2,691 light recipes

Blueberries with brown sugar cream is a 3-ingredient dessert: fresh blueberries, a dollop of sour cream, and a sprinkle of brown sugar that slowly melts into dark ribbons. Ready in 5 minutes.

Salami and avocado salad: salty cured salami strips over creamy sliced avocado and butter lettuce, finished with a dab of sour cream and a squeeze of lemon. A fresh, no-cook plate ready in minutes.

Green bean and new potato salad with garlic-tarragon mayo. Steamed and tossed warm so the dressing sinks in, the kind of bright, crisp summer side that goes with everything off the grill.

Pineapple fudge cooked stovetop with crushed pineapple, marshmallows, and pecans, then beaten to a creamy, old-fashioned finish. Ready in 30 minutes and yields nearly 49 pieces.

Galliano barbecued pork ribs parboiled to fall-off-the-bone tender, then basted with a hickory barbecue sauce spiked with anise-vanilla Galliano liqueur. The boozy Italian twist that takes weeknight ribs from ordinary to memorable.

Five-ingredient Southern pecan dainties with brown sugar, egg whites, and vanilla. Crispy, chewy, flourless pecan cookies baked low and slow. Makes six dozen from one batch.

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

Chocolate mud frosting made by melting chocolate chips with milk in the microwave, then blending with corn syrup and vanilla. A glossy, fudgy four-ingredient frosting with no butter or powdered sugar.

Old-fashioned baked beans made from scratch with dried navy beans, molasses, brown sugar and salt pork, slow-baked all day until thick and deeply savory-sweet. The real Boston-style deal, no can required.

Fig Star Cookies feature a maple-scented shortening dough wrapped around a homemade dried fig filling with lemon and nuts. A vintage holiday cookie worth the effort.

Simple Banana Daiquiri blends fresh banana, rum, banana liqueur, lemon juice, and superfine sugar with ice into a smooth frozen cocktail for two. Lighter than the cream version, ready in 5 minutes.

Cherry divinity is the pink church-cookbook candy: hard-ball sugar syrup whipped into beaten egg whites with cherry Jello, then loaded with chopped nuts and coconut. Old-fashioned, fluffy, festive.

Kiwi fruit gelato made without an ice cream machine, using a simple syrup, fresh kiwi puree, and lemon. Bright green, tangy, and dairy-free.

Date oatmeal bars with a thick, jammy date filling sandwiched between two layers of buttery oat crumble. A vintage three-layer bar cookie that's chewy, sweet, and wholesome.

Fresh oranges drizzled with a quick maple caramel sauce made from brown sugar, maple syrup, and lemon juice. A light, elegant fruit dessert ready in minutes.

Classic pina colada blended with light rum, pineapple juice, cream of coconut, and crushed ice until foamy. A tropical cocktail that takes 30 seconds in the blender and tastes like a Caribbean beach.