3 Sneaky Delicious Desserts With Hidden Veggies

desserts that use hidden vegetables

I love to get creative in the kitchen but finding ways to win over picky eaters with veggies can be challenging. I decided to do a little exploring and found 3 bloggers with super fun dessert or snack ideas that used vegetables in a creative and sneaky way that looked as good as they tasted.

What better way to slip in some veggies than hiding them in desserts!

If you want more delicious dessert recipes that are actually GOOD for you check out Guilt Free Desserts by the Healing Gourmet!

ingredients to make your own frozen yogurt pops
Source: (c) Kristen – Make the Best of Everything

This first idea comes from Kristen from Make the Best of Everything.

DIY “Go Gurt” with Hidden Veggies

A simple rule of thumb is to match your vegetable and fruit colors ie.. orange fruit with orange veggies, green with green, or get wild and crazy and go for that elusive purple purple combination, hmmm can you think of some purple fruits and vegetables?

Here are a few ideas (see the full recipes from Kristen here)

Apricot with Carrots
Banana, Lime and Spinach
Strawberry, Blueberry, Banana and Spinach

You can come up with your own combinations depending on what you have on hand. Simply blend them all up and put them in your container of choice. Two easy options are [easyazon_link identifier=”B00N795KR4″ locale=”US” tag=”eartfriegoo0a-20″]Zipzicles[/easyazon_link] which are ready made plastic zip-lock freezie-pop bags or if you want the earth friendly re-usable solution you can get [easyazon_link keywords=”silicone ice pop molds” locale=”US” tag=”eartfriegoo0a-20″]silicone ice pop molds[/easyazon_link] that you can use as many times as you like.

Another yummy dessert that just so happens to hide a full cup of zucchini among the delicate folds of creamy chocolate is this Chocolate cheesecake recipe from Megan the Detoxinista. This gluten-free and dairy free cheesecake makes use of some very creative methods to give you the taste and texture of a traditional cheesecake without the cream cheese by using cashews and zucchini of all things!

raw chocolate cheese cake with veggies and cashews
Copyright © 2015 Detoxinista

Raw Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Chocolate Cheese Cake

Despite the ingenious experimental ingredients in this recipe it is really simple to make with ingredients you most likely have on hand.

For the full recipe and preparation instructions visit Megan at the Detoxinista. But for the quick and easy list of goodies in this raw cheesecake you’ll need to read on.

What You’ll Need

For the crust:

Raw pecans
Coconut oil
Cocoa powder
Maple syrup
Fine sea salt

For the filling:

Raw cashews (no need to soak)
Peeled & diced zucchini
Cocoa powder
Maple syrup
Vanilla extract
Fine sea salt
Coconut oil, melted

Our last recommendation for vegetable sneakiness comes from Kate in the United Kingdom and makes use of apples and kale in a scrumptious green cake perfect for St. Patrick’s Day or any day you are feeling like you want a colorful dessert that will get everyone’s attention right from the first glance and keep them asking for more after the first bite.

A green cake that is delicate and yummy
Source: Kate @Veggie Desserts

If you are looking for more veggie dessert ideas than you’d ever thought were possible Kate has the market cornered over at Veggie Desserts.

For this stunning green vegetable cake she pairs fresh kale with applesauce to give you a moist treat for all senses and sneaks in those veggies pretty nicely for any of your picky eaters. If you thought kale was only good for green smoothies you’ll be delighted with this other option.

Kale and Apple Cake with Apple Icing

For the full recipe and preparation instructions visit Kate at Veggie Desserts.

Ingredients

Fresh kale leaves, woody stalk discarded
Eggs
Rapeseed or vegetable oil
Vanilla extract
Applesauce
Sugar
Apples, peeled and grated
Flour
Baking powder
Salt

For the Apple Icing

Powdered icing sugar
Butter, softened
Applesauce
Vanilla extract

I hope you enjoyed our quick collection of veggie desserts as much as I had finding them. What kind of ways have you found to hide those veggies and get a bit more vegetable goodness into the tummies of your loved ones?

If you are looking for even more good for you desserts I am in love with the Healing Gourmet’s new dessert cookbook! They re-created 50 of the best dessert recipes replacing every ingredient that was unnatural or refined, as well as anything that spikes your blood sugar or causes your body to store fat. These desserts are actually GOOD for you!

Give it a try by clicking below:

delicious gluten free desserts

disclosure statement

10 comments

  1. The apple cake looks amazing!! I bet it tastes great too. My mother in law makes a beetroot chocolate cake, and it’s delicious. It’s quite clever what you can sneak veggies into 😉

    • A beetroot chocolate cake sounds fantastic. Beets are super loaded with vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients too! Yet most people never eat them – I think if they had your mother-in-law doing the marketing with her chocolate cake that might change. 🙂

  2. These are great ideas for getting more vegetables into foods, and what is my favorite food? Dessert! The only one I’m skeptical about is the kale….but I’d be willing to try it as long as it’s in a cake!

  3. The chocolate cake looks yummy & who would’ve thought it had hidden veggies in it! Actually, my favourite cake is carrot cake… oh and any cake with cardamom in it also gets the thumbs up from me. Love the colour effect of the kale & apple cake – have pinned your post to try these ideas in the coming weeks.

  4. I could definitely make that cheesecake, and the apple cake looks amazing as well!

  5. These are great! I sneak veggies into our meals all the time (pumpkin in chili…mmmmm, but don’t tell my husband, LOL!) but haven’t tried putting them in desserts. Love these ideas!

  6. Moms hve done this for a long time. Now I want to do it!

  7. Wow!! Thats some really good hiding! I pinned this so I can try to make these. That apple cake sounds really good!!

  8. What an interesting approach–some of the recipes are counter-intuitive. I am so on it!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *