8,375 fat free recipes

Fresh pear salad with halved pears on lettuce, filled with cottage cheese and topped with a chilled pear-orange fruit dressing thickened with cornstarch. A vintage composed fruit salad.

Two-potato gratin layers thin slices of sweet potatoes and new potatoes with minced onion and skim milk for a lighter take on classic scalloped potatoes. Naturally low-fat side dish.

Homemade vegetable stock simmers cold-water vegetables with up to six herbs for 30 to 45 minutes. The flexible base recipe for soups, risottos, and braises.

Pepper poached pears simmer in white wine with black peppercorns, ginger, cinnamon and a whisper of chili heat, then chill in a syrup reduced from the poaching liquid. An elegant, lightly spiced dessert.

The famous "Better Than Sex" chocolate cake: box mix doctored with pudding, sour cream, real coffee, chocolate chips, and toasted pecans. Tube-baked and drizzled with a glossy chocolate glaze.

Portuguese kale soup (caldo verde-style) with linguica or chourico, kidney beans, cabbage, and potatoes. A hearty New England-Portuguese immigrant classic.

Chewy oatmeal raisin cookies spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, sweetened with sugar substitute instead of sugar. A built-in lower-fat option swaps half the margarine for applesauce or banana. Diabetic-friendly baking made easy.

Mom's Portuguese sweet bread (massa sovada) for the bread machine, with eggs, milk, and butter for a tender, slightly sweet loaf. Three loaf sizes given. Adjust sugar for sweeter or more savory. The classic Easter and holiday bread.

Golubtsi, traditional Russian cabbage rolls stuffed with millet, salt pork, carrots, and onion, simmered in a tangy sour cream and tomato sauce. Old-country comfort food with deep roots.

Chicken Morocco with skinless thighs braised in stewed tomatoes, prune juice, diced prunes, and warm allspice. Served over fluffy bulghur for a North African weeknight dinner.

Easy crusty French-style bread with just five ingredients: flour, yeast, water, sugar, and salt. Baked with steam for a crackly golden crust and chewy interior.

Old-school dark fruitcake soaked overnight in brandy and orange liqueur with figs, apricots, currants, walnuts, and pecans. Makes four loaves; ages beautifully.

Competition-style smoked pork ribs with a paprika-heavy dry rub and a from-scratch vinegar-molasses BBQ sauce aged 2-6 weeks. Low and slow over hickory for 5 hours.

Italian meatball cookies with warm spices, cocoa, raisins, nuts, and chocolate chips rolled into small round drops. A traditional Italian-American holiday cookie that looks like its dinner-table namesake.

Traditional Irish pot-roasted chicken stuffed with oatmeal, bacon, and onion, braised with carrots and potatoes in giblet stock. Country Sunday supper from the Emerald Isle that turns a whole bird into a one-pot feast.

Banana macaroon salad layers homemade coconut-oat macaroon crumbs with sliced bananas, pecans and whipped topping, then chills until everything melds. A retro potluck and picnic favorite.