Healthy Agave Recipes

If you're looking for a warm, chocolaty treat that's also nutritious, try this healthy hot chocolate made with cacao powder. It's made from the same cacao beans as cocoa, but without roasting them before grinding. While proponents say skipping the heat processing preserves more nutrients, cacao and cocoa powders offer similar health benefits, including being rich in antioxidants, which may help improve cholesterol and lower blood pressure. They also contain minerals like iron and magnesium, and give you a bit of fiber, which helps to promote a healthy digestive system. Unlike many hot chocolate recipes, which are high in sugar, this flavorful treat is made with only a little bit of agave syrup for sweetness (you can also sub in honey, maple syrup or regular sugar if you don't have agave on hand). In addition to being wholesome and delicious, this recipe is very easy to make—and whips up in less than 5 minutes!

A frozen virgin strawberry margarita is a refreshing way to cool down on warm days. This margarita mocktail, which calls for only five ingredients, uses a bit of agave nectar to blunt the tartness of lime juice and fresh strawberries.

Creamy avocados make this dairy-free and vegan chocolate dessert recipe super-rich. Serve as a not-so-sweet dessert or with strawberries for dipping.

This easy margarita recipe is like vacation in a glass. A bit of the chile-lime seasoning Tajín on the rim of your glass contrasts with the sweet orange and agave.

A squeeze of lemon juice adds bright flavor to this frozen fruit smoothie. Mango provides plenty of sweetness without having to add juice, but if it's too tart for you, a touch of agave will do the trick.

This refreshing mocktail perfectly combines the cool taste of cucumbers with the delicious tart flavor of fresh limes. It's lightly sweetened with agave and it's alcohol-free!

This refreshing frozen orange margarita is bursting with orange flavor and easy to make. If you prefer a more alcohol-forward drink, you can cut down the amounts of ice and orange juice to 2 cups and 1/2 cup, respectively.

A bûche de Noël--a cake decorated like a yule log--is a traditional dessert served around Christmastime in France, Belgium, Canada and some other French-speaking countries. Our gluten-free recipe, which is just as tasty served cold as it is at room temperature, is lighter than air. The chocolate brown-butter génoise cake is easy to roll up and it's covered with a billowy espresso-spiked 7-minute frosting. We've substituted agave nectar for white sugar in the frosting. It's pretty garnished with meringue mushrooms and sugared rosemary.

These easy muffins are full of antioxidant-packed raspberries and strawberries. Walnuts provide a welcome crunch and are a great source of monounsaturated fat, which research shows lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol.

These gorgeous smoothie bowls make a healthy breakfast, snack or light dessert. They get their vibrant color from pitaya, aka dragon fruit. Blend them up when you need a special treat that's good for you and good-looking! We call for fresh pitaya in this recipe, but if you can't find it or don't feel like fussing with it, feel free to swap in frozen cubed pitaya.

Here's a refreshing lemony energy drink recipe to give you a caffeine energy boost when you don't want coffee. It's a double-strength brew of green tea plus yerba maté and delivers about 135 mg caffeine plus antioxidants. Compared with store-bought energy drinks, this homemade energy drink recipe saves about 150 calories and has less than half the sugar. Add an extra-fresh taste by garnishing the rim with chopped mint. Yerba maté is a tea made from the leaves of a South American tree. Look for it with other tea in the natural-foods section of large supermarkets or natural-foods stores.

This almond milk is so creamy and flavorful, you'll want to drink it on its own. Store-bought almond milk is convenient, but homemade almond milk is relatively easy to make and less expensive too. Plus, making your own almond milk at home allows you to control sweeteners and other additives. Apart from the dates, which are inherently sweet, this recipe is unsweetened--add a little honey, maple or agave syrup for sweetness, if desired.