So you want to make some tasty treats but don’t want the expanding waistline and groggy feelings that go with it. It may sound too good to be true but with these 10 Top Gorgeous Sugar Free Recipes you can enjoy a deliciously sweet alternative while knowing that you’re actually nourishing your body with essential nutrients!
1. Sweet Potato Brownies
Ingredients: (Makes 10 brownies)
- 2 medium to large sweet potatoes (600g)
- 2/3 of a cup of ground almonds (80g)
- 1/2 a cup of buckwheat or brown rice flour (100g)
- 14 medjool dates
- 4 tablespoons of raw cacao
- 3 tablespoons of pure maple syrup
- Pinch of salt
Method: Start by pre-heating the oven to 180C, then peel the sweet potatoes. Cut them into chunks and place into a steamer for about twenty minutes, until they become really soft.
Once they are perfectly soft and beginning to fall apart remove them and add them to a food processor with the pitted dates, this will form a delicious sweet and creamy mixture.
Put the remaining ingredients into a bowl, before mixing in the sweet potato date combination. Stir well. Place into a lined baking dish and cook for about twenty minutes, until you can pierce the brownie cake with a fork bringing it out dry. Remove the tray and allow it to cool for about ten minutes – this is really important as it needs this time to stick together. Remove the brownies from the tray, leaving it another few minutes before cutting them into squares – then dig in and enjoy!
(Credit: Deliciously Ella)
2. Healthy Nutella (aka Cacao and Hazelnut Spread)
Ingredients: (Makes 1 big jar)
- 2 mugs hazelnuts (375g)
- ½ mug maple syrup (150ml)
- 3 tbsp raw cacao powder
Method: Preheat the oven to 200°c (fan 180°c). Bake the hazelnuts for about 10 minutes, then take them out of the oven and allow them to cool.
Once cool, place them in a powerful food processor and blend for about 10 minutes until they totally break down. Then add the maple syrup and cacao and blend again, before gradually pouring in the ½ mug water (it’s important that the first three are properly mixed before you add the water). Now it’s ready to spread or drizzle on toast and porridge!
(Credit: Deliciously Ella)
3. Three Ingredient Banana and Date Loaf
Ingredients: (Makes 1 small loaf)
- 2 cups ground almonds
- 2 ripe bananas, peeled and halved (the flesh should weigh approx 250 grams)
- 10 medjool dates, seeds removed
Method: Preheat your oven to 175°C or 350°F. Grease and line a loaf tin with baking paper (approx 19.5cm x 9.5cm). Place the ground almonds and bananas into your food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles a batter.
Add the dates and pulse again to chop and combine the dates. Spoon the mixture into your prepared tin and bake for 35 minutes until it’s golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 20 minutes before gently transferring to a cooling rack. Perfect as a mid-morning snack with a cup of tea.
(Credit: Wholefood Simply)
4. Raw Chocolate Orange Oat Balls
Ingredients: (Makes 16 balls)
- 170g oats
- A splash of BRITA filtered water
- 3 tbsp raw cacao powder
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 250g medjool dates
- A pinch of pink Himalayan salt (or sea salt)
- 2 tbsp desiccated coconut
- Zest of half an orange
Method: Place the oats in the food processor and grind them down to a fine flour texture. Add the dates, cacao powder, coconut oil and salt to the food processor and whizz everything together. Add a splash of BRITA filtered water to help the ingredients combine fully.
Spread the orange zest and desiccated coconut out onto a plate. Remove the sticky mixture from the processor and shape into small balls using your hands. Roll the balls in the zest and coconut to give them a delicious coating. Place in the fridge to harden.
(Credit: Madeline Shaw)
5. Instant Salted Caramel Ice Cream
Ingredients: Serves 2
- 3 frozen bananas, peeled and chopped
- 2 tbsp coconut cream
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp almond butter
- 1/2 tsp concentrated natural vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Method: Place the ingredients into your processor and blend at high speed until the mixture resembles ice cream. Serve and enjoy.
(Credit: Wholefood Simply)
6. Baked Banana
Ingredients: (Serves 4)
- 4 very ripe bananas
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 4 medjool dates
- 60g 70% dark chocolate
Method: Preheat the oven to 200°c (fan 180°c). Slice each banana in half lengthways without going all the way to the bottom, so that they’re still whole. Place each banana on its own sheet of tin foil, which needs to be big enough to totally wrap around it and seal it.
Sprinkle the cinnamon into the split of the four bananas, sharing it evenly among them. Remove the stones and cut up the dates, then put the pieces on top of the cinnamon.
Finally, break up the chocolate and spread it evenly on top of the dates. Wrap the foil around each banana and bake for 10 minutes until the chocolate has melted and the bananas are deliciously soft.
(Credit: Deliciously Ella)
7. Raw Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Cake
Ingredients: (Serves 10)
- 300g peanut butter
- 150g hazelnuts
- 300g medjool dates
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tbsp honey (raw honey if possible)
- 6 tbsp raw cacao
- 1 pinch sea salt
Method: Place all the ingredients into the food processor and blitz until fully combined. Scrape into a cake tin and place in the freezer for 1 hour then into the fridge until set. Slice up and enjoy with some fresh raspberries and yogurt. It will last for two weeks in the fridge.
(Credit: Madeline Shaw)
8. Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients: (Makes 10)
- 2 cups ground almonds
- 1 cup desiccated coconut
- 1/2 cup coconut cream
- 3 tbsp honey
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp concentrated natural vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup blueberries
Method: Preheat your oven to 175°C or 350°F and grease 10 holes of a standard size muffin tray. Place the ground almonds and desiccated coconut into a medium sized mixing bowl and mix to combine. Add the coconut cream and honey and combine, then combine the eggs. Lastly combine this mixture with the baking powder, vanilla and salt. Gently stir through the blueberries so that they don’t turn mushy.
Spoon the mixture evenly into the prepared holes and place in the oven. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave in the tin for 5-10 minutes before gently transferring to a cooling rack.
9. Vegan Chocolate & Almond Butter Fudge
Ingredients: (Serves 20)
- 1 cup coconut oil
- 1 cup almond butter (you can also use unsalted crunchy peanut butter)
- 2 cups raw cacao
- 1 cup pitted dates
- 1 to 2 pinches unrefined sea salt
Method: Soak your dates in hot water for about 20 minutes to make them soft and sticky. Carefully melt your coconut oil on very low heat then place all your ingredients, except the almond butter, in your high speed blender and blend until soft and well combined. Add the almond butter at the end to keep the crunch and spread the whole mixture evenly in a tin or container. Place in the fridge for about one hour to set.
(Credit: Pauline Hanuise and Kris Carr)
10. Healthy Bounty Bars
Ingredients: (Servings depend on size you make them)
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 4 tbsp rice malt syrup
- 3 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 cups desiccated coconut
- Pinch of sea salt
For the chocolate coating:
- 1 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup raw cacao powder
- 2 tbsp rice malt syrup
- Pinch of sea salt
Method: To make these delicious Healthy Bounty Bars, start with the coconut filling. Place the coconut milk, rice malt syrup and coconut oil in a medium sized saucepan. Over a low heat, stir the ingredients together until combined. Mix through desiccated coconut.
Line a slice tray or container with baking paper. Press the coconut mixture into the pan so that it is about 1.5cm thick. Refrigerate until coconut filling has set. Once completely set, cut the coconut filling into bars. Cool in the freezer until very cold (this will make the chocolate coating step easier).
For the chocolate place all ingredients in a double boiler, stirring until smooth/combined. Allow to cool slightly then coat the coconut bars with the first layer of chocolate. Place on a tray lined with baking paper and refrigerate until set. When completely set, coat the bars with a second layer of chocolate. Allow to cool in the fridge for 5-10 minutes before serving.
(Credit: Hannah Horton and I Quit Sugar)
Once you try these recipes I promise you won’t even want to go back to the sickly sweet taste of processed sugar, or you’ll at least want to cut down on it. You should still eat these sugar free treats in moderation, because a lot of the ingredients are high calorie. But if you do have one too many then at least you know you haven’t harmed your health. Let us know if you give any of these scrumptious recipes a try!
