If Baking Is a Stress Reliever For You, Try These 56 Healthy and Scrumptious Recipes

These taste like a chocolate mint cupcake, but they're healthy for you: made with whole wheat flour, flaxmeal, and plant-based protein powder. At 150 calories each, these vegan muffins offer seven grams of satiating protein for just around 10 grams of sugar and 13.8 grams of carbs.

Get the recipe: chocolate mint protein muffins

So you technically don't bake these, but you do need to heat the ingredients, so that counts! At 153 calories per delicious square, these are just as addictive as the original recipe, but with 4.6 grams of protein, they'll leave you feeling a little more satisfied.

Get the recipe: peanut butter Rice Krispies treats

Bake a batch of these banana nut protein muffins to enjoy for the week's breakfast or snacks, or double the batch so you can freeze them for later. They taste delicious on their own, but are even better paired with a smear of nut butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Get the recipe: gluten-free banana nut protein muffins

This tasty dessert recipe allows you to reap quinoa's nutritional benefits and nutty flavor by using it as flour. The ginger and molasses combo in these cookies is slightly spicy yet sweet, giving you a welcome break from overly sweet desserts.

Get the recipe: ginger molasses quinoa cookies

Skip the added sugars and bake these fruit-sweetened muffins. And don't worry if your strawberries are a little shriveled or your grapes a little soft — just like the bananas, they bake up beautifully so they won't have to go to waste.

Get the recipe: banana strawberry apple grape muffins

This vegan cake will satisfy your lemon pound cake cravings and fool anyone who's skeptical that a vegan cake could taste this good. Buttery (without the butter), moist, and lemony sweet, this cake is made with almond meal so you'll get a little extra fiber and protein.

Get the recipe: iced lemon pound cake

Upon your first decadent bite, you just might drop the rest of your cupcake when you realize these are low-calorie and vegan. Plus, the frosting is made with avocados instead of butter!

Get the recipe: chocolate cupcakes with "buttercream" frosting

Soft, chewy, and under 100 calories, these gluten-free cookies are bursting with spiced pumpkin pie flavor. The main ingredient is almond butter, so make sure you have a jar on hand.

Get the recipe: pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

Theses baked doughnuts taste amazingly decadent for just 150 calories. If you don't have a doughnut pan, you can make these in a muffin tin.

Get the recipe: pumpkin spice doughnuts

These are so light and summery, with bursts of juicy raspberries — perfect to grab with your morning smoothie or to bake up for a weekend brunch.

Get the recipe: low-sugar, high-protein lemon raspberry muffins

This protein-packed cornbread is great on its own, smeared with a little Earth Balance or homemade jam, or dunked into your famous bowl of chili.

Get the recipe: vegan cornbread

These vegan chocolate protein doughnuts are baked and made with whole-wheat flour, so they're already healthier than regular doughnuts, but the addition of protein powder to the batter gives each one of these moist and decadent doughnuts almost nine grams of protein!

Get the recipe: chocolate protein doughnut with peanut butter frosting

Craving apple pie, but don't want to indulge in an over 400-calorie buttery piece? Here's a dairy-free option with much less fat.

Get the recipe: apple-pie muffins

Apples, oat, and flaxmeal are the stars in these cookies, boosts the fiber and fills you up so you feel satisfied. The sweet cinnamon flavor and crunchy texture is delicious for breakfast or a snack — they taste amazing with a smear of nut butter.

Get the recipe: Apple Flax Oatmeal Cookies

Always a delicious hit, whip up a batch of this oatmeal pumpkin spice bread to enjoy for breakfast, snack, or an after dinner dessert. It's so soft, moist, and perfectly spiced.

Get the recipe: dairy-free oatmeal pumpkin spice bread

The batter is easy to whip up, and don't fret if you don't have a doughnut pan — just use a muffin tin instead. Decorate as you like, and enjoy right away, since these babies taste best freshly made.

Get the recipe: vegan chocolate frosted doughnuts

This pumpkin muffin recipe just may convince you to never want to bake with butter again.

Get the recipe: pumpkin avocado muffins

These chewy peanut butter brownie bites are disguised as fudgy, peanut buttery goodness, but shhh! They also offer a healthy dose of protein.

Get the recipe: chewy brownies

You probably already have everything you need to make these brownies, except maybe the patience to wait for them to cook!

Get the recipe: three-ingredient brownies

Life is full of too many tough decisions, so if you can't choose between baking apple pie or apple crisp, then don't! This lightened-up recipe marries these two traditional desserts into one glorious, warm and spicy treat.

Get the recipe: apple coconut crumble pie

Bursting with chocolatey flavor, these muffins have zucchini, but you can't taste it whatsoever! It just makes for a supermoist and delicious muffin that could easily pass as a cupcake if you add a layer of frosting (now there's an idea!). Each one offers almost five grams of protein.

Get the recipe: vegan double chocolate zucchini protein muffins

Vegan protein powder added to the batter adds a protein boost — seven grams per muffin! — making these satisfying enough for breakfast smeared with nut butter, enjoyed as an afternoon snack, or as a healthy after-dinner dessert paired with a dollop of jam.

Get the recipe: stevia-sweetened banana protein muffins

Mixed with grated carrot and applesauce to add fiber and natural sweetness, each slice of this vegan carrot zucchini bread is perfectly soft and moist.

Get the recipe: carrot zucchini bread

Sweet with a soft, melt-in-your mouth texture, this moist muffin recipe is every ripe banana's dream.

Get the recipe: double chocolate banana protein muffins

You'll notice that the amount of zucchini in this loaf may be more than a typical zucchini bread recipe, but it makes a healthier dessert that's slightly dense, moist, and full of fiber.

Get the recipe: vegan zucchini bread

Packed with fiber and protein, this bread is naturally sweetened with sweet potato, banana, and applesauce. And it tastes like dessert!

Get the recipe: sweet potato banana protein bread

A cross between oatmeal cookies and brownies, these chocolaty bars are so insanely delicious that you won't even guess there's protein powder added to the batter.

Get the recipe: protein-packed brownies

Bake up a batch of these soft and cake-like bars, and the aromas of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, maple syrup, and pumpkin will waft through your house.

Get the recipe: chocolate chip pumpkin bars

This breakfast treat is packed with tons of healthy ingredients: naturally sweet banana for potassium, fiber-rich flaxmeal instead of eggs for added fiber, healthy-fat-filled avocado in place of butter, soy yogurt for some protein, and pea protein powder for even more — 5.2 grams of protein per muffin!
Get the recipe: banana oatmeal crumb muffins with avocado

These cookies are not only free of white sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, or any other sweeteners, but they're also flour-free, gluten-free, and vegan, so if you're trying to eat cleaner, you can feel good biting into these chewy cookies.

Get the recipe: date-sweetened cookies

These 87-calorie peanut butter cookies are made with gluten-free oats and a handful of other ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. As an added bonus, they cook up golden brown in less than 10 minutes.

Get the recipe: peanut butter cookies

Soft and full of warming spices, these healthy baked cider doughnuts are perfect any time of the year — not just in autumn.

Get the recipe: vegan cider doughnuts

If you're trying to eat less sugar and less processed junk, this cookie recipe is perfect. They're only made with three ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen: bananas, rolled oats, and vanilla protein powder. That's it!

Get the recipe: banana oat cookies

Sweet and moist on the inside and crispy on the outside, this banana bread tastes delicious on its own, but it's even more amazing smeared with nut butter and sprinkled with chocolate chips.

Get the recipe: banana bread

The best vegan desserts are the ones no one would even guess are made without dairy and eggs, and these sugar cookies fit the bill!

Get the recipe: iced sugar cookies

This gluten-free recipe has your busy morning's back. Make it the night before, and you've got a hearty, healthy breakfast for the week.

Get the recipe: oatmeal protein bars

Delicious brownies in bite form, these are just 150 calories each. Since they're made with black beans, each one offers almost six grams of protein and 5.2 grams of filling fiber.

Get the recipe: black bean brownie bites

This banana bread is just begging to be smeared with peanut butter for tomorrow's breakfast. The hardest part about this recipe is grinding rolled oats into flour.

Get the recipe: gluten-free banana bread

You'll love how easy it is to put this decadent dessert together — plus it's dairy-free.

Get the recipe: Paleo pecan pie bars

With fewer than nine grams of sugar per muffin, these light and moist muffins deliciously sweetened with lemon juice and blueberries are sure to satisfy your dessert cravings.

Get the recipe: lemon blueberry protein muffins

These chocolate chip cookies are Paleo and vegan, and so soft and delicious! They're made with almond flour instead of regular flour.

Get the recipe: Paleo chocolate chip cookies

Made with homemade dairy-free chocolate kisses for an extraspecial flair, these vegan cookies taste just as amazing as you'd expect.

Get the recipe: peanut butter kiss cookies

Try this decadent chocolate twist on the classic zucchini bread recipe — the dried cranberries add such a unique and delicious flavor.

Get the recipe: chocolate cranberry zucchini bread

As soon as you bite into the soft and juicy chunks of cooked apples, you'll want to purposely let a bunch of bananas get overripe just so you can bake a loaf of this warm and comforting banana bread.

Get the recipe: banana apple chunk bread

Yes, these cake-like brownies taste just as moist and delicious as they look.

Get the recipe: low-cal brownies

When you want your house to feel as cozy as slipping on a sweater in the fall, turn on your oven and bake this vegan chocolate chip pumpkin bread.

Get the recipe: vegan chocolate chip protein pumpkin bread

These light and fluffy pumpkin pie muffins can serve as a tasty breakfast to fuel your day, but they're sweet enough to feel like a treat.

Get the recipe: pumpkin pie muffins

You love sitting down to a bowl of oatmeal, but when you're in a rush, who's got time to sit with a spoon? Here's a quick breakfast to satisfy your oatmeal cravings on the go.

Get the recipe: peanut butter protein granola bars

Soft, sweet, and everything you want in a chocolate cake, the cauliflower adds a moistness that's unforgettable. I know it sounds totally weird, but if you LOVE cake and all things chocolate, then this recipe is a must-try!

Get the recipe: chocolate (cauliflower) cake with peanut butter frosting