Looking for diabetes recipes that actually taste good? At SwitchGrocery Canada, we understand what it's like to deal with diabetes. That's why we're sharing some of our favorite cooking recipes for diabetes with healthy, easy to use ingredients. Find diabetes recipes online at SwitchGrocery today.
Not only do we love good food but we also love great recipes that are easy to make, simple and don't take a lot of time. Furthermore, we want recipes with good clean ingredients that are low in carbohydrates and don't spike your blood sugars.
Cooking for Diabetes
Cooking for diabetes can be difficult especially when you also are cooking for a family and have other dietary restrictions you need to account for. Not only are recipes for diabetics often hard to find, they are often labelled as "diabetic-friendly" yet still contain a lot of carbs even though they replaced the sugar with a sweetener.
Before we move on to diabetic recipes, we want to share this list of items that we always stock up on when we go grocery shopping. Having these items on hand will make cooking for diabetes much easier.
Beef: ground beef, burgers, steaks (preferably ribeyes or striploins), stewing beef, and sometimes a roast.Poultry: whole chicken, chicken wings, chicken breasts, chicken thighs
Pork: hot dogs and sausages, pork chops, bacon and ribs
Veggies: cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, avocados, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, garlic and peppers
Fruit: fresh or frozen strawberries, blueberries and blackberries
Dairy: cheese, heavy cream, greek yogurt, butter, ghee
Oils: olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil
Other staples: eggs, almond flour, coconut flour, xanthan gum, sweeteners (erythritol, monk fruit, stevia), salt, black pepper
We even made this Shopping List in a printable format for you.
Cooking Ideas for Type 2 Diabetes
Cooking for type 2 diabetes doesn't have to be difficult. One thing to keep in mind is what protein am I going to use and which vegetable am I going to pair it with? That's it! Once you have this simple concept down, cooking for diabetes becomes so much easier.
So let's say I choose a steak as my protein, then I might choose to grill some asparagus along with it. Done! Choose your protein and then choose your low carb veggie.
What can I do with stewing beef? The possibilities are endless here, let's stew some beef in a low carb tomato sauce and serve it with some italian cauliflower rice on the side.
What about ribs? What should I serve with that? Ribs go well with a side of broccoli smothered in melted cheddar.
Sausages go well with peppers and onions. Slice them all up and grill them in a skillet. Just keep an eye on the amount of peppers and onions as they are higher in carbs.
Are you getting the hang of how easy it is to cook for type 2 diabetes? Good! Let's move on to some tried, tested and true recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert.
Breakfast Recipes for Diabetes
Typical diabetes breakfast may consist of bacon and eggs, berries with greek yogurt, avocado on a low carb toast. We are sharing some breakfast recipes that can go along with the basic or traditional breakfast meals.
Low Carb Cheesy Breakfast Biscuits
These low carb and Keto-friendly breakfast biscuits are great to add into your morning routine. You can add cream cheese, butter, or add an egg to create a breakfast sandwich. Using Good Dee’s Cracker Biscuit baking mix, these biscuits were made in under 30 minutes making it the perfect, quick and easy breakfast option for the whole family.
Macros:
Servings: 10 | Calories: 120 | Net Carb: 3g | Total Fat: 10g | Total Carb: 11g | Fiber: 8g | Protein: 4g
Breakfast Pizza
Who doesn’t love a healthy breakfast pizza to start your day?! Get this delicious and easy breakfast idea ready for your kids, partner, and yourself in under an hour for the WHOLE WEEK! Eat it hot, cold, on the go, or at your desk! The options are endless using Bake in a Minute for your quiche base while offering a healthy meal for everyone! This low carb breakfast option is not only Keto friendly, but it also offers a vegetarian and dairy free alternative to other breakfast meal preps. Cooking for diabetes just go so much easier.
Bake in a Minute mixes offer a quick and convenient way to meal prep! Choose from using a microwave for a quick bread in 90 seconds or in the oven to create a perfect Keto pizza crust, garlic bread, muffins, waffles, or in this case a quiche base! Follow the recipe below to keep CARBS LOW but FLAVOURS HIGH!
Macros:
Servings: 8 | Calories: 250 | Net Carb: 4g | Total Fat: 20g | Total Carb: 6g | Fiber: 2g | Protein: 14g
Sugar Free, Low Carb Waffles
These diabetic-friendly, low carb waffles are just the kind of fluffy goodness you’ve been craving! This is an easy keto breakfast idea that even non low carbers will devour. We wanted to get extra so we even candied some pecans for an added crunch. Follow the step by step instructions below to re-create this yummy sugar free and diabetic friendly recipe!
Macros (Waffle Mix Only):
Servings: 8 | Calories: 250 | Net Carb: 4g | Total Fat: 20g | Total Carb: 6g | Fiber: 2g | Protein: 14g
Lunch Recipes for Diabetes
Here are some great lunch recipes to make. These delicious diabetes recipes will be on rotation while you navigate your type 2 diabetes and make healthier choices.
BBQ Chicken Tenders
Are you missing breaded chicken tenders? Now you can make these low carb, fast food inspired “breaded” chicken tenders with a no sugar added BBQ sauce from Buster Rhinos! You only need three ingredients and you will have some diabetic friendly BBQ chicken tenders in under an hour!
Macros:
Servings: 4 | Calories: 170 | Net Carb: 4g | Total Fat: 5g | Total Carb: 4g | Fiber: 0g | Protein: 28g
Keto Chow Soup
Sometimes you just want the comforting feeling of a warm bowl of soup. Making this diabetes recipe is easy thanks to Keto Chow. Finding a store-bought option without a ton of additives is challenging and this makes following a low carb lifestyle that much easier. Add in a variety of spices, veggies, or proteins to make this diabetic friendly soup really your own.
Macros:
Servings: 2 | Calories: 172 | Net Carb: 2g | Total Fat: 11g | Total Carb: 5g | Fiber: 3g | Protein: 14g
Chili Lime Turkey Burger
These burgers are perfect to go lunch ideas. These fresh, yet savoury burgers are also great for a summer BBQ! On top of the burger is an easy to make guacamole that is delicious on the burger or used to dip with your favourite crackers (see our favourites below). We also made a 90 second mug bread using Bake in a Minute. Follow along for an easy low carb burger recipe to keep Keto this summer. Bake in a Minute and Burlap and Barrel Spices were used in this recipe.
Macros:
Servings: 1 | Calories: 639 | Net Carb: 9g | Total Fat: 46g | Total Carb: 20g | Fiber: 11g | Protein: 43g
Dinner Recipes for Diabetics
Moroccan Chicken Kebabs
A savoury, healthy diabetic meal idea for any lifestyle! Serve this with grilled vegetables, cauliflower rice, or mix it all together for a tasty stir fry. Thanks to our friends at Burlap & Barrel for the recipe inspiration!
Diabetes Recipes | Find Recipes For Diabetes & Cooking Ideas For Type 2 Diabetes - SwitchGrocery
Macros:
Servings: 2 | Calories: 737 | Net Carb: 12g | Total Fat: 35g | Total Carb: 13g | Fiber: 1g | Protein: 63g
Blueberry Bacon Brie Burger
With rich, melted Brie cheese, crisp bacon, and diabetic-friendly blueberry jam, you get a ton of flavour with this sweet and savoury low carb burger! We love using Trulocal burgers but any burger will do for this tasty low carb BBQ dinner option. We also love topping our burgers with a low carb bun like these ones we created here! Get ready for your next BBQ or picnic with these delicious Blueberry Bacon Brie Burgers!
Macros (including bun):
Servings: 1 | Calories: 728 | Net Carb: 4g | Total Fat: 59g | Total Carb: 12g | Fiber: 8g | Protein: 38g
Tomato Basil Chicken
An easy diabetic recipe idea that’s ready in under 1 hour! With a ton of flavour thanks to Keto Chow and Burlap & Barrel, this chicken dish is going to be a hit at home. This is the perfect low carb diabetes meal to fill you after a long working day.
Macros:
Servings: 1 | Calories: 317 | Net Carb: 4g | Total Fat: 12g | Total Carb: 8g | Fiber: 4g | Protein: 46g
Dessert Recipes for Diabetes
Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
This is a nutritious, diabetic-friendly snack or dessert that everyone will enjoy! Using Fatso High Performance Peanut Butter, Coco Polo Sugar Free Chocolate and Lee’s Provisions Dark Chocolate ghee, these low carb muffins will not last long at home. Make a dozen for meal prepped snacks or breakfasts for the week ahead too! Besides being super delicious, they can be made in under an hour saving you time to enjoy them later.
Macros:
Servings: 12 | Calories: 195 | Net Carb: 4g | Total Fat: 16g | Total Carb: 13g | Fiber: 9g | Sugar Alcohols: 1g | Protein: 4g
Mint Chocolate Cookie Dough Bites
An easy, diabetic friendly dessert that is packed with chocolate and mint flavours. With the richness of chocolate and the cool minty freshness, these low carb cookie dough bites will be a hit. Check out this simple and delicious recipe using some of our Keto favourites like Keto Bars, Keto Chow, Munch Life Macadamia Butter and Lee's Ghee.
Macros:
Servings: 12 | Calories: 97 | Net Carb: 1.7g | Total Fat: 8.1g | Total Carb: 4.4g | Fiber: 2.7g | Protein: 3.6g
Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
Try these tasty Sugar Free and Low Carb Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies that are lemony fresh! Have delicious, chewy low carb cookies ready in 30 minutes at home with Good Dee’s ,Origin Vanilla and Burlap & Barrel! Make these and save for a week’s worth of meal prepped desserts to have ready on the go.
Macros:
Servings: 12 | Calories: 120 | Net Carb: 2g | Total Fat: 11g | Total Carb: 9g | Fiber: 3g | Sugar Alcohols: 4g | Protein: 3g
Finding Recipes for Diabetics
We hope with the above list and recipes for diabetics we are providing you with resources and tools that you can feel comfortable in the kitchen and managing your diabetes.
Cooking for diabetes does not have to be hard and we like to think we are making it easier for you by providing products and resources for you to maintain a healthy lifestyle while managing your blood sugars.
Don't forget that different foods can affect everyone differently and it's important to monitor your blood sugars to see how recipes and products affect you personally.