We’ve often heard the phrase, ‘Save room for dessert!’ It’s usually used to let others know that if they overeat, they’ll miss out on some delicious sweet treats.  But considering how small babies’ tummies are, saving extra room for dessert may not exactly be a practical option. But this doesn’t mean that babies can’t enjoy the sweet stuff – it just needs to be done intelligently! Here are 40 healthy dessert recipes for babies under one year of age – and even for anyone else with a sweet tooth!

The biggest challenge in preparing desserts for babies is that the most common dessert ingredients are forbidden for babies under one – cow’s milk, sugar, honey and so on. But with so many other options available, this is hardly a roadblock! Here are just a few substitutes you can try in any dessert recipe to make it baby friendly:

• Date Syrup instead of Molasses, Honey, Sugar, Agave, Maple Syrup
• Applesauce instead of Sugar
• Coconut Milk, Breast Milk or Formula instead of Cow’s Milk
• Dry Fruits Powder instead of Whole Nuts
• Whole Wheat flour instead of Refined Flour

Any dish tastes best with fresh ingredients, so if you can make these at home, even better! Just click on the links below to go to the recipe:

• Date Syrup
• Applesauce
• Homemade Butter
• Homemade Ghee

40 Healthy Dessert Recipes for Babies

Pudding Recipes for Babies

1. Sugar free Coconut Rice Pudding

Well, if it doesn’t have sugar, then it must be perfect for babies under one! This is a delightfully flavored coconut rice pudding from My Fussy Eater, and if your baby is ready for a little change in texture, then this will be your perfect option! Check out this post about giving your baby coconut.

2. Avocado Chocolate Pudding

When you want to make pudding and you don’t want to use dairy, what’s the next best option? Avocado! Laurel has a rich pudding recipe that uses banana and dates to sweeten things up, and both avocados and bananas to add the requisite creaminess. Substitute the agave with dates syrup.

3. Egg Pudding without Sugar

Eggs are little powerhouses of nutrition and their protein content makes them perfect for growing babies! This egg pudding uses cinnamon and vanilla for flavoring. The recipe also uses whole egg, which is advisable for babies who have already tried egg yolk and have no history of allergies. For more info, check out our post on introducing eggs for babies.

4. Peach Pudding

Peaches are great for babies, and they also offer a very different kind of flavor. Heinz has a nice peach pudding recipe that uses only three ingredients. You can substitute the canned peaches with fresh fruit instead, to keep the dish wholesome.

Custard Recipes for Babies

5. Breast Milk Chocolate Banana Custard

Here’s a rich, cold dessert for slightly older babies – a chocolate banana custard from Baby Center. Get your doctor’s go-ahead before using the chocolate; else stick to the banana. It’ll still taste great!

6. Coconut Egg Custard

This is a lovely custard recipe from Baby Center that uses coconut milk in place of milk. The apricot puree adds a nice flavor and steaming it gives it that beautiful texture that your little one will love! This recipe uses a whole egg, so please ensure your baby has had egg yolk without trouble and has no history of allergies.

7. Instant Banana Custard

Baby desserts don’t get easier than this instant banana custard from Fatima! Just blend everything and serve! The idea of using boiled brown rice is genius – just make sure it’s well cooked so that it meshes with the other ingredients smoothly.

8. Oats Custard

All you need for this easy oats custard recipe from GK Food Diary is already there in your kitchen! Use baby’s usual milk, along with organic oats, egg yolk and dry fruits powder to create a creamy, yummy dessert!

Kheer Recipes for Babies

9. Samai Kheer

Rice is one of the most popular ingredient for preparing kheer, especially for babies. Instead, introduce them to different grains and millets like samai or little millet. Kids generally take to sweet dishes more easily than savory ones, so dessert is a great way to introduce them to our traditional grains!

10. Sooji Kheer

Sooji or Rava is basically semolina, made while grinding wheat into flour. Sooji is easily digestible but filling at the same time. With ghee and dry fruits powder, this Sooji Kheer recipe is the ideal recipe to keep little tummies full for longer!

11. Oats Kheer

Oats is a nutritious and healthy food, high in soluble fiber and low on sodium. However, not all babies love oats, so this oats kheer makes it a yummy way to sneak in some oats in your little one’s diet! This oats kheer is a healthy and easy dessert recipe and it can be sweetened with dates or fig puree for babies under one.

12. Makhana Kheer

Makhana refers to lotus seeds – not something many Moms are used to! Lotus seeds are rich in carbohydrates and protein, along with magnesium, potassium and phosphorous. The neutral taste of Makhana lends itself perfectly for kheer, to which you can add any of baby’s favorite fruit purees. What’s more, this is an ideal food for travel as only hot water needs to be added to the powder.

13. Poha and Dates Kheer

For many of us, poha is synonymous with breakfast, but it’s quick cooking feature and soft texture makes it perfect for kheer. This poha kheer recipe from Shishu World is perfect for weaning babies for a number of reasons – it’s yummy, it’s packed with iron and other nutrients, it’s free from sugar, honey and cow’s milk.

Halwa Recipes for Babies

14. Ragi Banana Halwa

Give your baby a naturally sweet nutritious dessert packed with calcium, potassium and fiber – Ragi Banana Halwa! This ragi banana halwa recipe does not make use of milk or sweeteners like jaggery and sugar. Ripe banana puree acts as a natural sweetener in this recipe. You can adjust the consistency of the halwa as per the baby’s age, making it like porridge or thicker for older babies.

15. Pineapple Kesari

If your baby has enjoyed sooji in the sooji kheer recipe above, then take it a step further by adding pineapple! The sweetness of the pineapple and the nuttiness of the dry fruits powder go very well together, so you don’t need any sugar or other sweeteners!

16. Sweet Pongal

Pongal is a popular dish that is cooked specially during the south Indian festival of the same name. It’s a rice dish and mildly spiced, and also has a sweet version – sweet Pongal! Although sweet, sweet Pongal is much too healthy to qualify as dessert! Besides rice, it also has moong dal and ghee, which are just what growing babies need!

17. Beetroot Halwa

When carrot halwa gets too mainstream, what do you do? Make beetroot halwa! Beetroots are an excellent source of folate and manganese, so you have a sweet dish and vegetable dish in one! This baby friendly recipe does not use milk, and the beetroot’s natural sweetness does away with the need of sugar or jaggery for babies under one.

18. Banana Sheera

This is a yummy recipe that works well for babies and toddlers too! GK Food Diary has a simple recipe that you can try. It’s best to avoid the jaggery and cashews for young babies. Opting for homemade ghee will make the dish not just healthier, but tastier too!

19. Wheat Halwa with Apple

This wheat halwa recipe is so delicious, you won’t feel like restricting it to babies under one year! From GK Food Diary, this recipe uses dates and apples for sweetness, so you can absolutely stay away from other sweeteners. For older kids (or yourself), you can add in some nuts as well.

Baked Desserts for Babies

20. Healthy No Sugar Banana Cake

Wondering how you can make a cake for a baby? I mean after all, you can’t use sugar or butter or milk, so how can it be done? Fit Mama Real Food shows us that it can indeed be done! Using ingredients like bananas, homemade applesauce and coconut oil, the recipe will give you a light cake, perfect for baby to smash!

21. Mixed Fruit Cupcakes

Cupcakes for babies, now how does that work? Don’t worry, Noman has the answer with a yummy mixed fruit cupcake recipe that uses fresh fruits, dry fruits and brown rice flour instead of refined flour. With so many healthy ingredients, this is not a cupcake that will induce guilt after eating! Use mini cupcake moulds to make it easy for baby’s little fingers to handle.

22. Baked Banana Bliss

Just like the name, baking this dish will fill your home with a blissful aroma! Virginia has a simple recipe that can be modified so that it’s suitable for all stages of weaning as well as for toddlers. You can use date syrup instead of the honey, and puree the bananas for young babies.

23. Mini Blender Muffins

These mini muffins from Healthy Little Foodies are perfect for little hands to tear apart and stuff in their mouths! Made with oats and dates, it’s a great option that can be customized for all ages. You can skip the baking powder if you like, but ensure your baby is okay with eating the egg white too.

24. Banana Peanut Butter Cookies

Mummy to Dex has a simple recipe for baby cookies – with just four ingredients! You can use just the egg yolk instead of the whole egg, and you can slightly cook the oats for young babies. And don’t forget, use smooth peanut butter!

25. Sugar Free Apple Crumble

If you’ve made apple crumble before, before, you know that sugar is an important ingredient, which isn’t good for babies. So Mama Cook has the perfect solution – sugar free apple crumble! Use homemade butter to make this a 100% homemade crumble!

Yogurt Recipes for Babies

26. Orange Creamsicle Frozen Yogurt

You won’t believe how yummy this dessert from My Fussy Eater is! Made from simple ingredients like fresh oranges and full fat yogurt, this is very easy to make, and also deliciously creamy! Perfect dessert for the summer months!

27. Easy Mango Yogurt

As summer arrives and mangoes become abundant, you have got to make this Easy Mango Yogurt Recipe! This is another super healthy dessert that is way better than store-bought yogurts that contain loads of sugar and added flavors. Instead, you get the probiotic goodness of yogurt and the fiber and vitamins of mango in a yummy dish!

28. Pear Yogurt

Cow & Gate has a super easy recipe for pear yogurt that needs just two ingredients – pears and yogurt! Choose a ripe, juicy pear, so that the yogurt is more sweet than tart. If you think it needs a little sweetness, try adding some homemade applesauce.

29. Healthy Yogurt Melts

These yogurt melts are so cute! And considering all they contain is fruit puree and plain yogurt, they’re super healthy as well! Use any fruit puree of your choice, though I think strawberry would look the prettiest! These also make great snacks for older kids.

Frozen Treats for Babies

30. 2 Ingredient Strawberry Ice Cream

A dessert for babies that’s gluten, dairy and sugar free all at once? Yes, that’s what this strawberry ice cream recipe from My Fussy Eater is – with just two ingredients! Fresh strawberries and ripe bananas are all you need to make this absolutely delightful dessert!

31. Breast Milk Banana Ice Cream

Now here’s the perfect summer treat for baby! Fit Mommy Diaries shows you how you can make breast milk ice cream where the milk and banana add the required sweetness and cinnamon gives it an extra zing!

32. Milky Ice Lollies

Here’s another interesting recipe from Rohana to make with breast milk or formula – ice lollies! The idea is very basic – Mix the milk and fruit puree and freeze. You can either use a single fruit, if your baby is in Stage 1 weaning, or go with a combination of fruits if your baby is in Stage 2.

33. Peanut Butter Banana Popsicles

This recipe from My Fussy Eater sounds like something I would love to try! Peanut butter and bananas are a popular combination, and they come together in this Popsicle recipe. Bananas add sweetness and creaminess, along with smooth peanut butter. Check out our post on giving baby nuts.

34. Apple Pear Sorbet

Sure, the name sounds all fancy, but this is a surprisingly easy dessert to make! This recipe from Annabel Karmel uses fresh apples and pears, so you can skip the sugar – there’s already plenty of fruity sweetness to go around! Besides the freezing time, this takes about 15 minutes, so you don’t have to spend too long!

Fruit Desserts for Babies 

5. Apple and Apricot Dessert

Give your baby a dessert with a slight tang, made of just three ingredients – apple, apricot and water! Baby Center shows us how you can turn simple ingredients into a yummy dessert that’ll have baby asking for more!

36. Avocado Cream

Shelly has a lovely recipe that is so nutritious, calling it a dessert is underselling it! Packed with antioxidants, healthy fats, Vitamin E, potassium, probiotics and fiber, this avocado cream recipe is many things in one! Make it a little chunky for some texture for older babies and a smoother consistency for the younger ones.

37. Tropical Baby Delight

This is sure to delight baby – and probably Mom too! Vickie has a recipe that includes a medley of fruits – banana, mango, apples, oranges and lemons. This is suitable for older babies, once you’ve tried all the fruits individually and your baby has no problem with any of them. You could also modify the recipe by removing the unfamiliar fruit or replacing them with others.

38. Pear Dessert

If your baby is bored of stewed pear or pear puree, use this nutritious fruit to make a spiced pear dessert from Baby Centre! Packed with Vitamins C and B, this is one healthy dessert for your little one! You can substitute the fromage frais with cottage cheese. Check out this post about giving your baby cheese.

39. Creamy Fruit Cocktail

The best part about Patricia’s creamy fruit cocktail recipe is that you can use any fruit you like – including whatever is baby’s favorite! You don’t have to worry about the creaminess of the fruit, because the cheese and yogurt will take care of it. Go with just one or two fruits to avoid too many flavors clashing with each other.

40. Berry Delight

Now this is one antioxidant rich dessert!! The recipe from Mom Junction uses an assortment of berries to make this very attractive dish. You can use the ones mentioned or whatever are available in your area. You can also substitute the maple syrup with homemade date syrup.

I bet you didn’t know there could be so many dessert recipes for babies under one year! And that too, with such an assortment of healthy ingredients. If you have any doubt about whether any ingredient is suitable for your baby, check it below:

1. When can I give my baby Honey
2. When can I give my baby Cow’s Milk
3. Can I give my baby Eggs
4. Can I give my baby Cheese
5. Can I give my baby Nuts
6. Can I give my baby Figs
7. Can I give my baby Makhana
8. Can I give my baby Avocado
9. Can I give my baby Coconut
10. Can I give my baby Millet
11. Tips for Cooking with Breast Milk or Formula

If you’d like to try organic/natural versions of the ingredients mentioned in the recipes above, just click on the links below:

• Organic Oats (6 months+)
• Dry Fruits Powder (8 months+)
• Sprouted Ragi Powder (6 months+)
• Makhana  (6 months+)
• Cinnamon

Now that you’ve got everything you need, go ahead and make your baby something special and sweet!