22 One-Pot Fall Dinners for Diabetes

Make a delicious one-pot dinner tonight with these diabetes-friendly recipes. These recipes all fit within our healthy diabetes parameters and limit carbohydrates, saturated fat and sodium. Recipes like Baked Frittata with Butternut Squash, Kale & Sage and Spice-Roasted Chicken & Lemon Potatoes are healthy, seasonal and flavorful. All these one-pot recipes make cleanup easy too.

01 of 22

Sweet Potato-Black Bean Burgers

sweet potato black bean burger
Alison Miksch Photography / Kindsey Lower Prop Styling / Rishon Hanners Food Styling.

These vegan sweet potato-black bean burgers spiced with curry powder are easy to make. Blending the mixture with your hands gives you a soft, uniform texture then the outside gets crispy by cooking in a cast-iron pan. To make this recipe gluten-free too, use gluten-free oats and serve the patty in a lettuce wrap, omitting the bun.

02 of 22

One-Pan Chicken & Asparagus Bake

One-Pan Chicken & Asparagus Bake
photography / Caitlin bensel, Food Styling / Emily Nabors Hall

In this chicken and asparagus recipe, we use one baking sheet to whip up dinner quickly, veggies included. Pounding the chicken thin helps it cook quickly alongside the carrots and potatoes, with asparagus rounding out the meal. This is one quick dinner recipe you'll be returning to again and again.

03 of 22

Chicken & Cornmeal Dumplings

Chicken & Cornmeal Dumplings

This version of chicken and dumplings provides plenty of vegetables with 5 grams of fiber per serving. Dumplings are made with 1 part flour and 1 part cornmeal to make them standout from a traditional flour dumpling. This hearty dinner option is the perfect comfort meal.

04 of 22

Garlic Roasted Salmon & Brussels Sprouts

Garlic Roasted Salmon & Brussels Sprouts

Roasting salmon on top of Brussels sprouts and garlic, flavored with wine and fresh oregano, is simple enough for a weeknight meal yet sophisticated enough to serve to company. Serve with whole-wheat couscous.

05 of 22

Baked Frittata with Butternut Squash, Kale & Sage

Baked Frittata with Butternut Squash, Kale & Sage

This easy frittata recipe is full of fall flavors, thanks to creamy butternut squash, plenty of fresh sage, and earthy lacinato kale.

06 of 22

Easy Sesame Chicken with Green Beans

Easy Sesame Chicken with Green Beans

Sweet-salty hoisin sauce and nutty sesame team up in this easy meal that's cooked on one baking sheet. Serve this sesame chicken with brown rice and sliced cucumbers, drizzled with sesame oil and rice vinegar.

07 of 22

Pork Medallions with Cranberry-Onion Relish

5586388.jpg

Ready in just 30 minutes, this pork tenderloin dish will please the whole family!

08 of 22

Spice-Roasted Chicken & Lemon Potatoes

7801827.jpg

If it isn't already, this vibrant dish will make oven-roasted chicken a favorite at your house. With the lemon potatoes, it's an irresistible and simple meal. You can use the leftover meat in soup, sandwiches, and salads.

09 of 22

Sheet-Pan Salmon with Sweet Potatoes & Broccoli

Sheet-Pan Salmon with Sweet Potatoes & Broccoli
photography / Caitlin bensel, Food Styling / Emily Nabors Hall

The vibrant combo of cheese, cilantro, chili, and lime--inspired by Mexican street corn--makes this salmon sheet-pan dinner burst with flavor.

10 of 22

Mushroom & Tofu Stir-Fry

7254998.jpg

This tofu veggie stir-fry is quick and easy, making it a great go-to weeknight meal. Baked tofu has a firm, toothsome texture that crisps well in a hot pan. You can find it in flavors like teriyaki and sesame, both of which are delicious here. Or opt for a smoked version, which has the same texture with a more robust flavor. Serve over brown rice.

11 of 22

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

creamy-chicken-soup

This easy slow-cooker chicken noodle soup is chock-full of vegetables and noodles, and gets extra creaminess from a little light cream cheese.

12 of 22

Apricot-Mustard Pork Tenderloin with Spinach Salad

8412867.jpg

An easy apricot-mustard sauce both seasons the pork and dresses the salad.

13 of 22

Spinach Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes, White Beans & Basil

7436258.jpg

Roasted sweet potatoes are paired with spinach, cabbage and white beans and tossed together with a bright basil dressing in this healthy main dish salad.

14 of 22

Homemade Chicken Ramen Noodle Bowls

Homemade Chicken Ramen Noodle Bowls

Transform canned chicken noodle soup into quick ramen bowls by adding fresh ginger, crunchy vegetables, herbs and a jammy soft-boiled egg. Look for a low-sodium soup that has 450 mg sodium or less per serving.

15 of 22

Baked Herb Salmon

This salmon recipe is simple--just top the fillet with fresh herbs, salt, pepper, and lemon slices and bake for 20 minutes. Serve alongside a rice pilaf and roasted or sautéed vegetables for a complete meal.

16 of 22

Red Beans & Rice with Vegetables

8427733.jpg

This dish is inspired by the traditional New Orleans dish of red beans and rice, but adds plenty of roasted vegetables.

17 of 22

Sheet-Pan Harissa Chicken & Vegetables

7806892.jpg

This one-pan dinner gets a hit of flavorful heat from harissa, the popular North African chile-and-garlic paste. We use harissa paste from a tube for this recipe. It's got a concentrated chile flavor that makes an excellent spice rub for chicken and adds a subtle punch of heat to a refreshing herbed yogurt sauce.

18 of 22

Pressure Cooker "Corned" Beef & Cabbage

7699714.jpg

Corned beef is brisket that has been pickled in spices for days. You can buy it ready-to-cook or corn your own at home, but both are serious sodium bombs, packing more than 500 mg per 3-ounce serving--nearly 25% of the recommended daily limit. For this healthier pressure cooker corned beef and cabbage, we start with a plain brisket and add seasonings ourselves to control the salt level. We also opt for a flat-cut end of brisket, instead of the thicker point cut, as it has less fat, making it easier to slice when cooked. An electric pressure cooker, such as an Instant Pot, is absolutely key to this recipe, allowing you to cook the brisket in one hour--as opposed to three hours or more in the oven. It also lets you sear and roast in one device, saving cleanup time.

19 of 22

Mushroom and Chicken Stroganoff

Using light dairy sour cream makes a creamy, but low fat, sauce for this quick and easy chicken dinner.

20 of 22

Chopped Salad with Shrimp, Apples & Pecans

7606808.jpg

Sweet and crunchy apples and celery combine with savory shrimp and nutty pecans in this easy, colorful dinner salad.

21 of 22

Arctic Char on a Bed of Kale

Arctic char, related to salmon and trout, is sustainably farmed, making it a "best choice" for the environment. It has a mild flavor and cooks up quickly. We like the taste and texture of lacinato (aka dinosaur) kale in this dish. Serve with mashed potatoes.

22 of 22

Skillet Chicken Breast & Broccoli with Mustard-Rosemary Pan Sauce

7804694.jpg

The one-two punch of searing and roasting results in this perfectly browned, moist, and tender skillet chicken recipe.

Was this page helpful?
Related Articles