Healthy Pecan Recipes

This healthy chicken salad recipe with cranberries, toasty pecans and crunchy vegetables is slathered in a combo of mayonnaise and yogurt which keeps the dressing light and tangy. Serve it open-face on toasted bread or scoop it on top of fresh salad greens.

This apple dessert marries the best parts of apple crisp with a baked apple to make an adorable and tasty sweet treat. Cooking an apple crisp inside an apple is a wonderful treat in summer with a scoop of ice cream, or in fall after an apple-picking trip.

Sweet and crunchy apples and celery combine with savory shrimp and nutty pecans in this easy, colorful dinner salad.

Once you make this super-nutty, not-too-sweet granola, courtesy of Chris Johnson, father of EatingWell's social media editor Sophie Johnson, you'll never go back to store-bought. Nuts, seeds, coconut, dried fruit, Rice Krispies--this easy granola recipe has it all. Feel free to mix and match your favorite add-ins based on what's in your kitchen.

Parmesan, red onions and pecans contribute flavor and texture to this quick and easy broccoli salad that makes a great easy side dish for almost any protein. If you have leftovers, toss them with pasta for lunch the following day.

This luscious vegan cheesecake nixes the dairy in favor of a filling made with coconut cream, tofu and cashews or macadamia nuts instead of the traditional eggs and cream. Coconut oil and nuts make for a rich-tasting and crunchy crust, so nobody will miss the butter.

This scrumptious coffee cake recipe has a crumbly pecan topping and is speckled with blueberries or raspberries. You'll never guess there's apple in the berry coffee cake: it replaces some of the butter found in most coffee cakes and adds a decidedly sweet taste and moist crumb. This is a great recipe to serve at brunch and can be made the day before.

The key to these decadent treats is the portion size--baking them in mini-muffin tins keeps the carbs and saturated fat in check. And maple syrup allows you to make this pecan pie recipe without corn syrup.

The dessert menu at Brigtsen’s restaurant in New Orleans offers “Bread Pudding du Jour,” which changes with the seasons. This sweet potato version plays well during the holidays.

These easy-to-make homemade granola bars are inspired by the flavors of a classic oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. But feel free to vary the mix-ins to your preference. We tested several sticky sweeteners, including maple syrup and honey, but found brown rice syrup held the bars together the best.

This salad formula will never let you down: toss leafy greens with fruit, cheese, nuts and a simple vinaigrette. If you can't find watercress, try substituting arugula, baby spinach or baby kale.

Muffins meet oatmeal in these moist and tasty grab-and-go oatmeal cups. Feel free to swap out the pecans for any other nut--walnuts would be great--or omit them altogether. Make a batch on the weekend and keep them in your fridge or freezer for quick and easy breakfasts all week. Reheat in the microwave for about 40 seconds.

With wild and brown rice, edamame, dried cherries and pecans, this dish boasts varied textures as well as an abundance of nutrients. Wild rice is rich in fiber and protein while brown rice is high in manganese, which helps the body digest fats. Cherries are packed with antioxidants, while pecans are loaded with healthy unsaturated fat.

Layering the ingredients in this coffee cake recipe right into the pan lets you skip the steps of making the batter and the nut topping separately. To make this healthy one-bowl dessert so it can be served like pull-apart rolls, dollop 16 equal portions of batter over the nuts. If you don't want to fuss with that, dollop the batter on top however you like.

Sweet pear, salty Cheddar cheese and crunchy nuts make this healthy cheese ball recipe an alluring holiday treat. Serve with an array of crudités and crisp party crackers.

This delicious grain salad is great to have on hand for weekday lunches. Wild rice, beets, toasted pecans and Gorgonzola combine in a sweet maple vinaigrette for a truly satisfying meal.

Let your Crock-Pot do the work for this easy slow-cooker apple crisp. It tastes just like a classic apple crisp, with the apple combination adding a sweet and tart balance in each bite. It's sure to become a new fall favorite.

As if no-bake weren't tempting enough, consider that the graham cracker crust for these berry cheesecake bars has pecans in it. Ooh la la! In the filling, nonfat Greek yogurt and reduced-fat cream cheese cut the calories and saturated fat.

This recipe coats tender chicken breasts with a buttery pecans flavored with spicy chipotle and zesty orange. Serve with a spinach salad.

The tableside flambéing of bananas Foster sure is impressive ... if someone else is making it for you. This cake has all the flavors of the New Orleans classic in easier-to-prepare cake form that's just as stunning as the original for a healthier dessert you'll be proud to serve.

Not so long ago, Dover sole meant an overcooked fillet swimming in butter, dotted with tasteless dried herbs and soaked in too much lemon juice. But sole deserves a comeback: it can become a satisfying, sophisticated, one-skillet dinner with very little effort. The recipe can easily be doubled.

This raw Brussels sprouts salad featuring shaved Brussels sprouts, toasted pecans, sweet-tart cranberries and nutty Parmesan cheese is tossed with a light and lemony vinaigrette. You can shave the Brussels sprouts using a chef's knife--or use the slicing attachment of your food processor to make it even easier. This quick and easy recipe is perfect for fall or anytime you have crisp, fresh Brussels sprouts on hand.

Apples lend their sweet-tart flavor to this warm and comforting apple coffee cake. The nutty oat and pecan filling in the middle of the cake also acts as a crispy topping that's drizzled with a sweet vanilla glaze.

This scrumptious sweet potato soufflé is sweet without being cloying like some sweet potato casseroles can be. A crunchy pecan-and-oat topping nicely complements the creamy sweet potatoes. The casserole requires just 25 minutes of active time to prepare, so you can whip it up for Thanksgiving without a lot of fuss. And the filling can also be made up to five days ahead, so you just have to top it and bake it when it's showtime. With a sweet potato soufflé that's so easy, there's no need to serve it just for the holidays--try it with oven-fried chicken and green beans for a healthy dinner with a Southern accent.