Sometimes I will be talking about a particular food with someone, and they will comment that it is “too sweet.” And I’ll nod my head like I totally agree, but inwardly, I will begin questioning my friendship with that person. In my world, “too sweet” does not exist. I guess you could say I’m a little addicted to sugar.
I could try to give it up (science might say that’s the healthiest path). Or I could use myself as a human test subject to see if I can eat enough sugar to desensitize my body to it. To test my hypothesis, I will have to find a way to eat sugar for every meal. So let’s start with dinner. Here are 10 recipes that are socially acceptable to eat for dinner even though they’re sweet enough to be dessert (go ahead and try them, it’s for science).
1. Avocado, Basil, Bacon Ice Cream
This no-churn ice cream contains everything a dinner needs: some greens (avocado), a little seasoning (basil), and a main protein (bacon). Sure, this article is technically for three different recipes for three different savory ice creams, but I don’t see why you can’t combine all three.
Start with the avocado ice cream base, and then add in the basil and candied bacon. Feel free to follow up your ice cream dinner with some no-churn salted caramel ice cream for dessert.
2. Maple Bacon-Wrapped Dates
It’s not uncommon to see a sweetened version of bacon in dessert. So why not flip it around and use bacon as a base for a sweet side dish? Bacon and cheese give this dish enough protein to count as dinner. Maple syrup and dates add just enough sweetness to make your taste buds sing (and they’re both natural forms of sugar, so they’re basically healthy right?).
3. Maple Roasted Butternut Squash
Like dates, butternut squash is a gift from nature to those of us with a sweet tooth. You can turn this versatile vegetable into a number of different side dishes or main courses. Roasting it and drizzling it with maple syrup will make your squash so sweet, you’ll forget you’re not eating dessert.
4. Brown Sugar Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Okay, to be honest, this is basically the same dish as the butternut squash. You just replace the squash with sweet potatoes and the maple syrup with brown sugar. To amp up its dessert-like quality, top your sweet potatoes with marshmallows like my mom always does at Thanksgiving.
5. Thanksgiving Crescent Rolls
Speaking of Thanksgiving, these cranberry-stuffed crescent rolls wrap your favorite fall flavors into one bite. And don’t be fooled by this recipe’s name. They may be inspired by Thanksgiving, but these rolls can be served alongside any average dinner. Even if you don’t like cranberry sauce, crescent rolls act as the perfect base for a number of sweet and savory dinner dishes.
6. Fruit Salsa
If you subscribe to the belief that tomatoes are fruits, then technically all salsa is fruit salsa. Replacing the tomatoes with a sweeter fruit gives you a salsa that tastes much more like a dessert. You can make it with strawberries, like this recipe calls for or, opt for watermelon or apples. Regardless of which fruit you use, your sweet salsa can still be appetizer or condiment for your main course.
7. Dessert Pizza
Fruit can give any savory dish a needed kick of sweetness, and pizza is no exception. Yes, this recipe is called dessert pizza. But between the pizza dough and yogurt or cream cheese, this dish contains enough “real food” to be called dinner.
8. Donut Grilled Cheese
Grilled cheese is another pretty indulgent dish, but it’s missing one thing: sugar. You can fix this problem by replacing your bread with donuts. And it’s still a sandwich, so feel free to eat it for dinner.
Don’t have a donut on hand? You can still make your grilled cheese sweeter by crusting your bread in cinnamon sugar. It adds extra crunch and flavor.
9. Peanut Butter, Jelly, and Bacon Sandwich
If using donuts for bread doesn’t appeal to you, then opt for a sweet sandwich filling instead: the classic peanut butter and jelly. This midday meal is already sweet enough to constitute dessert.
If anything, you might want to add some more salt or protein to make it more dinner-like. Try adding bacon, nuts, or cheese. There’s really no limit to what you can do with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
10. S’mores Chicken and Waffles
No dessert for dinner list would be complete without chicken and waffles. But just plain chicken and waffles seems a little bit too dinner-like. Amp up the dessert qualities of this dish by giving it a s’mores twist: chocolate waffles and graham cracker-crusted chicken, topped with melted marshmallows. And you can eat it all for dinner.
If you don’t have time for a sit down meal, make it portable by putting it in a waffle cone. Added bonus: in an ice cream cone, the chicken and waffles will feel even more like a dessert