Explore recipes for nutritious sweet treats made from avocados

Avocado as an ingredient of healthy desserts

Thanks to its high fat content, avocado provides sweet treats and desserts with the desired creamy texture. Its subtle flavor doesn’t overpower other ingredients, allowing sweet additives to shine. Even a small addition of ripe avocado in smoothies makes them fluffier and creamier. Avocado is also an excellent base for healthy sweet creams and puddings ideal for fit desserts, oatmeal, and smoothie bowls, and as a filling or topping for pancakes and crumpets. Avocados can also serve as a replacement for cream, eggs, butter, or even yogurt in many ‘fit’ recipes, particularly in vegan diets.

Aside from their multiple culinary and sensory benefits, avocado-based sweet treats are, first and foremost, healthy. Avocados are rich in healthy monounsaturated fatty acids, which are crucial for maintaining a balanced diet. They have a hugely beneficial effect on heart function, skin appearance, immunity, and lipid profile, impacting indicators associated with atherosclerosis such as cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Many traditional sweet treats rely on sources of saturated fats, such as butter, coconut oil, cream, mascarpone, or coconut milk. However, it’s advisable to limit the intake of these ingredients. By substituting them with avocado, your dessert automatically becomes ‘healthier’.

In addition, incorporating avocado can reduce the dessert’s glycemic impact, resulting in a lower post-meal glucose spike. The healthy fats and fiber found in avocados help slow down the release of carbohydrates into the bloodstream. This benefit will be appreciated not only by individuals with insulin resistance, diabetes, and other sugar management issues, but also by the broader public. Glucose spikes have also been linked to post-meal fatigue, acne, or the so-called brain fog. Healthy avocado-based sweet treats may leave you feeling better than indulging in traditional sweet delicacies or even their ‘fit’ counterparts containing mainly carbohydrates.

Cooking tip: Avocados in sweet dishes are most enjoyable when they are very ripe. Ripeness makes them sweeter and creamier. Make sure to use soft and ripe avocados for all of the following recipes for healthy sweet treats.

Moroccan avocado smoothie

Ingredients (serves 2):

• 1 ripe avocado,
• 400 ml of milk (2% fat) or plant-based milk alternative,
• 150 g of pitted dates,
• 30 g of almonds.

Preparation:

1. Peel the avocado and remove the pit.
2. Put the almonds in the blender and add 100 ml of milk or plant-based alternative. Blend until smooth.
3. Add dates, avocado, and the remaining milk (or plant-based substitute). Blend for about 3 minutes until the mixture is smooth and fluffy.
4. Serve immediately after preparation.

Macronutrients per serving:

• Energy: 528 kcal
• Protein: 13 g
• Fat: 22 g
• Carbohydrates: 67 g

Dietitian’s tip: Avocado and nuts smoothie is quite high in calories, so it’s not very suitable in weight reduction diets. However, it’s a great component of bulking diets or as an energy boost for physically active people.

Protein-rich chocolate pralines with avocado

Ingredients (10 pralines):

• 1 ripe avocado,
• 50 g of protein powder (for example chocolate- or nut-flavored),
• 1 tablespoon of powdered erythritol,
• 15 g of natural cocoa,
• 20 g of hazelnuts,
• optionally: 2 tablespoons of oat flour (or blended rolled oats).

Preparation:

1. Remove the flesh from the avocado.
2. Put the avocado in the blender and blitz it. Add the protein powder, erythritol, and 10 g of cocoa.
3. Blend thoroughly to a smooth paste.
4. Put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes. If the mixture is too runny after refrigeration, add oat flour and mix until desired consistency is reached.
5. Lightly coat your hands with any oil. Shape the mixture into approximately 10 pralines of equal size. Place a hazelnut inside each praline.
6. Coat the balls in the remaining cocoa and/or crushed hazelnuts.
7. Transfer the pralines to the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Macronutrients per 2 pralines:

• Energy: 136 kcal
• Protein: 12 g
• Fat: 7 g
• Carbohydrates: 5.5 g

Dietitian’s tip: Avocado pralines are a perfect post-workout snack. Just four pralines will supply a substantial amount of protein without providing excessive calories. It’s also a good way to incorporate protein powder into your menu in a form other than traditional protein shakes.

Healthier avocado-flavored ice cream

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 2 large ripe avocados,
• 80 g of honey, maple syrup, or erythritol (for those on keto diets),
• 150 g of skyr yogurt,
• 200 ml of sweet cream,
• 1 ripe banana,
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract,
• 1 teaspoon of lime juice,
• 1 pinch of salt.

Preparation:

1. Peel the avocado and remove the pit. Put it into the blender. Add honey (or any other sweetener), skyr, and banana.
2. Blend to a smooth paste, then add lime juice, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt.
3. In a separate bowl, whip sweet cream to a thick froth.
4. While stirring slowly, add the avocado mixture to the cream in batches. Mix gently to combine the ingredients well.
5. Transfer the mixture into an ice cream container or a bread pan lined with food-grade foil.
6. Put it in the freezer for 1–2 hours. After this time, take the ice cream out, give it a stir, and put back in the freezer for a minimum of 8 hours.
7. Remove the ice cream from the freezer and let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes before serving.

Macronutrients per serving:

• Energy: 247 kcal
• Protein: 5 g
• Fat: 17 g
• Carbohydrates: 20 g

Tip: Feel free to customize the base avocado ice cream recipe given above by using ingredients such as cocoa, fresh mint, pistachios, almonds, or peanut butter to create intriguing flavor combinations.

Super simple chocolate mousse with avocado

Ingredients (serves 2):

• 1 ripe avocado,
• 1 ripe banana,
• 15 g of cocoa,
• 20 ml of milk or plant-based milk substitute.

Preparation:

1. Peel the avocado and separate the flesh from the pit. Peel the banana.
2. Put the fruit in the blender, add milk (or plant-based substitute), and cocoa.
3. Blend until the mixture is uniform and smooth. Serve chilled.

Macronutrients per serving:

• Energy: 190 kcal
• Protein: 4 g
• Fat: 11 g
• Carbohydrates: 22 g

Where can you use chocolate avocado mousse?

This simple chocolate mousse made with avocado serves as a highly versatile base for healthy cooking. It can serve as:

• a pudding for dessert – to be enjoyed either on its own or with additions (such as nuts or fruit),
• a delicious addition to oatmeal or millet porridge,
• a filling for sweet pancakes,
• a healthy chocolate spread for bread, toast, or rice wafers,
• as an accompaniment to healthy pancakes and crumpets, and ‘fit’ waffles,
• an element of healthy layered desserts for fitness enthusiasts.

Dessert-style coffee with avocado

Ingredients (serves 2):

• 1 avocado,
• 300 ml of milk (2% fat) or plant-based milk alternative,
• 20 ml of maple syrup or molasses,
• 1 cup of ice cubes,
• 2 tablespoons of instant coffee,
• 2 tablespoons of boiling water,
• 2 tablespoons of erythritol.

Preparation:

1. Peel the avocado and scoop the flesh into the blender. Add milk and maple syrup or molasses.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. In a separate clean bowl, combine instant coffee, erythritol, and boiling water. Blitz in the blender for about 3–5 minutes until it is well whipped and a coffee froth forms.
4. Place ice cubes in glasses and pour the avocado smoothie over them.
5. Place the coffee froth on top.

Macronutrients:

• Energy: 234 kcal
• Protein: 7 g
• Fat: 13 g
• Carbohydrates: 22 g

Banana bread with avocado and sweet potatoes

Ingredients (serves 8):

• 2 ripe bananas,
• 200 g of sweet potatoes,
• 2 avocados,
• 70 g of honey or powdered erythritol,
• 180 g of spelt flour,
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder,
• 1 pinch of salt,
• 1 teaspoon of gingerbread spice.

Preparation:

1. Bake the sweet potato (for about 55 minutes at 200 degrees) or steam it until tender. Mash it into a purée.
2. Combine the bananas, sweet potato purée, avocado, and the sweetener of your choice in a bowl. Blend until the mixture reaches a smooth consistency.
3. Combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, and gingerbread spice.
4. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients in batches, while continuously stirring.
5. Line a bread pan with baking paper. Pour the mixed dough into the pan.
6. Bake in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for about 50–60 minutes.
7. Set aside for a minimum of 30 minutes after baking.

Macronutrients per serving:

• Energy: 200 kcal
• Protein: 4 g
• Fat: 6 g
• Carbohydrates: 37 g

Dietitian’s tip: Banana bread made with this recipe is fairly rich in carbohydrates. Hence, it could be a good sweet pre-workout snack before activities like running or other aerobic exercises. To create a balanced meal, such as a healthy midday snack or lunch, enjoy banana bread along with peanut butter, skyr yogurt, or cottage cheese.