Healthy Mexican Dessert Recipes

This inverted caramel custard dessert is often found on Mexican dessert menus. This recipe is low in calories and fat.

Skip the greasy mess and bake these healthier churros rather than frying them in oil. The cinnamon-sugar-dusted classic Mexican dessert comes out of the oven crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside.

Broiling fruit brings out its inherent sweetness. A squeeze of tart lime juice balances it out. Try this technique with pineapple as well.

Translating to three milks cake, Tres Leches Cake is a traditional Mexican sponge cake that's soaked in, you guessed it, three kinds of milk, for the ultimate moist, decadent cake. Think of it as a poke cake that we've lightened up with this easy recipe.

These melt-in-your-mouth polvorones (Mexican wedding cookies) get a chocolate makeover by replacing all the nuts in the traditional version with ground chocolate. Addictive just as they are, you can also grate a little cinnamon stick over them before serving.

This is a creamy, refreshing dairy-free dessert Rick Bayless has served in his restaurant Frontera Grill for years.

Your favorite drink gets turned into dessert with this festive creamy lime pie spiked with tequila. Instead of a salted rim, our margarita pie gets a kick of saltiness from a pretzel crust. This refreshing pie is easy to make and freezes well, too. Cheers!

Frozen push pops get an adult makeover with this boozy frozen treat recipe. Pour lightened-up homemade margarita mix into pop molds for a dessert version of a Mexican cocktail favorite.

Making restaurant-quality flan at home is easier than you think, and our version is healthier, too! With just a few ingredients, you'll have a satisfying dessert that's sure to impress.

It couldn't be any easier to make sorbet. Just combine fruit, sugar and juice and escape to the tropics with this mango sorbet recipe flavored with lime. For a fun presentation, sprinkle with toasted coconut before serving.

Sheet cakes are a potluck dream: the baking pan holds the cake and makes it wonderfully portable. This one is accompanied by an almond “cream” made from heavy cream and reduced-fat sour cream. Together, the cake and cream replicate the taste of Mexican chocolate with its undertones of almond and cinnamon. Or make cream cheese frosting and add 1/4 teaspoon almond extract.

This melt-in-your-mouth custard is delicately flavored with vanilla bean and lightly sweetened with agave syrup. Crunchy caramelized walnuts are an addictively delicious topping. Adapted from Cooking with the Seasons at Rancho La Puerta: Recipes from the World-Famous Spa (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2008) by Deborah Szekely and Deborah M. Schneider with Chef Jesús González, Chef of La Cocina Que Canta.