By Sara
Plant-based desserts… Are you a recently whole food plant-based eater? Or an OG to this lifestyle and looking for some different ideas to satisfy your sweet tooth? Either way lucky for you, there are a multitude of desserts that are easily made minus any animal products whatsoever. I personally enjoy sweets every now and then and try hard not to derail my entire diet. Rarely you will find me with a pink VooDoo Donuts box… but most of the time, I try to make sweets at home so that I have more control over sugar content.
You can decide how healthy your sweet tooth needs to be, but here are some of my favorites! Feel free to bookmark some of these recipes to try later after you clean up the drool stain you’re sure to make!
Many vegan desserts are made with coconut oil, coconut cream, or vegan butter. If you prefer slightly healthier versions, simply swap in an oil substitute, especially when doing a little baking.
Cakes and sweetbreads can be made with applesauce replacing the oil to help give moistness to the dessert without being something you’ll feel guilty about later on! Pumpkin puree’ mashed banana or even cooked and pureed cauliflower all make excellent oil stand-ins. A few simple ingredients can make a delicious and decadent dessert.
If you are looking for a sugar-free or reduced sugar recipe, try swapping out some date paste (Medjool dates soaked in water and then blended to a paste-like consistency), date syrup, agave, or maple syrup. These are all more natural sugar than regular white sugar. Plant-based desserts will blow your mind, and often wow even those who are not vegan nor plant-based.
“The best memories are made when gathered on a picnic blanket.”
Chia seed pudding:
Chia seeds make a gel-like consistency when soaked. By soaking them in plant milk with a touch of vanilla and maple syrup, (and making sure to whisk them every 20 minutes or so while they thicken to prevent clumps), you can make a perfect dessert! Top with berries or peaches and cinnamon or many other toppings. You get some healthy fats and omega 3 fatty acids from the chia seeds, and they have a decent amount of protein as well.
My favorite Chia seed pudding recipe (below) reminds me of peach cobbler! This is best made ahead to allow flavors to meld overnight in the fridge. It all comes together in a few minutes, and I usually make 6 to 8 jars for my hubby and I to enjoy. This is a simple recipe, and worth the prep time! The creamy texture from the chia pudding and the peach layer and date crumble are a magical combination! Of the plant-based desserts this one is surprisingly low in added sugar but doesn’t sacrifice in taste.
Peach Cobbler Chia Pudding Parfaits:
Chia Pudding:
3 cups non-dairy milk (I used Oat milk)
1/4 cup + 1 TBSP chia seeds
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
3 TBSP maple syrup
Whisk these ingredients together and cover and chill in the fridge. I typically bring them out of the fridge to whisk again every 15-20 minutes to prevent any clumps of chia seeds. Chill in the fridge overnight.
Peach Mixture:
3 cups peaches or nectarines, diced
3 TBSP coconut sugar
3 tsp fresh lemon juice
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of cloves
Mix these ingredients together, and add to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Allow mixture to come to a boil for a couple of minutes, then remove from heat and store covered in fridge overnight.
Date Crumble:
1 cup pitted medjool dates soaked in water for about 10 minutes
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Add ingredients to a food processor and pulse until small chunks are formed. You may need to add a teaspoon or two of water to help mixture come together.
To assemble, layer ingredients in mason jars, peaches, followed by chia pudding and finally the date crumble mix. You should have enough for 2 layers of each. I eat mine cold, as this is perfectly refreshing in the summer heat. If you prefer, you could serve it slightly warmed.
Brownies:
Colleen Patrick Goudreau has won the game with her vegan brownies in my humble opinion. Hers from The Joy of Vegan Baking cookbook are decadent!! And with the chocolate chips baked into them, they don’t need a frosting to be well-received at any potluck or get-together.
For a more whole food plant-based version check these out. They contain no butter, oil, flour or sugar. The best part, they contain simple ingredients that are easily found in most kitchens. Pro tip though, if you like fudgy brownies like I do… make these ahead of time, throw them in the freezer once they are cooled, and then thaw them and frost if you’d like. This gives them a more dense, fudgy texture. Yum!!
The frosting does contain coconut milk, but I decrease the amount of frosting by half, and it still makes plenty of frosting to cover the brownies. Melted chocolate chips mixed with the coconut cream creates a ganache-like frosting.
Cookies:
These vegan peanut butter cookies taste just like the ones my babysitter Nellie made us kids when we were little. What a blessing she was to us! I have such fond memories of the time spent with her and my friends made while in her care, and these cookies bring those memories back!
When I’m craving chocolate chip I usually just get a container of the EatPastry dough from Costco and bake them.
Fruit:
Apple, cherry, blueberry, peach, plum, mango, berry, there are so many flavors to choose from! You can make any kind of cobbler or crisp with these (and many other) fruits.
These make easy plant-based desserts, just wash and chop your fruits, combine with some sweetener and lemon juice, spices, top with the crisp or cobbler and bake!
Lemon curd:
This lemon curd is delicious on pancakes, or as a lemon layer in a layered cake.
A seasonal fresh fruit salad is amazing for dessert, with fresh-squeezed citrus juice juice and whatever herbs or seasonings are seasonal… mint and basil in the summer, pumpkin pie spice or ginger in the fall, cinnamon and vanilla in the winter and citrus and mint for the spring time! Or try a spiced hot fruit bake in the winter a la mode.
Cake:
Chocolate cake is my jam, and I’ve found several that really make my mouth water.
Just google “crazy cake recipe” or “wacky cake recipe” and will find many recipes that are depression-era cake recipes, made without milk, eggs or butter. Some of these have quite a bit of sugar, so just be aware.
I found vanilla, chocolate, cinnamon spice cake, carrot cake, apple cake and coconut cake recipes. You can try topping a vegan cake with fresh berries or even some of the lemon curd from above.
Pie:
Chocolate cream pie made with a tofu base is dreamy and creamy. It’s made a lot of non-vegans ask for seconds when I’ve brought this out! What a great indulgence for a special occasion. The best part: no one would imagine this is one of your plant-based desserts when you serve it!
Nice Cream:
Last but not least, a guilt-free ice cream substitute! Google “nice cream recipe” and you will have SO many flavor varieties at your fingertips. Nice cream is basically a soft serve banana ice cream . You can add different flavors and other wholesome ingredients like different fruits, or dates and cocoa powder for variety. It is practically guilt free, so make your own vegan ice cream stand-ins.
I’ve enjoyed chocolate, mint-chip, strawberry, pineapple, fig, and have so many recipes that I want to try!
Plant-based desserts do not need to be flavorless or boring. They can be as creative as you are. I do hope you’ll try my recipe above!
What do you think? Do you have a favorite vegan desert? Are your favorite healthy plant-based desserts listed? Any categories of desserts missing that you’d like to see included here?
If you’d like to learn more about the benefits of adopting a whole food, plant-based diet and making lifestyle changes to improve your health, check out these posts:
- Top Perks that Lifestyle Changes Offer For Your Health
- Dietary Lifestyle Change: A Powerful Tool for Your Toolbox
When you try any of these recipes, please DM me on social media to let me know what you think! Or let me know in the comments below!
