Dairy-Free Desserts from Around the World
A world of desserts that are naturally dairy-free: 77 authentic dishes, each from a real region with its cultural story and dietary swaps built in. Toggle dairy-free on any other recipe and it rewrites itself to match.
77 recipes · showing 1 to 48
Nkate CakeGreater Accra, Ghana · easy · 25 minA crunchy peanut brittle bound in dark caramel, a popular Ghanaian street sweet sold in cut slabs.
Nkate Cake KashataZanzibar, Tanzania · easy · 30 minChewy-crisp coconut candy scented with cardamom, a sweet of the Swahili coast.
Kashata Kalb el LouzAlgiers, Algeria · medium · 1 h 5 minA syrup-soaked semolina cake with an almond heart, fragrant with orange blossom, a jewel of the Algerian Ramadan table.
Kalb el Louz KabalagalaKampala, Uganda · easy · 30 minSweet little pancakes of ripe banana and cassava flour fried until golden, a favorite Ugandan snack.
Kabalagala Koba AkondroAnalamanga (Antananarivo), Madagascar · medium · 2 h 20 minA dense steamed cake of banana, ground peanuts, and rice flour wrapped in banana leaf, a Malagasy street sweet.
Koba Akondro Cocada AmarelaLuanda, Angola · medium · 50 minA rich golden pudding of coconut and egg yolks scented with cloves, a Portuguese-influenced Angolan sweet.
Cocada Amarela Benne CakesFreetown, Sierra Leone · easy · 25 minToasted sesame seeds set in crisp caramel, a simple, ancient West African sweet from Sierra Leone.
Benne Cakes Ndizi wa Nazi (Plantains in Coconut Milk)Kinshasa, DR Congo · easy · 30 minRipe plantains simmered gently in spiced coconut milk until soft and creamy, a sweet from the DR Congo table.
Ndizi wa Nazi (Plantains in Coconut Milk) Rwandan MandaziKigali, Rwanda · easy · 1 h 35 minLightly sweet fried dough scented with cardamom and cinnamon and enriched with coconut milk, a Kigali street favourite.
Rwandan Mandazi Mabuyu (Sweet-Coated Baobab Seeds)Lusaka, Zambia · easy · 25 minTangy baobab seeds tumbled in a bright sugar coating, the nostalgic street candy of Zambia.
Mabuyu (Sweet-Coated Baobab Seeds) Himbasha (Celebration Bread)Asmara, Eritrea · medium · 2 hA mildly sweet cardamom bread scored in a sunburst pattern and studded with raisins, Eritrea's festive loaf.
Himbasha (Celebration Bread) Yovo Doko (Sweet Fritters)Cotonou, Benin · easy · 1 h 35 minLight, puffy sweet fried dough balls dusted with sugar, often called the national dessert of Benin.
Yovo Doko (Sweet Fritters) Djiboutian Banana FrittersDjibouti City, Djibouti · easy · 25 minLight little fritters of mashed ripe banana and flour scented with nutmeg, fried and dusted with sugar, a Djibouti favourite.
Djiboutian Banana Fritters Beignets de Banane (Banana Fritters)Bangui, Central African Republic · easy · 25 minMashed ripe bananas fried in a light batter with a hint of lime, the sweet end to a Central African meal.
Beignets de Banane (Banana Fritters) Le Ouaddaï (Fried Millet Fingers)N'Djamena, Chad · easy · 35 minCrisp fried fingers of sweetened millet and wheat, a teatime sweet from the Ouaddaï region of Chad.
Le Ouaddaï (Fried Millet Fingers) Makemba (Sweet Fried Plantain)Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo · easy · 20 minVery ripe plantains fried until caramelised and dusted with cinnamon sugar, a simple Congolese sweet.
Makemba (Sweet Fried Plantain) Doce de Papaia (Papaya Sweet)Bissau, Guinea-Bissau · easy · 1 hPapaya slowly cooked with sugar, lime and cinnamon until glossy and translucent, a Bissau-Guinean preserve-sweet.
Doce de Papaia (Papaya Sweet) Kanyah (Peanut and Rice Sweet)Monrovia, Liberia · easy · 30 minGround roasted peanuts and toasted rice flour pressed with sugar into a dense, crumbly sweet, a Liberian classic.
Kanyah (Peanut and Rice Sweet) Nouga Koko ek Bannann (Coconut and Banana Nougat)Victoria, Seychelles · easy · 35 minFreshly grated coconut cooked with sugar and banana into a soft, chewy candy scented with vanilla and nutmeg.
Nouga Koko ek Bannann (Coconut and Banana Nougat) Ditjhedi tsa Mokopu (Basotho Pumpkin Fritters)Maseru, Lesotho · easy · 55 minMashed cooked pumpkin beaten with egg, flour, a little sugar and baking powder, fried by the spoonful until golden and rolled in cinnamon sugar while hot.
Ditjhedi tsa Mokopu (Basotho Pumpkin Fritters) DorayakiTokyo (Kanto), Japan · easy · 35 minTwo fluffy honey-scented pancakes sandwiching sweet red bean paste, a classic Japanese teatime treat.
Dorayaki Mango Sticky RiceBangkok (Central), Thailand · easy · 4 h 55 minWarm coconut-sweetened glutinous rice with ripe mango and a salty-sweet coconut sauce, Thailand's favorite dessert.
Mango Sticky Rice ChurchkhelaRacha, Georgia · medium · 2 daysStrings of walnuts dipped repeatedly in thickened grape juice until candle-shaped, Georgia's ancient traveling sweet.
Churchkhela Chè Ba MàuHo Chi Minh City, Vietnam · medium · 1 h 15 minA layered sweet of red beans, mung beans, and green pandan jelly over ice with coconut cream, Vietnam's three-color dessert.
Chè Ba Màu TangyuanShanghai, China · medium · 45 minChewy glutinous rice balls with a sweet black sesame center in warm ginger syrup, a Chinese symbol of family reunion.
Tangyuan HotteokSeoul (Gyeonggi), South Korea · medium · 1 h 45 minChewy fried griddle pancakes oozing a molten brown-sugar, cinnamon, and nut filling, a Korean winter street treat.
Hotteok KleponYogyakarta (Java), Indonesia · medium · 45 minPandan-green rice balls with a molten palm-sugar center, rolled in fresh coconut, a favorite Indonesian sweet snack.
Klepon WatalappanSouthern Province, Sri Lanka · easy · 3 hA steamed coconut custard set with dark palm jaggery and warm spices, the festive pudding of Sri Lanka.
Watalappan Chak-ChakTashkent, Uzbekistan · medium · 55 minCrisp fried dough pieces bound in warm honey syrup into a sticky golden mound, a Central Asian celebration sweet.
Chak-Chak Sankhya LapovSiem Reap, Cambodia · medium · 1 h 10 minA whole kabocha pumpkin steamed with a coconut-palm-sugar custard inside, a striking Cambodian dessert.
Sankhya Lapov Sholeh ZardTehran, Iran · easy · 1 h 15 minA fragrant saffron and rose rice pudding decorated with cinnamon, an Iranian dessert of celebration and charity.
Sholeh Zard Kuih Seri MukaPenang, Malaysia · medium · 1 h 20 minA two-layer sweet of coconut sticky rice under a smooth pandan custard, a jewel of the Malaysian kuih table.
Kuih Seri Muka Khao TomLuang Prabang, Laos · easy · 1 h 15 minSweet coconut sticky rice wrapped around banana and steamed in banana leaf, a fragrant Lao treat.
Khao Tom Pulut HitamSingapore, Singapore · easy · 1 h 10 minA warm porridge of black glutinous rice sweetened with palm sugar and finished with salty coconut cream, a Nyonya classic.
Pulut Hitam QatayefWest Bank, Palestine · medium · 1 h 5 minLittle stuffed pancakes filled with sweet walnuts, fried or baked and soaked in syrup, the classic sweet of Ramadan.
Qatayef KleichaBaghdad, Iraq · medium · 1 h 10 minSpiced pastry spirals filled with date paste and cardamom, Iraq's national cookie, made for every celebration.
Kleicha LuqaimatDubai, United Arab Emirates · medium · 1 h 50 minCrisp golden dumplings drenched in date syrup and scattered with sesame, the classic fried sweet of the Emirati Ramadan table.
Luqaimat PenyaramBandar Seri Begawan, Brunei · medium · 2 h 40 minA chewy fried cake of rice flour and palm sugar with lacy, crisp edges, a traditional Bruneian and Bornean sweet.
Penyaram Foni BoakibaaMalé, Maldives · easy · 1 h 10 minA dense baked pudding-cake of rice, coconut, and rosewater, a sweet Maldivian favorite for Ramadan and celebrations.
Foni Boakibaa Gangnaengi-tteokPyongyang, North Korea · easy · 50 minChewy steamed corn cakes lightly sweetened and often dotted with beans, a homely North Korean treat.
Gangnaengi-tteok Nishallo (Whipped Ramadan Sweet)Dushanbe, Tajikistan · medium · 25 minA glossy white Tajik whip of egg whites beaten into a hot sugar syrup and scented with vanilla, made for iftar in Ramadan and scooped up with warm bread.
Nishallo (Whipped Ramadan Sweet) Pishme (Turkmen Fried Dough Diamonds)Ashgabat, Turkmenistan · medium · 1 h 50 minTurkmenistan's celebration sweet: little diamonds of light yeasted dough fried until puffed and golden, then dusted with sugar.
Pishme (Turkmen Fried Dough Diamonds) Babilak Ai-luka (Cassava and Coconut Balls)Dili, Timor-Leste · easy · 35 minTimorese sweet fritters of grated cassava and fresh coconut bound with brown sugar and a little basil, rolled into balls and fried golden.
Babilak Ai-luka (Cassava and Coconut Balls) Nian Gao (New Year Rice Cake)Shanghai, China · medium · 1 h 5 minA dense, chewy steamed cake of glutinous rice flour and dark brown sugar, studded with jujube and walnut, eaten at Lunar New Year because its name puns on rising higher each year.
Tarta de SantiagoGalicia, Spain · easy · 50 minA dense, moist almond cake marked with the cross of Saint James and dusted with sugar, Galicia's pilgrim dessert.
Tarta de Santiago BarmbrackMunster, Ireland · easy · 9 h 20 minA lightly spiced tea-soaked fruit loaf, tied to Halloween and its hidden fortune-telling charms.
Barmbrack ImqaretValletta, Malta · medium · 45 minDiamond-shaped fried pastries filled with spiced date paste, a Maltese street sweet scented with aniseed and orange.
Imqaret FrituleDalmatia, Croatia · easy · 40 minLittle rum-and-citrus doughnut balls studded with raisins and dusted with sugar, a Croatian festive fritter.
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