50 Delicious Diabetic Dessert Recipes Everyone Will Love

Chocolate Cake Slice with Strawberries on a White Plate

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Chocolate Cake Slice with Strawberries on a White Plate
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Sweet Relief

When it's dessert time, diabetics have to exercise caution since a spike in blood sugar can be problematic. But that doesn't mean dessert is something diabetics have to give up. All of these treats are tasty enough to serve to people with or without blood-sugar concerns. What's more, making your own diabetic-friendly desserts can be much cheaper than relying on store-bought options.


Related: Foods for Diabetics That Help Keep Blood Sugar Under Control

Coconut Cream & Fruit-Topped Vanilla Cake on a Round Wooden Cutting Board
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Coconut Cream & Fruit Topped Cake

This tropical delight is sweetened with honey for a light sweetness. Extra flavor and natural sweetness come from the fresh fruit toppings. The coconut cream is made with low-fat cream cheese, making this cake even healthier.


Recipe: EatingWell

Sugar-Free Apple Pie on a White Plate
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Sugar-Free Apple Pie

Apples are so naturally sweet that a little boost from a sugar substitute is all that's needed. The apple juice concentrate also helps to add natural fruit sugars for a pop of flavor without relying on white, processed sugars.


Recipe: Taste of Home


Related: 25 Creative Ways to Enjoy Apples

Two Grilled Peaches on a White Plate with a Fork
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Grilled Stone Fruit

Giving freshly sliced peaches, nectarines, and apricots a turn on the grill adds a caramelization that intensifies their natural sweet-tart flavor. With the heightened flavors there is no need for extra sugar of any kind, making this an easy and natural way to satisfy a sweet tooth. This recipe uses peaches.


Recipe: The Kitchn

Banana Chia Pudding in a Glass Serving Cup
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Banana Chia Pudding

Chia pudding is actually a superfood dessert that is beneficial to health, making even more of a case to include dessert into your daily routine. Just a touch of honey sweetens this protein-rich dessert that promotes steady blood sugar while incorporating a hefty dose of fiber, especially beneficial for those with diabetes.


Recipe: Allrecipes

Closeup of Peanut Butter Swirl Chocolate Brownies with a Fork Cutting Through One Piece on a Plate
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Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

Peanut butter and chocolate is a flavor match made in heaven, and it's also a boost of nutrition in desserts thanks to the added protein and sugar-stabilizing natural fats in peanut butter. This recipe also provides alternatives to wheat flour for those who want to take it a step further.


Recipe: EatingWell

Closeup of Several Five-Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies Lined Up on a Metal Rack
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Low Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies use just a tiny amount of sugar and get an extra boost of protein and fat from almond butter for a balanced lineup of ingredients. Omitting the flour lowers the carb load and creates a dense and almost fudgy cookie that feels even more indulgent than traditional cookies.


Recipe: Martha Stewart

Closeup of One Cookies 'n' Cream Crunch Bar on a White Plate
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Cookies 'n' Cream Crunch

This ice-box cake adaptation uses sugar-free versions of classic treats like cookies and ice cream to make a classically flavored frozen dessert. You can customize the dish by substituting your favorite sugar-free flavored cookies and ice cream to mix and match.


Recipe: MyRecipes

Cut Block of Almond Butter-Quinoa Blondies Into Equal Square Pieces on a Sheet of Wax Paper
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Low-Carb Blondies

These blondies feature a healthy, low-carb profile and are made using almond butter and quinoa flour. The flavor is enhanced with the unique ingredients, which offer a little more richness while preserving a dense and chewy texture.


Recipe: EatingWell

Simple Macerated Strawberries in a Glass Fruit Bowl with a Spoon
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Macerated Strawberries

Berries are one of nature's best forms of sweetness and flavor for those with sugar sensitivities. In this recipe, strawberries get a little boost from different flavored liquids to highlight their flavors while remaining low in sugar.


Recipe: Add a Pinch

Bunyan's Diabetic Sour Cream Banana Cake on a White Plate with a Fork That Has a White Polka Dot on Blue Handle
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Sour Cream Banana Cake

This simple cake gets a rich texture from the sour cream and stays low in sugar thanks to sugar-free sweeteners and ripe banana. This cake can be the base for other creations like layer cakes, cupcakes, or muffins.


Recipe: Just a Pinch

Several Strawberry Frozen Yogurt Fruit Pops in a Line
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Frozen Yogurt Fruit Pops

These ice-cream-like frozen treats are low in fat and carbs while remaining thick and creamy, thanks to Greek yogurt. This recipe calls for strawberries, but any low-glycemic fruit would work well.


Recipe: Diabetes Food Hub

Three Baked Cinnamon Stuffed Apples on a Light Blue Plate with a Spoon
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Baked Apples

This healthy recipe tastes like apple pie, without the heavy carb load. Super simple to make, these baked apples can be made in advance and eaten warm, cold, or at room temperature for dessert anytime, even for breakfast with a scoop of yogurt.


Recipe: Diabetes Food Hub

Several Pieces of Dark Chocolate Almond Bark with Sea Salt on Wax Paper
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Sugar-Free Chocolate Bark

Fine chocolate shouldn't be an unattainable treat for those with diabetes, so making your own with a sugar substitute is a great way to have it on hand. Making your own also enables you to control the amount of sweetener to ensure a healthy balance.


Recipe: Low Carb Yum

Summer Fruit Salad in a White Bowl
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Fruit Salad

Fruit salad is a light dessert that is satisfying after a large meal or in warm weather. Going heavy on the berries ensures that the overall carb load is low and minimizes the risk of blood-sugar spikes.


Recipe: Diabetes Self-Management

A Piece of Pumpkin-Maple Crustless Cheesecake on a Rust Colored Plate
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Pumpkin Maple Crustless Cheesecake

Cheesecake is a rich dessert that can hit the spot with just a small serving. Making a crustless version instantly cuts down on the sugar and overall carbs to make it even more diabetic-friendly.


Recipe: Diabetic Gourmet

Gooey Double-Chocolate Brownies on a Wooden Cutting Board with a Fork
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Double-Chocolate Brownies

When eaten in moderation, brownies are okay to include in your dessert routine. These super-gooey brownies are balanced with plenty of fat and tons of high-quality chocolate for lots of flavor that doesn't rely on sugar.


Recipe: The Healthy

Closeup of Two Ginger Spice Cupcakes on a Red Plate Decorated with Powdered Sugar
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Ginger Spiced Cupcakes

These cupcakes are flavored for the winter holidays. The generous use of baking spices adds flavor without calories while the molasses and unsweetened apple sauce both help to create a soft texture and sweet profile without too much additional sugar.


Recipe: Everyday Diabetic Recipes

Creamy Baked Custard with Maple Syrup Topped with Two Raspberries in a White Dessert Plate
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Creamy Baked Custards

This baked custard has a soft and creamy texture. The flavor and sweetness mostly come from fruit, rather than added sugar. Customize this recipe by adding your favorite fresh fruits for an even lighter version.


Recipe: Diabetes Self-Management

Fresh Fruit with Applesauce-Sweetened Tahini in a White Bowl
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Fresh Fruit With Tahini

This inventive dessert is fresh, light, and something out of the ordinary. Tahini is a sesame seed paste, and it's often used in desserts from the Middle East. This recipe gets a dose of sweetness from applesauce.


Recipe: Martha Stewart

Cinnamon Banana Cake with Chocolate Ganacheon a White Plate with Serving Utensils and a White Napkin
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Cinnamon Banana Cake With Chocolate Ganache

This pretty looking cake is moist and sweet, even though it uses small amounts of sugar or sugar substitutes and whole-wheat pastry flour for half of the flour content. Mashed banana is always a go-to for great texture and flavor when trying to cut down on fat and sugar.


Recipe: EatingWell

Closeup of Low Carb Diabetic Chocolate Mousse in a Glass Dessert Bowl
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Chocolate Mousse

Using high-quality chocolate is the key to getting a super-flavorful mousse without a ton of sugar. Good chocolate allows you to go even lighter on sugar or sugar substitutes while keeping a full body and rich flavor profile.


Recipe: Diabetes Meal Plans

Several Coconut Fruit S'mores in a Wooden Bowl
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Coconut Fruit S'mores

This twist on a classic treat allows those with diabetes to enjoy s'mores just like everyone else. Using coconut and berries brings down the overall glycemic load of the dish, and substituting dark chocolate for classic milk chocolate cuts the sugar down significantly while also pairing better with the sweet and tart blackberries.


Recipe: Better Homes & Gardens

Several Sugar-Free Christmas Cookies on a White Plate on a White Marble Table
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Sugar-Free Christmas Cookies

The holidays can be an especially hard time for those with sugar sensitivities, so it's always nice to include a diabetic-friendly recipe in the lineup. These classic and colorful cookies can be made with a sugar substitute of your choice to make them safe for everyone to enjoy.


Recipe: Diabetic Gourmet

One Mini Éclair Bite
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Mini Éclair Bites

These irresistible bites convey all of the best parts of traditional bakery items into one small package. Keeping the portion size small allows for a full on indulgence in moderation, which will help keep blood-sugar levels stable.


Recipe: Everyday Diabetic Recipes

Several Diabetic Friendly Snickerdoodle Cookies on a Black Slate Board
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Soft Snickerdoodles

The use of nuts and whole-wheat flour brings substance and nutrition to these cookies. The generous portion of cinnamon added into this recipe also helps boost sweetness without additional sugar or sugar substitute.


Recipe: Recipes.net

Closeup of Nine Lemon Squares with Powdered Sugar on a Square White Plate
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Lemon Squares

Rich and packed with flavor, a small portion of these lemon squares goes a long way toward satisfying a sweet tooth. The almond flour in the crust helps bring down the overall carb load while adding another layer of aroma to the finished dish.


Recipe: Diabetic Connect

Sugar-Free Pineapple Lush Cake on a White Plate
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Sugar-Free Pineapple Cake

This tropically flavored cake is ornate enough for any celebration. This recipe takes advantage of store-bought sugar-free mixes for an easy preparation of multiple parts that all come together to create one creamy, soft, dream of a cake.


Recipe: Rose Bakes

One Round Diabetic Friendly Carrot Cake Tower on a White Plate with a Fork
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Carrot Cake

Carrot cake gets a lot of its flavor and moisture from grated carrots, already lightening the load for those watching their fat and sugar intake. This recipe takes it a step further by including protein- and fiber-rich flax meal that makes this dessert a healthy-ish option at the end of any festive meal.


Recipe: Amanda's Cookin'

Closeup of Fork Cutting Through a Piece of Sugarless Spice Cake
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Spice Cake

Spice cake uses a variety of different seasonings like nutmeg, vanilla, and cinnamon and is easily customized. Using applesauce for sweetness and add-ins like raisins creates a treat that is light on sugar yet full on flavor.


Recipe: Sunrise Senior Living

Four Diabetic Chocolate Nut Cookies on a White Plate on a Blue Striped Napkin
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Chocolate Nut Cookies

These all-purpose chocolate cookies are versatile to enjoy on their own or use in other recipes. Using nuts and high-quality chocolate is key to creating the pleasant crumbly texture and a deep chocolate flavor that is just lightly sweetened.


Recipe: Cooks

A White Bowl of Sugar-Free Gummy Worms with a Trail of Gummy Worms Spilling Onto a White Table
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Gummy Worms

Sometimes a light-hearted, kid-friendly dessert is in order, like chewy gummy worms. With the accent on the texture and fun colors, these sugar-free candies get just a touch of sweetness from sugar alternatives in pre-made gelatin and drink mixes.


Recipe: Everyday Diabetic Recipes

One Piece of Crustless Pumpkin Pie on a Tan Plate
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Crustless Pumpkin Pie

A wintertime staple, pumpkin pie can be turned into a diabetic-friendly recipe with two simple tweaks. Using a sugar substitute along with nixing the crust reduces the risk of any blood-sugar spikes while maintaining the creamy and deeply flavored pie interior, which is the best part anyway.


Recipe: Everyday Diabetic Recipes

Two Almond Macaroons with Almonds
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Almond Macaroons

These airy little cookies are based on wheat germ and eggs. The addition of almond extract gives them a boost of flavor without adding any extra carbs, calories, or sugar. You could play around with different extracts for different flavored cookies, like vanilla, orange, or even mint.


Recipe: TypeFreeDiabetes

Fruit Compote a La Mode in a Glass Dessert Cup
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Fruit Compote a La Mode

This fruit compote is made using unsweetened dried fruit and orange juice. Simmering the fruit, juice, and spices together creates a deeply rich flavor without any added sugars. Topped with a small amount of frozen yogurt, it becomes a decadent dessert.


Recipe: Mayo Clinic

Top View of Chocolate Chip Cheesecake in a Glass Pie Dish
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Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

This cheesecake preserves the crust for those who simply cannot do without it. But to make it diabetic friendly, the crust is made from chopped nuts and almond flour, rather than cookies that are high in sugar and carbs. Using sugar-free sweeteners and chocolate chips is also an option to make the entire dish sugar free.


Recipe: SoFabFood

One Piece of Deliciously Diabetic German Chocolate Cake on a Stack of Two White Plates
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German Chocolate Cake

Sometimes you just need a big slice of chocolate cake. This diabetic-friendly version uses unsweetened cocoa powder for a rich chocolatey taste and less than 1 cup of sweetener for the entire recipe.


Recipe: O Taste and See

Three Rows of Chewy Turtle Cookies on Wax Paper
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Chewy Turtle Cookies

These decadent cookies take a few steps to put together, but they're worth the effort. They're made with non-wheat flours like coconut, tapioca, and almond. The sweeteners are honey and coconut sugar, though other sugar alternatives would work too.


Recipe: The Healthy Foodie

A Stack of Two Black Bean Brownies on a Piece of Cardboard
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Black Bean Brownies

These may sounds strange, but black beans add texture and bulk to brownie batter and assimilate seamlessly into the dense mix and deep chocolatey flavor. Nuts, coconut, and oats also help prevent blood-sugar spikes, making these a healthy brownie!


Recipe: Everyday Diabetic Recipes

Four Diabetic-Friendly Perfectly Poached Pears with Pieces of Star Anise, Vanilla Bean, and Cinnamon on an Elegant White Plate
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Poached Pears

This elegant dessert is easy to make. To create a flavorful poaching liquid, this recipe combines natural fruit juices and spices that will add layers of flavor and complement the natural sweetness of the fruit itself.


Recipe: Just a Pinch

Closeup of Sugar-Free Keto Pumpkin Mousse in a Glass Dessert Cup
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Pumpkin Mousse

This sophisticated take on a seasonal staple is an ultra-light way to get your fix of sweet, pumpkin-spiced dessert. All squashes, including pumpkin, offer deep, natural sweetness without spiking blood sugar, making them a natural fit for diabetic-friendly desserts.


Recipe: Low Carb Yum

A Piece of Apple Coffee Cake on a White Plate with Decorative Chocolate Icing and White Powdered Sugar
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Apple Coffee Cake

Nuts, raisins, and apples add natural body and sweetness to this cake, allowing the recipe to cut back on added sweeteners and the total quantity of flour needed. The natural tartness of the apples actually makes the other ingredients seem more sweet, offering a balance of flavors in the finished cake.


Recipe: TypeFreeDiabetes

Buckwheat Gingerbread Muffins in a Muffin Tin on a Rack in the Oven
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Buckwheat Gingerbread Muffins

These extra-hearty dessert muffins are void of any wheat flour, making them gluten-free and diabetic friendly. There is less than 1 cup of sugar used in the entire recipe, which can also be substituted out with any sugar alternative of your choice.


Recipe: Sunset

Diabetic Version of Died and Went to Heaven Chocolate Cake with a Serving Utensil on a Wooden Platter
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Basic Chocolate Cake

This recipe can be used as a sheet cake, adapted to cupcakes, or used to make elaborate layer cakes. The addition of strong black coffee into the mix deepens the flavor of the cocoa powder, making the taste extra bold and chocolatey.


Recipe: Food.com

Four Wild Blueberry Ice Cream Pops on a White Plate with Blueberries
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Wild Blueberry Ice Cream Pops

These light and fruity frozen pops use just few chocolate chips for sweetness. Blueberries are one of nature's sweetest fruits while still ranking low on sugar spikes and high on nutrition.


Recipe: Diabetic Gourmet

A Slice of Keto Lemon Curd Pie on a White Plate
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Lemon Pie

A sugar-free lemon curd is the filling for this sweet and tart pie. The crust uses  almond flour and toasted coconut for a hearty flavor.


Recipe: Fit to Serve

Two No-Bake Coconut Keto Bounty Bars
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Sugar-Free Bounty Bars

Chocolate and coconut are a dreamy combination that works well for low-sugar desserts. These bars use a sugar alternative that provides gentle sweetness to the chocolate, and the soft coconut inside provides just the right creamy texture.


Recipe: SweetAsHoney

Three Hawaiian-Style Puddings in Glass Dessert Cups with a Closeup of a Spoonful
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Hawaiian Pudding

Sugar-free pudding is the base of this dessert parfait. The layers of flavor come from mandarin oranges and almond and/or orange extract, which boost the level of perceived sweetness without actually adding any additional sugars.


Recipe: Everyday Diabetic Recipes

Cottage Cheese Fluff in a White Bowl on a Blue and White Lined Napkin with a Spoon
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Cottage Cheese Fluff

Somewhere between a mousse and a cheesecake is where this dessert fits in. Using whipped topping and sugar-free gelatin mix, low-fat cottage cheese is turned into a sweet, protein-rich sweet dessert that can be enjoyed in fairly large portions.


Recipe: Allrecipes

Sugar-Free Low Carb Blackberry Cobbler in an Iron Skillet with Two Spoons
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Blackberry Cobbler

Berries are a lifesaver when it comes fruity, baked desserts, thanks to their intense zingy flavor that is at once sweet, tart, and always low on the glycemic index. Using monk fruit to sweeten this dish keeps carbs low.


Recipe: Wholesome Yum

Six Dark Chocolate Frozen Banana Bites with Toothpicks on Wax Paper
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Dark Chocolate Frozen Banana Bites

This easy recipe yields a delightful after-dinner bite or refreshing midday treat that is diabetic-friendly. The bananas and nuts keep this recipe full of fiber and blood-sugar-stabilizing nutrients.


Recipe: Health


Related: Ridiculously Easy Dump-and-Bake Desserts