14 fabulous lighter desserts for times when you want a little sweet, but healthier!
This sort of last-minute recipe failure has happened a couple times before. Like when I decided a recipe just wasn’t quite good enough and wrote instead about my favorite Podcasts To Cook To (all of those recommendations still stand) or when a delicious dessert experiment came out looking kind of like an undersea monster so I wrote about 8 Life-changing Kitchen Tools .
Today, since I’ve failed you on the healthy dessert front, I asked some food blogger friends for some of their favorite lighter desserts to share instead (and I have one in there too).
And oh man, they do look good. Whatever flavor and type of “lighter” (raw, lower calorie, no refined sugar, etc.) you are looking for, there’s definitely something here to make everyone say, “Yum!”
Quick Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies (vegan and raw) from Imagelicious
Easy Baked Chicken Katsu is a delicious, lighter take on the fried original. Pair with a simple sweet and tangy homemade Pineapple Katsu Sauce and it might just be your new favorite dinner.
Today I’m sharing one of my favorite Japanese dishes lightened up a little for January, Baked Chicken Katsu (or Torikatsu)! Folks, you are in for a treat. I LOVE this recipe.
Traditional Chicken Katsu is chicken cutlets coated in panko and then shallow or deep fried in oil. It’s amazing, it’s delicious, but it’s also kind of a pain to make.
My Baked Chicken Katsu is chicken cutlets, coated in panko and then baked. It’s amazing, it’s delicious, and it’s the easiest thing in the world to make.
No worrying about splattering oil or making a mess, you just coat your chicken cutlets in panko and plonk them in the oven.
You still end up with a fabulously crunchy chicken exterior, but without all the mess and heaviness of deep frying.
(Though if you do feel like making a bit of a mess in the kitchen, I’ve included shallow frying instructions in the recipe as well. Because sometimes that’s fun too.)
And my favorite part about this recipe, the part that makes everything worthwhile is the sweet and tangy pineapple katsu sauce that goes with it. It’s made with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry (maybe you’ll need to make a store run for the pineapple), and is perfection.
You just simmer everything together while your chicken bakes, and by the time your chicken is done, you have a thick, fabulous sauce for dipping.
As written, this Baked Chicken Katsu recipe generously serves 2. To change the recipe yield, hover over the number of servings (or click if you are on mobile) and slide the slider–no preparation changes are necessary for doubling.
Ingredients
Chicken Katsu
- ▢ 1 boneless skinless chicken breast
- ▢ Salt
- ▢ 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- ▢ 1 large egg beaten
- ▢ 3/4 cup panko
- ▢ Cooking spray
Katsu Sauce
- ▢ 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ▢ 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ▢ 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- ▢ 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- ▢ 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- ▢ 3 tablespoons pineapple juice (can be from a can of pineapple chunks)
- ▢ 1 teaspoon ketchup
Serve With
- ▢ White steamed rice optional
- ▢ Pineapple chunks optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°. Line a baking sheet with foil and grease well.
- Cut your chicken breast in half horizontally (butterfly the breast and cut all the way through) by placing one hand on top of the breast and running the knife through the center of the meat so you have two thin, even pieces. Lightly salt both sides of your chicken pieces.
- Line up 3 containers on the counter large enough to fit your chicken. Place flour in the first, beaten egg in the second, and panko in the third. Put your prepared baking sheet at the end of the assembly line.
- Coat your first chicken piece well in flour, followed by the egg, and then panko. Place on prepared baking sheet and repeat with the second chicken piece. Spray a very light spray of cooking oil over the tops of the breasts–this helps them brown. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the breasts reads 160°F. Remove chicken from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
- While your chicken bakes, in a very small bowl, whisk together soy sauce and cornstarch until all lumps are gone. Add mixture and the rest of the sauce ingredients to a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat (turn down if mixture begins to boil) and simmer for 3 to 6 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat.
- Slice chicken breast and serve over rice with a side of pineapple (if desired) and sauce on the side for dipping. Enjoy!
Notes
Adapted from AllRecipes
This delicious and easy small batch of Pico de Gallo recipe makes just enough for a single meal so nothing goes to waste.
I’m sharing a super simple and easy recipe with you today, a Small Batch of Pico de Gallo!
I always feel funny posting such simple recipes because I wonder if anyone really needs them, but then I remember that two of the most popular recipes on the site are my fabulously simple Butter and Garlic Green Beans and two-ingredient Oven-baked Beef Ribs , and I think I’m maybe thinking too hard.
Plus, figuring out how to make a small batch of homemade pico de gallo was a total game changer for me because I LOVE pico de gallo. It makes everything taste better, but if you buy it from the store, it’s always so expensive and sold in such big containers that most of it ends up going bad in my fridge.
This recipe will run you just a couple bucks, makes the perfect amount for a single meal, and if you have a chopper attachment for your immersion blender, it takes approximately two minutes to make.
Anyway, even if you don’t have a mini chopper, this recipe is super quick to throw together since it’s just a little batch. Once you chop everything, you just toss your veggies in a bowl, add a squeeze of lime, and instant upgrade to whatever you are serving it over!
And come back next week, because I’m serving this pico de gallo over some fab chipotle tacos that I think you’re going to love.
Ingredients
- ▢ 1 Roma tomato
- ▢ 1/4 medium onion
- ▢ 1/2 jalapeño *
- ▢ 1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro
- ▢ Juice from 1/4 lime (about 1 1/2 teaspoon juice)
- ▢ Salt
Instructions
With Immersion Blender Chopper
- Very roughly chop tomato, onion, jalapeño, and cilantro. Place jalapeño, cilantro, and onion in the chopper first. Add tomato and lime juice over the top and process until pieces reach desired size. Be careful not to over-process the mixture, as you can easily liquify the tomatoes if you’re not careful. Add salt to taste if desired.
By Hand
- Finely chop tomato, onion, jalapeño, and cilantro. Combine in a small bowl and squeeze lime over the top. Stir everything together. Add salt to taste if desired.
Notes
