Healthy Diabetes-Friendly Recipes

Find healthy, delicious recipes for diabetes including main dishes, drinks, snacks and desserts from the food and nutrition experts at EatingWell. Recipes with our Diabetes-Appropriate tag are low in calories and are consistent with recommendations for average carbohydrate intake (about 3-4 carbohydrate servings per meal). They also meet our heart-healthy criteria for saturated fat and sodium. See our Diabetes Nutrition Parameters.

Most Popular

Southwest Breakfast Skillet

Southwest Breakfast Skillet
One skillet is all you need to create this satisfying, veggie-loaded breakfast (or dinner) dish. This skillet is packed with mushrooms, bell pepper and chard to help up your veggie count for the day and is topped with bacon, eggs, cheese, pico de gallo and fresh cilantro.
22 Diabetes-Friendly Black Bean Recipes

22 Diabetes-Friendly Black Bean Recipes
Each recipe is low in saturated fat, sodium and calories to help you meet your nutrition goals.
The 10 Best Cookbooks for People with Diabetes, According to a Dietitian

The 10 Best Cookbooks for People with Diabetes, According to a Dietitian
Check out these cookbooks for delicious, lower-carb meal inspo.
26 Diabetes-Friendly Snacks for Better Blood Sugar

26 Diabetes-Friendly Snacks for Better Blood Sugar
These sweet and savory snacks are low in calories, sodium and saturated fat to make managing your blood sugar easy and delicious.
24 Diabetes-Friendly Breakfast Recipes for Better Blood Sugar

24 Diabetes-Friendly Breakfast Recipes for Better Blood Sugar
Start your morning with these healthy breakfast recipes that are appropriate for a diabetes-friendly diet
Vegan Diabetes Diet Plan

Vegan Diabetes Diet Plan
Keep your blood sugars in check while enjoying a week of delicious recipes in this vegan diabetes meal plan.
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Inspiration and Ideas

The Best 7-Day Diabetes Diet Plan

The Best 7-Day Diabetes Diet Plan
This healthy 1,200-calorie weight loss meal plan makes it easy to balance your blood sugar.
12 Ways to Lower Your Blood Sugar

12 Ways to Lower Your Blood Sugar
Make these simple lifestyle tweaks to minimize blood sugar swings and control your sugar levels.
Balsamic Berry Vinaigrette Winter Salad

Balsamic Berry Vinaigrette Winter Salad
22 Vegetarian Diabetes-Friendly Dinners to Make on Weeknights

22 Vegetarian Diabetes-Friendly Dinners to Make on Weeknights
The Best 30-Day Diabetes Diet Plan

The Best 30-Day Diabetes Diet Plan
20 Healthy Diabetes-Friendly Dinners You Can Make in 20 Minutes

20 Healthy Diabetes-Friendly Dinners You Can Make in 20 Minutes

Salmon with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

Sun-dried tomatoes do double duty in this easy weeknight dinner—we use the flavorful oil they're packed in to sauté shallots and use the actual tomatoes in the creamy sauce. Served with perfectly cooked salmon, you really can't go wrong with this recipe.

All Healthy Diabetes-Friendly Recipes

One-Pan Chicken & Asparagus Bake

Rating: 5 stars
4
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.
By Karen Rankin

Sheet-Pan Chicken Fajitas

Rating: 5 stars
13
One sheet pan is all you'll need to whip up these zesty chicken fajitas. They're quick and easy to make and cleanup is even faster!
By Carolyn Casner

Chickpea Curry (Chhole)

Rating: 4.54 stars
31
Made with convenient canned beans, this quick and healthy Indian recipe is an authentic chickpea curry that you can make in minutes. If you want an additional vegetable, stir in some roasted cauliflower florets. Serve with brown basmati rice or warm naan.
By Shefaly Ravula & Amee Meghani

Sheet-Pan Salmon with Sweet Potatoes & Broccoli

Rating: 5 stars
6
The vibrant combo of cheese, cilantro, chili, and lime--inspired by Mexican street corn--makes this salmon sheet-pan dinner burst with flavor.
By Sara Haas, R.D.N., L.D.N.

Chicken & Spinach Skillet Pasta with Lemon & Parmesan

Rating: 3.74 stars
21
This one-pan pasta that combines lean chicken breast and sautéed spinach for a one-bowl meal is garlicky, lemony and best served with a little Parm on top. I call it "Mom's Skillet Pasta" and she called it "Devon's Favorite Pasta." Either way it's a quick and easy weeknight dinner we created together and scribbled on a little recipe card more than a decade ago, and it remains in my weekly dinner rotation to this day. It's a simple dinner the whole family will love.
By Devon O'Brien

Skillet Lemon Chicken & Potatoes with Kale

Rating: 4.44 stars
7
This easy one-pan skillet-roasted lemon chicken is perfect for weeknight dinners. Juicy chicken thighs are cooked in the same pan as baby potatoes and kale for a satisfying meal with the added bonus of minimal cleanup.
By Carolyn Casner

Skillet Steak with Mushroom Sauce

Rating: 3.25 stars
2
This steak, broccoli rabe and pea dinner is a one-skillet meal that will be on your table in just 25 minutes! The pan drippings combine with mushroom, broth and grainy mustard to make a thick and delicious sauce.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

No-Cook Black Bean Salad

Rating: 4.5 stars
3
A classic black bean salad is a must for picnics and potlucks. This vegan version gets its creaminess from blended avocado. Any mix of salad greens will work well, but try arugula if you want to give this hearty salad a peppery kick.
By Hilary Meyer

Vegan Superfood Buddha Bowls

Rating: 4.8 stars
3
This nutrient-packed vegan Buddha bowl recipe comes together in 15 minutes with the help of a few convenience-food shortcuts like prewashed baby kale, microwavable quinoa and precooked beets. Pack these ahead to keep on hand for easy meal-prep lunches or dinners on busy nights.
By Carolyn A. Hodges, R.D.

Roasted Salmon with Smoky Chickpeas & Greens

Rating: 4.25 stars
9
In this healthy salmon dinner, you'll get a dose of greens and green dressing! Chowing down on 6 or more servings of dark leafy greens a week can help keep your brain in top shape. This dish features the Test Kitchen's current go-to method for doctoring a can of chickpeas: spice them up and roast until crispy.
By Breana Killeen

Cinnamon Roll Overnight Oats

Rating: 5 stars
2
It takes just minutes to assemble this healthy no-cook breakfast and you'll have meal-prepped grab-and-go breakfasts on hand for the rest of the week. Top these delicious vegan oats--inspired by classic cinnamon bun flavors--with fresh or frozen fruit and your favorite nuts and seeds.
By Carolyn Casner

One-Pot Garlicky Shrimp & Spinach

Rating: 4.43 stars
5
Shrimp, spinach and garlic brown and cook quickly for a simple one-pot weeknight dinner. A fast pan sauce gets life from zesty lemon juice, warm crushed red pepper and herby parsley. Serve with a slice of whole-wheat baguette to swipe up every last drop of sauce.
By Carolyn Casner

Tuscan White Bean Soup

Rating: 4.5 stars
2
A pound of dried beans is the inexpensive foundation for this simple, hearty meal. Serve it with slices of whole-wheat bread or a side salad for a complete and satisfying lunch or dinner.
By Lauren Grant

Salmon-Stuffed Avocados

Rating: 5 stars
4
Canned salmon is a valuable pantry staple and a practical way to include heart-healthy omega-3-rich fish in your diet. Here, we combine it with avocados in an easy no-cook meal.
By Abbie Gellman, M.S., RD, CDN

Charred Shrimp & Pesto Buddha Bowls

Rating: 4.5 stars
8
These shrimp and pesto Buddha bowls are delicious, healthy, pretty and take less than 30 minutes to prep. In other words, they're basically the ultimate easy weeknight dinner. Feel free to add additional vegetables and swap the shrimp for chicken, steak, tofu or edamame.
By Carolyn Casner

Creamy Chicken, Brussels Sprouts & Mushrooms One-Pot Pasta

Rating: 3.7 stars
19
You'll only have to dirty one pot in this easy pasta recipe that cooks chicken and vegetables right along with the noodles. Plus, by using the exact amount of water you need to cook the pasta, the starch that usually gets drained off with your pasta water stays in the pot, giving you delectably creamy results.
By Breana Killeen

Sweet Potato-Black Bean Burgers

Rating: 4.75 stars
8
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.
By Robin Bashinsky

Everything Bagel Avocado Toast

Rating: 4.67 stars
2
Get all the flavor of an everything bagel married with the creaminess of avocado toast in one healthy breakfast. Just toast, top, sprinkle and go for this quick morning meal when you need to get out the door fast. Want to take it up a notch? Top with a poached or fried egg.
By Devon O'Brien

Mediterranean Breakfast Sandwiches

Rating: 5 stars
2
This veggie-packed breakfast sandwich delivers a healthy serving of protein plus fresh vegetables on low-carbohydrate sandwich bread.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Chicken Enchilada Skillet Casserole

This simplified take on cheesy chicken enchiladas only requires one pan for cooking and eliminates the need to stuff and roll corn tortillas. Charring the veggies in a cast-iron skillet adds depth of flavor. Don’t worry if you don’t have one, because you can use any oven-safe skillet instead.
By Andrea Kirkland

Really Green Smoothie

Rating: 4 stars
2
The combination of kale and avocado makes this healthy smoothie recipe extra green. Chia seeds lend this creamy smoothie a heart-healthy punch of fiber and omega-3 fatty acids.
By Gaby Dalkin

Avocado Hummus

Rating: 5 stars
5
This vibrant green hummus recipe couldn't be easier--just toss a few ingredients in the food processor and whir away! Aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas) and avocado make this healthy dip extra smooth and creamy. Serve with veggie chips, pita chips or crudités.
By Devon O'Brien

Strawberry-Chocolate Greek Yogurt Bark

Rating: 4.5 stars
7
Lightly sweetened Greek yogurt gets studded with fresh strawberries and chocolate chips then frozen so you can break it into chunks just like chocolate bark (but healthier!). This colorful snack or healthy dessert is perfect for kids and adults alike. Use full-fat yogurt to ensure the creamiest bark possible.
By Carolyn Casner

Sheet-Pan Creole Chicken & Shrimp

Rating: 5 stars
1
This variation of a shrimp boil can be made in the oven on just one baking sheet. A medley of spices gives this healthy dish of chicken, sausage and veggies a rich, complex flavor. Bonus: This easy sheet-pan dinner requires just 20 minutes of active prep time.
By Sara Haas, R.D.N., L.D.N.
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