We love our desserts here on the Hilltop! Warm cookies, sweet mug brownies, creamy ice cream, and freshly-baked pies are a few of our most popular choices.
Unfortunately, all of those bready items aren’t the healthiest choices. The gluten in them is hard on our digestive systems and all they usually contain loads of sugar. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were healthier dessert alternatives? Enter sourdough and natural sweeteners! Learn how to How to Start a Sourdough Starter right here!
Each of the dessert recipes I’ve listed below contain the health benefits of fermentation and can each be sweetened with honey, maple syrup, or date syrup, making them a much healthier option for the morning (or evening) meal.
Here are a few of my favorite sourdough recipes for desserts. I love each one of these because they are all quick to make, delicious, and naturally sweetened! That means they are a yummy and healthy options. Find even more info about sourdough at the very end of this blog post as well.
5 Sourdough Dessert Recipes

I just love breakfast foods. Pancakes, Waffles, Homemade Granola, oatmeal, eggs, Sourdough Drop Biscuits, bacon…it may be one of my love languages.
Muffins are another one of those easy Saturday morning breakfast items in our household. They function as a dessert or a midday snack too (that is…if they last past breakfast).
Wouldn’t it be great if you could pack this not-normally-healthy breakfast item with lots of nutrients and minerals and make it easy for the body to digest?
Well, you can. Just make them sourdough.
2. Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

Sourdough discard is always in abundance around here, so I’m always seeking out new ways to use it up rather than throwing it out. Thankfully there are endless varieties of recipes that call for sourdough discard. No shortage of options here!
I frequently use up any sourdough discard in pancakes, waffles, crepes, pizza crust, or even crackers. There really is no need to throw out any discard with so many possibilities.
Brownies are a fun movie night treat for any time of year, but wouldn’t it be nice if they were a bit healthier? Well, they can be! Sourdough makes any item that contains flour so much better than normal. Learn more about the health benefits of sourdough here.
Anyway, lets get to the good stuff!

Banana bread has to be one of my most favorite quick breads of all time! It’s subtle sweetness and moist texture make it a perfect comfort food for any occasion. Unfortunately, just because it contains bananas doesn’t necessarily make it the healthiest snack.
I wanted a homemade banana bread recipe that contained zero conventional sugars and also contained the health benefits of sourdough. I’ve gone through this similar conversion process with many other favorite bread recipes such as Honey-Sweetened Sourdough Chocolate Chip Muffins, Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls | Naturally Sweetened, Sourdough Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies, Sourdough Drop Biscuits, and more!
I can now enjoy a warm, yummy slice (or two…or three) of banana bread while also knowing it is a much healthier alternative to this childhood favorite of mine.

Pancakes and waffles are a classic breakfast item, but not necessarily the healthiest choice. I set out to find a way to make this yummy staple a little healthier.
One way I achieved a healthier pancake option was through the use of my Sourdough Starter. Learn all you need to know about getting your own starter going right here. These pancakes are also healthier because they are free from refined sugars. Sweetened with honey, maple syrup, or date syrup!
Looking for other healthy breakfast options? Check out my Sourdough Chocolate Chip Muffins, Rustic Granola, or Sourdough Waffles. Each of the previous items is naturally sweetened, so you can feel better about serving them up first thing in the morning!


I grew up on my mommas famous, homemade chocolate chip cookies. Everyone raved about them, requested that she make them for events, told her (more than once) that she could sell them in a heartbeat. Was it all an exaggeration? No. No it was not.
Needless to say, my chocolate-chip-cookie-standards are pretty high being as I experienced the best there ever have been!
Once I began baking with sourdough, I knew I wanted to create a delicious recipe with a few healthier ingredients. That’s exactly what this recipe is! Soft, chewy, delicious, and healthier than most cookies, this recipe is one you can feel good about serving to your family. It’s not complicated or time-consuming to make either!
Make a batch for movie night, holiday gatherings, church luncheons, or just for the fun of it. Believe me, everyone will thank you!
If you make any of these recipes and love how they turned out, feel free to come back and comment about your experience. I’d love to see your creation and how you served it!
How Can I Make My Own Sourdough Starter?
Interested in implementing sourdough into your kitchen? Here’s everything you need to know to get your sourdough starter going.
All it takes is flour, water, and about 7 days time.
I also answer a few of the most frequently asked questions about sourdough over here.
How is Sourdough Healthier than Regular Bread?
Read more in depth about the health benefits of sourdough here. I explain four reasons that sourdough is one of the healthiest breads you can consume, as well as describe how the fermentation process of sourdough works.
More on Sourdough
- Maintaining and Feeding a Sourdough Starter
- Sourdough Recipes for Breakfast
- How & Why to Put a Sourdough Starter in the Fridge
- 5 Favorite Ways to Use Sourdough Discard
- Sourdough Mistakes to Avoid