The short answer: the simplest sugar free desserts get their sweetness from fruit, so they have 0 grams of added sugar. Baked apples, date and cocoa bites, mango frozen yogurt and berry chia pudding all work. The 10 recipes below have 9 to 24 grams of natural sugar, up to 9 grams of fiber and up to 13 grams of protein per serving.
Nothing goes in but fruit, dairy, nuts, oats, cocoa and spices, and the FDA doesn’t count sugar that occurs naturally in fruit and milk as added sugar. For treats with a spoon of honey, see our healthy Christmas treats are built that way.
What desserts have no added sugar?
These 10 have no added sugar. Figures are approximate, per serving.
| Dessert | Added sugar | Total sugar | Carbs | Fiber | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Cinnamon baked apples with walnuts | 0g | 24g | 32g | 5g | 7g |
| 2. Chocolate avocado pudding | 0g | 17g | 29g | 9g | 3g |
| 3. Mango lime frozen yogurt | 0g | 19g | 21g | 2g | 9g |
| 4. Raspberry chia pudding cups | 0g | 13g | 26g | 9g | 12g |
| 5. Roasted pears with ricotta and pistachios | 0g | 13g | 24g | 4g | 9g |
| 6. Cocoa walnut brownie bites (1 bite) | 0g | 10g | 14g | 2g | 2g |
| 7. Strawberry cottage cheese cheesecake cups | 0g | 16g | 23g | 5g | 13g |
| 8. Peach and blueberry oat crumble | 0g | 15g | 30g | 5g | 5g |
| 9. Broiled pineapple with yogurt and coconut | 0g | 20g | 27g | 3g | 10g |
| 10. Carrot cake oat cookies (2 cookies) | 0g | 9g | 25g | 4g | 5g |
Source: our calculations from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) for the amounts shown. Spices aren’t counted, and USDA lists no sugar value for chia. Buy frozen fruit, cocoa and coconut marked unsweetened.
1. Cinnamon baked apples with walnuts
Serves 4. 4 medium apples (728g); 1/4 cup (30g) chopped walnuts; 2 tbsp (20g) raisins; 1 tbsp (14g) butter; 1 tsp cinnamon; 3/4 cup (200g) plain low-fat Greek yogurt. Core the apples, leaving the bottoms on. Fill with the walnuts, raisins and cinnamon, dot with butter and add 1/2 cup water to the dish. Bake at 400°F for 40 to 50 minutes. Serve with the yogurt.
2. Chocolate avocado pudding
Serves 4. 2 ripe avocados (300g flesh); 4 Medjool dates (96g), pitted and soaked 10 minutes in hot water; 1/3 cup (28g) unsweetened cocoa; 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk; 1 tsp vanilla; a pinch of salt. Blend until silky and chill for 30 minutes.
3. Mango lime frozen yogurt
Serves 4. 1 lb (454g) frozen mango chunks; 1 1/2 cups (340g) plain low-fat Greek yogurt; 2 tbsp lime juice. Blend in a food processor until smooth. Eat it soft, or freeze an hour to scoop.
4. Raspberry chia pudding cups
Serves 4. 4 tbsp (48g) chia seeds; 1 1/2 cups 2% milk; 1 very ripe banana (118g), mashed; 1 tsp vanilla; 2 cups (246g) raspberries; 1 cup (227g) plain low-fat Greek yogurt. Stir the chia, milk, banana and vanilla and chill 4 hours. Layer with lightly mashed raspberries and yogurt.
5. Roasted pears with ricotta and pistachios
Serves 4. 2 large Bosc pears (460g), halved and cored; 1 cup (246g) part-skim ricotta; 1/4 cup (30g) chopped pistachios; cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Roast cut side up with cinnamon at 400°F for 25 minutes. Fill with the spiced ricotta and top with pistachios.
6. Cocoa walnut brownie bites
Makes 16 bites, 1 per serving. 1 1/2 cups (175g) walnuts; 10 Medjool dates (240g), pitted; 1/3 cup (28g) unsweetened cocoa; a pinch of salt. Pulse the walnuts fine, add the dates and cocoa and pulse until it clumps. Roll 16 balls and refrigerate. Dates are very sweet, so these stay small.
7. Strawberry cottage cheese cheesecake cups
Serves 4. 1/2 cup (70g) almonds; 2 Medjool dates (48g); 1 1/2 cups (339g) 2% cottage cheese; 2 cups (316g) strawberries; lemon zest and vanilla. Pulse the almonds and dates into a base for four cups. Blend the cottage cheese, half the berries, zest and vanilla, spoon on top and add sliced berries.
8. Peach and blueberry oat crumble
Serves 6. 4 cups (600g) sliced peaches, fresh or frozen without sugar; 1 1/2 cups (222g) blueberries; 1 cup (81g) rolled oats; 1/2 cup (56g) almond flour; 1 ripe banana (118g), mashed; 3 tbsp (42g) melted butter; 2 tsp cinnamon. Mix the topping, crumble it over the fruit and bake at 375°F for 35 to 40 minutes.
9. Broiled pineapple with yogurt and coconut
Serves 4. 8 fresh pineapple rings (672g); 1 1/2 cups (340g) plain low-fat Greek yogurt; 1/4 cup (20g) unsweetened coconut flakes; lime zest. Broil the rings 5 to 8 minutes, until the edges brown. Serve two each with yogurt, toasted coconut and zest. Canned pineapple in syrup has added sugar.
10. Carrot cake oat cookies
Makes 16 cookies, 2 per serving. 2 ripe bananas (236g), mashed; 1 egg; 2 tbsp (32g) almond butter; 1 1/2 cups (122g) rolled oats; 1 cup (110g) finely grated carrot; 1/3 cup (50g) raisins; 1/3 cup (40g) chopped walnuts; 1 tsp cinnamon; 1 tsp baking powder. Mix, scoop 16 flat mounds and bake at 350°F for 15 to 18 minutes. A good use for overripe bananas.
What does no added sugar mean on a food label?
"No added sugar" on a US label means no sugar, and no ingredient containing added sugar such as jam, jelly or concentrated fruit juice, was added during processing. "Sugar free" is a different claim with a number attached.
| Label claim | What the FDA requires | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar free | Less than 0.5g of sugars per serving | Must say "not a low calorie food" or similar, unless it is low or reduced calorie |
| No added sugar | No sugars or sugar-containing ingredients added | Natural sugar from fruit or milk can still be high |
| Added Sugars line | Counts syrups, honey and concentrated juices, not sugar naturally in fruit or milk | Daily Value is 50g; 20% DV or more is high |
Source: FDA rule 21 CFR 101.60 and the FDA’s added sugars guide. Honey counts as added sugar, as our honey vs sugar guide explains. A "sugar free" cookie may use a sugar alcohol instead.
Are sugar free desserts bad for you?
Store-bought sugar free desserts aren’t automatically bad for you, but most swap sugar for a sweetener, and the research on those is mixed:
| Sweetener | Sweetness vs sugar | FDA status | Recent research |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stevia (purified steviol glycosides) | 200 to 400 times | GRAS; crude and whole-leaf stevia not permitted | WHO 2023: don’t rely on it for weight control or disease prevention |
| Monk fruit (luo han guo) | 100 to 250 times | GRAS; no acceptable daily intake set | Harvard: a safe daily limit hasn’t been determined |
| Sucralose | About 600 times | Approved additive; limit 5 mg per kg of body weight a day | 2023 lab study: an impurity, sucralose-6-acetate, damaged DNA in cells |
| Erythritol (sugar alcohol) | Sugar alcohols: 25% to 100% | Permitted sugar substitute | 2023 study linked high blood levels to heart attack and stroke |
Sources: FDA, Harvard, WHO and the studies below. WHO’s advice is conditional and excludes people with diabetes. Large amounts of sugar alcohols can cause loose stools, Harvard notes.
Is erythritol bad for you?
Erythritol hasn’t been proven harmful, but a 2023 Nature Medicine study raised a question that isn’t settled. Among people having their heart risk checked in the US and Europe, those with the highest blood erythritol had 1.8 to 2.2 times the 3-year risk of a heart attack, stroke or death compared with the lowest. In lab tests it made platelets more prone to clotting, and in 8 volunteers blood levels stayed high for over 2 days after eating it.
That shows a link, not cause. Blood levels were measured once, Harvard notes, and the FDA said the paper did not establish a causal link. A 2024 study in 10 volunteers found 30 grams increased platelet reactivity; a 2026 preprint, not yet peer reviewed, found no effect from 50 grams in 14 people. If you have heart disease or its risk factors, ask your doctor before making it a daily habit.
What desserts can diabetics eat?
People with diabetes can eat dessert, including any of these 10, when the carbs fit their meal plan. The American Diabetes Association says fruit carbs need counting and "sugar free" foods aren’t necessarily carb free, so the table lists carbs. Our guide to normal blood sugar levels explains the numbers to watch, and the prediabetes diet guide covers the rest of the plate.
How do you sweeten desserts without sugar?
You sweeten desserts without sugar by letting fruit do it. Harvard’s Nutrition Source suggests ripe banana, berries and unsweetened dried fruit. Try these tonight:
- Mash brown-spotted bananas into oats, chia and crumbles.
- Blend soaked dates into anything chocolate.
- Roast or broil apples, pears, peaches and pineapple.
- Add cinnamon, vanilla, citrus zest or a pinch of salt for flavor.
- Add plain Greek yogurt, ricotta or cottage cheese for protein. A square of dark chocolate adds some sugar.
For dinner first, try our high-protein pasta recipes. If bananas are your favorite sweetener, the book below has 60 more recipes.
Make the fruit part easy
The Banana Book
A 7-day banana habit plan plus 60 simple recipes, sorted by what you need. It’s a cookbook, not a treatment, so keep following your doctor’s advice. Only $4.99.
Quick questions
Are sugar free sweets bad for your teeth?
Sugar free sweets are generally kinder to teeth than sugary ones. Harvard’s Nutrition Source notes that sugar alcohols, which sweeten many sugar free candies, don’t promote tooth decay. Those sweets still count toward your carbs, and the ADA notes some sugar alcohols can affect blood sugar.
Are sugar free sweets a laxative?
Sugar free sweets can act as a laxative if they contain sugar alcohols and you eat a lot of them. Harvard’s Nutrition Source says large amounts of certain sugar alcohols can cause loose stools or diarrhea in some people, and that tolerance may improve over time. Check the ingredient list for words ending in -itol.
Is stevia an artificial sweetener?
Stevia comes from a plant, but the sweetener sold in stores is a highly purified extract. The FDA allows high-purity steviol glycosides as GRAS and doesn’t permit whole-leaf or crude stevia as a sweetener. WHO’s 2023 guideline groups stevia with other non-sugar sweeteners like sucralose and aspartame.
Is monk fruit good for diabetics?
Monk fruit is generally considered safe for people with diabetes. The FDA hasn’t questioned its GRAS status, and the American Diabetes Association says FDA-reviewed low-calorie sweeteners are considered safe for people with diabetes. The ADA adds there’s no clear evidence that sugar substitutes help long-term blood sugar, so read the carbs on the label too.
Is sucralose worse than sugar?
There’s no simple answer. The FDA approves sucralose with an acceptable daily intake of 5 mg per kg of body weight. A 2023 lab study found an impurity called sucralose-6-acetate damaged DNA in cell tests, which hasn’t been shown in people. Using less of either is the safest bet.
What does no added sugar mean in juice?
No added sugar on juice means no sugar, syrup or added-sugar ingredient was put in. The juice still contains its own natural fruit sugar, and that can be a lot. Read the Total Sugars line on the Nutrition Facts panel, which the FDA requires these labels to point you to.
This article is general information, not medical advice. If you have diabetes, heart disease or digestive problems, talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian about which desserts and sweeteners suit you. Don’t change any medicine on your own.
Sources
- FDA. Aspartame and Other Sweeteners in Food
- FDA. Added Sugars on the Nutrition Facts Label
- 21 CFR 101.60. Nutrient content claims for the calorie content of foods (sugar free and no added sugar)
- Witkowski M, et al. The artificial sweetener erythritol and cardiovascular event risk. Nature Medicine, 2023
- Witkowski M, et al. Ingestion of the non-nutritive sweetener erythritol, but not glucose, enhances platelet reactivity and thrombosis potential in healthy volunteers. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, 2024
- Wölnerhanssen BK, et al. No evidence for increased platelet reactivity with xylitol or erythritol sweeteners in healthy humans. medRxiv preprint, 2026
- Schiffman SS, et al. Toxicological and pharmacokinetic properties of sucralose-6-acetate and its parent sucralose: in vitro screening assays. J Toxicol Environ Health B, 2023
- WHO. WHO advises not to use non-sugar sweeteners for weight control in newly released guideline, 2023
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Low-Calorie Sweeteners
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Added Sugar
- American Diabetes Association. Get to Know Carbs
- USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy dataset (values per 100g for each ingredient)