2,691 light recipes

Garlic half-sour dill pickles: classic New York deli-style fermented cucumbers with garlic, dill, and pickling spice. Just 2 weeks to crisp, lightly sour pickles at home.

A delicate Asian-style steamed seafood custard (chawanmushi) with whole clams, fresh ginger, scallions, and umami-rich fish sauce. Light, savory, silky, and ready in under an hour.

Apricots in brandy, an 1831 American recipe: fresh apricots blanched in light syrup, bottled, and covered with equal parts syrup and French brandy. A heritage spirit-preserved fruit.

Lemonade wafers: crisp, egg-free drop cookies bright with fresh lemon zest and juice, optional coconut topping. Light, sunny cookie that tastes like summer in a single bite.

Chocolate angel food layer cake baked in heart-shape pans. Fat-free, cloud-light, cocoa-scented sponge made with egg whites and cake flour. No butter, no yolks.

Plum tomato tart on crisp phyllo layers with Dijon mustard, Parmesan, and fresh thyme-parsley-garlic oil. A shatteringly light French-style appetizer with dramatic tomato mosaic presentation.

Chocolate banana pie sets sliced bananas under chocolate pudding on a peanut butter rice cereal crust. A no-bake light dessert with three pantry-staple flavors stacked tall.

San Francisco vegetable soup, a light ginger-sesame broth with bok choy, snow peas, carrot, and red pepper. Vegan, quick, and built to keep every vegetable crisp-tender.

Southern peanut butter pie with a creamy custard filling, crunchy peanut butter crumble layered on top and bottom, and golden meringue. An old-fashioned Georgia-style dessert.

Light Greek yogurt cheesecake with a melba toast and walnut crust, topped with dried figs poached in an ouzo syrup with cinnamon stick and orange zest. A Mediterranean twist on cheesecake that skips the heaviness.

Apple Cinnamon Tart has a no-butter oat crust pressed with apple juice, topped with fresh apple slices and a honey-sweetened yogurt gelatin filling. A light dessert at under 185 calories.

Tom kha gai is a Thai chicken coconut soup infused with galangal, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves, finished with fish sauce, lime and serrano chiles. Light, fragrant and ready in under 30 minutes.

Low-calorie cottage cheese plate with fresh vegetables or tropical fruit, a hard-boiled egg, and rye crisp crackers. A high-protein, no-cook light lunch on a bed of lettuce.

Low-fat lemon meringue pie with a graham cracker crust, fluffy lemon filling sweetened with sugar substitute, and a lightly broiled meringue top. A diabetic-friendly take on the classic.

Oven-fried zucchini sticks bread fresh zucchini in a whole wheat flour and cornmeal mix, then bake on a hot sheet pan until golden crisp. No deep fryer, no guilt.

Galia melon in port wine with honey and pomegranate seeds is an elegant, no-cook fruit dessert. Just four ingredients for a light, boozy finish to a dinner party that looks as stunning as it tastes.