Desserts have gotten an upgrade in recent years, thanks to registered dietitians, bloggers, and chefs who have been willing to experiment with unique ways to use plant-based ingredients to mimic the tastes and textures of traditional desserts.
What Makes a Dessert ‘Plant-Based’?
A plant-based eating pattern is one that aims to incorporate more fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, whole grains, nondairy milk, nuts, legumes, and seeds, says Nicole Stevens, a vegan registered dietitian at Lettuce Veg Out in Ontario. This doesn’t mean plant-based is always vegan, however. “While a vegan dessert can always be considered plant-based, someone who consumes eggs, dairy, or honey may also use the term ‘plant-based,’” she says. In this case, it’s all about what you’re adding to the recipe, not what you’re taking out.
Even if you’re a tried-and-true butter-and-white-flour person, two ingredients that undoubtedly make desserts delicious, it’s worth experimenting with a plant-based dessert recipe. “I’m always on the lookout for new recipes that use ingredients I wouldn’t typically consider for a dessert, like lentil brownies,” says Sara Casey, a registered dietitian nutritionist who specializes in plant-based eating in Chicago.
Not only do they present a fun challenge in the kitchen, she says, but incorporating a fruit, veggie, or bean puree or tossing in extra seeds or nuts can add a new spectrum of pleasing and delicious textures and flavors. What’s more, you’ll get an extra dose of nutrients. “If you like to end your day with a sweet treat, a nutrient-dense dessert — chocolate cookies made with banana, flaxseed, and oats, for example — can leave you feeling more satisfied due to the high fiber content,” says Casey.1
Easy Healthy Berry Crisp
There’s nothing quite like serving up a berry crisp in the warmer months. Hummusapien, a blog by the registered dietitian nutritionist Alexis Joseph, should be on your go-to list for all plant-based meal ideas, but she really raises the bar here with her Berry Crisp With Super Seed Crumble. It couldn’t be easier than dumping out a bag of frozen blueberries into a baking dish and then topping everything with a mixture of oats, almond flour, hemp seeds, and flaxseed. The oats, a gluten-free whole grain, provide filling fiber — according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), per ½ cup, you get 4 grams (g), which is about 14 percent of the daily value (DV). Meanwhile, nuts and seeds supply heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, as the Mayo Clinic notes, and a nice crunch. To maximize the versatility of this recipe, top it with some ice cream for dessert and add a dollop of plain, thick yogurt on leftovers the next day for breakfast. Get the Recipe2
The Healthiest Vegan Chocolate Pudding
It’s possible to create a plant-based dessert that has no added sugar. Really. Check out this plant-based pudding from the registered dietitian nutritionist Amy Gorin. It’s made with just bananas, peanut butter, unsweetened cocoa powder, water, and shredded coconut. (You can have this on your table in five minutes flat, which is perfect for those moments when you want something sweet but have nothing premade.) Eat this for your evening dessert and get 5 g of fiber, or 18 percent of the DV. Each serving contains one whole banana, and even a small banana packs 3 g of fiber, according to the USDA, making for about 11 percent of your DV from that fruit alone! Each serving of the whole recipe has 220 calories, 5 g fat, 42 g carbs, and 8 g protein.
Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
There’s no reason to only eat pumpkin during fall, especially when you’re baking plant-based desserts. These sweet bars from Christina Lane, of Dessert for Two, deserve to be on your year-round rotation. First, they’re no bake, meaning no one has to turn on an oven. And the cheesecake is made from a surprising set of ingredients: cashews, coconut cream, and pumpkin puree. It all comes together with the help of a high-speed blender. Cashews are packed with nutrients, including the mineral magnesium, an electrolyte that plays a role in more than 300 enzyme reactions in the body, according to the National Institutes of Health. One ounce of cashews provides a good source, with 73.7 milligrams (mg), or about 18 percent of your DV of magnesium, according to the USDA. Each serving of this dessert has 284 calories, 17 g fat, 32 g carbs, and 3 g protein.Get the Recipe4
Matcha Bliss Balls
There is something so satisfying about getting your protein fix from something that tastes like cookie dough. “I love to encourage people to experiment in the kitchen. There are so many tasty ingredients and cooking methods that people become exposed to when trying out plant-based recipes,” says Stevens. One way to do that is try a new-to-you ingredient like matcha. The blog Minimalist Baker gets a major win with these homemade energy balls. Matcha is an antioxidant-rich green tea powder, and it adds a brilliant earthy taste that plays well in sweet recipes. And it may be a great way to boost your brainpower to conquer that midafternoon slump. A small study published in September 2017 in Food Research International found that when participants consumed matcha tea, they experienced a small bump in attention and memory performance. In each ball, you get 104 calories, 8.6 g fat, 5.5 g carbs, and 2.9 g protein.Get the Recipe5
Blueberry Pie Bars With Oatmeal Crumble
Making a healthier dessert doesn’t mean skipping butter and sugar. “Some recipes try to avoid ingredients that provide essential flavor and texture to dessert recipes. If there’s little to no sugar or fat, you may be disappointed in the final product,” says Stevens. So, as long as you’re indulging only occasionally and in moderation, don’t shy away from the presence of butter (or a butter substitute if you’re vegan) and brown sugar in these yummy bars from the blog Ambitious Kitchen, which make an ideal summer dessert. Along with whole grains from the oat flour and oatmeal (double oats!), each bar has just 11 grams of sugar, which is less than many flavored yogurts. Plus, they offer antioxidant-rich blueberries for an extra punch of fiber. Per cup, those little blues have 3.55 g of fiber, or 13 percent of the DV, according to the USDA. Per bar, there are 152 calories, 5.5 g fat, 28.6 g carbs, and 2 g protein.
Lemon Vegan Cheesecake Bars
These bars from Fit Foodie Finds come together quickly (just factor in time for refrigeration). They’re made with a silky filling of soaked cashews (which means exactly what it sounds like; you soak cashews in water to soften them up), plus a chewy crust made with dates and more cashews. “Nuts and seeds, like cashews, offer a source of iron, as well as healthy fats. They also provide a nutty flavor that’s perfect for pie crusts,” says Casey. Indeed, one ounce of cashews provides 1.44 mg or 8 percent of the DV, notes the USDA. Each of these yummy cheesecake bars provides 269 calories, 18 g fat, and 6 g protein.Get the Recipe7
Vegan Carrot Cake With Pineapple
No one likes a dry cake, but making one with fruit purees and other vegetables, like shredded carrots, adds a lot of moisture to the batter. What’s more, “fruit purees add fiber while providing extra sweetness,” says Casey. That idea naturally lends itself to a carrot cake. No need to be intimidated by the idea of making a layered cake; you’re simply mixing the ingredients in a bowl and then baking them in two pans. (You could also make a single-layer cake.) Try this cake from the blogger Chocolate Covered Katie, which incorporates crushed pineapple, shredded carrot, raisins, and extras like shredded coconut or chopped nuts. Pineapple may be an unexpected ingredient in classic carrot cake, but it’s a welcome one thanks to its vitamin C, which plays a role in immune support, according to an article published in November 2017 in Nutrients. The USDA points out that one cup of pineapple chunks offers 78.9 mg of vitamin C, which is 88 percent of the DV. Overall, one slice of this cake has 120 calories, 4 g fat, 20.4 g carbs, and 2.2 g protein. Enjoy it as a midafternoon pick-me-up and pair with a cup of tea.
Tahini Cookies With Pomegranate
Tahini, which is a paste made out of sesame seeds (think of it as sesame seed butter, akin to nut butter), is often found in plant-based desserts, says Casey. The seed might be tiny, but its health perks are mighty: They contain a variety of vitamins your body needs to look, feel, and function at its best (like vitamin E and vitamin B1), minerals (iron, magnesium, calcium), polyunsaturated fatty acids, plant compounds called phytosterols, and antioxidants called sesamin and sesamolin, according to research. These festive cookies from Love & Lemons combine the antioxidant powerhouses tahini and pomegranate.Get the Recipe9
Chocolate-Covered Cherry Ice Cream Pops
If you’ve only had dairy ice cream, now is the time to try ice cream made with a combination of coconut milk and nut butter, like these ice cream pops from the blog Fragrant Vanilla call for. (Pro tip: If you really love cherries, buy a cherry pitter for this recipe and general snacking, like the top-rated OXO Good Grips Cherry Pitter from Amazon, for $12.99.) While coconut milk is high in fat, particularly saturated fat, there’s emerging evidence that the specific type of saturated fat it contains (medium-chain saturated fatty acids) may be okay or even beneficial for heart health, according to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Still, till there’s stronger scientific proof, you’ll want to pay attention to your intake of this ingredient. Each cup of coconut milk contains about 5 g of saturated fat, per the USDA, and the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends an upper limit of 13 g per day if you’re following a 2,000-calorie diet. Why? Excess saturated fat may raise cholesterol and lipid levels, contributing to your risk for heart disease, notes the AHA.
Chocolate Chip Cookies With Almond Flour
Almond flour is made of almonds that have been finely ground to the texture of flour. It adds a nutty, sweet taste, but also a trifecta of nutrients: a ¼ cup serving provides 6 g of protein, 15 g of fat, 2 g of fiber and just 6 g of carbs, according to the USDA. (Compare that with ¼ cup of traditional white flour at 3 g of protein, 1.22 g of fat, less than a gram of fiber, and 24 g of carbs.) To get started, these cookies from Sweetly Raw combine mostly almond flour with oat and rice flour. For an extra dose of unsaturated fat, make these with avocado oil.