2,179 light recipes

Chilled asparagus salad with pickled red ginger, sesame oil, and soy dressing. A crisp, refreshing Japanese-inspired side dish that takes just 20 minutes to prepare.

You can try, but they taste great and your guests will have trouble figuring out what they are.

Havana Banana cocktail mixes light rum, banana liqueur, and pineapple-coconut drink over ice in a brandy snifter. A tropical sipper ready in minutes.

Quebec maple syrup pie (tarte au sirop d'erable) with a custard filling of pure maple syrup, cream, and eggs in a flaky shell. Five ingredients, intensely sweet, purely Canadian.

No-cook chicken tortilla roll-ups with salsa, cheddar, and light sour cream wrapped in flour tortillas. Ready in 20 minutes for lunch boxes, snacks, or party platters.

Whole bananas baked in their skins, then pan-fried in honey-allspice butter and flambeed with rum. A show-stopping Caribbean dessert with a squeeze of fresh lime to finish.

Homemade chocolate covered cherries with rum-soaked maraschino cherries wrapped in fondant and double-dipped in chocolate. Liquid-center holiday candies just like the ones in the gold box.

Fruit-flavor popcorn balls made with Jello gelatin, corn syrup, sugar, and salted peanuts. Pick any Jello flavor for colorful, kid-friendly popcorn treats in 15 minutes.

Plains peach honey: a thick, clear old-fashioned Southern peach spread made with just two ingredients, ripe peaches and brown sugar. No pectin, no lemon, pure peach flavor.

Homemade Thai iced tea brewed strong, sweetened with sugar, and topped with creamy half and half or sweetened condensed milk. That iconic orange drink from your favorite Thai restaurant, made at home.

Old-fashioned vanilla fudge: a heritage recipe with sugar, corn syrup, milk, and butter cooked to soft-ball stage and beaten by hand until stiff. Add cocoa for chocolate fudge or fold in nuts and cherries.

Homemade hot fudge sauce with unsweetened and semi-sweet chocolate, butter, corn syrup, and vanilla. A thick, glossy ice cream topping ready in 20 minutes.

Homemade strawberry syrup made with frozen strawberries and light corn syrup, blended smooth and boiled for 5 minutes. A three-ingredient topping for pancakes, waffles, and ice cream.

The classic Southern Living sweet potato casserole: a creamy, custardy mash of sweet potatoes baked under a buttery brown-sugar pecan crumble. No marshmallows here, just a crunchy praline-style topping. A holiday must.

DIY Halloween makeup uses pantry corn syrup, cornstarch, and food coloring layered with tissue strips for kid-safe, lickable face paint. Build warts, scars, and ghoul effects.

No-bake peanut butter cornflake squares with brown sugar, corn syrup, wheat germ, and peanuts. Chewy or crisp depending on boil time. Makes 60 squares.