When it comes to desserts, my view is that they should be healthy, and more like a nourishing food than empty calories.
A healthy dessert can be enjoyed frequently and with relish. There’s nothing to be guilty about. It feels good even after you’ve eaten it.
A dessert that's healthy is absolutely perfect, but hard to find. This is especially true with eggless desserts.
However, when you do get your hands on the perfect dessert, you are rewarded with double the joy. The joy of eating something sweet, and the joy of nourishing mind and body.
Why do we love desserts?
Sweet foods are special and desirable for many reasons.
In the Ayurvedic approach to nutrition that I teach as a digestive health coach, the sweet taste has very desirable properties when it comes from whole ingredients.
The sweet taste makes you feel content, peaceful, and happy. The sweet taste also:
- Enhances vitality
- Nourishes and builds tissues
- Calms the nerves
- Is grounding and satisfying
- Calms anxiety and intensity
Actually, a lot of the foods we eat are naturally sweet, such as grains, many vegetables, most dairy, nuts, etc.
So you could actually grab a handful of nuts and call it a healthy dessert, or cooked carrots.
This works too, but what’s really extra special is when naturally sweet ingredients are combined to make a satisfying healthy dessert with minimal added sugars.
Healthy dessert ingredients
- Fruits and vegetables
- Nuts and seeds
- Healthy fats, like butter, ghee, olive oil etc.
- Yogurt, cream cheese, or other dairy
- Whole grain flours
- Unrefined sweeteners
Below, I have gathered up 15 Healthy Dessert Recipes.
These recipes are all eggless, because I prefer eggless desserts. I think you will find an eggless dessert lighter, and easier to digest.
Healthy Eggless Desserts
1. Perfect Eggless Lemon Bars
The secret to our eggless lemon filling is simply full-fat coconut milk to replace the richness of eggs, the same zippy lemon juice, and cornstarch as a thickening agent.
If you love lemon bars like I do, but you don’t love all the eggs, this eggless lemon bar will satisfy and delight you.
>>Click here to get the RECIPE
2. Vegan Chocolate Fudge Brownies (with Pumpkin)
Making these brownies couldn’t be easier. You mix together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another bowl. Combine the two together and the batter is ready to transfer to the baking tray.
For chocolate lovers and healthy eating lovers alike, these chocolate brownies are what I would call a healthy dessert, as long as you enjoy them in moderation.
>>Click here to get the RECIPE
3. Healthy Panna Cotta - Turmeric/Golden Milk
The star ingredient of this light and creamy dessert is turmeric. Turmeric contains curcumin, which is effective in reducing inflammation. This is very good news, since inflammation is a factor in allergies, asthma, autoimmune diseases, cancer, hepatitis, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, kidney disease, osteoporosis, and many, many more conditions that ail us.
Isn't this anti-inflammatory benefit reason enough to make this panna cotta recipe and enjoy turmeric in the form of a sweet treat?
>>Click here to get the RECIPE
4. Vegan Mango Pudding
This vegan mango pudding is the best summer dessert you’ll get your hands on! It is perfectly sweet, creamy, fluffy, and fruity.
This vegan mango dessert is low in sugar, but high in protein, making it a great choice for those watching their blood sugar, or for those who just want a healthy, high-protein snack.
>>Click here to get the RECIPE
5. Apricot Oat Bars
Although everyone loves sweets, unfortunately people tend to have trouble digesting them, and it's because they usually contain a pile of "difficult to digest" ingredients, such as eggs and wheat.
This recipe is free of eggs and wheat, and I used sugar-free apricot jam to reduce the sugar in this recipe.
I think these apricot oat bars are even better than oat bars made with regular flour and eggs.
>>Click here to get the RECIPE
6. Red Lentil Chocolate Dessert Lasagna
Eating sweet desserts can make some people feel guilty, especially if they are concerned with their health.
Desserts that contains vegetables will somehow allow people to indulge in desserts with less guilt.
This recipe contains red lentils, which is naturally low in fat, high in fiber, and a good source of protein to satisfy your hunger.
>>Click here to get the RECIPE
7. Easy Recipe For Nankhatai Cookies
This recipe for nankhatai cookies is North India’s version of a shortbread cookie. Crispy on the outside, and rich with ghee and cardamom flavor on the inside.
Shortbread has stood the test of time, and earned its place in our culture, but I also believe that nankhatai has five very special advantages over shortbread that makes it better, at least for me. You'll have to click to find out what they are.
>>Click here to get the RECIPE
8. Frozen Greek Yogurt Bark with Berries
Maya Tiwari, writing in the Ayurvedic lifestyle guide, “Life of Balance,” refers to yogurt as the “angel of health.”
According to her, a small quantity of yogurt taken activates nutrient assimilation, encourages the growth of benign (helpful) lactobacillus bacteria in the intestines, and helps to destroy harmful bacteria. She also says that yogurt is easily digested by the body within an hour.
This yogurt bark recipe can be made ahead of time so that it’s ready to go when you need a fast and nutritious snack.
>>Click here to get the RECIPE
9. Easy Vegan Madeleine Cakes Dipped in Chocolate
These vegan madeleines are light and airy with a vanilla flavored center. They're dipped in dark chocolate for the ultimate French tea time treat. Plus they're eggless and dairy free. I guarantee you won't stop at just one!
>>Click here to get the RECIPE
10. Badam Halwa with Almond flour
Halwa is a pudding-like Indian dessert typically made from flour, semolina, grains and/or nuts, paired with different healthy ingredients.
This halwa recipe uses almond flour, which contains protein, fiber, vitamin E, manganese, and magnesium, and antioxidants.
>>Click here to get the RECIPE
11. Eggless Almond Cake (Vegan)
This is another recipe that uses almonds as a main ingredient.
This healthy eggless almond cake is delicious, with a beautiful nutty flavor, and there’s no butter, or dairy, involved in making it, so it's lower in fat than most cake recipes.
>>Click here to get the RECIPE
12. Caramelized Banana
Bananas are rich in magnesium, which supports restful sleep. Their high potassium content supports muscle relaxation and calm.
This Caramelized Banana is both like candy, and a soothing balm for the digestive tract, all wrapped up in nature’s package. It is especially perfect for the fall/winter and cooler seasons.
>>Click here to get the RECIPE
13. Fudgy Zucchini Brownies with Matcha Frosting
Zucchini is packed with health benefits, and it’s typically very affordable and plentiful, especially in the late summer. It is low in calories, high in fiber, and has no cholesterol or unhealthy fats. The fiber in zucchini comes in both soluble and insoluble forms.
This recipe for zucchini brownies is vegan, gluten-free, and SO easy to make! Each brownie is topped with a cashew matcha frosting that's creamy and packed with flavor!
>>Click here to get the RECIPE
14. Eggless Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkins are highly nutritious, containing high amounts of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, potassium and antioxidants, which can help reduce the risk of cancer.
This delightful eggless pumpkin pie is made with simple, healthy ingredients. A delicious dessert to enjoy with your family during the holidays.
>>Click here to get the RECIPE
15. Orange Olive Oil Cake
Orange has more than 100 percent of the recommended daily amount of vitamin C to boost your immune system. It can also help fight cancer-causing free radicals and lower your levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
Eating this cake nourishes the body, and every slice of this bright citrusy-sweet cake made with olive oil and orange extracts will have your taste buds captivated.
>>Click here to get the RECIPE
Which one will you make first?
These recipes are simple, and easy to make.
Hopefully you will find one here that you love.
If you make it, let me know in the comments.
Kathy
I made the lemon bars for tonight. But I have been making the Caramelized Banana for the last couple of weeks. Both are very good. Now it will be a challenge to choose between the Red Lentil Chocolate Cake or Orange Olive Oil Cake next.
I am hoping the lemon bars freeze well as mentioned in the recipe. It is nice to have variety without having to use up all of one dish. While you did not include it on your list - I also made date bars at the same time as the lemon bars. Thank you for including the picture of the lemon bars with a sprinkling of powdered sugar and thin slice of lemon - it will look so much nicer to serve after Valentine's dinner.
Andrea
Hi Kathy,
So SWEET ... You probably saw that after taking the lemon bars out of the freezer, you'll loose the dust, so always dust them up fresh! Date bars and lemon bars are 2 of my favorite healthyish treats. Did you make the red lentil or orange olive oil cake? I am especially curious about the red lentil cake. Gotta get myself on that too! —Andrea