38 Healthy, Decadent-Tasting Dessert Recipes For Valentine's Day

POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

This Valentine's Day, show yourself or someone you adore just how much you love them — with dessert. These recipes are healthy but still delicious and decadent. Try the cupcakes with chocolate-avocado frosting or the no-bake brownies, or make your own chocolate cups filled with velvety mousse. For a small treat, try the vegan strawberry-cheesecake bites or the homemade dark-chocolate salted caramels. With 38 dessert recipes to choose from, there's something for everyone — whether you're gluten free, vegan, or trying to cut down on refined sugar.

Vegan Chocolate-Mousse-Filled Strawberries
Jenny Sugar

Vegan Chocolate-Mousse-Filled Strawberries

Why pay for chocolate-dipped strawberries when you can make something better? These fruity chocolate-mousse cups are fresh and delicious.

Get the recipe: strawberry chocolate-mousse cups

Chocolate Cupcakes With "Buttercream" Frosting
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Chocolate Cupcakes With "Buttercream" Frosting

Upon taking your first decadent bite, you might just drop the rest of your cupcake when you realize it's low calorie and vegan. Plus, the frosting is made with avocados instead of butter.

Get the recipe: chocolate cupcakes with "buttercream" frosting

Dark-Chocolate Salted Caramels
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Dark-Chocolate Salted Caramels

These delicious, 60-calorie chocolate morsels are made with sunflower seeds, dates, dairy-free chocolate, and sea salt. Yum!

Get the recipe: dark-chocolate salted caramels

No-Bake Brownie Bites
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

No-Bake Brownie Bites

The soft texture and decadent, fudgy flavor of these no-bake brownie bites will satisfy dessert cravings — for just 77 calories.

Get the recipe: brownie bites

Double-Chocolate Banana Protein Muffins
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Double-Chocolate Banana Protein Muffins

Sweet, with a soft, melt-in-your mouth texture, this moist muffin recipe is every ripe banana's dream.

Get the recipe: double-chocolate banana protein muffins

Bite-Sized Strawberry Cheesecakes
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Bite-Sized Strawberry Cheesecakes

Creamy and fruity, these mini strawberry cheesecakes are the perfect dessert to enjoy after an amazing dinner.

Get the recipe: mini strawberry cheesecakes

Vegan Chocolate-Frosted Doughnuts
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Vegan Chocolate-Frosted Doughnuts

The batter is easy to whip up, and don't fret if you don't have a doughnut pan — just use a muffin tin instead. Decorate as you like and enjoy right away, since these babies taste best freshly made.

Get the recipe: vegan chocolate-frosted doughnuts

Chocolate-Mousse Cups
Jenny Sugar

Chocolate-Mousse Cups

Nobody will guess that these chocolate-mousse cups are made with silken tofu instead of eggs and cream. They're also naturally sweetened, with dates instead of white sugar.

Get the recipe: 100-calorie chocolate mousse cups

Vegan Sugar-Free, Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Vegan Sugar-Free, Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake

You'll be bowled over by the soft texture of this cake and its sweet, smooth chocolate frosting. It's vegan, gluten free, oil free, and sweetened naturally with dates, sweet potato, and banana — but it still tastes like chocolate cake.

Get the recipe: vegan chocolate cake

No-Bake Vegan Brownies
Jenny Sugar

No-Bake Vegan Brownies

These no-bake vegan brownies don't require an oven. Even better, each brownie contains nearly two grams of protein and fiber.

Get the recipe: no-bake vegan brownies

Vegan Chocolate Pudding
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Vegan Chocolate Pudding

Each serving of this decadent chocolate pudding (made with black beans) offers more than seven grams of protein and six grams of fiber. Enjoy it for dessert or as a sweet, filling snack.

Get the recipe: black-bean chocolate pudding

Chocolate Protein Breakfast Doughnuts With Peanut-Butter Frosting
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Chocolate Protein Breakfast Doughnuts With Peanut-Butter Frosting

These vegan chocolate protein doughnuts are baked and made with whole-wheat flour, and the protein powder in the batter gives each of these moist, decadent treats almost nine grams of protein.

Get the recipe: chocolate protein doughnuts with peanut-butter frosting

Nut-Free Chocolate Sunbutter Cups
Jenny Sugar

Nut-Free Chocolate Sunbutter Cups

Filled with a sunflower-seed-and-date mixture, these chocolate cups taste even more decadent than Reese's.

Get the recipe: sunflower-seed butter cups

Chocolate-Raspberry Protein Balls
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Chocolate-Raspberry Protein Balls

Disguised as chocolate-raspberry truffles, these protein balls are sweet, chewy delights.

Get the recipe: chocolate-raspberry protein balls

3-Ingredient Brownies
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

3-Ingredient Brownies

You likely already have everything you need to make these delicious brownies — except maybe the patience to wait for them to cook.

Get the recipe: three-ingredient brownies

Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream
Jenny Sugar

Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream

You only need two ingredients to make this chocolate ice cream, so why haven't you tried it yet?

Get the recipe: chocolate "nice" cream

Vegan Almond Joy
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Vegan Almond Joy

All you need are five common ingredients and a food processor, and boom — you're instantly a (healthy) candy-making genius.

Get the recipe: vegan Almond Joy

Vegan Chocolate-Chip Cookie-Dough Freezer Fudge
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Vegan Chocolate-Chip Cookie-Dough Freezer Fudge

If you grew up scooping out spoonfuls of raw cookie dough while baking chocolate-chip cookies with Grandma, you're going to fall hard for this cookie-dough freezer fudge (shhh, it's made with lentils).

Get the recipe: chocolate-chip cookie-dough fudge

Smoothie Bark
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Smoothie Bark

This vegan bark is made just like a smoothie — but instead of sipping a drink, you spread it out in a pan, add toppings, and freeze. You can make it even more decadent with chocolate chips, crumbled cookies, or chocolate syrup.

Get the recipe: protein-smoothie bark

Berry Nice Cream
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Berry Nice Cream

You only need four ingredients to make this fruity, creamy treat: frozen bananas, frozen strawberries, frozen raspberries, and a little unsweetened vanilla soy milk.

Get the recipe: 4-ingredient berry nice cream

Double-Fudge Brownies
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Double-Fudge Brownies

These rich, moist brownies taste so good, you'll be amazed they're vegan and barely more than 150 calories.

Get the recipe: double-fudge brownies

Peanut-Butter Brownie Bites
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Peanut-Butter Brownie Bites

These chewy peanut-butter brownie bites are disguised as fudgy goodness, but shhh — they also offer a healthy dose of protein.

Get the recipe: chewy peanut-butter brownies

Chocolate (Cauliflower) Cake With Peanut-Butter Frosting
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Chocolate (Cauliflower) Cake With Peanut-Butter Frosting

This dessert is soft, sweet, and everything you could want in a chocolate cake — and the cauliflower adds an unforgettable moistness. That may sound totally weird, but if you love cake and all things chocolate, this recipe is a must try.

Get the recipe: chocolate (cauliflower) cake with peanut-butter frosting

Caramel-Filled Tarts
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Caramel-Filled Tarts

If you're craving pie, these scrumptious little caramel-filled tarts will do the trick.

Get the recipe: caramel-filled tarts

Healthy Mounds
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Healthy Mounds

Keep a batch of these healthy Mounds in the fridge for whenever those chewy-chocolate cravings strike.

Get the recipe: vegan Mounds

Black-Bean Brownie Bites
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Black-Bean Brownie Bites

Made with black beans, each of these little brownie bites offers almost six grams of protein and more than five grams of fiber.

Get the recipe: black-bean brownie bites

Chocolate-Chip Banana Ice-Cream Bites
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Chocolate-Chip Banana Ice-Cream Bites

You'll love these adorable chocolate-chip banana "nice-cream" bites. All you need are two ingredients: bananas and chocolate chips.

Get the recipe: chocolate-chip banana "nice-cream" bites

Dairy-Free Peppermint Patties
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Dairy-Free Peppermint Patties

If you've never made homemade chocolates in your life, this easy recipe is the perfect one to start with.

Get the recipe: vegan Peppermint Patties

Cherry Chocolate-Chip Ice Cream
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Cherry Chocolate-Chip Ice Cream

Satisfy ice-cream cravings with this dairy-free cherry chocolate-chip "nice-cream" recipe. It tastes like Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia!

Get the recipe: cherry chocolate-chip "nice cream"

Chocolate-Dipped Peanut-Butter-Crisp Balls
Jenny Sugar

Chocolate-Dipped Peanut-Butter-Crisp Balls

Your taste buds will thank you when you pop these chocolate-dipped peanut-butter-crisp balls in your mouth for a fiber-filled sweet.

Get the recipe: chocolate-dipped peanut-butter-crisp balls

Vegan Chocolate Fruit Dip
Jenny Sugar

Vegan Chocolate Fruit Dip

Dubbed "chocolate hummus" because of its secret ingredient (chickpeas), this dip is perfect when paired with juicy strawberries.

Get the recipe: chocolate hummus

Chocolate-Chip Cookie-Dough Balls
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Chocolate-Chip Cookie-Dough Balls

If you're looking to eat some cookie dough sans salmonella risk, gluten, or dairy products, try these vegan cookie-dough balls.

Get the recipe: chocolate-chip cookie-dough balls

Protein-Packed Brownies
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Protein-Packed Brownies

A cross between oatmeal cookies and brownies, these chocolatey bars are so amazingly delicious that you won't even guess there's protein powder added to the batter.

Get the recipe: protein-packed brownies

Double Chocolate-Chip Mint Vegan Protein Muffins
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Double Chocolate-Chip Mint Vegan Protein Muffins

These taste like chocolate-mint cupcakes, but they're made with whole-wheat flour, flax meal, and plant-based protein powder.

Get the recipe: chocolate-mint protein muffins

Frozen Banana Pops
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Frozen Banana Pops

Make these treats with ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen: a banana, yogurt, and chocolate chips.

Get the recipe: frozen banana pops

Chocolate Peanut-Butter No-Bakes
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Chocolate Peanut-Butter No-Bakes

This dessert has three amazing layers: chocolate crispies on the bottom, sweet-and-salty peanut butter in the middle, and chocolate chips on the top.

Get the recipe: chocolate peanut-butter no-bakes

Vegan Almond-Butter Cups
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Vegan Almond-Butter Cups

Made with almond butter and maple syrup, these vegan almond-butter cups are lower in calories, fat, cholesterol, and sugar than the original — and they taste richer and more decadent.

Get the recipe: vegan almond-butter cups

Low-Cal Brownies
Lizzie Fuhr

Low-Cal Brownies

Yes, these cake-like brownies taste just as moist and delicious as they look.

Get the recipe: low-cal brownies