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30 Minutes or Less

Healthy Carrot Cake Cookies

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Close-up overhead image of carrot cake cookies on a baking sheet.

Soft and perfectly sweet carrot cake cookies with a cream cheese icing! Gluten-free, dairy-free, and naturally sweetened with maple syrup. These healthy carrot cake cookies are the perfect springtime (or anytime) treat!

Carrot cake cookies with cream cheese icing on a baking sheet.

What You’ll Need to Make Carrot Cake Cookies

Oat Flour – Either homemade or store-bought oat flour will work in this cookie recipe! Oat flour replaces all purpose flour, making these cookies gluten-free.

Almond Butter – Smooth and unsweetened almond butter helps hold these cookies together. If you don’t have almond butter, you can use any other nut or seed butter you’d like. Cashew butter would make a great substitute here!

Maple Syrup – These healthy carrot cake cookies are naturally sweetened with maple syrup. The maple adds a touch of flavor, and the perfect amount of sweetness.

Shredded Carrots – Wash and peel about three large carrots, then run them down a box grater to make shredded carrots. Or, to make things even easier, simply buy pre-shredded carrots from the store for this dessert recipe!

Overhead image of carrot cake cookies on a baking sheet.

Tips and Tricks

  • Gently flatten each carrot cake cookie before baking. If you skip this step, they’ll bake up like round little balls. Therefore, for a more classic flat-looking cookie, give them a gentle press right before putting in the oven.
  • Allow your cookies to cool completely before icing! If the cookies are still too warm when iced, the cream cheese icing will melt and slide right off. (I’ve learned from my mistakes here – ha!)
  • These cookies are best stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. However, if you live in a warm client/are baking these in the summer – it’s best to store them in the fridge instead. If the cookies with cream cheese icing are left in too warm of an environment, the icing may melt and spoil.
Close-up image of a carrot cake cookie with a bite taken out.

Adjust This Recipe to Your Dietary Needs

Make it Dairy-Free: While the cookies themselves are already dairy-free, make a dairy-free cream cheese icing by subbing your favorite non-dairy cream cheese, butter, and milk.

Make it Vegan: For vegan carrot cake cookies, replace the egg with a flax egg, and take the dairy-free icing option above!

Carrot Cake Cookies
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Carrot Cake Cookies

5 from 2 votes
Recipe by Samantha Course: DessertDifficulty: Medium
Servings

24

cookies
Prep time

15

minutes
Cooking time

12

minutes
Total time

27

minutes

Soft and perfectly sweet carrot cake cookies with a cream cheese icing! Gluten-free, dairy-free, and naturally sweetened with maple syrup. These healthy carrot cake cookies are the perfect springtime (or anytime) treat!

Ingredients

  • For the dry ingredients:

  • 1 cup rolled oats

  • 1 cup oat flour, made by pulsing rolled oats in a blender until ground into a flour

  • 1/2 cup almond flour

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • For the wet ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup almond butter, unsweetened

  • 1/2 cup maple syrup

  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted (or butter)

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 1 egg, at room temperature

  • 1 cup shredded carrots

  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, unsalted

  • 1/4 cup raisins

  • For the cream cheese icing:

  • 1/4 cup cream cheese, softened (I used non-dairy cream cheese)

  • 3 tablespoons butter, softened (I used non-dairy butter)

  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

  • 2-3 tablespoons milk (I used non-dairy milk)

  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Add all dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk to combine.
  • Then, in a separate bowl, add all the wet ingredients except the carrots, walnuts, and raisins, and whisk to combine.
  • Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and use mix until fully combined. Then, fold in the carrots, walnuts, and raisins.
  • Scoop tablespoon-sized balls of cookie dough onto your prepared baking sheet and slightly flatten each ball with the palm of your hand.
  • Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges. Then, transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
  • While cookies cool, make the cream cheese icing by adding all ingredients to a bowl and whisking until smooth and well-combined. Then, spread or pipe cream cheese icing on top of each cooled cookie.

Recipe Video

Notes

  • These cookies are best stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. However, if you live in a warm client/are baking these in the summer – it’s best to store them in the fridge instead.

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Dairy-Free

Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins with Cream Cheese Icing

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healthy carrot cake muffins with cream cheese icing on top, stacked on top of each other.

Perfect carrot cake muffins, made healthy! Gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free, yet oh-SO delicious. These healthy carrot cake muffins come together in just one bowl, in about 30 minutes!

What You’ll Need to Make Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins

Oat Flour – You can either buy pre-ground oat flour, or simply grind oats into a flour yourself. I always make my oat flour myself because it’s cheaper, and super easy. To do this, place rolled oats into a blender and blend until a flour forms, and no large oats pieces remain.

Apple Sauce – If you don’t have any apple sauce, feel free to use 1/2 cup of mashed banana instead! Though if you do use apple sauce, please make sure it’s unflavored and unsweetened for this recipe.

Maple Syrup – These refined sugar-free carrot cake muffins are naturally sweetened with maple syrup. I love the flavor of maple syrup in these muffins, you won’t even miss the sugar. However, if you don’t have any maple syrup, you can use an equal amount of honey instead!

healthy carrot cake muffins with cream cheese icing on top and milk on the side.

Tips and Tricks

  • Avoid over-mixing the muffin batter! If you mix too much, your muffins will turn out tough, instead of soft and tender. Therefore, mix all ingredients until just combined, then stop.
  • Let these healthy carrot cake muffins cool completely before icing. I know it’s tempting to ice and eat these delicious little muffins right away. But if they’re too hot when iced, the icing will melt and slide right off. So practice some self-control, and leave them to cool for at least 20 minutes first!
  • These muffins are best stored at room temperature, in an airtight container, for up to three days. However, if you live in a warm climate (or are baking these in the summer), you may want to consider storing them in the fridge. If stored in a very warm place, the cream cheese icing may spoil.

Adjust This Recipe to Your Dietary Needs

Make it Vegan: While I haven’t tested this option myself just yet, you should be able to make these vegan carrot cake muffins by substituting the eggs for flax eggs! Or, use this Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer in place of the eggs in this recipe.

Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins with Cream Cheese Icing
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Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins with Cream Cheese Icing

5 from 1 vote
Recipe by Samantha Course: Snacks, DessertDifficulty: Medium
Servings

12

muffins
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

20

minutes
Total time

30

minutes

Perfect carrot cake muffins, made healthy! Gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free, yet oh-SO delicious. These healthy carrot cake muffins come together in just one bowl, in about 30 minutes!

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs

  • 1/2 cup apple sauce, unsweetened

  • 1/2 cup maple syrup

  • 1/4 cup milk, I used non-dairy milk

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 2 cups oat flour

  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 1 cup shredded carrots

  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

  • 1/4 cup raisins

  • For the cream cheese icing:

  • 1/4 cup softened cream cheese, I used non-dairy cream cheese

  • 3 tablespoons softened butter, I used non-dairy butter

  • 2 cups powdered sugar

  • 2-3 tablespoons milk, I used non-dairy milk

  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit and line a muffin tin with muffin liners.
  • In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, apple sauce, maple syrup, milk, and vanilla extract.
  • Add in the oat flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt. Mix until everything is just combined.
  • Then, fold in the shredded carrots, chopped walnuts, and raisins until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
  • Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted down the center of one muffin comes out clean. Remove muffins from oven and transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
  • While muffins cool, make the cream cheese icing by adding all ingredients to a bowl and whisking until smooth and well-combined. Then, spread or pipe cream cheese icing on top of each cooled muffin.

Recipe Video

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30 Minutes or Less

Instant Pot White Chicken Chili

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overhead image of Instant Pot white chicken chili with cilantro and avocado on top

Quick and easy white chicken chili made in the Instant Pot! Full of flavor, and deliciously creamy. Whip up this Instant Pot white chicken chili in under 30 minutes!

close-up overhead image of Instant Pot white chicken chili with cilantro and avocado on top

What You’ll Need to Make Instant Pot White Chicken Chili

Chicken – Duh! Two boneless and skinless chicken breasts are the main characters of this show. However, if you don’t have chicken breasts, you can certainly use one to two pounds of any chicken part. Boneless and skinless chicken thighs would work great in this chili recipe, too!

White Beans – A can of drained and rinsed white beans make for a heartier soup. They cook up perfectly soft and creamy in the Instant Pot, and absorb a ton of flavor. Any kind of white bean will work too! I used cannellini beans, but navy, great northern, or even lima beans would taste just as delicious.

Jalapeño – One jalapeño adds loads of flavor, but very (and I mean VERY) little spice! If you’re worried about any spice, use just half a jalapeño instead. Or, if you’re like me, and loooove spice – use two or three whole jalapeños in this Instant Pot white chicken chili recipe!

Cream Cheese – Melt some cream cheese into the pot for an ultra creamy, and velvety smooth soup! Cream cheese also adds a slight bit of tanginess to this chili, which is just to-die-for.

Instant Pot white chicken chili in a bowl with lime wedges on the side.

Tips and Tricks

  • Serve this easy weeknight meal however you’d like! I love mine with fresh avocado, cilantro, a squeeze of lime juice, and tortilla chips. And not just any tortilla chips, but these Siete Grain-Free Tortilla Chips – yum!
  • If the cream cheese and sour cream won’t melt in the last step, then turn your Instant Pot back on to the sauté setting. This’ll heat the pot up and help melt the creams!
  • Store leftover Instant Pot white chicken chili in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. Or, to enjoy weeks later, freeze this chili for up to three months! To reheat, simply transfer to the fridge for a few hours, then reheat in a pot until warm throughout.
close-up image of Instant Pot white chicken chili in a bowl with avocado and cilantro on top.

Adjust This Recipe to Your Dietary Needs

Make it Vegan/Vegetarian: For a fully vegan or vegetarian white chili recipe, then replace the chicken with an additional can of white beans. Also, sub the chicken broth for vegetables broth – it’s that easy!

Make it Dairy-Free: Use your favorite dairy-free cream cheese and dairy-free sour cream in this Instant Pot white chicken chili. Or, replace both of those things with a can of full-fat coconut milk, just as creamy and delicious!

Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
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Instant Pot White Chicken Chili

0 from 0 votes
Recipe by Samantha Course: MainDifficulty: Easy
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

5

minutes
Cooking time

20

minutes
Total time

25

minutes

Quick and easy white chicken chili made in the Instant Pot! Full of flavor, and deliciously creamy. Whip up this Instant Pot white chicken chili in under 30 minutes!

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 1 yellow onion, chopped

  • 4 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped

  • 1 teaspoon cumin

  • 1 teaspoon paprika

  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

  • 1 (15-ounce) can white beans, drained and rinsed

  • 2 boneless and skinless chicken breasts

  • 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles, undrained

  • 1 quart chicken broth

  • 1/2 cup sour cream or unsweetened plain Greek yogurt

  • 1/4 cup cream cheese

  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

  • For serving:

  • Tortilla chips

  • Additional fresh cilantro

  • Lime wedges

  • Avocado, sliced

Directions

  • Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting and add in olive oil. Once oil is hot, add in the onion, garlic, and jalapeno. Sauté for 2-3 minutes or until veggies are tender.
  • Add the cumin, paprika, chili powder, salt, and black pepper, then cook for just 1 minute.
  • Add in the drained beans, chicken breast, diced green chiles, and chicken broth (in that order). Secure the lid and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes, then manually release the steam.
  • Remove chicken from Instant Pot and shred with two forks before adding back into the pot. While chili is still hot, add in the sour cream, cream cheese, and fresh cilantro then stir to combine. Serve warm with tortilla chips, additional cilantro, fresh avocado, and lime wedges.

Recipe Video

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Dairy-Free

Healthy Cheesecake (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

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overhead image of healthy cheesecake with fresh strawberries

This healthy cheesecake is light, tangy, and only tastes indulgent! It’s entirely vegan, gluten-free, and made with the healthiest ingredients. Enjoy a big slice of this healthy cheesecake with some fresh berries for dessert, a snack, or even breakfast – yup, it’s THAT healthy!

close up overhead image of healthy cheesecake with fresh strawberries of healthy cheese

I didn’t always love cheesecake. Most I tried were too dry, dense, and/or sweet. Therefore, in developing this cheesecake I made sure it was light, almost fluffy, and perfectly sweet! And it wouldn’t be a SDHB recipe if I didn’t make it healthier too. I took the best cheesecake recipes I could find, substituted a few simple ingredients, and voilà this better-for-you cheesecake recipe was born!

Ingredients such as vegan cream cheese, vegan yogurt, and a touch of maple syrup make for a more nutritient dense recipe. I wish I had recorded the look on my boyfriend’s face when I told him this cheesecake was SO healthy he could, in fact, eat it for breakfast! Once he processed the near too-good-to-be-true news, he excitedly inhaled a massive slice of this vegan and gluten-free treat.

What You Need To Make Healthy Cheesecake

Gluten-Free Graham Crackers – I used my own recipe for gluten-free graham crackers, though you can use your favorite store bought gluten-free graham crackers instead. To turn them into graham cracker crumbs you can either seal them in a ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin or heavy object, or add them to a food processor and give them a few pulses. Once all crackers have been ground into crumbs and no large pieces remain, you’re ready to use them in this recipe!

Vegan Cream Cheese – I used and love the Kite Hill Plain Vegan Cream Cheese in this recipe! Though feel free to use your favorite vegan cream cheese instead. If not vegan, you can use regular cream cheese. However, be sure to avoid flavored cream cheeses, plain is necessary for this healthy cheesecake recipe.

Vegan Yogurt – Similar to the vegan cream cheese, make sure your vegan yogurt is plain and unsweetened. Any added flavors or sugar would completely throw off the balance of this recipe. I used plain coconut yogurt and had great results, though any non-dairy plain unsweetened yogurt will work!

Corn Starch – Most cheesecakes contain eggs to help bind the filling once baked. However, this cheesecake recipe is both healthy and vegan with the use of corn starch instead. Corn starch is imperative in getting this cheesecake to firm up and set to its perfectly light and soft consistency. If you don’t have corn starch, you can use arrowroot starch instead.

Adjust This Recipe To Your Diet

  • Add Dairy: Use regular butter, cream cheese, and yogurt in this recipe if not vegan or dairy-free.
  • Make it Paleo: Use paleo graham crackers, coconut oil instead of vegan butter, and arrowroot starch instead of cornstarch to turn this into a healthy paleo cheesecake recipe!
Healthy Cheesecake (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
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Healthy Cheesecake (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

0 from 0 votes
Recipe by Samantha Russo Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Intermediate
Servings

8

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

30

minutes
Chilling Time

8

hours

This healthy cheesecake is light, tangy, and only tastes indulgent! It’s entirely vegan, gluten-free, and made with the healthiest ingredients. Enjoy a big slice of this healthy cheesecake with some fresh berries for dessert, a snack, or even breakfast – yup, it’s THAT healthy!

Ingredients

  • For the graham cracker crust:

  • 1 1/2 cups gluten-free graham cracker crumbs, see Notes

  • 5 tablespoons vegan butter, melted

  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil

  • For the cheesecake filling:

  • 16 ounces plain vegan cream cheese

  • 2 cups plain unsweetened vegan yogurt

  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

  • 1/2 cup maple syrup

  • 3 tablespoons corn starch, see Notes

  • Pinch of salt

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit and line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper.
  • Add all graham cracker crust ingredients to a large bowl and mix together.
  • Transfer crust to the springform pan, flatten into an even layer across the bottom, then bake for 7-8 minutes or until slightly golden brown.
  • Beat all cheesecake filling ingredients together in a large bowl then transfer to the pan and smooth over the crust.
  • Fill a pan with 1-inch of water and transfer it to the oven on the lower rack.
  • Place the cheesecake on the upper rack, above the water and bake for 30-35 minutes. Crack the oven door and allow cheesecake to cool in the oven for 1 hour.
  • Remove from the oven and chill in the fridge for at least 8 hours before slicing and eating.

Recipe Video

Notes

  • Gluten-Free Graham Cracker Crumbs: I made my vegan and gluten-free graham crackers, then turned them into crumbs by pulsing them in a food processor. However, you can use store bought gluten-free graham crackers instead if you’d like.
  • Corn Starch: Feel free to use arrowroot starch instead!

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