24 Healthy Dessert Recipes to Start the New Year Off Right (2024)

Many people have goals of becoming healthy in the New Year and one thing that throws them off is their love of sweets.

What we don’t realize though is that sweets do not have to mean sugar and junk. Instead, we need to focus on things we like that can be healthy too.

Several years ago, I lost thirty pounds and I can say I never missed dessert. So here are some of my favorites from the day and some that I want to try now.

Healthy Dessert Recipes

1. Oreo Fluff

This was one of the recipes that everyone enjoyed when I was losing weight. You know this dessert is good when everyone wants to eat it- no matter if they are watching their weight or not. So, head over to Easy Recipes Guide and make it for yourself.

2. Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Almonds

Last summer I found Skinny Dipped Almonds and instantly fell in love with them. Whole Foods Market was sampling them. I came back twice for samples and took home two bags, buying two more a week later to take to my mother.

This recipe, found over at The Healthy Maven, reminds me of this, not thoroughly coated in the chocolate it’s more almond and less chocolate. All sorts of delicious!

3. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie

This looks delicious and based on Erin’s description, sounds delicious. What makes it even better is the secret ingredient that adds no taste but makes this dessert become high in protein. I know you’re super curious now…

It’s chick peas.

Yum! To get the full recipe head on over to Well Plated and enjoy!

4. Classic Carrot Cake

This recipe looks delicious and would be perfect for Easter. It has maple syrup instead of sugar and uses ricotta cheese as a part of the frosting. The whole wheat flour would make the cake seem like it was weighted down but the sugar in the carrots keeps it light tasting.

Head over to Amy’s Healthy Baking to see this recipe along with many more healthy recipes that will leave you drooling.

5. Baked Banana with Honey and Cinnamon

This was a dessert I ate frequently when I was losing weight. I loved turning the oven on and sprinkling my banana with cinnamon, then baking it. Afterwards I would decide if I wanted to eat my banana with a few chocolate chips or with honey drizzled. Either way, it was one of the most satisfying parts of the evening.

This recipe can be found over at Stockpiling Moms.

6. Healthy Wendy’s Frosty

One of my major purchases in the next few weeks is a new blender. As soon as I get my blender, this is going to be the first thing I make. If you have never tried almond milk, I highly recommend it. I will probably freeze the bananas and not use all fifteen ice cubes. There are several different ways I would change up but I know for a fact that this is a delicious, healthy recipe.

To see the details for yourself, check out Just a Pinch Recipes.

7. Greek Yogurt Chocolate

Yes, chocolate flavored desserts are a weakness of mine!

Here’s what I really love about this recipe though- the Greek yogurt. I have a secret to making mine- it’s the crockpot. I am telling you if you have never had homemade Greek yogurt, you are in for a treat. Nothing like the store varieties. I am not sure what makes it so different and so special.

Either way, this recipe looks decedant and healthy- no sugar! Be sure to check out Cultures for Health to find the greek yogurt recipe and My Fussy Eater for a kid friendly chocolate-y, mousse style version.

8. Peach and Blueberry Greek Yogurt Cake

How beautiful is this cake? Julia, over at Julia’s Album, even adds a bit of powdered sugar at the end of this recipe, once it’s all finished up.

The taste of fresh fruit and yogurt with little to no sugar, who would have thought my chocolate sweet tooth loving mouth would be watering?

Also, is it summer yet?

9. Greek Yogurt Lemon Cheesecake Bars

This recipe was created six months ago and this is one I have made. I do believe I ate most of it myself too. I put it in the fridge at work and would eat it for a snack. It is completely and totally delicious, with the tartness or the lemon combined with the creaminess of the yogurt and cream cheese.

I promise you this recipe, made over at Girl’s Dish, is worth the time it takes to make it.

10. Slow Cooker Caramel Apple Crumble

This is a recipe just like it should be- yes, there is sugar in both the main part and also the oatmeal topping as well. That’s okay. Enjoy the freshness of the apples, and there is five of them in the recipe, and consider this one to be an occasional treat. Delicious and fresh.

Head over to Fake Ginger for the full recipe.

11. Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Crisps

I was a bit surprised when I saw what was in the salsa but it still sounds delicious- with strawberries, apples, kiwi (I’m not a melon fan), and other sweet fruits to keep me wanting to come back for more.

And if you have never had cinnamon tortilla chips fresh then you are in for a treat. I grew up on cinnamon chips at our local Mexican restaurant. They had a cinnamon chip with apple filling on top that was sinful.

This recipe, made by Spend with Pennies, adds a childhood memory and combines it with a salsa that might be better for my adult waistline!

12. Flourless Mug Cake

Sometimes you end up being the only one wanting something. Or maybe they are eating something that seems a little too taboo for your healthy eating plan. Either way, add these three ingredients in a mug and you have a sweet chocolate dessert.

Only thing that would make it better? A dollop of whip cream. To get the full recipe, head over to Lilly’s Listotic Page.

13. Dairy Free Coffee Nice Cream

I call this Nice Cream, despite Becca over at My Crazy Good Life calling it Ice Cream. My reasoning for that is because it doesn’t have milk in the recipe. Instead it uses bananas as the base.

I make a version of nice cream for my daughters on the last day of school every year so they can go to school and tell their friends that their mother let them have ice cream for breakfast (yes, we omit the n for the tease factor). It’s healthy, cool for hot days and ultimately delicious.

Even better? If you are doing weight watchers and don’t need sugar- this recipe is zero points!

14. Peanut Butter Buckeye Balls with Quinoa

If you love buckeyes already, why not add some quinoa into the recipe, giving it a high protein crunch and still keeping the chocolate, peanut butter goodness you already love. And if you want more quinoa recipes, we already made you a great list!

15. Soft Maple Cookies

The taste of maple syrup is something I really enjoy. The softness of the recipe comes from the fact that the sugar is liquid and not solid, so adding toasted pecans and other delicious, healthy fruits such as raisins is a nice break if you like the crunchiness of cookies.

The full recipe, created by Shauna Sever, can be found over at Food Network.

16. Creamy Blended Frozen Mocha

I love that Kate, over at Chocolate Covered Katie, really gives you room to create the mocha that you want. This is good for people like my daughter and myself. She prefers hers a bit sweeter than mine and a little less of the coffee taste.

Maybe this will be the second drink I make with the new blender.

17. Fruity Frozen Yogurt

Jamie Oliver is amazing. He is trying to change the way we look at food, one school child at a time.

If I were a school child, I would want to devour this frozen yogurt recipe as well.

I love the fact that he uses fruits that are in season but if the season just hasn’t quite started yet, you could always use frozen fruits like I do.

18. Grilled Apple Sundae

I didn’t always like pound cake but a few years ago I tricked my girls into thinking I made them grilled cheese when I actually make them a grilled pound cake with yellow icing in the middle for April Fool’s Day.

Since then I have figured out that I enjoy my pound cake grilled. And this super easy recipe, created by Dory Jean over at Genius Kitchen, is one healthy way to do it. I love pecans and apples so this will be one for me to cook in September when I am craving fall tastes but it is still too hot to be baking in Texas!

19. Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you have never had zucchini bread, you have not lived. Surprisingly zucchini adds a sweet note to the recipe, much in the same way carrots do.

If you like carrot cake, you will like zucchini sweet recipes I promise! To see this full recipe, check out Delish.

20. Sweet Potato Brownies

I had to go back over to Katie’s site because the original recipe I found called for several ingredients I had never heard of and that is just not me. I’m not going to hunt down food just because it’s “healthy”.

So head over to Chocolate Covered Katie and see the real recipe for yourself.

21. Weight Watchers Jello Pudding Fluff

My mother made something similar to this recipe by Six Sisters’ Stuff for the fourth of July a few years ago but she added blueberries and strawberries instead of the pineapple and mandarin oranges.

That was when I realized you could make this over and over again using different fruit. Now my ten year old asks to make this for dessert all the time.

It’s good and easy to make although I still haven’t figured out how many points this recipe is. If you figure it out, please let me know!

22. Lily’s Quick and Healthy Dessert

This idea is quick and delicious. Plus it has some of my favorite treats- yogurt, bananas, raspberries and whipped cream. Lily recommends you use ripe but not over ripe bananas in order to keep it looking beautiful.

Check out the full details over at Food 52.

23. No Bake Unicorn Bites

This recipe, at first site, was one I was about to turn down and then I read his astricks* that state you can substitute one thing for another. Such as the cashew butter for a different kind of butter. Naturally, my mind goes to peanut butter and nutella. I don’t think nutella will look nearly as pretty or be nearly as healthy but you know…

I can make my own.

Anyways, if you want a no bake recipe that is super cute and makes you feel good, head over to Big Man’s World and see it for yourself.

24. No Sugar No Bake Cookies

No bake cookies were one of the first things I ever made and I made them a lot as a teenager after that because my God mother loved them and I loved making her happy.

Now that I am older, I like them with a little less sugar so this recipe has honey instead of sugar, which means there will be more oatmeal than the original recipe calls for.

No worries though, it still tastes just like the original- delicious.

Head over to Coffee, Love, Travel to see the full recipe.

Conclusion to Healthy Dessert Recipes

Now that you have seen some healthy dessert recipes, you can go almost the entire month and not feel either deprived or bad for eating good.

So, get in the kitchen and whip up something great for you and your family tonight. Be sure to check out our other posts while your at it.

Happy 2018!