Junk Food Cravings? Try These Healthy Recipes

We all crave a degree of junk foods, no matter how delicious eating healthily can be. So, we put together this list of healthier alternatives to fulfill both sweet and salty desires. On this list, you’ll find everything from Baked Parmesan Zucchini Curly Fries to Cinnamon-Sugar Dusted Apple Cider Donuts (with Kale Artichoke Dip!). When possible, we include fruit and whole grains in our recipes to reduce added sugar, salt, and fat. Give in, relax, and enjoy yourself!

Chili-Cheese Nachos

When you top nachos with a quick 30-minute chili, they become a healthy dinner. If preferred, top this healthful dish with sliced scallions, avocado, fresh tomatoes, and sour cream.

Curried Onion Dip

Serve this nutritious caramelized onion and curry dip with your favorite chips or crudités instead of the typical onion soup mix dip.

Baked Parmesan Zucchini Curly Fries

This healthful meal credits two popular bar foods—fried zucchini and curly fries—into one delectable package. For a crowd-pleasing appetizer or side dish for burgers, chicken, or pizza, serve these baked zucchini fries with a simple yet delicious dipping sauce made with ranch dressing and marinara sauce. They’re a fun way for kids and adults to consume more vegetables, no matter what you serve them with.

Onion Rings

We just can’t get enough of these crispy onion rings. To add flavor to the breading, use a degree of any seasoning combination you have on hand or one teaspoon of salt instead. Some supermarkets and natural-foods stores sell seasoned whole-wheat breadcrumbs. Simply mix them for the plain breadcrumbs and seasoning blend if you can find them.

Parsnip Fries

If you replace the potatoes in this oven-baked fries dish with parsnips, you’ll receive an extra 5 grams of fiber per serving. After that, you can mix mayo with Sriracha or roasted garlic (or both!) to make a spicy or garlicky aioli to serve alongside these nutritious fries.

Soy-Lime Baked Buffalo Wings

Compared to the same degree of deep-fried wings, this baked Buffalo chicken wing recipe saves 138 calories and 598 milligrams of salt. If your store offers chicken wings whole, divide them into wingettes and drumettes to ensure equal cooking. With a sharp knife, you can easily split them apart. Carrot sticks, celery, and ranch (or blue cheese) dressing are served alongside.

BBQ Chicken Skillet Pizza

This Alabama-style white sauce recipe, prepared with mayo and a little vinegar, elevates chicken-BBQ pizza. Using prepared dough speeds up the process of getting dinner on the table.

Grilled Taco Pizza

Pizza cooked on the grill has the same rustic flavor as pizza cooked in a wood-fired oven. It cooks quickly, so make sure you have all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go so you can flip and top it quickly. We’ve topped this grilled pizza recipe with traditional taco toppings, including beans and salsa. Once you’ve mastered the technique, you can utilize it to create grilled pizza by substituting a degree of your favorite toppings for the taco ingredients.

Classic Hamburger

These lean beef patties get a boost of moisture and flavor from slow-cooked onions. A tangy, sweet, and creamy “special sauce” for this burger is made quickly with mayonnaise, ketchup, relish, and vinegar. If you like sweet spice, you can credit this instead of the dill relish. Serve this with sweet potato fries as a side dish.

Almond Butter-Quinoa Blondies

These gently nutty, just bit chocolaty blondies are likely to go unnoticed as gluten-free. A place of all-purpose flour, they use quinoa flour, which can be found in well-stocked supermarkets and natural-foods stores. Use a clean coffee grinder to crush fresh quinoa into a powder to produce your own quinoa flour.

Chocolate Avocado Shake

This creamy, dairy-free chocolate shake recipe uses avocado instead of ice cream for its smoothness. If you’re not allergic to dairy, you may replace the nondairy chocolate chips with ordinary low-fat milk and any semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips.

Crunchy Chocolate and Peanut Clusters

These sweet, crispy snacks may be produced on short notice because they only take 45 minutes to create. Consider double the recipe; an excess batch can be stored in an airtight jar in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Roasted Corn Cheese Dip

This maize and warm Cheddar cheese dip, credited by queso fundido (melted Mexican cheese dip), is delicious with toasted bread.

Kale Artichoke Dip

This creamy, cheesy dip, a twist on conventional spinach artichoke dip, is made healthy by substituting yogurt for some of the cream cheese. Serve with tortilla chips and carrot sticks as a quick appetizer.