Totally quitting sugar for the first few weeks of my low histamine diet was by far the most difficult part of it all, because I was feeling better... but I still wanted sweets. So once I began reintroducing foods, I started with low histamine dessert recipes using my own safe ingredients.
Finding delicious low histamine desserts was and often remains a struggle. Each of these treats use low histamine sweeteners, antihistamine fruits and vegetables, and low histamine grains, as well as various forms of coconut. However I realize that it causes issues for some, so I've starred all the recipes which DON'T use any coconut.
Otherwise, all potential triggers are listed in the recipes themselves, so please don't make anything unless you've already reintroduced the ingredients alone. I hope this list of low histamine dessert ideas helps you find something sweet to eat!
Medical Disclaimer: as with everything on this site, this article is provided for information only. I strongly urge you to speak with your doctor or a licensed medical professional in order to assess whether or not you have histamine issues, and/or which foods cause a histamine release for you personally. Every body is different, and some people will tolerate different foods than you do. Please keep comments respectful.
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🌰 Nutty Low Histamine Desserts
*Pistachio Nigella Halva
Last spring, halva became my favorite low histamine dessert— it's this flaky confection that tastes like the insides of a Butterfingers bar. You can buy it pre-made from Hebel & Co, which has the cleanest ingredients list of the 10+ brands I've checked out, but also has the most histamine-friendly flavors.
Their Pistachio Nigella was the first to catch my eye, but the Superseed and the Vanilla both also feature strongly antihistamine inclusions.
Natural sugars are high up on the list of ingredients for Hebel & Co's halvas, but note that each 32g serving of their Superseed halva contains 6g of sugar balanced out by 5g of protein, so the potential inflammatory effect is kept in check.
It also keeps in the fridge for a week or two, and it tastes & feels special enough for a small amount to be satisfying. This isn't something I always keep around, but it is something I could never make properly at home!
*Candied Nuts or Seeds
This recipe is sweet without much sugar, salty enough for balance, and rich in both healthy fats & protein. With only 2 teaspoons of low histamine sweetener, the entire recipe comes out to around 8g of sugar total, or just 2g of sugar per serving.
Unless you’re super sensitive to sweeteners, this amount won’t spike your blood sugar & the fat, fiber, and protein in the nuts will keep you fuller and happier than a grain-based dessert.
*Caramelized Hazelnut Crunch Clusters
These hazelnut crunch clusters are a simple dessert or snack you can prepare in just one bowl, with just 5 ingredients. They’re sweet, salty, crunchy, and satisfying. I’ve been munching on them in the evening for awhile now, so I figured it was high time I added the recipe tot he desserts roundup!
*Salted Nut or Seed Butter with Apple Slices
Just like with any other seed or nut butter, start off with some dry-roasted seeds or nuts (or roast them from raw) and the most high-powdered blender you can get your hands on. Alternately, you can make my sweet tahini sauce (recipe linked below), which you can make even without a blender.
Alternately, blend up the macadamias with salt (unless they come salted), maybe 1 cup of nuts per ½ teaspoon of sea salt, and then slather it on a thin slice of apple. The last time I made macadamia nut butter at home I also added a quarter teaspoon each of some warm spices, namely cardamom and camu camu.
It ends up being salty and sweet, but also creamy with some complexity. In the fall I smeared it on slices of Asian pear, which was lovely, but organic apples will be easier to find year-round.
*Vanilla Almond Cookies
When I realized I could have eggs again, the first thing I wanted to make was cookies. These almond flour-based cookies became my saving grace, and now I keep a small batch in the freezer all the time. I especially like them in the summer with a coconut cream sauce and frozen berries, but they're also great with tea in the evening.
*Sweet Chestnut Flour Crepes
These low histamine crepes are deceptively light and nutty, which makes them very versatile as either sweet or savory. We love them with ricotta cheese, blueberries, and a drizzle of honey as the filling, but you could add any kind of fruit you'd like.
🍦 Cold Low Histamine Desserts
Fruit Popsicles
They're not just for kids, and they're not just for the summer! Fruit popsicles are a delicious way to capture some of the whole food nutrients of fruit, without eating just plain fruit for the nth day in a row.
The popsicle recipe linked below uses coconut milk with blueberries, but I've also come to enjoy adding a pinch of monk fruit extract and subbing in raspberries or blackberries. You could also use homemade macadamia nut milk or homemade oat milk, if you can't tolerate coconut.
Blueberry Cobbler Ice Cream
While this is similar to the faux blueberry pie I describe above, in my vanilla almond cookie recipe, I assure you that the flavor result is very different.
I haven't made the ice cream portion of this recipe, but twice I've made the almond crumble and the sauce, the latter of which I froze in 1oz. ice cubes for easy preparation. I cannot recommend this low histamine recipe enough!
*Blueberry Nice Cream With Basil
This blueberry nice cream is both simple and delicious, perfect for using up two common summer crops: basil and blueberries. All you need to add is mango powder and a touch of monk fruit to turn your bounty into a sweet treat you can eat straight from the tub!
Coconut Ice Cream-Filled Mochi
This particular dessert idea falls under the umbrella of "want to do." I've had plain mochi and I've had coconut ice cream (homemade and otherwise), but I haven't yet combined them into a proper ice cream mochi, which is low histamine when made with a dairy-free ice cream.
If you're unfamiliar with mochi, they're a Japanese dessert made with sweet rice flour and usually filled with sweet red bean paste (but more popularly filled with ice cream, outside of Asia). They're chewy and lightly sweet, while the ice cream inside is creamy and often fruit-flavored! For the recipe below, use arrowroot flour instead of potato starch).
Nondairy Ice Cream
Vegan ice cream is actually super easy to make at home, whether you have an ice cream maker or not. Fresh mint in a coconut milk base is my favorite flavor (recipe linked below), but fruity ice creams are another delicious treat.
If you're in the USA and can tolerate small amounts of guar gum, the Coconut Bliss brand makes a plain dairy-free ice cream that you can sub for in every low histamine dessert which calls for ice cream.
Some ideas include the mochi linked above, ice cream sandwiches, and an affogato (or even served with just plain ginger syrup or a strongly-brewed tea, like a tea-ffogato).
🍪 Grain-Based Sweet Treats
Sweet & Salty Kettle Corn
This low histamine popcorn is all about technique, but it couldn’t be simpler once you understand the basic science of it. The recipe linked below is for a stovetop kettle corn-like treat that's sweet, salty, and comes together in less than 10 minutes. So grab your oven mitts and a dash of sea salt, and dig into this low histamine kettle corn!
Mango Sticky Rice
This was always my favorite dessert to get at restaurants when I was a kid, and I was delighted to realize how easy it is to adapt as a low histamine recipe. The flavor combination is sweet & salty, chewy rice, plus tangy and sweet mango chunks.
I highly recommend trying this out whenever you get your hand son fresh mango, as it's just not the same with the frozen stuff!
*White Chocolate Blondies
These are best if you can tolerate butter, but even if you can't, coconut oil would work okay. I was thrilled to find vegan white chocolate chips, made with rice powder instead of milk powder, to use in place of the dark chocolate listed in the recipe below.
That's the only change I made, and it was worth the wait for the chips to come in! These are buttery and indulgent, and because of the sugar content, I'd recommend having just one per meal (still worth it).
*Apple Fritters with Glaze
These low histamine apple fritters were originally going to be baked, buuuuuut my boyfriend accidentally got refined coconut oil instead of regular, so here we happily are. These are a delicious, easy way to celebrate autumn in a dessert.
I think you’ll love them with a bit of the vanilla glaze just as much as we are, and with none of the refined sugars of a standard recipe.
🍎 Fruity Low Histamine Desserts
*Easy Caramelized Apples
These delicious caramelized apples are an easy dessert you can make on the stovetop in under 20 minutes at any time of year. They're a great way to use up extra apples, and make for a great addition to a variety of dishes, from caramelized apple topping for cakes and crepes to serving atop your favorite cookies.
*Air Fryer Peaches
In under 15 minutes you can enjoy air fryer peaches caramelized to perfection, without the need to fire up the grill (or even go outside!). Plus, making grilled peaches in the air fryer means enjoying this sweet summer dessert at any time of year.
*Chia & Flax Pudding
Once upon a time, I bought a two-pound container of chia seeds, and to this day I'm still using them up! It's slow going at just one tablespoon at a time, but chia seeds offer a wealth of omega-3 fats, as well as a delightful crunch & base for a variety of flavors.
On the same note, combining chia seeds with flax meal offers a wealth of textural elements not otherwise enjouyed in a plain chia pudding.
I've been on a blueberry kick my whole life, so blueberries and coconut milk are my go-to here, but to each their own (macadamia is another house favorite). You can also indulge in a homemade tapioca pudding, but I prefer chia, myself.
Markedly smoother than the chia flax pudding, this quick vanilla flax seed pudding is creamy and smooth, rich in anti-inflammatory omega-3s, fiber, and plant proteins. With just 5 ingredients, it’s the perfect low histamine dessert, breakfast, or snack, no matter how you flavor it or top it!
Coconut Berry Bowl
This was my very first low histamine dessert, and it remains a favorite in my house thanks to its simplicity. There's not too much of a recipe, but I do include a few flavor variations in the recipes below, so check it out.
*Chocolate-Dipped Fresh Cherries
If you can tolerate them, tart cherries are a potent anti-inflammatory, and therefore a natural antihistamine that also tastes great. I love eating the sweet ones plain, but tart cherries dipped in vegan white chocolate (with rice or coconut in place of the dairy) are a special summertime treat.
I also love cherries because of the ease of dipping (shoutout to cherry stems!), but any mix of other fresh fruits, with or without the chocolate, would be a delicious low histamine treat.
*Blueberry Muffins
For those of us who love to bake our cake and eat it without frosting, these slightly savory blueberry muffins are for us. They make use of cassava flour, a generally non-triggering flour that's great for those with mast cell activation syndrome.
It also contains the antihistamine powerhouse of blueberries (fresh or frozen). The recipe comes from one of my own favorite resources for all things scientifically low histamine, Mast Cell 360.
🍯 Low Histamine Desserts for the Holidays
*Baked Maple Ginger Acorn Squash
For a low histamine dessert without grains, dairy, or gluten, this baked maple acorn squash is surprisingly satisfying. It’s also very simple, requiring just 5 minutes of prep time, as the high temperatures and long bake time do all the work of caramelizing the squash for you. It just-so-happens to also be low FODMAP and low in sugar.
Carrot Cake Balls
These are like a facsimile of my mom's carrot cake recipe, sans the super sweet frosting. I made them for the first time a few weeks ago, and while they feel more like a snack food to me, I really enjoyed them with vegan ice cream.
I've been taking a couple out of the freezer, microwaving them for 30 seconds on high, then drizzling a teaspoon of manuka honey on top and serving them with a scoop of vegan coconut ice cream.
*Sweet Potato Ginger Crumb Cake
Along the lines of the carrot cake balls above, this crumb cake is on the slightly snackier side, and tastes best when lightly microwaved before serving (especially if you've kept it on the freezer!). It relies upon oats for much of the wheat flour substitution, as well as an entire sweet potato.
I found that this hits the spot for a cozy dessert without being too sweet. Note that the recipe calls for butter, but substituting ghee would probably work just as well, and I wouldn't recommend using coconut oil (but let me know if you try it!).
*Sweet Squash & Apples
This is actually a childhood favorite of mine, and my family recipe thankfully needed just a couple of tweaks to get it to be low histamine.
The sweet apples and butternut squash work together to form the sweet base of this one-pan recipe, preferably served with a dollop of coconut cream. Taste the flavors of autumn anytime of the year, too, as this dessert freezes beautifully!
BONUS: Mocktails
I know this is not the most conventional dessert, but I've been adding a lot of sugar-free simple syrups to the site (my new favorite thing!), and having even just a few of them around makes a mocktail a very simple low-carb dessert indeed. Pictured here is my passion fruit syrup in a mango mocktail with lychee sparkling water.
Dawn @ Our Food Fix says
Thanks so much for sharing this great roundup of low histamine sweet treats! And including my Blueberry Pie Ice Cream 😄 All these recipes look and sound amazing!
lowhistamineeats says
Thank you for developing such a great dessert, Dawn! I've been lazy the last few times I've made it and used my own coconut ice cream from the freezer, but that almond crumble is FIRE!! So excited for fresh blueberries to start popping up later this month. 😀
Olivia says
Please can you tell me what the brand of white chocolate chips is that you found? The one with rice rather than milk powder.
lowhistamineeats says
Sure! I use the Pascha brand, which does have tapioca maltodextrin, but that doesn't cause me to react. Look closely at the ingredients for anything that might trigger you, though!