6 Desserts That People With Diabetes Can Eat and Everyone Will Love

Can people with diabetes eat dessert?

Whether it’s the holiday season or another occasion to celebrate, having dessert is possible when managing blood sugar.

If you have been diagnosed with diabetes or wondering what you can prepare as a dessert for guests who have been diagnosed with diabetes, you’ve come to the right place. Sugar is not forbidden if you have diabetes. As the old saying goes, people with diabetes can “have their cake and eat it too,” but with one caveat, dessert in moderation. We have collected delicious diabetes-friendly dessert recipes that are sure to impress your guests — and satisfy your sweet tooth.

Some diabetes-friendly dessert tips:

— Stay focused. Focus on your meal plan and mindfully incorporate desserts.

— Be choosy. Choose your favorite, must-have desserts instead of choosing any dessert on the holiday buffet or menu.

— Lower the carbs and calories. In recipes, swap regular sugars (including honey and agave) for low-calorie sweeteners to help lower calories and carbs. Try to find recipes that already have made this substitution.

— Portion size is super important, just as it is for most everyone. Would it be a healthy food choice if someone without diabetes ate a couple slices of pie? Balancing out our food choices and combining carbs, fiber, protein and fat all are helpful with feeling satisfied and preventing spikes in blood sugar.

— Nutrition information is a must. Use recipes that have the nutrient analysis calculated or a similar type of dessert that you can use as the best estimate of carbs and calories when choosing a dessert.

Cheesecake-stuffed strawberries

With strawberries as the bold star of the dessert, this recipe offers a great way to manage your carbs your. Each cheesecake stuffed strawberry is very low in carbs, with only 5 grams, so you can easily choose how many grams of carb to consume for dessert.

“These little gems are great for entertaining. You can stuff the strawberries up to six hours ahead and sprinkle with the graham cracker crumbs (or crushed vanilla or chocolate wafer crumbs) just before serving,” says Marlene Koch, registered dietitian nutritionist and the New York Times bestselling author of the of the “Eat What You Love” series of cookbooks.

Recipe courtesy of Marlene Koch.

Makes 12 strawberries.

Ingredients:

— 1/2 cup light tub-style cream cheese.

— 1/3 cup nonfat cream cheese.

— 3 tablespoons granulated no-calorie sweetener* (or 4 packets).

— 1/8 teaspoon lemon zest.

— 2 drops almond extract.

— 1/2 cup light whipped topping, thawed.

— 12 large whole strawberries, about one pound.

— 2 graham cracker squares, finely crushed.

Instructions:

1. In a small mixing bowl, by hand or with an electric mixer, beat cream cheeses with the sweetener, lemon zest, and almond extract until smooth. Stir in the light whipped topping. Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag with a ½-inch fluted tip; alternately, you can use a zip-top bag with a small hole cut in the bottom.

2. With a sharp knife or apple corer, remove the stem and hull from the strawberries, creating a small cavity. Slice a ¼-inch strip from the side of each strawberry (so it can sit on its side without rolling).

3. Place the graham cracker crumbs on a small plate. Pipe 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese filling into and on top of each strawberry. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon of crumbs over the filling. Place strawberries in the refrigerator until time to serve. Arrange the strawberries on a platter and serve.

Nutrition information per serving (1 stuffed strawberry):

— Calories 50.

— Carbohydrate 5 grams.

— Sugar 3 grams.

— Total fat 2 grams.

— Saturated fat 1 gram.

— Protein 2 grams.

— Fiber 1 gram.

— Cholesterol 35 mg.

— Sodium 70 mg.

Quick and easy chocolate souffles for 2

If you are a lover of anything chocolate, like I am, there is no denying that this chocolate souffle will be top on your list.

This type of chocolate dessert is often a choice on restaurant menus. But you can now make it at home while managing your calories and carbs. Quick and easy chocolate souffle is one of my all-time favorite desserts and worth using 20 grams of your carb allotment!

Tip: If you divide the dessert in half, you can cut the carbs to 10 grams per serving and enjoy this decadent dessert twice.

Recipe courtesy of Marlene Koch.

Makes two servings.

Ingredients:

— 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, divided.

— ¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips.

— 1 large egg, separated.

— ½ teaspoon vanilla.

— 1 large egg white.

— 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar, optional.

1 tablespoon granulated sugar.

Instructions:

1. Lightly spray two 6-ounce ramekins with baking spray, and sprinkle each with ½ teaspoon cocoa powder. Set aside.

2. Place the chocolate chips in a small microwave-safe bowl and heat for 1 to 1 ½ minutes or until they are starting to melt. Remove and whisk until smooth. Whisk egg yolk with 1½ tablespoons of water and then whisk it into the chocolate with the vanilla and remaining 2 teaspoons of cocoa powder. Preheat air fryer to 330°F.

3. In a separate bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar, if desired (it will help keep the egg whites stiff), until foamy. Gradually add the sugar and beat to stiff, but not dry peaks. Gently fold half of the chocolate mixture into the egg whites (taking care to deflate them), and then fold in the remaining chocolate mixture.

4. Divide the batter between the ramekins (Note: the ramekins can be covered and placed in the refrigerator for several hours at this point). Place the ramekins in the air fryer and air-fry for 8 to 9 minutes or until they have risen nicely and tops are dry. Garnish as desired and serve immediately.

Oven instructions:: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the soufflés on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until they have risen nicely and tops are dry.

Nutrition information per serving (1 souffle):

— Calories 175.

— Carbohydrate 20 grams.

— Sugars 16 grams.

— Total fat 9 grams.

— Saturated fat 4 grams.

— Protein 6 grams.

— Fiber 2 grams.

— Cholesterol 90 mg.

— Sodium 70 mg.

4-ingredient peanut butter cookies

There are several reasons why I love this recipe. This low-carb cookie is loaded with delicious peanutty flavor yet has only 3 grams of carbohydrates per cookie. Each cookie also contains 4 grams of protein, which can help blunt spikes in blood sugar.

Tip: You can make several batches and freeze the cookies.

Recipe courtesy of the American Diabetes Association.

Makes 20 cookies.

Ingredients:

— 1 cup peanut butter.

— 1 cup Splenda granulated sweetener.

— 1 large egg (beaten).

— 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Instructions:

1.Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, mix together peanut butter, Splenda sweetener, egg and vanilla extract. Chill mixture in the fridge for at least 10 minutes.

2.Portion mixture into 1 tablespoon balls and place on an ungreased sheet pan. Press lightly with the tines of a fork to create a crosshatch pattern and flatten each cookie slightly.

3.Bake for 8 minutes. Let cool on sheet pan at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Nutrition information per serving (1 cookie):

— Calories 80.

— Carbohydrate 3 grams.

— Sugars 1 grams.

— Total fat 7 grams.

— Saturated fat 9 grams.

— Protein 4 grams.

— Fiber 1 gram.

— Cholesterol 10 mg.

— Sodium 50 mg.

Banana chocolate ice cream

Who doesn’t love ice cream? The great news is that you may already have all four ingredients you will need to prepare your homemade soft-serve ice cream. Frozen bananas make the base for this dessert. This recipe is not only diabetes friendly, but also heart healthy because it is low in fat, cholesterol and sodium.

Recipe courtesy of the American Diabetes Association.

Makes five servings.

Ingredients:

— 2 medium bananas.

— 1/3 cup skim milk.

— 2 tablespoons cocoa powder.

— 1 cup whipped topping.

Instructions:

1. Peel bananas and slice into 1/4-inch coins. Place in a bowl and freeze for at least 2 hours.

2. Once bananas are frozen, add the bananas, milk and cocoa powder to blender. Blend until smooth.

3. Fold in the whipped topping.

4. Place mixture in a freezer-safe container and freeze for at least 30 minutes.

Nutrition information per serving (½ cup):

— Calories 80.

— Carbohydrate 18 grams.

— Sugars 9 grams.

— Total fat 0.5 grams.

— Saturated fat 0.2 grams.

— Protein 2 grams.

— Fiber 2 grams.

— Cholesterol 0 mg.

— Sodium 15 mg.

Diabetes-friendly pumpkin pie (non-dairy)

This recipe comes from my Diabetes EveryDay YouTube channel. The combination of spiceshealth.usnews.com/wellness/food/articles/healthy-ways-to-use-pumpkin-this-fall”>pumpkin,cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg have a comforting mouthfeel reminding us of the fall season. Adding spices is a great way to boost the flavor of recipes without adding carbohydrate or calories. What’s different from the typical pumpkin pie recipe is that I use a soft tofu, which is called silken tofu. This pumpkin pie recipe offers a non-dairy but also diabetes-friendly option for a dessert.

Tip: If you’d like to lower the carbs further, leave the pie crust out of the recipe and bake the other ingredients in a casserole dish.

You can watch a video on YouTube of my recipe too.

Makes one pie, eight servings.

Ingredients:

— 1 can (16 ounce) 100% pure pumpkin.

— 1 (10.5 ounce) package silken tofu.

— Drained ¾ cup low calorie sweetener.

— ½ teaspoon salt.

— 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.

— ½ teaspoon ground ginger.

— ¼ teaspoon ground cloves.

— 1 teaspoon nutmeg.

— 1 (9-inch) unbaked pie crust.

Instructions:

— Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. While the oven is warming up, place all the ingredients into a bowl and blend.

— Simply pour the ingredients into the pie shell and place into the oven for 15 minutes.

— Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and continue to bake for about 40 to 45 minutes. Check the pie with a knife for doneness. If the knife comes out fairly clean, your pie is ready. Then cool before serving.

Nutrition information per serving (1/8 of pie):

— Calories 186.

— Carbohydrate 20 grams.

— Total fat 10 grams.

— Saturated fat 4 grams.

— Protein 4 grams.

— Fiber 2 grams.

— Sodium 80 mg.

Low-carb easy tiramisu

This dessert is not only low in carbs (6 grams) but also high in protein (10 grams), which may help keep blood sugar steady after you enjoy your delicious dessert. Including ingredients of plain Greek yogurt and mascarpone cheese helps to boost the protein content of this dessert, while using almond flour in place of lady fingers keeps the carbs lower than other tiramisu recipes.

Recipe courtesy of the American Diabetes Association.

Makes six servings.

Ingredients:

— 1/2 cup almond flour.

— 1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoon erythritol or other sugar substitute (divided use).

— 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.

— 1/4 teaspoon salt.

— 1 tablespoon espresso or strong coffee.

— 2 cups plain nonfat Greek yogurt.

— 3 tablespoons mascarpone cheese.

— 1 tablespoon dark rum.

— 2 teaspoons orange zest (from 1 orange).

— 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

— 1 teaspoon cocoa powder.

Instructions:

1. In a medium skillet over medium heat, toast the almond flour for 3 minutes or until golden, stirring often to avoid burning.

2. In a small bowl, mix the toasted almond flour, 1 1/2 tbsp of the erythritol, cinnamon and salt. Add the espresso and stir. Divide between 6 serving glasses (about 1 heaping tablespoon each).

3. In a medium bowl, mix the yogurt with the mascarpone, remaining 1/4 cup erythritol, rum, orange zest and vanilla. Spoon about 1/3 cup on top of the coffee-almond base in each of the serving glasses. Dust each tiramisu lightly with cocoa powder just before serving.

Nutrition information per serving (1/6 of the recipe):

— Calories 150.

— Carbohydrate 6 grams.

— Sugars 3 grams.

— Total fat 8 grams.

— Saturated fat 2.5 grams.

— Protein 10 grams.

— Fiber 1 gram.

— Cholesterol 15 mg.

— Sodium 130 mg.

6 Best Diabetes-Friendly Desserts That Anyone Will Love:

— Cheesecake-Stuffed Strawberries