When I first started this account, I was only on Instagram. Since 2020, social media has evolved so much and with that has come many “viral” recipes. Most viral recipes aren’t necessarily the healthiest or they use fake sugars so I love taking them and putting my own spin on it with simple swaps and smaller portions.
What’s best about my lightened-up viral recipes is that they’re not just trendy, but they’re also practical, align with your health goals, and delicious enough that you’ll add them to your recipe rotation.
This collection contains an assortment of viral recipes that are now “Sweet Savory and Steph” approved including breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and, of course, desserts. I hope you love my take on these viral recipes as much as I do!
Healthy Baked Pasta With Cottage Cheese
Since I’m Italian and married an Italian, I knew giving up pasta wasn’t an option for my health journey. This Italian-inspired viral recipe was a no brainer for me to recreate! Serve with chicken or steak for extra protein.
More Lightened-Up Pasta Recipes:
Copycat Bacon Gruyere Egg Bites
This recipe combines two viral egg recipes into one: coffee shop egg bites and cottage cheese egg bites. With the surge in high protein foods, breakfast foods were easy to adapt. The combination of eggs, cottage cheese, and meat are already high protein then a few simple tweaks you can make them your own. Switch the bacon for ham or the gruyere for cheddar…the healthy possibilities are endless (and delicious!).
More Healthy Egg Bite Recipes:
Lightened Up Deli Style Chicken Salad
When I saw chicken salad going viral, I knew I had to immediately jump on the trend. I love a good deli salad too but usually those are laden with mayo and bread crumbs. This recipe was easy to lighten-up as I already had the base down just needed to adjust some ingredients.
I love making chicken salads for lunch meal prep because they are easy (especially if you’re using a rotisserie chicken), use mostly pantry staples, are versatile, and hold up really well all week!
More Chicken Salad Meal Prep Recipes:
Lightened-Up Buffalo Chicken Dip
Every year, especially around the big football game, buffalo chicken dip recipes surge in popularity. However, most of these dips are laden with heavy ingredients such as butter and cream cheese. This healthier version is just as delicious and packed with protein! Don’t save it for just for a crowd, this dip make a great lunch meal prep!
Lightened-Up Marry Me Chicken
The rich and creamy flavors of the Italian “Marry Me” recipe has gone viral and been adapting so many ways: from chicken to beans to meatballs and more. But I had never seen a lightened-up one that was authentic enough to serve my Italian family. I took this consistently replicated recipe and added my own spin to keep it authentic enough but still delicious!
More Lightened-Up Italian Recipes:
Bang Bang Shrimp
I love recreating a restaurant dish to make it a lightened-up fakeout takeout recipe. A healthier version of this infamous restaurant appetizer went viral a few years ago but that recipe used fake sugars and had a lot of ingredients. Since I don’t eat fake sugars (due to the taste and gut and skin issues they cause me), I knew I had to put my spin on this recipe. By using a pre-made sauce, the recipe is less intimidating while still being lightened-up and indulgent!
More Fakeout Takeout Shrimp Recipes:
Viral Cottage Cheese Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream
Rounding out this list is my version of this sweet treat that went viral for me! No surprise, cottage cheese is what makes this dessert “healthier” but I promise you won’t taste it or feel it. My version only includes 5 ingredients and uses my favorite peanut butter powder that’s clean and not sweetened with fake sugars. If you make any recipe from this list, make it this one!
More Healthy Dessert Recipes:
Viral recipes may come and go but all of these have a permanent spot on my website and meal rotation. By making these popular recipes lightened-up but still delicious, you and I can engage in these trendy dishes while still sticking to our health goals.
Related Posts
