Food and Recipes Healthy and Light Guilt-Free Desserts To Start the New Year By Marissa Wu Marissa Wu Marissa Wu is a writer with a love for home, food, travel, and art stories. She holds a journalism degree from Boston University. When not editing and producing articles or updating the homepage, she's trying new recipes, jolting along in her manual transmission car, Fitz; hammering out a manuscript on her 1930s Royal Aristocrat typewriter, Georgie; and making film photographs with her Rolleiflex, Cecil. She's currently an Associate SEO Editor for PureWow. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on August 15, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Buffy Hargett A fresh calendar usually comes with a side of healthy resolutions. We vow to exercise, eat better, and do a laundry list of things to get healthier. It's a little tricky—especially when we're surrounded by so many divine Southern desserts. It's hard to say no to a slice of chess pie or towering layer cake. But thankfully, there are better-for-you desserts that still deliver on the sweets. Don't believe a dessert can be healthy and still taste good? Wait until you taste our Lightened Hummingbird Cake and Key "Light" Pie. We promise you won't feel like you're missing anything. Plus, healthy doesn't always mean substituting ingredients. Portion sizes can also play a large part in keeping us on track, so we included a few of our miniature desserts. These healthy dessert recipes are proof that you can have your cake and eat it, too. Here's to a healthier year—and you. 01 of 24 Meyer Lemon-Cheesecake Bars Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Meyer Lemon-Cheesecake Bars These lemony bars are a great make-ahead treat. Use fresh orange juice and zest instead of lemon for a different flavor profile. Top with blueberries for additional healthy sweetness (and a pop of contrasting color). 02 of 24 Brown Sugar Baked Pears Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Christine Keely Recipe: Brown Sugar Baked Pears No crust, no cake, and if you want to lighten it up further, just reduce the amount of butter, sugar, and ice cream that you use. A baked pear with just a little cinnamon is guaranteed to be sweet and delicious. 03 of 24 Raspberry Crumble Bars Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer Recipe: Raspberry Crumble Bars Who can resist a fruit crumble? And this version, packed with raspberries, rolled oats, and almonds, it's almost like breakfast in a bar. To make them even lighter, cut down on the sugar in the filling, or swap it with a different sweetener. 04 of 24 Banana Pudding Photo: Jennifer Davick Recipe: Banana Pudding This pudding delivers a velvety rich custard, ripe banana flavor, vanilla wafers so soft they melt in your mouth, and an irresistible golden-baked meringue topping. All this, and it's lower in fat and calories than traditional versions. These make great individual party desserts or make the pudding in an 8-inch square pan. We love it with extra wafers. 05 of 24 Rainbow Fruit Pizza Southern Living Recipe: Rainbow Fruit Pizza Use whatever fruit is in season—pomegranates, bananas, oranges, and pineapple all make for a stunning presentation. You might want to save it all for yourself, but your kids or grandkids will love making and eating this sweet pizza too. 06 of 24 Spiced Plum Compote Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Christine Keely Recipe: Spiced Plum Compote Just because the holidays are over, it doesn't mean you have to give up cozy flavors. Simmer plums with warm spices like cinnamon and cloves, and you have a festive topping for healthy, protein-rich Greek yogurt. 07 of 24 Tip 08 of 24 Lightened Hummingbird Cake Recipe: Lightened Hummingbird Cake While we love the classic, this lightened version is equally good. All you have to do is sub in applesauce in place of some of the oil, and scale back on the butter, sugar, and eggs. As for that creamy frosting, use a light cream cheese instead. 09 of 24 Chocolate-Pecan Tassies Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Chocolate-Pecan Tassies Healthy isn't just about ingredients. It's also about portion sizes. Whip up these little tassies and they're a satisfying, bite-sized treat after dinner. You get the richness of a slice of pecan pie in a healthier (and cuter) size. 10 of 24 Mini Berry Cobblers Jennifer Davick Recipe: Mini Berry Cobblers These mini cobblers are packed with juicy berries and topped with a simple biscuit. Just one will serve up the satisfying sweetness needed to finish off a meal without going overboard on the sugar and fat. 11 of 24 Carrot-Pineapple Mini Bundt Cakes with Buttermilk-Vanilla Glaze Cedric Angeles; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Carrot-Pineapple Mini Bundt Cakes with Buttermilk-Vanilla Glaze Get your year off to a vibrant start with these tiny Bundt cakes, which are perfect individual servings and also packed with carrots. Serve with or without the glaze. Everyone loves mini-Bundts, so they're perfect for entertaining too. 12 of 24 Instant Pot Applesauce Jennifer Causey Recipe: Instant Pot Applesauce It's a dessert, snack, breakfast, and baking substitute all in one. You'll definitely want to keep some in your fridge, and with an easy recipe like this one, it won't be hard. Make sure to enjoy a cupful warm, too. 13 of 24 Mini Red Velvet Cakes Southern Living Recipe: Mini Red Velvet Cakes Another individual dessert that helps control portion size but doesn't skimp on ingredients. And that frosting—mascarpone and cream cheese? Oh, yes. 14 of 24 Apple Butter Cobbler with Drop Biscuits Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Apple Butter Cobbler with Drop Biscuits Even if you're eating healthier, some winter nights just call for a cozy dessert. It's easy to lighten this one up: When preparing the apples, you can moderate the amount of sugar or sub it out for something like honey, maple syrup, or agave. 15 of 24 Roasted Pears Hector Sanchez Recipe: Roasted Pears Aside from snacking on one straight from the fruit bowl, this might be one of the healthiest ways to enjoy a pear. The recipe uses honey as a sweetener and just a dab of butter for richness. 16 of 24 Chocolate Pudding Jennifer Davick Recipe: Chocolate Pudding It's childhood nostalgia in a bowl, and with this recipe, you can enjoy this classic dessert in a healthier way. At just 300 calories and 3 grams of fat, you'll get a lot of chocolate happiness without abandoning your healthy resolutions. 17 of 24 Winter Blackberry Cobbler Iain Bagwell Recipe: Winter Blackberry Cobbler Frozen berries make this recipe a possibility in the cold months. The minimal pastry allows the fruit to shine and limits the amount of sugar and butter you'll consume. 18 of 24 Summer Fruit Skewers Southern Living Recipe: Summer Fruit Skewers Sub the summer fruits for winter ones, like persimmons, oranges, bananas, and pineapple. It'll be bright, vibrant, simple, and good for you. 19 of 24 Gluten-Free Peach Cobbler Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Gluten-Free Peach Cobbler Peaches in January? Yes, thanks to the frozen section. And, making it gluten-free ensures all can enjoy. 20 of 24 Simplest Pear Tart Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Christine Keely Recipe: Simplest Pear Tart There's not much to this tart, but that's the beauty of it, as the pears are allowed to shine. The presentation is simply beautiful too. 21 of 24 Orange Cream Granita Alison Miksch; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham Recipe: Orange Cream Granita Make it a bright and fresh start for the new year with this zesty frozen dessert. These shaved ice treats are fun for a party and can be made into slushy cocktails with the addition of your favorite spirit. 22 of 24 Sweet Potato Cobbler Antonis Achilleos, Food Styling: Gordon Sawyer and Tina Stamos, Prop Styling: Lydia Pursell Recipe: Sweet Potato Cobbler The hearty, healthy sweet potato shines in this cobbler, which uses just a bit of brown sugar and cinnamon to flavor. 23 of 24 Fresh Fruit Salad Jen Causey Recipe: Fresh Fruit Salad This is the one instance in which salad can be a dessert. Choose your favorite fruit medley and garnish it with fresh mint leaves and a drizzle of honey. 24 of 24 Key "Light" Pie Jennifer Davick; Styling: Buffy Hargett Recipe: Key "Light" Pie Fat-free condensed milk, egg substitute, reduced-fat graham cracker crust, and fat-free whipped topping considerably lighten the traditional key lime pie. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit