Craving something sweet but hoping to avoid that overstuffed feeling? Our collection of healthy apple desserts includes tasty muffins, cookies, tartlets, breads, and more. Each serving of these delicious treats has fewer than 250 calories and 10 grams of fat, with an eye on nutrient-rich additions such as whole grains, apples (obviously), nuts, and naturally sweet ingredients that need less added sugar.
Apple-Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread
Yes, you can have it all: Gooey pull-apart bread that's good for you, too, thanks to the nutritional benefits of ground flaxseeds, chopped walnuts, and fresh apples. A buttery orange and brown sugar sauce enhances the flavor of this healthy apple dessert as it bakes, and the creamy icing is made with reduced-fat cream cheese and orange juice instead of loads of butter and sugar.
Danish Pastry Apple Bars
Each bite of these flaky apple bars is filled with the perfect balance of buttery pastry and sweet apple filling. Add texture with corn flakes and flavor with cinnamon. This big-batch dessert recipe makes 32 servings.
Apple-Maple Snack Cake
Aptly named "snack cake," this apple dessert idea is perfect for any time of day. There's no need for frosting with this cake—it's perfectly moist all on its own. Achieve the texture with whole wheat flour, diced apples, and a bit of butter.
Apple-Cherry Dump Cake
Take dump cake up a level by adding fall's most-loved flavor—apple. Yes, this slow cooker recipe has finely chopped apples, but we didn't stop there. Apple pie spice, toasted walnuts, and tart cherries add more autumnal flavors to this healthy apple dessert.
Apple-Toffee Tartlets
Perfect for entertaining, these easy-to-make tartlets combine chunks of apple and crunchy toffee candy in delicious mini pies. They freeze for up to three months if you want to save some for later or make dessert ahead.
Apple Sheet Cake
In addition to fresh apples, this sheet cake is studded with chewy dried apples. When shopping for apples, choose varieties that will hold up well during baking. We like to use Gala, Honeycrisp, or Braeburn for this healthy apple dessert.
Caramel-Apple Pudding Cake
This special treat for two tastes deceptively indulgent. A custard of nonfat milk, creamy Greek yogurt, egg yolks, and some finely chopped apple makes a luscious base. A drizzle of caramelized sugar forms a golden top layer for that classic brûlée finish.
Apple Toffee Cookies
Head to the pantry to make these apple cookies. Dried apples, pecans or walnuts, and toffee bits flavor each bite. Make this recipe up to 3 months before serving and freeze until ready to eat.
Maple-Apple Blondies
Maple and apple are a wonderful pairing. Here, a tender apple blondie is topped with a smooth maple frosting. Once frosted, cut the bars into 36 servings.
Vanilla Apple Gratin
Showcase the flavor of in-season apples by keeping the rest of the ingredients simple. This healthy apple dessert idea starts with Gala apples that are cooked with vanilla and topped with cream. A bit of prosecco wine in the topping makes it totally celebration-worthy.
Baked Apple-Spice Donuts
A few better-for-you ingredients including whole wheat flour, plain yogurt, and shredded apple, add flavor and fiber to this healthy apple recipe. Once baked, dust the donuts with plenty of cinnamon and sugar.
Maple Brunch Cake with Apples and Cranberries
This apple cake "bakes" to perfection in your slow cooker. Flavor the batter with maple yogurt and dried cranberries. Our Test Kitchen prefers to serve this dessert warm.
Sheet-Pan Apple Pancake
There's no need to flip individual pancakes. Bake up a pan of these sweet apple pancakes and serve them for brunch or dessert. Before serving, drizzle them with maple syrup.
If our healthy apple desserts sound delicious—emphasis on the healthy—we have other better-for-you options for a sweet ending to your meal. Chocolate lovers will never know there are fiber-rich legumes in these Fudgy Black Bean Brownies (unless you tell them, of course!). No sugar is added to our Banana Ice Cream unless you make the chocolate shell that goes so well with a scoop or two. For a taste of fall, try this Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Custard, made with carrots, for a boost of vitamin A and beta carotene.