Fruitcake has gotten a bad reputation at the holidays. There’s even a joke in an old New York Time’s article about how “Fruitcake is the only food durable enough to become a family heirloom.” But this healthier fruitcake recipe is actually quite delicious and a lovely way to start the morning! Think chewy dried fruit and rich nuts all combined in a dense and delightful quick bread with aromatic spices.
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by NOW®. As always, all opinions are my own.
Nutritious Swaps
While fruitcake might sound like a healthy treat because of its name, most recipes lack a bit in the nutrition department. Typically, recipes use lots of butter and sugar in the cake, in addition to the sweetened dried fruit that’s added in heavy amounts. Most recipes are soaked in liquor after the fact as well.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying that boozy concoction, but sometimes it’s nice to have a lighter option too. Hence, this recipe!
Many fruitcake recipes have upwards of 30 grams of added sugar and little protein or fiber. This version has just 10 grams of added sugar, plus 7.5 grams of protein and 3.5 grams of fiber per slice.
Here are some nutritious swaps that I think have worked quite well in achieving a more balanced bite:
- Made it with whole wheat flour rather than all-purpose flour, so it’s made with a whole grain and provides more fiber
- Added ground flaxseed for extra fiber
- Added protein powder to boost the protein content, giving this fruitcake a little more sticking power (I’m a fan of eating it for breakfast)
- Reduced the sugar added to the bread compared to most traditional recipes
- Used unsweetened dried apricots and mango, for less added sugar
- Swapped butter for olive oil, for more monounsaturated fats
Many of these changes were done using some of my very favorite products from NOW Foods. In fact, I used their dried fruit, protein powder, olive oil, coconut sugar, and pecans in this recipe!
If you need to stock up on these ingredients – or any other natural foods or supplements – you can score 20% off your order at NOW Foods with code CHRISSY.
Ingredients
Ready to make it? Here’s a photo of everything you’ll need. It looks like a lot, but many will likely be staples from your baking cabinet:
Here are some selected ingredient notes:
- Protein Powder – Whey protein is typically my go-to, since it’s high quality, bioavailable, and easily digested. For this recipe, I used NOW® Sports Whey Protein Concentrate. However, if you don’t eat dairy products, you can swap this out for NOW® Sports Pea Protein, which would make the recipe dairy free.
- Applesauce – Don’t skip this. Protein powder can sometimes cause baked goods to taste a bit dry, and applesauce is essential to keeping the right moisture content.
- Dried fruit – I love the combination of apricots, mango, raisins, and ginger in this recipe. I specifically used NOW Real Food® Organic Apricots and NOW Real Food® Organic Mango Bites since the only ingredient is dried fruit with no added sugar. That said, you can feel free to use whatever dried fruits you like in this recipe as long as you choose around 2 ½ to 3 cups total.
Instructions
Despite the fact that the ingredient list looks a bit long, this is actually very simple to make.
Start by chopping up your dried fruit. While you can do this with a knife, I find that sometimes it gets a little challenging, especially if your knives haven’t been sharpened recently. The trick I use? Take a pair of kitchen scissors and use that to quickly cut the dried fruit into small pieces, right into your measuring cup.
Next, put all the dried fruit in a bowl. Bring the orange juice to a simmer in a pot, then pour it into the bowl over the dried fruit. Let that sit for at least 15 minutes – ideally 30 minutes – as it rehydrates the fruit a bit.
Once you’ve reached that time frame, drain the excess liquid from the bowl, leaving just the fruit.
In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, applesauce, coconut sugar, olive oil, orange zest, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg.
Add the dried fruit to the bowl.
Next, add the whey protein, flour, ground flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. I like to add everything, then give the dry ingredients a few stirs carefully on top of the wet ingredients, then incorporate it all together.
Fold in the pecans, and your batter is ready!
Line a 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper, then use cooking spray (or additional olive oil) to grease the inside of the pan over the parchment paper and on the sides. I like to let the parchment paper hang over the sides a bit so that it’s easy to pull the loaf out when it’s done.
Bake that in the oven for about 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick pulls out just-about clean from the center. Do not overbake this recipe! If you overbake it, the bread will be dry.
Once it’s done, let it cool for about ten minutes in the pan, then remove it to a cooling rack or plate to continue cooling.
Dig in and enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
Here are some common questions that may come up as you prepare this recipe:
Yes. You can freeze the entire loaf and defrost on the counter when ready to enjoy it, or you can freeze individual slices. If freezing individual slices, wrap each in plastic wrap, then put them all in a large zip-top bag.
Store at room temperature on a plate covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container. Enjoy within a few days for optimal quality.
Dry fruitcake is typically caused by either overbaking the loaf, or by packing too much flour or protein powder into your measuring cup. Be sure to spoon and level flour. If overbaking is the suspected cause, check your oven temperature to ensure it’s not hotter than anticipated, and cook for a shorter time frame.
More Protein Powder Recipes
Looking for more creative ways to use protein powder? Try one of these options:
- Banana protein muffins
- Pumpkin protein muffins
- Chocolate peanut butter protein fudge
- Peanut butter protein bars
I hope you enjoy this healthier fruitcake recipe! It was one that took quite a few tests to get right, but I finally figured out a version that I truly love and hope you do too. If you get to try it, feel free to leave a recipe rating or comment below.
Healthier Fruitcake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped dried unsweetened apricots
- ⅔ cup chopped dried unsweetened mango
- ⅔ cup golden raisins
- ¼ cup chopped candied ginger
- 1 cup orange juice
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp orange zest
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 2 scoops unflavored NOW® Sports Whey Protein Concentrate (or NOW® Sports Pea Protein)
- ⅔ cup whole wheat flour
- ¼ cup ground flaxseed
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the apricots, mango, raisins, and ginger.
- In a small saucepan, bring the orange juice to a simmer over medium heat. Pour the juice over the dried fruit in the bowl. Let soak for 15 to 30 minutes, then drain off the excess liquid.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line the bottom of a 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper, and grease the pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, applesauce, coconut sugar, olive oil, orange zest, vanilla extract, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg. Add the dried fruit mixture.
- Add the protein powder, whole wheat flour, flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir until combined. Fold in the walnuts.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan. Bake at 325 degrees F for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick pulls just-about-clean from the center. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack or plate.
Notes
- Do not overbake the fruitcake or it will come out dry. I recommend starting to check the fruitcake around 35 minutes, just in case your oven runs hot.
- This recipe makes approximately 10 large slices or 12 smaller slices. The nutrition analysis below is based on 12 slices.
Nutrition
Share: Fruitcake – is it a friend or foe? If you tried this recipe, what did you think?
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