Vegetarian Desserts from Around the World
A world of desserts that are naturally vegetarian: 221 authentic dishes, each from a real region with its cultural story and dietary swaps built in. Toggle vegetarian on any other recipe and it rewrites itself to match.
221 recipes · showing 1 to 48
Latchiri e KossamConakry, Guinea · medium · 1 h 15 minHand-rolled maize couscous steamed fine and served with cool, tangy curdled milk, the Fula celebration dish of Guinea.
Latchiri e Kossam ChebakiaFès-Meknès, Morocco · advanced · 1 h 30 minFlower-shaped fried dough drenched in orange-blossom honey and coated in sesame, the sweet of the Moroccan Ramadan table.
Chebakia Chin ChinLagos, Nigeria · easy · 45 minCrunchy little cubes of sweet fried dough with a hint of nutmeg, Nigeria's favorite anytime nibble.
Chin Chin ThiakryDakar, Senegal · easy · 2 h 40 minSweetened steamed millet couscous folded through vanilla yogurt and cream with raisins, a cool West African pudding.
Thiakry Om AliCairo, Egypt · easy · 45 minA warm bread pudding of flaky pastry soaked in sweet spiced milk with nuts and coconut, Egypt's national dessert.
Om Ali 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 Malva PuddingWestern Cape, South Africa · easy · 55 minA sticky apricot-jam sponge drenched in hot cream sauce, South Africa's best-known baked pudding.
Malva Pudding MakroudhTunis, Tunisia · medium · 1 h 5 minDiamond-shaped semolina pastries filled with spiced date paste and soaked in honey, a Tunisian and Maghrebi classic.
Makroudh KaimatiNairobi, Kenya · medium · 1 h 50 minCrisp cardamom-scented dumplings tossed in sugar syrup, a Swahili-coast sweet loved across Kenya.
Kaimati KashataZanzibar, Tanzania · easy · 30 minChewy-crisp coconut candy scented with cardamom, a sweet of the Swahili coast.
Kashata Bolo PolanaMaputo, Mozambique · medium · 1 h 10 minA rich, moist cake of cashews and potato scented with citrus, named for an elegant Maputo neighborhood.
Bolo Polana 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 NapolitainePort Louis, Mauritius · medium · 45 minTwo crumbly shortbread biscuits sandwiched with jam and coated in bright pink icing, a Mauritian bakery icon.
Napolitaine GhraybahTripoli, Libya · easy · 38 minMelt-in-the-mouth buttery shortbread scented with a hint of cardamom, a Libyan and Maghrebi celebration cookie.
Ghraybah XalwoMogadishu, Somalia · advanced · 2 h 15 minA dense, glossy, cardamom-scented sweet set with cornstarch and ghee, the centerpiece of every Somali celebration.
Xalwo LaduMoroni, Comoros · easy · 35 minToasted ground rice cooked in ghee and bound with sugar, cardamom, and a note of black pepper into fragrant sweet balls, a Comorian teatime treat.
Ladu ChakeryBanjul, The Gambia · easy · 1 h 35 minSteamed couscous folded through sweetened, vanilla-scented yogurt with raisins and pineapple, a cool Gambian celebration dessert.
Chakery Mbatata CookiesLilongwe, Malawi · easy · 35 minSoft, lightly spiced biscuits made from mashed sweet potato, a homey Malawian teatime treat.
Mbatata Cookies Benne CakesFreetown, Sierra Leone · easy · 25 minToasted sesame seeds set in crisp caramel, a simple, ancient West African sweet from Sierra Leone.
Benne Cakes Yemarina Yewotet Dabo (Honey and Milk Bread)Amhara, Ethiopia · medium · 3 h 10 minA tender, lightly sweet loaf enriched with honey, milk and warm spices, Ethiopia's way of making the most of the honey it is famous for.
Yemarina Yewotet Dabo (Honey and Milk Bread) Gâteau Coco (Fried Coconut Cakes)Abidjan (Lagunes), Côte d’Ivoire · easy · 35 minSmall diamonds of fresh coconut and flour fried until crisp at the edges and fragrant, an Abidjan street sweet.
Gâteau Coco (Fried Coconut Cakes) Cameroonian Banana CakeLittoral (Douala), Cameroon · easy · 1 hA moist, lightly spiced loaf built on very ripe bananas, the hawked teatime cake of coastal Cameroon.
Cameroonian Banana Cake Chikenduza (Candy Cakes)Harare, Zimbabwe · medium · 1 h 55 minSoft, yeasted sweet cakes baked tall and finished with a bright pink glaze, a Zimbabwean bakery treat.
Chikenduza (Candy Cakes) Kgojwa ya Moretlwa (Wild Berry and Milk Pudding)Gaborone, Botswana · easy · 20 minPounded wild moretlwa berries steeped and whisked into cold sweet milk, a traditional Botswana after-meal sweet.
Kgojwa ya Moretlwa (Wild Berry and Milk Pudding) 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) Basbousa (Semolina Cake in Syrup)Khartoum, Sudan · easy · 1 h 55 minA tender semolina cake enriched with yogurt and coconut, soaked in lemon syrup, a much-loved Sudanese sweet.
Basbousa (Semolina Cake in Syrup) Meni-Meniyong (Sesame and Honey Brittle)Bamako, Mali · easy · 25 minToasted sesame seeds set in caramelised honey and cut into crunchy fingers, a sweet found in every Malian market.
Meni-Meniyong (Sesame and Honey Brittle) 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) Pudim de Leite (Milk Flan)Santiago (Praia), Cape Verde · medium · 3 h 10 minA silky baked milk custard under a dark caramel, one of Cabo Verde's most popular desserts.
Pudim de Leite (Milk Flan) 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) Galidossi (Gari and Milk Dessert)Lomé, Togo · easy · 15 minCrunchy cassava gari soaked in cold sweet milk with roasted peanuts, a refreshing Togolese street dessert.
Galidossi (Gari and Milk Dessert) 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 Bananes au Four Croustillantes (Crisp Baked Bananas)Libreville, Gabon · easy · 30 minBananas rolled in breadcrumbs, fried crisp and baked, then dressed with brown sugar and cool cream, a Gabon classic.
Bananes au Four Croustillantes (Crisp Baked Bananas) Gapal (Millet and Milk Dessert)Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso · easy · 20 minFine millet blended with tangy yogurt, baobab and ginger into a thick, cool spooning dessert, a Fulani speciality.
Gapal (Millet and Milk Dessert) 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) Akwadu (Baked Bananas with Coconut)Malabo, Equatorial Guinea · easy · 30 minBananas baked in butter, citrus and honey under a blanket of coconut, a simple Equatoguinean sweet.
Akwadu (Baked Bananas with Coconut) KoeksistersMbabane, Eswatini · medium · 1 hPlaited dough fried crisp and plunged into ice-cold spiced syrup, a sticky sweet loved across Eswatini.
Koeksisters 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) Dates Stuffed with ButterNouakchott, Mauritania · easy · 15 minPlump dates split and filled with cardamom-scented butter, a Saharan sweet of Mauritanian hospitality.
Dates Stuffed with Butter Sweet Mahangu PorridgeWindhoek, Namibia · easy · 30 minNamibian pearl millet simmered soft in sweet vanilla cream and served with stewed fruit, a homely dessert.
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