Healthy Pecan Recipes

Mable Clarke includes this zucchini bread among the treats that end the fish fry she started to save Soapstone Baptist Church in her South Carolina community. This recipe uses grated zucchini--it's easy to do with a food processor, but you can also use a box grater to do the job. While some recipes call for squeezing the water out of the zucchini after it's grated, don't--it's the secret to this quick bread's extra moistness.

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.

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.

Give classic pecan pie a healthy makeover--this recipe replaces some of the corn syrup and uses a whole-wheat flour crust for a delicious dessert. Top with whipped cream to make it extra-special.

Apple crisp in your Instant Pot?! Yes, you can! This easy Instant-Pot apple crisp has a nice balance of flavors from lemon zest and juice, brown sugar and sweet Honeycrisp apples. The whole-wheat flour and pecans add texture to the topping, which remains moist and delicious as it melds with the other flavors. To keep the texture from getting mushy, be sure not to cut the apple pieces too small. One-inch cubes will do the trick!

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.

Dried blueberries and pecans team up with cacao nibs for a chocolaty treat any time of day. The cacao is a bit more bitter than chocolate, but the maple syrup helps tame it. Almond butter and chia seeds provide protein to make these bites substantial snacks to fuel your body.

Let this cute little vegetarian stuffed squash side dish steal the show at the dinner table! Butternut squash is stuffed with a sweet and savory filling that gets a crispy finish under the broiler. If you can't find small butternut squash, honeynut squash is a great alternative. Shaped much like a butternut squash (but smaller), the honeynut squash has a deep orange skin and sweet flesh.

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.

This pecan tart gets added tang from dried cherries. Instead of corn syrup, which is found in most pecan pie recipes, we've opted for maple syrup. If you can find it, choose dark amber or grade B, because it has the richest maple flavor. The crust, made with heart-healthy pecans and canola oil, couldn't be easier to whip together. Just blend it in the food processor and pat it into your tart pan.

A pleasant tang, courtesy of Greek yogurt in the filling, and a mascarpone cheese whipped cream topping take this healthy pumpkin dessert recipe above and beyond classic pumpkin pie.

At home or at Campo, the restaurant he oversees at Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Organic Farm in Albuquerque, chef Jonathan Perno likes to welcome guests with spiced New Mexican pecans. You won't see this in most spiced-nut recipes, but Perno blanches them to reduce some of the bitter tannins in the skin that can sometimes overwhelm the pecans' delicate flavor.

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.

Dried blueberries give these pancakes a rich blueberry flavor and pecans liven up the texture with a bit of crunch.

This orange-scented carrot cake cheesecake has a wonderfully moist and flavorful carrot cake shell which holds the creamy cheesecake portion. The swirl effect of dollops of cheesecake batter is a fun and festive way to round out this rich dessert.

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.

You don't have to make a special trip to the bakery when you can whip up a batch of these heavenly cinnamon streusel rolls at home.

Dried cherries and nuts give this healthy sweet potato side dish recipe a traditional feel. The addition of some bacon for lushness and Aleppo pepper for a little bite really kicks things up.

Making this delicious and healthy snack is very simple but also a rare instance where the recipe is meant to take longer in order to make it easier. Most nuts can burn faster than you can say "What's that smell?"--so these spiced pecans are baked low and slow to avoid any nasty surprises.

No bakery degree required for this recipe: these healthy carrot- and raisin-studded morning glory scones are as easy to make as a batch of muffins. White whole-wheat flour adds a boost of fiber, and just enough butter gives them great flavor and texture without going overboard on calories. For a sweeter scone, drizzle with the optional scone glaze.

This salad is easy and festive--the perfect healthy addition to your holiday table. The no-sugar-added dressing blends well with the sweet notes of apple and sharp Cheddar cheese, and crunchy pecans round out the dish.

These savory spiced nuts are perfect for snacking, adding to a cheese board or serving as a mini appetizer.

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

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.