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OMG! I just made this and it is soooo delicious! Hubby and I CANNOT stop eating right now! Thank you so much, Lindsay! It is perfect for summer too! What with the heat we are experiencing right now, I can’t thank you enough!
Mary Ann
I have really mixed feelings about healthy desserts.
That being said, today’s dessert is a rock star of a raw dessert that closely resembles our family favorite, Fruit Pizza. There’s no sugar cookie crust here – wahhhhh! But honestly, I’m going to blow your mind and my own mind right now: I don’t even miss it. This alternative crust is my new dessert base staple – it’s raw and full of nutrition and SERIOUSLY YUMMY thanks to the dates, almond butter, vanilla, and pecans. I pinkie promise would not feed you this idea if it did not taste deliciously desserty.
So with the sweet, soft, chewy crust taken care of, let’s fill those little crusts up with some heavenly —> coconut cream cheese frosting! <— and some fresh, bright fruit. And suddenly things are looking reeeeal good for us in the raw, nutritious, can’t-stop-love-it-so-much healthy dessert department.
If you want a more classic tart for dessert, you need to try these!
But like I said, mixed feelings. No-Bake Mini Fruit Pizzas can stay, but on the other hand, I think every obnoxious dessert healthification that I have ever been involved with has been a complete train wreck. If you want a full run-down of some of these epic fails, they’re all yours – eat your heart out. Except eeww.
Can we talk about something semi-related for a minute? That would be how I’m going to keep a container of this coconut cream cheese filling in my fridge for the rest of summer because it is fruit’s best friend. And my best friend. It’s like something otherworldly.
So when you’re making this recipe and you have the crusts chilling in the freezer and you have your juicy fruit laying right there on the cutting board and you’re sitting in front of the bowl of freshly whipped coconut cream cheese filling, and you’re asking yourself if it’s okay to dunk your face in it? The answer is yes. You most definitely have permission to pre-dessert your dessert with a little appetizer of fruit and coconut cream cheese “dip.”
Okay, I’ve already talk-typed too much today. In my mind I am capable of writing a short post – in reality I have to say everything for five hundred paragraphs.
In addition to meeting people at three very delicious restaurants today for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (there could be worse problems), I have a bunch of things to do before Sunday when we leave for a little getaway with Bjork’s family. I can’t wait to show you pictures of the place we’re staying – it’s unreal with lake views and patios galore. Squeee!
So I’m out, in like, two paragraphs. So much to prepare! like all the snacks!
Bottom line with these No-Bake Mini Fruit Pizzas is that they’re a great way to enjoy dessert without feeling like you just killed your body with a refined sugar overload. Wait, though: I do not judge regular sugar cookie and powdered sugar frosting fruit pizza eaters AT ALL! You guys. It’s like our favorite food ever. But these non-regular No-Bake Mini Fruit Pizzas are where we’re at right now – natural sugar and sweetness and creaminess and yummy crust shells that are mind-consumingly delicious with lots of feel-good ingredients to make you feel glowy and healthful and awesome.
One last note: I tried to decorate these with cool fruit patterns and I basically had a nervous breakdown. Bjork told me to get out of the house. Not joking. I was completely beside myself for not being able to slice fruit and arrange it prettily on top of a mini no-bake mini fruit pizza while also taking pictures. Like why are my fingers big clunky logs? Some things like fruit arranging are better left to my patient sister – check out her gorgeous fruit pizza design for inspo and/or just prop your fruit on top, like I ended up doing in an effort not to smash everything in frustration. Another option for the fancy fruit averse: try something simple but beautiful like this blueberry sauce.
I bet you wish you were there for that moment. Special times with fruit pizza decorating.
Happy weekend, friends!
No-Bake Mini Fruit Pizzas
- Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 large or 12 small 1x
Description
No-Bake Mini Fruit Pizzas – a raw, nutritious, chewy crust topped with a coconut cream cheese filling and decorated with fresh fruit! All the yum with no refined sugar.
Ingredients
For the crust
- 15 medjool dates, pits removed
- 1/4 cup almond butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup pecans
- 1/2 cup almond meal, hazelnut meal, ground oats, etc.
- 1–2 tablespoons chia seeds, flax, etc.
For the filling and toppings
- 8 ounces Neufchatel (reduced fat cream cheese), softened
- 3/4 cup full fat canned coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon honey (raw local honey = best!)
- fruit toppings of choice like raspberries, strawberries, kiwi, and mango
Instructions
- For the crust/dough, place the dates, almond butter, vanilla, salt, and pecans in a food processor. Pulse a few times and push the mixture down with a spoon between pulses to help it move through the food processor (maybe not necessary if you have an awesome food processor, which I do not). When the mixture is mostly smooth and sticky like a dough, transfer to a bowl and mix in your nut meal and chia/flax to help the mixture bind together. You should end up with one large dough ball and you should be able to touch it without getting it stuck all over your hands, although your hands may be greasy after working with it. Press this dough into mini muffin tins, regular muffin tins, or individual tart molds. Freeze for 1-2 hours to help them hold their shape.
- Heat the coconut milk to incorporate the fat and the water. When it’s smooth, set aside to cool. After it has cooled to room temperature, beat the cream cheese, coconut milk, and honey with an electric mixer until smooth. Cut up your fruit into small slices.
- Remove from the molds and fill with a few spoonfuls of the filling and top with sliced fruit. Store finished fruit pizzas in the fridge.
Notes
The crust turns out differently every time I make it, and it’s really adaptable to whatever grains or nut meals or seeds you have and want to use in it. Try to just make it by feel rather than by following the exact measurements listed here – it usually turns out best when you just try to achieve that dry-to-the-touch dough consistency.
Sometimes it’s hard to get the crust mixture going through your food processor – it depends on how moist your dates are. It can help to add a tiny bit of water, but if you do, you’ll really need to add some almond meal, flax, etc. to make up for that extra moisture.
You can also store these in the freezer but I would recommend freezing just the crust and the filling and letting it thaw out before topping with fresh fruit.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: mini fruit pizzas, healthy fruit pizza, no-bake fruit pizza
The little tart pan that I used had 4 servings (see picture) – I could have made 6 of that size with the amount in this recipe. If you used a muffin tin or a mini muffin tin you’d end up with more like 12 servings. Nutrition facts are for 1 fruit pizza when making 12.
I made these as a trial run for a baby shower. They are super yummy and so pretty! Question for you:
My crust was pretty sticky, do I need to add a bit more almond flower? And how can I make the filling a bit stiffer?
Hi, Deb! Thanks for the question! It’s a little hard to know for sure without seeing your dough, but yes, we’d guess more flour would fix things.
Hi! I loved this recipe and my kids especially loved the ‘crust’. We where making this together and they ate the crust while we where doing them in the muffin tin 🙂 .
I was wondering if I could top it with something else so I can give it to them as a snack that they can bring to school? Any ideas :-). I’m going through all your bars recipe’s too!
Where could I get almond meal and hazelnut meal. how does the pack look like. I am very new to this country. Please guide me
Most grocery stores should have one of these, but you could also try a natural foods store like Whole Foods!
Hey Lindsay,
I just made this tonight in a pie pan with some fresh summer fruit and looooved it. I’m a dessert-aholic, but want to be putting better things in my body and this was a perfect fit. Great alternative! And I love dates now too, so thanks for the tip!
I did bake the crust for 10min at 400 degrees and it turned out great. It didn’t stick to the pan at all and the consistency was still nice and soft.
Thanks again for sharing!
So glad you enjoyed this, Joelle! 🙂
we LOVE fruit pizza in our house too! But this healthier version looks delightful! I will have to give it a try!
These look like the greatest Mini Fruit Pizza treats ever, incredible!
So I am an avid gatherer of recipes from both food blogs and pinterest, and I made this tonight for a healthier dessert. I topped it with a strawberry rose (thanks again to pinterest for the tutorial) and mint leaves. It came out beautiful, I wish I could post a picture! And it was surprisingly and amazingly delicious! I was a little leery of the raw ingredients, having never used them in a recipe before. But the flavors together were wonderful! I’ll definitely be making this again!
I love this! Thanks for the comment Kim!
What do you recommend for removing the crust from a mold? I used a regular muffin tin and as the crusts warmed up after being out of the freezer, they started to fall apart. (I was using a knife to go around the edge and then popping them out.) Is there a better way?
I had a little mini tart pan that had removable bottoms, so you can just push them out from the bottom. Otherwise I would line it with wax paper!
I’m going to try these this weekend (hopefully… although I’ve been telling myself that for a month now) and I’ll try to use cupcake liners in a muffin tin. I’ll let you know how that works!
Hello,
I made these tarts and they really were delicious, however, they did not look very pretty at all. The recipe says press into moulds which I did and they still looked like sad very dense brown lumps, thankfully the topping disguised the blobs, where did I go wrong and why do your tarts look so uniformly regular . At the risk of sounding moany, I promise I ‘m not, being a novice baker, cack handed and English to boot I wasn’t entirely sure what is almond/nut meal, I took a guess and added ground almonds? Chia seeds are funny aren’t they, are they necessary ? Anyway, although they won’t win any prizes I will make them again but only for private consumption until I get the hang of presentation. Many thanks for the recipe.
Hi Marla! It might help to use a smaller mold than what I have here, if possible. They DO stick and can be kind of hard to shape, especially if your dough is a little on the sticky side, so I’d line the molds with wax paper next time (if they don’t have a removable bottom) and add a little more of the almond meal – which is essentially ground almonds – to help it stick together better.
Hello Lindsay ,
Thank you so much for the prompt reply and the useful tip which I will try this weekend
Marla
I finally had fresh blueberries and raspberries at my house, so I made this. Wow, it was really delicious! The crust was super easy to make. The dates make a great sweetener. Fort the nuts, I used half pecans and half walnuts. Then I used oats, chia seeds and some flax meal. I also defrosted some coconut milk that I had in the freezer. This was tastier than using a graham cracker crust. Will make again for my next party.
Thanks Megan! Glad to hear it!
Wow, that sounds great Mega. I like the idea of the chia seeds and flaxmeal, so healthy. I have often thought of freezing coconut milk, but was always afraid that freezing would change the texture. I have plenty of fresh blueberries, so I am trying these this coming weekend.
These look amazing! I’m cooking all of the food for my mom’s 60th birthday in October and these are on the dessert menu 🙂 I’m going to test them out this weekend for a BBQ!
Silly question but I may as well ask – can I use peanut butter instead of almond butter? I can’t bring myself to buy the stuff because it’s like 3x more expensive and I don’t understand whyyyyy
Yes! I use peanut butter all the time. 🙂
OMG! I just made this and it is soooo delicious! Hubby and I CANNOT stop eating right now! Thank you so much, Lindsay! It is perfect for summer too! What with the heat we are experiencing right now, I can’t thank you enough!
So glad to hear that Mary Ann!
Wow, these look great, Lindsay! Totally digging that you used raw honey in this sweet treat. When we make the 2 1/2 hour trek to go to my hometown for holidays, we always pass this little fruit stand on the side of the road. We almost always stop and I always pick up a jar of local, from Florida wildflower honey! 🙂
Julie, where do you buy raw honey in Florida? We have friends in Fort Pierce and visit them often. I always try to buy a local product when we go there.
Yay honey! It’s my faaave.
These look beautiful.
they look great!
I’m with you on the healthification of desserts but I LOVE the idea of this crust. I usually shun pies and tarts because the crusts always turn out to be less than stellar, but how could this every be that with all those things in it? Definitely trying it. Thanks!
Thanks Chrissy! It’s chewy and yummy and I hope you luv it!
A “paleo-style” dessert by one of my favorite bloggers?! Loving it. Natural, non-processed eating is the BEST! Because… hi, I’m Morgan and I have a dessert problem. Though thankfully it’s partially rectified by cleaned-up versions such as this. Thanks for posting!
Clean indeed!
Yummmmmm … I could eat these for a light breakfast. Or for a light lunch. And dessert at all meals. Is it weird that I want to eat these, and only these?
I love fruit. Like, I could live on it. So these are totally perfect for me. The part I’m most excited about – I have everything already in my pantry! I can start eating these VERY soon! Yay!
I definitely had one for a breakfast “snack”. Gotta love those 10am cravings!
Is there a way to substitute the coconut milk? My Fiance would kill me if I made coconut anything.
Thick, full fat milk or cream…basically you want something that has the same consistency of coconut milk (which is pretty thick). If all you have is regular milk, just use less to compensate for the difference in texture.
These are so adorable!
I’m So making these this week. Especially since we going strawberry picking at Afton farm this weekend. The rabbits seem to get to our garden patch before we do. Can’t wait to try out. Yum!! My mouth is watering 🙂
Our yard is currently home to a rabbit colony. They’re so cute – I’m just glad I don’t have a garden!
Aw, don’t worry, your decoration is perfect! Rustic rules!!
These cute little desserts really do sound healthy in a super tasty way rather than a yucky ‘I’m trying to pretend I like this but I secretly wish there was more sugar and chocolate in it’ way. Very pinnable indeed!
Those are gorgeous!
Hello LINDSAY !
I wish i could have a taste of this………
Wow these look seriously super delish! That cream cheese base looks to die for!!
It was my fave! I ended up just eating a little bit of it (okay a lot) in a bowl with some fruit. yum!