These 23 Diabetes-Friendly Desserts Will Make You Want to Make Them Every Day

Everybody needs to occasionally indulge their sweet taste. From warm, comforting cake to cool, fruity ice cream, these delicious sweets will undoubtedly help. For a diabetes-friendly treat you can feel good about, each recipe uses complex carbs, such as whole grains, and adheres to heart-healthy salt and saturated fat ratios.

Recipes like our Flourless Chocolate Cookies and Strawberry-Chocolate Greek Yogurt Bark are healthy ways to add some sweetness to your day while meeting your nutrition goals.

Strawberry-Chocolate Greek Yogurt Bark

Lightly sweetened Greek yogurt gets studded with fresh strawberries and chocolate chips and then frozen so you can break it into chunks—just like white 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.

Flourless Chocolate Cookies

These flourless cookies get their volume from whipped egg whites (like a meringue) instead of grains, making them gluten-free and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. A chocolate chip in each bite adds to the rich chocolate flavor.

Apple-Oatmeal Cookies

These healthy apple cookies made with oats, shredded apples and brown sugar make snack time enjoyable for everybody.

Crispy Peanut Butter Balls

All you need are four simple ingredients to make healthier crispy peanut butter balls that kids and grown-ups will love. Make this easy recipe for a bite-size treat, on-the-go snack or easy homemade gift. You can swap the peanut butter for almond butter or even sunflower seed butter if you need a nut-free snack for school.

Spiced Pumpkin Cookies

The deep flavors of molasses, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and nutmeg make these wholesome pumpkin cookies delicious without the addition of butter—and they lend themselves beautifully to the inclusion of whole-wheat flour. They are also the perfect texture for a sandwich cookie—fill them with a slightly sweetened cream cheese frosting.

Pineapple Nice Cream

All-fruit, dairy-free and with no added sugar are the hallmarks of nice cream, a healthy alternative to ice cream. This pineapple nice cream has tropical flavors, thanks to a hit of mango and lime. Making this naturally sweet frozen dessert in a food processor or blender takes just minutes. Enjoy it alone, or top with fresh fruit and toasted coconut.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Classic chocolate chip cookies get a fall update by mixing in pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice. Not only are these pumpkin cookies even more flavorful than regular chocolate chip cookies, they’re also oh-so-soft and cakelike. Use chocolate chunks for big gooey bites of chocolate or opt for mini chocolate chips to ensure a bit of chocolate in each bite.

Basic Crustless Pumpkin Pie

This crustless pumpkin pie hits all the notes with creamy pumpkin that’s sweetened with just a touch of honey and infused with warm spices. We even include recipes for delicious toppings for your pie slice.

Bev’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

EatingWell reader Beverley Sharpe of Santa Barbara, California, contributed this healthy chocolate chip cookie recipe, giving them a healthy update by cutting back on sugar and incorporating whole grains. When she wants to increase the protein content, Sharpe replaces the rolled oats with 1 cup of almond meal.

Strawberry Nice Cream

This luscious strawberry nice cream is a wonderful healthy ice cream alternative. It’s all fruit, dairy-free, vegan, contains no added sugar and is bursting with sweet berry flavor. And it takes just minutes to whip up this easy, healthy dessert in a food processor if you freeze the fruit ahead. While you’ll get the best flavor from fresh berries, if you don’t have them on hand, feel free to use store-bought frozen fruit in this recipe. Serve the nice cream on its own, or top it with more fresh berries for a refreshing treat any time of the year.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Kids and adults alike will love this easy peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipe, which—unlike most cookie recipes—doesn’t call for flour. These gluten-free peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are soft and chewy and, with only five simple ingredients, they can easily be whipped up by young chefs and enjoyed as an after-school treat. They’re also perfect for a holiday party or a cookie swap.

No-Sugar-Added Vegan Oatmeal Cookies

Soft, chewy and no added sugar! Sweeten these classic oatmeal cookies with ripe bananas and raisins or dates. A touch of nut butter adds lots of flavor and holds the cookies together while keeping them vegan and gluten-free.

Chocolate-Fudge Pudding Cake

When you have a craving for a comforting dessert, try this pudding cake, which forms its own rich-tasting sauce as it bakes. The coffee flavor is subtle, but it adds complex depth to the cake’s flavor.

Meringues

Perfect meringues depend on totally yolk-free whites. The seemingly fussy step of separating each egg into a small bowl before combining them guarantees yolk-free whites for bakeshop-quality meringues every time. These crispy little morsels travel well and make great gifts too.

Soft Sugar Cookies

These easy and classic cookies incorporate mild-tasting white whole-wheat flour for extra fiber and nutrients.

Healthy Apple Crisp

There’s nothing like this old-fashioned apple dessert recipe to top off a good dinner. It’s low in calories and can be made even lower if prepared with a sugar substitute. For added fiber, keep the apple skins on and use whole-wheat pastry flour in place of the all-purpose flour.

Cinnamon-Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe takes oatmeal cookies up a notch with its cinnamony, buttery, delicious take on a much-loved classic dessert.

Watermelon Sherbet

The only difference between sorbet and sherbet is that the latter has a bit of dairy. In the case of this easy summer dessert, sweetened condensed milk adds sweetness plus a touch of creaminess.

Gingerbread Tea Cake

This low-calorie cake gets its festive flavor from molasses, cinnamon, ginger and ground cloves. Serve it for dessert during the holidays—or any time you want a soothing, gingery touch to your dessert.

Brownie Cookies

Cocoa powder and brown sugar make this easy drop cookie recipe taste like rich brownies but without the saturated fat and carbs of traditional brownies.

Pumpkin Pie Nice Cream

Can’t get enough pumpkin spice? Get the fall flavors you love in this dairy-free and vegan ice cream alternative made with bananas and pumpkin puree. This easy and healthy dessert contains no added sugar—unless you use the optional maple syrup, which is a delicious touch. Add some chopped pecans to make it really special.

One-Bowl Chocolate Cake

This easy-to-make chocolate cake is dark, moist, rich—and only dirties one bowl! Not quite as easy as boxed cake mixes, but those often contain unnecessary ingredients. Our simple “from scratch” recipe gives you a home-baked cake with healthful canola oil and whole-wheat flour for healthy fats and fiber.

Caramelized Spiced Pears

Serve these caramelized pear slices over ice cream, stir into plain yogurt or enjoy as a topping for pancakes or waffles. Brown-skinned Bosc pears hold their shape during cooking, but any variety of pears tastes delicious. Don’t worry about peeling them. Along with the fruit’s flesh, the skin becomes tender and adds a bit of fiber to this dessert.