Food & Nutrition These Mediterranean Diet Desserts Taste So Good You'll Forget They're Good for You By Ashley Mateo Ashley Mateo Ashley Mateo is an award-winning journalist and editor. Her writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Time, Runner's World, Women's Running, Men's Journal, Health, Women's Health, Bicycling and more. She is also an RRCA- and UESCA-certified running coach. Find her at ashleymateo.com. Shape's editorial guidelines Published on March 11, 2018 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Just because the Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest diets for weight loss doesn't mean dessert is off the menu. These healthy Mediterranean diet desserts use heart-healthy oils instead of saturated fat—so go ahead and have seconds. 01 of 10 Italian Apple Olive Oil Cake Mediterranean Dish You can have your cake and eat it, too—swapping out butter, which is full of saturated fats, for heart-healthy olive oil, a monosaturated fat, makes all the difference. Feel free to indulge in this olive oil cake recipe, which won't lead to a sugar coma. ( 5 Health Benefits You'll Score From Following the Mediterranean Diet Get the recipe: Italian Apple Olive Oil Cake [mediterranean diet desserts][mediterranean diet desserts][mediterranean diet desserts] [mediterranean diet desserts] [mediterranean diet desserts][mediterranean diet desserts][mediterranean diet desserts] 02 of 10 Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies Olive oil is the main source of fat in the Mediterranean diet, and since this Mediterranean dessert recipe uses olive oil instead of butter, you can basically consider eating these cookies to hit your daily macro quotas. (A garnish of kosher salt basically guarantees you won't stop at one.) Get the recipe: Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies 03 of 10 Mediterranean-Inspired Brownies Olive Tomato Olive oil isn't the only healthy swap for butter. This decadent chocolate brownie recipe calls for Greek yogurt, and ups the healthy fat quotient even more with walnuts. The best part? They're just 150 calories a piece. (Here are 15 more low-calorie chocolate desserts.) Get the recipe: Mediterranean-Inspired Brownies 04 of 10 Greek Yogurt Chocolate Mousse My Fussy Eater Cut back on the amount of refined sugar that typically comes with mousse by mixing chocolate with Greek yogurt instead of cream. The texture may be a little more yogurty than your average mousse, but you'll barely notice with each creamy bite. Get the recipe: Greek Yogurt Chocolate Mousse 05 of 10 Turkish Yogurt Cake With Figs Life Love Food Figs are all the rage in the Mediterranean, and they're packed with fiber, magnesium, calcium, and potassium. Adding them to this airy, soufflé-esque cake, which uses Greek yogurt in lieu of butter or cream, makes for a tasty but good-for-you treat. Get the recipe: Turkish Yogurt Cake with Figs 06 of 10 Cinnamon Walnut Apple Cake Mediterranean Living Fresh fruit? Check. Healthy fats? Check. Whole grains? Check! Made from eggs, wheat flour, olive oil, brown sugar, plus apples, raisins, and walnuts, this cake hits the Mediterranean diet trifecta. Get the recipe: Cinnamon Walnut Apple Cake 07 of 10 Peanut Butter Banana Greek Yogurt Bowls The Lemon Bowl In America, we eat Greek yogurt mostly as a healthy breakfast option. But in the Mediterranean, a bowl of creamy yogurt—in this case, mixed with bananas, melted peanut butter, and flaxseed meal—serves as a protein-packed dessert. (Try 10 protein-packed yogurt bowls.) Get the recipe: Peanut Butter Banana Greek Yogurt Bowls 08 of 10 Low-Fat Apple Cake As Easy As Apple Pie No butter, no oil, and packed with fresh apples, this low-fat apple cake is just 116 calories per slice. It's so light and so spare on decadent ingredients, you could eat this Mediterranean diet dessert as a healthy breakfast. Get the recipe: Low-Fat Apple Cake 09 of 10 Fig and Pistachio Cake Dessert First Girl This cake passes the Mediterranean diet test thanks to nutritious figs and plenty of protein—plus antioxidant-packed pistachios. It does call for a tad of cream and sugar, so maybe stick to one slice of this treat. If you can. ( The 7-Day Mediterranean Diet Plan Experts Think Everyone Should Follow Get the recipe: Fig and Pistachio Cake 10 of 10 Popped Quinoa Crunch Bars The Garlic Diaries These look like rich, chocolaty brownies, but they're so much healthier and just as tasty. And you don't even need to bake 'em! Just pop quinoa, melt chocolate, then mix the two with vanilla and peanut butter and refrigerate. Voilà! The perfect dessert. (What are you having before dessert? Check out these 50 Healthy Mediterranean Diet Recipes and Meal Ideas.) Get the recipe: Popped Quinoa Crunch Bars Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit