2,179 light recipes

Homemade steamed sponge cake, no oven needed: a light, eggy batter sweetened and colored with coconut treacle and warm cinnamon, then steamed soft and spongy. A moist Sri Lankan treacle cake for tea time.

Breakfast waffles with soda use fizzy club soda for an extra-light, crispy waffle from a few pantry ingredients. The carbonation aerates the batter, so the waffles bake up airy inside and crisp outside.

Homemade string hopper sweet rolls, delicate steamed rice-flour noodle disks wrapped around a sweet coconut treacle and cinnamon filling. A soft, lightly sweet Sri Lankan steamed treat for breakfast or tea.

A deliciously light chocolate marbled angel food cake is filled with raspberry jam, and topped with coffee cream. It's sweet and rich enough to please your sweet tooth, but without too much guilt.

Homemade Swiss roll, a light sponge cake baked thin, rolled while warm to keep it crack-free, then spread with vanilla buttercream and rolled into a tender, swirled slice. A classic teatime treat from scratch.

Low-fat double chocolate brownies that don't taste like a compromise: unsweetened chocolate, cocoa, and chocolate chips with applesauce standing in for most of the butter. Rich, fudgy, and made with whole wheat flour.

Summer white bean soup with sauteed celery, swiss chard or kale, a splash of rice vinegar, and a hint of liquid aminos. Light, vegetarian, naturally high in fiber and gentle enough for warm weather.

Homemade granola with rolled oats, sliced almonds, shredded coconut, wheat germ, and cinnamon, lightly bound with maple syrup and oil. Bakes in 10 minutes flat. Toss in golden raisins or dried cranberries after toasting.

Oven poached pears in wine, whole ripe pears roasted upright in fruity white wine and honey with cinnamon, bay, and orange zest, then drizzled with the reduced syrup. An elegant, light, make-ahead dessert.

This scrumptious rice salad is perfect for a picnic with the family or a dinner party with friends.

Whole wheat berry breakfast pancakes made light with fluffy egg whites and skim milk, sweetened with a little honey, then topped with creamy ricotta, fresh berries and maple syrup. Ready in about 20 minutes.

Low-cal brownies: a quick blender batter that swaps applesauce for butter and a sugar substitute for sugar, baked into a light chocolate fix. A guilt-free brownie ready in about 30 minutes.

Mushroom tomato basil frittata cooked gently on the stovetop, with crimini mushrooms sauteed in broth instead of oil and fresh basil stirred through the eggs. A light, low-calorie breakfast that comes together in about 20 minutes.

Silky cold plum soup with red wine, brandy, sour cream, and warm cinnamon, chilled until velvety smooth. A refreshing Eastern European fruit soup that works as an elegant starter or a light summer dessert.

Learn how to make a classic Western Omelet. This classic is revisited, using sweet red pepper instead of green and adding parsley to brighten the result and some other tweaks to keep it light, fresh, and healthy.

These yummy treats are made with whole wheat flour, oats, applesauce, vegetable oil and a tiny amount of butter, which adds lots of heart-healthy ingredients to the cookies without losing any bit of deliciousness. Especially when peanut butter and chocolate chips are involved, make sure to bake enough, because they disappear quicky.