27 Easy Diabetes-Friendly Dinners That the Whole Family Will Love

Sheet-Pan Chili-Lime Salmon with Potatoes & Peppers

These healthy, flavorful meals that fit into a diabetes-friendly diet are simple enough to pull together on even the busiest weeknights. Whether it's a one-pot pasta or a sheet pan dinner, these easy breezy dinners are sure to please everyone at the table. Plus, each recipe is lower in saturated fats and sodium while focusing on complex carbs and whole grains so you can eat to meet your goals. Recipes like our Chicken & Spinach Soup with Fresh Pesto and Sheet-Pan Chili-Lime Salmon with Potatoes & Peppers will soon be favorites in your kitchen.

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Chicken & Spinach Skillet Pasta with Lemon & Parmesan

Chicken & Spinach Skillet Pasta with Lemon & Parmesan

This one-pan chicken pasta combines lean chicken breast and sautéed spinach for a one-bowl meal that's garlicky, lemony and best served with a little Parm on top. It's a simple dinner the whole family will love.

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Chicken & Spinach Soup with Fresh Pesto

Chicken & Spinach Soup with Fresh Pesto

This fragrant, Italian-flavored soup takes advantage of quick-cooking ingredients—boneless, skinless chicken breast, bagged baby spinach and canned beans. It features a simple homemade basil pesto swirled in at the end to add a fresh herb flavor. If you are very pressed for time, you can substitute 3 to 4 tablespoons of a store-bought basil pesto.

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Classic Sesame Noodles with Chicken

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Sesame noodles become a satisfying meal with lean chicken and tons of veggies in this quick, healthy noodle recipe. Be sure to rinse the spaghetti until it's cold, then give it a good shake in the colander until it's well drained. Are you a spiralizing pro? Swap 5 cups of raw zucchini, carrot or other veggie "noodles" for the cooked pasta.

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Sheet-Pan Chili-Lime Salmon with Potatoes & Peppers

Sheet-Pan Chili-Lime Salmon with Potatoes & Peppers

Busy weeknights beg for something simple like this salmon sheet-pan dinner. Like the name suggests, it's all cooked on one pan. The potatoes get a head start, followed by sweet bell peppers and finally chili-coated salmon fillets. It's a complete meal with easy cleanup!

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Grilled Chicken with Farro & Roasted Cauliflower

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You can find farro in most grocery stores, near the rice. If you can't find farro, you can use wheat berries or brown rice instead; cook according to package directions.

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Stuffed Baked Potatoes with Pesto & Eggs

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Top baked potatoes with fried eggs, pesto, spinach and bacon for a loaded baked potato that's perfect for an easy dinner or hearty brunch. Omit the bacon for a vegetarian version that's just as delicious.

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Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup with Soft-Boiled Eggs

Homemade Chicken Ramen Noodle Bowls

Transform canned chicken noodle soup by adding fresh ginger, crunchy vegetables, herbs and a jammy soft-boiled egg. Look for a low-sodium soup that has 450 mg sodium or less per serving.

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Hearty Chickpea & Spinach Stew

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This satisfying stew comes together in a snap. Mashed chickpeas add body to the broth, and tomato paste adds a savory note without adding too much sodium in this healthy recipe for weight loss.

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Chipotle Chicken Quinoa Burrito Bowl

Chipotle Chicken Quinoa Burrito Bowl

This flavorful burrito bowl features grilled chicken coated in a spicy chipotle glaze. Loading it with vegetables and using quinoa in place of rice adds nutrition for a healthier dinner.

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Creamy Pesto Chicken Salad with Greens

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For a healthy variation on creamy chicken salad, we've replaced half the mayonnaise with basil pesto. Serve over greens or make it into a sandwich for a healthy dinner.

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Easy Pea & Spinach Carbonara

Easy Pea & Spinach Carbonara

Fresh pasta cooks up faster than dried, making it a must-have for fast weeknight dinners like this luscious yet healthy meal. Eggs are the base of the creamy sauce. They don't get fully cooked, so use pasteurized-in-the-shell eggs if you prefer.

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Beef Stir-Fry with Baby Bok Choy & Ginger

Chinese Ginger Beef Stir-Fry with Baby Bok Choy

All of the ingredients for this easy beef stir-fry recipe are cooked in one wok (or skillet), so not only is the meal-prep fast for this healthy dinner, cleanup is quick too. Look for Lee Kum Kee Premium oyster-flavored sauce in the Asian-foods aisle of your grocery store. It has the most concentrated oyster flavor.

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Lemon Chicken Pasta

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In this easy lemon chicken pasta recipe, we love the combination of lemon zest and toasted breadcrumbs. This healthy dinner is made with rotisserie chicken, quick-cooking spiralized zucchini and baby zucchini, so you get a complete meal in just 10 minutes.

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Charred Shrimp, Pesto & Quinoa Bowls

Charred Shrimp, Pesto & Quinoa Bowls

These shrimp, pesto and quinoa 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.

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Chicken & White Bean Soup

Chicken & White Bean Soup

Once again, rotisserie chickens can really relieve the dinner-rush pressure—especially in this Italian-inspired soup that cries out for a piece of crusty bread and a glass of red wine.

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Chicken & Vegetable Penne with Parsley-Walnut Pesto

Chicken and Vegetable Penne with Parsley-Walnut Pesto

Homemade pesto may seem daunting, but in this quick pasta recipe you can make a simple sauce in minutes while the pasta water comes to a boil. You can substitute frozen green beans and cauliflower for fresh; in Step 4, cook the frozen vegetables according to package directions before tossing with the pasta and pesto.

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Broccolini, Chicken Sausage & Orzo Skillet

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We love this quick skillet meal for busy evenings. The sausage and orzo simmer together in chicken broth, resulting in a creamy, risotto-like dish in under 30 minutes.

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Kale, Sausage & Pepper Pasta

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This healthy sausage and kale pasta recipe cooks in one skillet, so there's only one pot to clean! Try it with any greens you have in the fridge, such as chard or spinach.

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Green Veggie Bowl with Chicken & Lemon-Tahini Dressing

a blue bowl full of chicken and vegetables and a smaller bowl with dressing

For this healthy 30-minute dinner, treat your veggies like pasta and cook until al dente, or just done. If you have a little extra time, double or triple the lemon-tahini dressing and use it to quickly dress a salad or as a sauce for steak or shrimp.

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Mushroom & Tofu Stir-Fry

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This tofu veggie stir-fry is quick and easy, making it a great go-to weeknight meal. Baked tofu has a firm, toothsome texture that crisps well in a hot pan. You can find it in flavors like teriyaki and sesame, both of which are delicious here. Or opt for a smoked version, which has the same texture with a more robust flavor. Serve over brown rice.

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Lemon-Garlic Pasta with Salmon

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Wondering what to do with leftover salmon? This is a delicious and easy way to turn it into another weeknight-friendly, quick dinner. Don't forget to reserve some pasta water—its starch thickens the lemon-garlic pasta sauce and makes it silky-smooth.

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Grilled Steak Salad with Corn, Cucumbers & Sweet Onion Dressing

a recipe photo of the Grilled Steak Salad with Corn, Cucumbers, and Grilled Sweet Onion Dressing
Photographer: Rachel Marek, Food stylist: Annie Probst

Grilled onion does double duty in this quick, summery steak salad. Its sweet and smoky flavor is blended into the dressing, and the leftover wedges flavor the salad itself alongside grilled corn and sliced steak. Use a grill basket to grill the onions so they don't fall through the gaps between the grill grates.

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Farfalle with Tuna, Lemon, and Fennel

Farfalle with Tuna, Lemon, and Fennel

This warm, flaked tuna and lemon pasta recipe is ready in 30 minutes.

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Shrimp & Pepper Kebabs with Grilled Red Onion Slaw

Shrimp & Pepper Kebabs with Grilled Red Onion Slaw

These healthy grilled shrimp and mini bell pepper kebabs come together in just 30 minutes, so they're great for weeknight dinners. A bag of coleslaw mix is a time-saving meal starter. Here, we make it our own by mixing in grilled red onion and crushed pita chips. A homemade herb-feta dressing both coats the slaw and sauces the kebabs.

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Sesame Peanut Noodles with Chicken & Zucchini

a recipe photo Sesame Peanut Noodles with Chicken & Zucchini
Laura Kanya & Breana Killeen

In this creamy peanut noodle recipe, we swapped half the pasta for zucchini noodles to reduce the carbs and calories, and bump up the vegetables. Zucchini noodles can be found in the prepped vegetable section of your grocery store, or grab your spiralizer and make them from scratch. Two medium or one large zucchini should give you 6 cups.

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30-Minute Roasted Salmon Tacos with Corn & Pepper Salsa

a recipe photo of the Roasted Salmon Tacos with Corn Pepper Salsa
Sara Haas

A honey-and-chipotle glaze gives this roasted salmon a sweet and spicy kick. If you have time, consider grilling or broiling the corn for a few minutes for additional flavor. Short on time? Thawed frozen corn can be used in place of fresh.

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Salmon Rice Bowl

Salmon Rice Bowl
Ali Redmond

Inspired by the viral TikTok trend, this salmon rice bowl makes for a tasty lunch or dinner. With healthy ingredients like instant brown rice, salmon and veggies, you'll have a flavorful meal in just 25 minutes.

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