bars together the best.

Trying out a raw vegan diet or just looking for an easy no-cook recipe? This spiralized zucchini noodle dinner with red pepper sauce is refreshing, satisfying and oh-so-delicious! Plus, it couldn't be easier to make. Just whir up the 5-ingredient sauce in your food processor or blender, toss and serve!

Farro is often served as a side dish but it's a great choice for breakfast, too. In this overnight cereal recipe, nutty whole-grain farro is joined by fresh, sweet blueberries and maple syrup. Unsalted, toasted almonds add a welcome crunch!

With a pinch of cinnamon, this healthy snack goes from basic to brilliant.

These pretty little two-bite almond and pear tarts are perfect for party buffets, especially in the fall when pears are in season. Thinly slicing the pears lets you roll up the tarts more neatly, giving you a bakery-worthy presentation. If you have a mandoline, this is a good time to pull it out. Cold puff pastry is important to ensure you get irresistibly flaky results. Want to make this easy, healthy dessert gluten-free? Just swap in gluten-free puff pastry, found in the freezer section of most grocery stores. And don't forget to use an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend to roll it out!

Roasting the squash first deepens the bisque's flavor and is a step you don't want to skip. Look for pre-chopped butternut squash in the refrigerated area of the produce section, or in the freezer aisle. It will significantly simplify this recipe. If you're short on time, plan to prep the other ingredients while the squash roasts. We add almonds at the end for a toasty, textural contrast, while cilantro and cayenne give this butternut squash bisque a slightly exotic flair. This easy bisque recipe is naturally dairy-free and vegan (if you opt for vegetable stock), but you could certainly add a drizzle of heavy cream at the end if you wish.

Almond flour (aka almond meal) makes the coating on these broccoli fries extra-crunchy and flavorful. Find it in the gluten-free section of large supermarkets and natural-foods stores.

Feel free to experiment with the spices in this simple slow-cooker beef stew--keep cumin and cinnamon in the mix, but try adding cardamom and ginger for greater depth of flavor. Both the stew and the almond couscous are very easy to prep, and the active time is just 20 minutes. Recipe adapted from Slow Cook Modern.

This skillet-browned Brussels sprouts recipe is a tasty accompaniment for all types of Christmas main dishes including roast beef, pork, or lamb as well as turkey or chicken.

Grinding up the everything bagel seasoning in a spice grinder will help it adhere to the almonds.

A rich browned butter and white wine sauce updates this holiday mainstay. Haricots verts are French-style green beans that are slender and delicate. You can usually find bags of them in the produce section. The packaged beans are often trimmed, which saves time. You can sub traditional green beans; steam those about 2 minutes longer in Step 1.

A dip in egg white and a quick roll in sugar adds a delightfully crisp crust to these holiday cookies. You'll have leftover jam--perfect for spreading on toast or for glazing the Cranberry Galette with Sesame Frangipane (see Associated Recipes).

Chef Fabio Viviani, of Siena Tavern in Chicago, shines a bright light on Brussels sprouts with this side dish. In this Brussels sprouts salad recipe, the sharpness of the sprouts gets tamed with honey, toasted almonds and shaved Parmesan cheese. It comes together in about 20 minutes--you can thinly slice the Brussels sprouts with a knife or mandoline, but it's overkill for weeknights. A food processor with a slicing blade will give you pro results. Or grab a bag of shredded Brussels sprouts from your supermarket.

This flavorful banana bread combines almonds, cranberries, orange juice, and honey for a make-ahead snack or breakfast.

This easy 15-minute broccoli side dish means you have no excuse not to eat your veggies.

Dates are naturally sweet so no extra sugar is needed in this quick-bread recipe. Toasted almonds add a nice crunch and the optional coarse sugar topping--while it isn't needed for sweetness--certainly adds to the presentation.

This fruit, cheese and cracker box inspired by Starbucks' bistro boxes is a fun and healthy alternative to your standard sandwich. It's the perfect personal-size cheese plate to pack for a work lunch or a picnic in the park.

This flaky crostata recipe relies on fruit for its sweetness instead of a lot of added sugar, so be sure to use only ripe pears. If they're rock-hard, put them in a paper bag with an apple or banana on the kitchen counter for a few days.