Four easy diabetic vegetarian recipes to try

making a diabetic friendly vegetarian pizza

Find out more about the popular substitutes you can use if you're vegetarian as well as diabetic and try out the recipes we recommend using them in.

Unsaturated fats

Eating high amounts of trans fats (a form of unsaturated fats) can impact your health negatively – regardless of whether you’re diabetic or not. Nevertheless, some research has found that having high amounts of unsaturated fats in your diet may be linked to insulin resistance. What’s more, they increase your risk of having high cholesterol or developing things like heart disease.

Typically, you’ll find trans fats in food items like margarine, many cooking oils, ready meals and store-bought baked goods.

White pasta for whole wheat, lentil or chickpea pasta

Whole wheat pasta typically contains three times as much fibre as white pasta, plus it has less risk of spiking your blood sugar levels. If you’re gluten-free, chickpea or lentil pastas are fantastic options which are high in both fibre and protein.³

White bread for wholegrain

White bread can be highly processed and a poor match for people trying to follow a diabetic diet. Consider switching to wholegrain or wholemeal bread instead. You could even make your own using spelt, buckwheat or brown rice flour.

Baked snacks instead of fried

If crisps and crackers are your favourite kind of snacks, make sure you’re choosing options which have been baked instead of fried. Snacks which are fried in oil tend to have a higher ratio of trans fats.

Fresh fruit instead of juice

While freshly squeezed juice doesn’t normally have any added sugar in it, it has been stripped of all its fibre during the juicing process. Try consuming fruit whole instead of in liquid form to benefit from the fibre and nutrients found in its skin and pulp.

Vegetarian black bean fajitas

Black beans are a great source of protein and the ideal ingredient to mix in with bell peppers, onions and mushrooms to create a fajita filling. Choose wholemeal, spinach or beetroot wraps.

Roasted vegetable pizza

Try making your own whole wheat pizza bases from scratch and then topping them with vegetables like bell peppers, courgettes and onion. Make your own tomato base by blending fresh tomatoes into a sauce.

Lentil or quinoa burgers

Lentils and quinoa make wonderful bases for healthy veggie burgers, plus the latter is a whole grain ideal for diabetics trying to avoid overly processed foods.

Make them by pre-cooking quinoa or lentils and combining them with grated carrot, mashed cannellini beans, wholegrain breadcrumbs, spring onion, seasoning and one whisked egg. Shape into patties and lightly fry on both sides until golden brown.

Moroccan-style stew

This is an easy one-pot meal that’s low fat and filled with vitamin-packed vegetables. Simply combine butternut squash, sweet potato, aubergine, chickpeas and tomatoes with some water and spices in a casserole dish and simmer until tender. Serve with wholemeal pitta bread for dunking.⁴

Check out the free-from products in our home cooking section to discover options suitable for diabetics. Need some more advice on general nutrition and healthy eating? Head on over to The Health Hub.