Dessert Recipes for Summer
Rain or shine, during the summer months you want desserts that are sweet, satisfying and refreshing. With lots of different kinds of berries at their peak (blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and cherries are all in season) it’s an even scrummier opportunity to make the most of fantastic, fruity flavours.
From frozen treats that’ll help you beat the heat, to little nibbles you can share at barbecues and picnics, all of these slimming-friendly recipes are perfect to cool down with on warmer evenings.
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White Chocolate Mousse with Raspberry Coulis
When you’ve got a busy week of holiday activities planned, the last thing you need is to be stuck in the kitchen. With quick-prep puds like our White Chocolate Mousse with Raspberry Coulis, you’ll only need a few minutes to get everything mixed together and left to set.
To bring the calories down, we’ve whisked together low-fat double cream alternative, white chocolate flavoured powder and Vege-Gel to create the velvety mousse for each ramekin dish.
Let them rest in the fridge overnight until you feel a hankering for a sweet, silky treat. That’s the cue to blitz and strain your favourite berries (frozen berries work too) for the coulis, to drizzle on top right before serving.
Sweet Tacos
Just imagine how much fun everyone around the table will have with our unique Sweet Tacos recipe on the menu. Soft taco shells are perfect for the job, since they’re so good at bundling together scrummy ingredient combos and simple to personalise.
We’ve used granulated sweetener, cinnamon, reduced-fat spread and a layer of milk chocolate with sprinkles to transform them into shells that look and taste fabulous.
Don’t be fooled by our chocolatey ice cream filling – while it might seem high in calories, each scoop is homemade and slimming friendly, thanks to a nifty blend of frozen bananas and cocoa powder.
Decorate each one with a small handful of berries and you’ll be onto a winner at roughly 253 calories per shell.
Summer Berry Dessert
There’s no need to cook at all if you’re rustling up our oh-so-crunchy Summer Berry Dessert. A 10-minute wonder, we’ve topped layers of yoghurt with crunchy cornflakes, blueberries and strawberries.
It’s the creamy layers that’ll have your spoon coming back for more. Once you’ve mixed the Quark and fat-free yoghurt until silky smooth, add a scrumptious touch of granulated sweetener and vanilla extract.
This one should look nice and summery too, so you’ll want to garnish the top with extra berries and a refreshing sprig of mint. If you really love it and you’ve got a morning sweet tooth, rustle up a batch for breakfast.
Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries
An oldie but a goldie, every summer season we can’t wait to make to our Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries. When you’ve got a hankering for something small and sweet after dinner, this popular no-cook nibble from our very first cookbook never fails to impress.
An ideal dessert option when you need a treat in a hurry, our cheesecake-stuffed recipe is ready in less than 10 minutes.
Using freezer bags as a makeshift piping tool, we’ve made it delightfully simple to fill each hollow strawberry one by one. You can buy piping bags from the supermarket or via Amazon, if you’d prefer.
Strawberry and Kiwi Ice Lollies
Our Strawberry and Kiwi Ice Lollies are another speedy-prep treat that’ll cool you down in a heartbeat. Made with no added sugar strawberry squash and topped with fresh kiwi, they’ve got everything you could ever want from a light frozen dessert.
Once you’ve got the hang of it, there’s nothing to stop you getting creative with a rainbow of fruity combinations. Our recipe is 37 calories per pop, but you may want to keep count of added calories if you’re playing around with different ingredients.
You’re not kitted out for this recipe without a fun-shaped lolly mould. Grab one from the supermarket or Amazon before you stock up your freezer.
Mango and Raspberry Ice Cream
The sun isn’t shining without our Mango and Raspberry Ice Cream somewhere in your meal plan. A vegan-friendly summer bowl, we’ve made our ice cream without an ounce of dairy in sight by combining frozen chunks of mango and banana.
When the ice cream is frozen (it’s best to leave the flavours to mingle overnight) and ready to serve, add a swirl of homemade raspberry sauce for absolute perfection.
The bananas are the key to getting this recipe just right. You’ll want to make sure that their skins are spotted – that’s how you’ll know they’re at their sweetest.
Biscoff Swirl Ice Cream
There’s no need to turn down a Biscoff-based dessert, especially on a warmer evening. Well worth the brain freeze, our Biscoff Swirl Ice Cream is velvety smooth and satisfying without a pot of cream anywhere on our ingredients list.
When you’re using bananas to make ice cream, a food processor can be a life-saver. It’s quicker and easier to blitz them to the ideal consistency.
For an extra-indulgent ice cream sandwich, you can always spoon a scoop inside of two Biscoff biscuits (you’re welcome).
Not enough Biscoff for you? Take a look through more slimming-friendly Biscoff recipes.
Strawberry Cheesecake Frozen Yoghurt
It’s not British summertime without strawberries. The next time you’re relaxing in the shade, take a bowl of Strawberry Cheesecake Frozen Yoghurt with you for only 152 calories. It’s lighter in calories than ice cream and tastes every bit as decadent.
To give our cheesecake-inspired base an even sweeter taste, we’ve topped it with a drizzle of homemade strawberry puree.
The best part is you can save it in the freezer for up to 3 months, so you’ll be able to divvy out a crumbly biscuit-topped portion at a moment’s notice.
Summer Puddings
They might be one of the most budget-friendly options on this list, and yet these delightful-looking Summer Puddings taste rich and luxurious. We’ve used white bread as the main ingredient to soak up all of those gorgeous berry juices, and stop our lip-smacking fruity filling from bursting out.
This one takes a little more time and effort to assemble, but we promise…the finished pudding is worth every minute!
Our top tip for this recipe is to line each dish with cling film before you start to build your puddings. It’ll make removing them so much cleaner.
Thai-Style Sticky Rice with Mango and Coconut Sauce
Try something a little bit different this summer with our Thai-Style Sticky Rice with Mango and Coconut Sauce. At only 187 calories per portion, it’ll tingle your taste buds and curb your sweet cravings for the night ahead.
To get the most from this rice-based pud, you’ll want to make sure you give your grains the love and attention they deserve. Leave them to soak for around 5 hours so you can thoroughly wash away any excess starch before cooking – trust us, your rice will be fluffier than ever!
While it’s best served at the end of a Thai-inspired fakeaway night, it’s light enough to round-off any midweek meal with a fruity bang.
Summer Berry Cobbler
Making the most of a medley of seasonal flavours, now’s the time to bake our Summer Berry Cobbler. To put a Pinch of Nom twist on a classic American pudding, we’ve topped a layer of sweet yet tangy fruits with a floury layer of oats (instead of the higher-calorie biscuits you’d find on traditional versions).
We’ve also offset the sweetness of our berry base by swirling our oats with almond flour – it gives every bite a nutty, crunchy finish.
It’s lovely served as it is, or you can add even more indulgence with a dollop of fat-free Greek yoghurt.
Tropical Crumble
When you’re in the mood to hunker down with a cosier dessert, our Tropical Crumble answers the call. A reinvention of our slimming-friendly, oat-topped Apple Crumble recipe, we’ve created this sunny-day edition with an exotic lime, mango and pineapple filling.
The fruit in our recipe is already so sweet naturally, there may be no need to use sweetener. If your pineapples and mangoes aren’t ripe, sprinkle your fruit slices with brown granulated sweetener before cooking.
Pop them in the oven for around half an hour, until your oaty topping turns an irresistible golden brown.
Ice Cream Sandwich
We always feel like we’re on holiday whenever we make Ice Cream Sandwiches. It might look like a whopper, but this recipe is far more slimming friendly than it seems (299 calories per serving!).
We’ve made our fatless sponge slices ourselves, so there’s no danger of any hidden nasties. While each slice comes with a hearty chunk of shop-bought, low-calorie cookie dough ice cream wedged inside, there’s nothing to stop you pushing the boat out with a homemade ice cream filling instead.
A fun, messy recipe that’s perfect after a long day in the sun, the challenge is in eating it all before it melts!
Which summertime dessert will you pick?
We can’t wait to see our selection of slimming-friendly summer puds in your posts and stories (don’t forget to tag us). We’re always scrolling through your photos in our Facebook group, where we have almost 1 million incredible community members supporting one and other on their slimming journey.
Our Gallery never fails to give us inspiration when we’re not sure what to make next. The only thing you’ll need to do is sign up to a free website account to upload and share your photos (it’s easy-peasy, we’ve got a step-by-step guide you can follow here!).
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