There are many wondrous and joyful parts of the holidays—the festive feeling in the air, the decorations, spending quality time with family, the food! But there can be some stressful parts too, including how to eat a balanced diet and still make healthy Thanksgiving desserts for kids and the rest of the family.
Fortunately, as many know, “stressed” is just “desserts” spelled backward, and in that spirit, we’ve whipped up our favorite 15 healthy Thanksgiving desserts for kids that limit stress by being both tasty and reasonably healthy. These desserts span the gamut of skills and time so you can easily make an indulgent, healthy, kid-friendly dessert and get back to spending time on what’s important: time with family.
Healthy Thanksgiving Desserts For Kids
Homemade Popcorn from Candy’s Farm House Pantry
Popcorn on the stove is head and shoulders above what can be made in the microwave and doesn’t have the preservatives found in a microwave bag. Try making some fancy dessert caramel popcorn and enjoy the sweet and salty crunch! It’s a great gift for other families during the holidays too.
Hand-dipped Pretzels With Festive Decorations from Inside Bru Crew Life
This one is all about presentation—take a small empty bowl and turn it into a cute turkey face by adding googly eyes and a beak. Then, take long pretzels and dip them in your favorite chocolate and cover them with festive sprinkles. Voila! A chocolate, pretzel turkey.
Fancy Fruits
A break from traditional sweets can spice up dessert time in a fresh way and help show kids that dessert doesn’t always have to mean straight sugar. Try a new take on healthy Thanksgiving desserts for kids with fancy fruit recipes that dress up your kids’ favorite fruit for the holidays.
If your kids like:
- Oranges, try this unique orange slice recipe that takes oranges from snack time to dessert time.
- Blueberries, try mixing them with yogurt infused with honey and slathering the mix on their favorite graham crackers a la this blueberry tart.
- For any other tasty fruit, whip up a quick and scrumptious custard and drop in small slices of their favorite fruit. Try some in-season fruits like pears, apples, kiwis, or mangoes.
Homemade Applesauce from Candy’s Farmhouse Pantry
One of the most enjoyable fall activities is apple picking with the little ones. Take the fresh apples and make them into a sweetened apple sauce. The best part about this recipe is that you can control the amount of sugar or leave it out entirely by leaving the natural sweetness of the apples and pairing it with flavorful spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
Mini Pumpkin Pie Bites from Divas Can Cook
Pumpkin Pie bites put a fun spin on this holiday classic and are one of our favorite healthy Thanksgiving desserts for kids. The bite-sized portions make it easy for kids to eat while keeping their portions of sweets small. Not to mention, this is a great on-the-go dessert too!
No-bake Chocolate Mousse from AllRecipes
Not much of a baker or short on time? Try this simple, no-bake chocolate mousse that uses a special extra ingredient (chili powder) to warm you up during the holidays. Because mousse is whipped it packs fewer calories than a denser, richer dessert (I’m looking at you chocolate cake) but retains the sweet chocolate flavor. These are great healthy Thanksgiving desserts for kids who are missing a few teeth!
Fudge from Allrecipes
Oh, fudge! An old-fashioned holiday classic, fudge can be customized to suit the specific needs and tastes of your family. Add nuts or leave them out, use white chocolate, control the specific amount of sugar, or add food dye for some colorful fun. When you’re ready to cut up the fudge, instead of squares, use your favorite cookie cutter shape to bring a little fun to the dessert table. Pro Mom Tip: It also makes a tasty, thoughtful present for others. Check out this additional recipe for a sweeter take on this classic dessert.
Soft-Serve Frozen Dessert from Food & Wine
Sometimes the holidays come before we are quite done with Summer. If your kids are missing summer and longing for warmer days with popsicles or other frozen treats, try making this 4-ingredient soft-serve! These are thoughtful and different healthy Thanksgiving desserts for kids that can be made in a flash and keeps for a few days (if it lasts that long).
S’mores With Homemade Marshmallows from FoodNetwork
Kick this traditional camping dessert up a notch and make your own marshmallows! Plan ahead though, the marshmallows take a little time to prep. Marshmallows are almost pure sugar, there’s no getting around that, but with this homemade recipe you can skip the preservatives and control the exact amount of sugar that you and your family are eating per marshmallow.
Rice Krispy Treats In Fun Shapes from Allrecipes
Rice Krispy treats are a highly versatile dessert that when homemade eliminate the preservatives and additives found in commercial versions. Add food dye and make them into festive shapes like pumpkins, turkey legs, a pumpkin pie or pilgrim hats! A decorative and healthy Thanksgiving dessert for kids.
Nutter butter Acorns from MyRecipes.com
These peanut butter acorns can be made with your kids instead of just for them. Simply assemble all the pieces with swipes of Nutella to stick them together (and try not to eat too many before its time for dessert!).
Cookie Pilgrim Hats from Southern Living
Another easy-assemble healthy Thanksgiving desserts for kids recipe that can be done with the kids—assemble the cookies into the shape of pilgrim hats and enjoy!
Sliced Apple Pops from Hip2Save
Enjoy freshly picked, crisp fall apples with a sweet twist—by slathering them in chocolate and sticking them with lollipop sticks. As healthy as a plain apple? No, but this is a dessert list after all 😉
French Hot Chocolate with Homemade Whipped cream from Add A Pinch
While the French don’t celebrate Thanksgiving the way we do, they sure know how to make delectable drinking chocolate. Just remember that they tend to add espresso to bump up the flavor, leave it out unless you want some caffeinated kiddos. Top it with homemade whipped cream to take this from “drink” to “dessert.”
Pumpkin Rolls from Gimme Some Oven
Remember, it’s not a proper roll without a swirl in the middle! And, don’t over bake your sponge or it will crack when you go to roll it. Try this classic dessert with pumpkin instead of chocolate for a healthier take on these healthy Thanksgiving desserts for kids.
Salted Caramel Cheesecake from Food & Wine
A traditional sponge cake can sometimes feel too cloying during the holidays. Instead, try a different kind of cake! Cheesecake can provide the same “OMG” goodness and sweet flavors, with the benefit of having much less sugar. To keep on the more indulgent side of healthy Thanksgiving desserts for kids, try this Salted Caramel Cheesecake.
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Thanksgiving is such a special time of year to spend with close friends and family to reflect on all the things we are grateful for. Not to mention, eat wonderful food! Delight in the above tasty yet reasonably healthy Thanksgiving desserts for kids and keep everyone at the dessert table in the holiday mood.
WANT TO READ MORE?
Check out this article on Thanksgiving side dishes.
