Healthy Summer Berry Dessert Recipes

These summer-fresh parfaits are full of vanilla pudding and cubes of airy angel food cake. Fresh berries and lemon peel add a fruity zing to each bite, but feel free to substitute sliced strawberries, coarsely chopped nectarines, or ripe, juicy peaches.

Here we stir a little melted chocolate into ricotta cheese for a cheesecake-like topping for chocolate wafer cookies.

Sweet strawberries are nestled between layers of sponge cake and a cream filling in this easy cake. We add nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt to whipped cream to lighten up the filling and give it a little tang.

A pretzel-and-almond crust topped with a creamy filling that's studded with fresh fruit-now that's a cheesecake like no other!

This fun and fruity cake is easy to make, once you get the hang of the blending, freezing and layering. Be sure each layer is frozen completely before adding the next to get the maximum rainbow effect. (Some layers may take longer to freeze than others.) If you want more vibrant layers, a drop or two of natural food coloring can enhance the colors. You can sub in frozen fruit if you don't have fresh on hand (just thaw before pureeing), and you can swap frozen yogurt for the ice cream if you'd like.

A fruit crisp offers the luscious flavor of a fresh fruit pie without the fuss of making a crust. Celebrate the arrival of late-summer peaches with this rich-tasting crisp. The nut-studded topping works great with other fruit combinations too.

This stunning fruit-filled trifle is a perfect make-ahead dessert for summer barbecues and dinner parties. Resist the urge to dig in until the trifle has chilled for at least a few hours--that time lets the flavors mingle and allows the cake to absorb the rum and fruit juices.

Strawberries and lemons make for a sweet and citrusy treat in this lightened-up cupcake recipe topped with a cream cheese frosting.

Pure maple syrup gives the fruit filling rich flavor in this healthy blueberry pie recipe. If you don't want to make a lattice top, simply lay the second crust on top and cut three slits into the dough to vent steam.

Sweet, tangy and so refreshing, this is a treat you could enjoy on repeat all summer long. The bananas make it ultra creamy, so it tastes like a cross between sorbet and ice cream. It's perfect for dessert or a midafternoon snack on a hot day.

In this healthy ice cream pie recipe, crumbled gingersnaps make an easy and tasty crust for the blackberry and lemon filling made with nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt.

Flaky, buttery biscuits dolloped on sweet, syrupy berries--fruit cobblers may be the best summer dessert ever. We love fresh blackberries in cobbler, but fresh blueberries or even frozen blackberries make a great subsitute. You don't even have to thaw the berries first; mix them up while they're still frozen.

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.

Sour cream gives this healthy baked custard recipe richness and tang. It's delicious with in-season strawberries, but feel free to substitute whatever berries you can get your hands on.

Bananas and Greek yogurt make this strawberry topped dessert creamy and delicious.

Rhubarb is a tangy counterpart for sweet raspberries in this fruit crumble recipe. For a nutty flavor and a boost of nutrition, this healthy dessert uses whole-grain rye flour and toasted pecans. Serve the crumble with your favorite vanilla frozen yogurt or a dollop of whipped cream.

This summer berry fruit salad recipe makes enough for a crowd. Serve with granola and yogurt at brunch, as a healthy potluck side, or halve the recipe to serve 4.

Cutting naturally red and white fruits into star shapes to pair on skewers with blueberries makes a fun, patriotic fruit dessert you can feel good about eating and serving to your kids. This red, white and blue fruit "salad" will be a hit at summer barbecues, especially for the Fourth of July.

Using fat-free cheese and yogurt plus light dessert topping help keep this chilled fruit dessert recipe low in calories, carbs and fat.

Cheesecake mix, graham crackers, and strawberries make this truly a cheesecake popsicle.

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.

The hallmark of a cobbler is a biscuit topping baked right on top of the fruit. Here blueberries (or blackberries) and corn make a fun match. The sunny cornmeal batter comes together quickly and looks gorgeous on top of the deep-dark fruit filling. We like the rustic texture of medium- or coarse-ground cornmeal, but any type works.

A summer pudding is a British warm-weather wonder--not steamed like a sticky pudding but an easy dish that sets up thanks to the pectin in the berries. Be sure to use firm, bakery-quality bread.

Graham crackers make an easy crunchy topping for this campfire skillet treat.