20 Best Savory Desserts

You may be asking yourself, “Why savory desserts?!” Well, why not?! 

Savory desserts give you the best of both worlds. You’ll get all the lightness and sweetness of proper desserts, but there’s more. 

That ‘more’ may come in something spicy like jalapenos or something delicious and salty like bacon.

Either way, it adds a whole other level of yumminess to an already tasty treat.

If you’ve refrained from trying savory desserts in the past, now is your chance to rectify that.

With this list, I’ve given you 20 options for some of my favorite not-so-sweet sweet treats. 

Hopefully, they’ll become some of your new favorites, as well. 

1. Apple Cheddar Cheese Pie

It’s hard to beat a traditional apple pie, but have you ever tried an apple cheddar cheese pie?! 

It gives you all the delicate sweetness and tartness of homemade apple pie but with the rich savoriness of cheddar cheese. 

The crust is crispy, light, and buttery, and the filling of brown and white sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon is perfect for those cool fall months.

It’s warm, sweetly tart, and incredibly filling. 

2. Curry Ice Cream with White Chocolate Drizzle

What’s better than sweet, exceptionally creamy homemade ice cream? Sweet, exceptionally creamy homemade ice cream with a kick, of course!

It gives you a brilliant yellow color and a custard-like texture that everyone will enjoy. And the white chocolate drizzle?

That’s just a bonus, and what a delicious bonus it is!

3. Pineapple Jalapeno Ice Cream

Thanks to the jalapeno peppers, this delightful ice cream is cool and refreshing, but it also has plenty of heat. 

The addition of Greek sea salt adds a bit of saltiness that gives you the perfect sweet and salty combo, as well. 

Best of all, it takes only 2 minutes to prepare and another 30 to make, and that includes churn time. 

If you’re looking for fantastic homemade ice cream that doesn’t take hours to make, this recipe is the one for you.

4. Bacon Chocolate Toffee

Honestly, I prefer this chocolatey treat under its other name – bacon chocolate crack. I just feel like it describes it better because it is 100% addictive. 

You can whip these up in a little over an hour with only six ingredients – saltine crackers, butter, brown sugar, semisweet chocolate chips, bacon, and sea salt.

Each piece is a salty, crunchy, chocolatey-bacon masterpiece. 

5. Olive Oil Cake

This “dessert” is the place where lemon cake meets cornbread, and yes, it’s just as phenomenal as it sounds. 

Dense and crumbly, with bold lemon and vanilla flavors, you won’t know whether to serve this for dessert or with milk as a light but filling snack.

6. Bacon Brownies

If you’re a fan of bacon, maple syrup, cocoa powder, chocolate, sugar, and more, you’ll love these bacon brownies. 

They’re entirely decadent and have the perfect mixture of sweet and salty, soft and gooey, but with a wonderful crunch from the bacon. 

They’ll definitely give you a bit of a sugar rush when you eat them, but that won’t stop you from coming back for seconds, thirds, and maybe even fourths.

7. Sesame Tahini Cookies

These crunchy, nutty cookies are ideal if you’re looking for a dessert that’s still a dessert but not overly sweet. 

The vanilla and honey add lightness to them, but the tahini, almond flour, and sesame seeds help balance that out with something more savory and hearty. 

Also, you can make more than a dozen in a little over 20 minutes, and that’s pretty hard to beat.

8. Blueberry, Goat Cheese, and Basil Pie

If you prefer desserts that are tart and tangy to sweet and sugary, you have to try this blueberry, goat cheese, and basil pie.

It’s a little like blueberry cobbler if you were to add herbs and the complex taste of goat cheese. 

To be honest, it’s a little hard to describe, but if you like things with multi-layered flavors, you’ll probably enjoy this one quite a bit.

9. Chocolate Peanut Butter Bacon Cake

In case you haven’t realized it already, I may be a bit partial to bacon and chocolate. If you’ve tried it yourself, you understand.

For this moist, fluffy cake, you’ll take it a step further and add hot coffee to the mix and a rich, peanut butter frosting that you’ll want to put on everything.

Even without the crumbled bacon on top, this cake is one of my all-time favorites. With the bacon, though, it’s nothing short of heavenly.

10. Jalapeno Popper Cheesecake

Once you try jalapeno popper cheesecake, it’s hard to decide what to like better about it – the taste, or the lovely, minty green color on the inside.

Either way, it’s typically cheesecake tangy with more heat than you’d imagine. 

The crust is also spectacular! You’ll make it with bacon, Ritz crackers, cheddar cheese, and butter, and it’s unlike any crust you’ve ever tried.

This “dessert” is undoubtedly more savory than sweet, but people will love it anyway.

11. Golden Rice Pudding with Turmeric and Coconut Milk

This dish may look like a giant pot of creamed corn, but it’s actually golden rice pudding made with turmeric, coconut milk, coconut sugar, vanilla extract, maple syrup, water, and pepper. 

It has a mildly tropical taste that’s somewhat offset by the pepper and the maple syrup. It’s rich, more savory than sweet, and unimaginably filling. 

Whether you eat it for dessert or breakfast, you won’t be disappointed.

12. Blueberry Feta Scones

These crispy, buttery scones may just be the best you’ve ever had. They’re tender and flaky on the outside with warm, soft, cheesy centers.

They’re sweeter than you might imagine, especially since they contain buttermilk and an entire cup of feta cheese.

And they have a spectacular tartness that’ll have you forgoing sweet desserts for the rest of your life. 

13. Potato Chip Clusters

Just about any 5-year-old can tell you that nothing goes better with salty potato chips than chocolate. 

These potato chip clusters combine the two, along with pecans and sprinkles, for a sweet and salty treat that you won’t be able to put down anytime soon. 

14. Blueberry Brie Grilled Cheese

I’ll be honest, even I was hesitant to try a blueberry grilled cheese. It just sounded so weird and unappetizing. 

However, I started thinking about how much I love mixing fruit and sweet confections like caramel with brie.

Finally, I decided to give it a chance, and I’m so glad I did.

All you’ll need for this simple, four-ingredient recipe is bread, butter, brie, and your favorite berries. (I stick with blueberries.) 

You can also add sharp cheddar, but the sandwich tastes just as awesome without it.

The whole thing is sweet, nutty, tangy, and tart. Plus, it has all the buttery goodness you love in a grilled cheese.

15. Cheddar and Chive Scones

You probably don’t think of cheddar and chives when you think of desserts, but they’re the perfect pair.

Although there’s nothing inherently sweet about either of those ingredients, there isn’t much that I don’t love if you cover it in cheese and chives, and these buttery scones are no exception.

They may be more like side items than dessert, but give them a try.

I promise you’ll be ready to indulge in them just like you would any bar of chocolate or piece of cake.

16. Jammy Raspberry Cream Pretzel Hand Pies

These may not fit on the list as well as some of the other options; after all, they’re pretty much just spectacular fruit pies.

However, you’ll make each one with a salty, crunchy pretzel crust that kicks it into a whole new level of awesomeness. 

If you love berries, pretzels, and cream cheese, these may be your new favorite desserts.

17. Banana Bacon Cupcakes

Bacon doesn’t just go well with chocolate, peanut butter, and maple syrup; it also pairs perfectly with bananas.

(Don’t believe me? Just check out Elvis’ favorite foods!)

These cupcakes are light, moist, and have the perfect amount of spice, bananas, and brown sugar.

And that’s before you get to the peanut butter/bacon frosting and bourbon drizzle.

If you like your sweets supremely decadent with just a hint of salty savoriness, these cupcakes will have you drooling.

18. Ginger Turmeric Lemon Bars

These gorgeous bars are as pretty to look at as they are tasty to eat. 

With a rich, vibrant yellow layer and a creamy white one on top of that, they look like something you’d get at an upscale bakery.

Instead, you can make them yourself in less than 30 minutes with only 10 ingredients.

In addition to being yummy and lovely, they’re also vegan-friendly and gluten- and dairy-free.

Finally, they’re packed with pure lemon flavor that’s perfect for the warmer months of the year.

19. Basil Ice Cream

This recipe had me at the phrase “no-churn,” but “four-ingredient” and “ice cream” also helped. 

With nothing more than whole milk, condensed milk, heavy cream, basil leaves, and a drop of green food coloring, you can make this beautiful, minty ice cream in about 35 minutes.

It’s lightly sweet and leaves your mouth tasting insanely fresh after eating it. With or without a cone, you can’t go wrong with basil ice cream.

20. Caramel Bacon Popcorn

Close your eyes and imagine biting into a sweet, crunchy, fluffy bite of caramel corn. Now imagine enjoying a handful of salty bacon to go with it. 

Sounds too good to be true, right? Not with this recipe.

It gives you everything you want from traditional caramel corn and adds bacon! I’m sorry, but there is nothing there not to love.