Desserts, especially in fast food chains, have such a bad reputation because of their perceived high sugar and calorie content. But let’s be honest: is the bad reputation deserved? Not for these 15 healthy fast food desserts. They prove that fast food trips can’t be harmful if you know what to order. Grab a spoon and freshen your perspective!
15. Domino’s Cinnamon Bread Twists
Don’t try to resist these cinnamon bread twists coming to you fresh and hot! The fact that they’re baked, and not fried, already makes them healthy. These bread twists are sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, and can be dunked into a cup of creamy icing. Also, they make a decent post-workout treat, with protein amount clocking in at 5 grams.
14. Starbucks’ Berry Trio Parfait
This parfait is vegetarian, high-protein, and comes with only 240 calories. What I love about this is it’s loaded with a variety of fruits like raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries. It’s also filling because you get some of that honey-oat granola. This parfait also uses nonfat vanilla yogurt, which is great if you’re trying to manage your weight or reduce calorie intake.
13. McDonald’s Baked Apple Pie
Apples are a good source of fiber and other antioxidants, and so you can sneak these good stuff into your body when you get a McDonald’s Baked Apple Pie. It’s made with 100% American-grown apples, baked and topped with sprinkled sugar. Just skip the part where you pair it with a hot caramel sundae to avoid getting too much sugar.
12. Dairy Queen’s Dilly Bar
Enjoy a classic treat coated in a flavor that you love. A Dilly Bar is a vanilla soft serve coated in a crisp chocolate, butterscotch, or cherry coating. This frosty treat also has a plant-based version, made with coconut cream. The thing is, the non-dairy dilly bar has a calorie amount that’s a bit higher, but lower sugar content. Nevertheless, both are delicious anytime desserts!
11. Subway’s Raspberry Cheesecake Cookie
Raspberry and cheesecake is such a great combination but many are sleeping on this cookie from Subway. As one fan puts it, “it’s the best dessert ever made!” The cookie isn’t too sweet, and you’ll get that pieces of raspberry that taste like a tart jam, white chips, and of course, cheesecake. Can you believe that one cookie only has 212 calories? The sugar content is also less than 20 grams!
10. McDonald’s Vanilla Soft Serve Cone
If you like to keep things simple (and sweet), you can’t go wrong with McDonald’s vanilla soft serve cone. A small cone clocks in at 200 calories, but you can further bring it down by removing the cone itself. The icy treat also includes Vitamin A palmitate, which is a supplement that can be used to treat Vitamin A deficiency.
9. Wendy’s Jr. Chocolate Frosty
You’re never gonna look at a Jr. Chocolate Frosty the same way again. This treat has a calorie amount similar to the ones you’ll get from a McDonald’s vanilla soft serve cone. And you can bet that the frosty is tastier, thanks to all that chocolatey goodness. It’s also a good source of potassium and calcium, giving 8% and 20% of your daily value, respectively.
8. Krispy Kreme’s Original Glazed Doughnut
Warm and fresh original glazed doughnuts from Krispy Kreme are hard to resist, and you don’t have to. It’s one of the lowest calorie doughnut options on the menu and being free from toppings makes it a treat that’s not overly sweet. Make sure you won’t overdo it when you see a box of these; so you don’t need to run (or walk) the extra mile when you workout.
7. Carl’s Jr.’s Chocolate Chip Cookie
The chocolate chip cookies at Carl’s Jr.’s are like hidden gems, and I’m sure those who are looking for a subtly sweet dessert will love it. The chain describes the cookies as semi-sweet, and it’s true to its claims as one cookie has 13 grams of sugar—one of the lowest on this list. If you decide to get a 2-pack chocolate chip cookies, make sure to share it with someone!
6. Taco Bell’s Cinnamon Twists
Here’s a treat with lower sugar content and calories than the previously mentioned fast food desserts. Taco Bell’s Cinnamon Twists clock in at only 170 calories, while the sugar amount is at 10 grams. It’s key ingredient, cinnamon, is a source of antioxidants that help with inflammation and disease protection. If you’re also looking to eat vegan at Taco Bell, these twists are a must-have!
5. Taco Bell’s Cinnamon Delights (2 Pack)
That warm, spicy, and slightly sweet flavor from cinnamon? Yup, it’s so good! That’s why here’s another Taco Bell cinnamon treat for you: Cinnabon Delights. These are bite-sized cinnamon spheres that are crunchy on the outside, with a melty surprise inside. These bites are filled with cream cheese frosting, so when you take a bite, it will finally hit you that it’s a dessert, not a breakfast!
4. Chick-fil-A’s Icedream Cup
If you’re a regular at Chick-fil-A, then you’d know that their icedream doesn’t really taste like a normal ice cream. That’s because it isn’t. It has a texture similar to that of an ice cream, but with less fat. Icedream is said to have 3% butterfat, which is lower compared to the 10% butterfat found in regular ice creams. Icedream also got that classic vanilla taste, so what’s not to love?
3. Starbucks’ Cookies & Cream Cake Pop
Who said fitness buffs can’t have their cake? Starbucks made it so easy to enjoy a decadent dessert while keeping portion control in mind. Their Cookies & Cream Cake Pop is a little ball of chocolate cake with cookie bits and sandwich-cookie buttercream, finished with chocolate coating and more cookie crumbs. Of course, you can try other cake pop flavors as most of them are under 200 calories.
2. Starbucks’ Petite Vanilla Bean Scone
Now, here’s a treat that’s like a cross between cake and bread, and it’s from Starbucks again. The Petite Vanilla Bean Scone is, well, a little treat with strong vanilla flavor. It’s about 1/3 the size of a regular scone, and made with real vanilla beans and vanilla extract. They’re small enough so you can’t feel guilty, but the taste is so remarkable others are frustrated that it’s only bite-sized.
1. Chick-fil-A’s Fruit Cup
I’m a firm believer that five-star desserts put fruits up front, so this fruit cup from Chick-fil-A deserves way more than five stars! It’s made with nothing but fruits, including strawberries, apples, blueberries, and mandarin orange. The smallest cup has the lowest calories (60), but even the large cup still has lower calories (120) compared to all the desserts on this list. Best part? They’re made fresh daily.