7,151 light recipes

Baked falafel patties with chickpeas, tahini, parsley, cumin, and garlic. Oven-baked until golden and crusty, with a fry option for reheating. A lighter take on falafel.

Spaghetti with turkey sausage in a quick tomato sauce made from paste and seasoning mix. A lighter, leaner take on sausage pasta ready in about 30 minutes.

A layered vegetable lasagna with ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan, featuring both spinach and mixed vegetable fillings in a creamy béchamel sauce. Feeds eight in about an hour.

A lighter, golden fruitcake with apricots, golden raisins, candied orange peel, and walnuts in a buttery brandy batter. Baked in decorative molds for a gorgeous holiday centerpiece.

Chocolate hazelnut mousse blends bittersweet chocolate, cocoa, and Frangelico into a silky pudding-based mousse, topped with toasted hazelnuts. A lighter make-ahead dessert for dinner parties.

Egg-free yellow cake with cake flour, liquid egg substitute, and a touch of sugar substitute for a lighter, lower-sugar bake. Soft, tender crumb that proves you don't need eggs to get a classic vanilla cake.

No-bake pumpkin layer pie with sweet cream cheese and whipped topping over a graham cracker crust, plus a thick spiced pumpkin pudding layer. A lighter holiday alternative.

Sweet pickles brine cucumber chunks overnight, then bring them to a boil in apple cider vinegar with sugar, turmeric, mustard seed, allspice, and celery seed. Eight pints of golden, crunchy pickles by tomorrow.

A lighter take on English trifle with sponge cake, strawberries, banana, orange juice, and Greek yogurt topped with flaked almonds. No cooking, no custard, ready in 40 minutes.

Yeasted anise biscotti from Genoa, made with a sponge starter for a lighter, bread-like crumb. Twice-baked with butter and aniseed, these are nothing like ordinary biscotti.

Turkey Waldorf salad with diced turkey breast, apples, celery, and raisins tossed in a yogurt-apricot-Dijon dressing. A lighter post-Thanksgiving leftover riff on the classic Waldorf.

Crisp, flourless oatmeal pecan lace cookies with a delicate see-through pattern and buttery caramel snap. Five minutes of mixing, eight minutes to bake, perfect rolled into cornucopias.

Orange-scented zucchini bread brightened with both orange zest and orange extract, studded with pecans. A lighter quick bread with no added oil for a tender, citrusy crumb.

Melrose plates: chicken and pasta salad with mandarin oranges, water chestnuts and a honey-mustard poppy seed yogurt dressing. A lighter chicken-pasta luncheon salad served on lettuce.

No-bake chocolate banana split pie with a chocolate graham cracker crust, frozen yogurt filling, sliced bananas, and whipped topping. A lighter frozen dessert with banana split flavor.

Sweet potato whip blended with carrots, chicken broth, nonfat yogurt, and cinnamon for a lighter, less sugary take on mashed sweet potatoes. A great make-ahead holiday side.