10 Diabetic Appetizers That Work for Any Party

1g carbs · 60 mins · makes 16

Pizza is often the first thing people with diabetes cross off the menu. Swapping the crust puts it right back on! Cauliflower rice gets mixed with egg, almond flour, and coconut flour, shaped into little rounds, then topped with crushed tomatoes, mozzarella, oregano, and fresh basil.

Regular pizza dough is mostly wheat flour, and wheat flour is where nearly all the carbs come from. Take the flour out and you take almost all the carbs with it. Each mini pizza gives you protein of 2 grams and just 1g carbs. Serve them warm and watch them disappear.

2g carbs · 45 mins · makes 45

Where the pizzas feed a small crowd, this recipe feeds a big one. Diced tilapia and shrimp get cured in lime juice with tomato, red onion, jalapeño, yellow pepper, and cilantro, then spooned onto thick cucumber slices.

The filling is almost all protein and water, and the crisp cucumber does the job a cracker usually would. One batch makes 45 cups, each with calories of 17 and carbs of 2. They look fancy enough for a dinner party, but all you are really doing is spooning ceviche onto cucumber. (We won't tell if you don't!)

5g carbs · 120 mins · makes 20

Savory bites are the easy part. Finding something sweet that stays under 5 grams of carbs is much harder, and the boxed kind at the store almost never manages it. This one needs four ingredients: natural low sodium peanut butter, crushed unsalted pretzels, dark chocolate chips, and a dusting of cocoa.

Nothing sweetens them beyond what comes in the chocolate, so the sugar line reads only 2 grams. Start to finish they take two hours, so make them the day before and cross them off your list early.

6g carbs · 15 mins · serves 8

Fruit gets to come to the party too. Sweet strawberries and creamy avocado turn out to be a great match, and the whole bowl is six ingredients stirred together raw: strawberries, red onion, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice, and avocado.

The avocado brings enough fat and fiber to slow down the natural sugar in the fruit, so you get fiber of 3 grams against carbs of 6. Ready in fifteen minutes, it works as a dip and as a sauce. Spoon it over grilled chicken, or set it out right next to the cucumber cups.

6g carbs · 45 mins · makes 16

Same carb count as the salsa, but this one is for when you want something that looks like dessert. Soaked cashews get blended with coconut oil, coconut milk, a spoonful of maple syrup, vanilla, lemon, and a little zucchini (yes, trust us!), then piped into hollowed-out berries.

Dark chocolate and crumbled graham cracker go on top. Two pints of berries stretch across 16 servings, and that portion size is what keeps each one to calories of 62 and carbs of 6. Nobody will guess there is a vegetable in the filling.

7g carbs · 45 mins · serves 12

Zucchini gets cut into sticks, dipped in egg, rolled in panko with Parmesan, oregano, thyme, basil, and garlic powder, then baked until crisp. Because you're skipping the fryer completely, you don't get the battered-and-fried double whammy of refined starch and oil.

The coating stays thin, so most of what you are eating is still vegetable. Parmesan does the heavy lifting on flavor without adding much bulk. Each serving lands at protein of 4 grams, carbs 7 grams. Ready in forty-five minutes, they are best straight off the pan.

7g carbs · 45 mins · makes 32

Baked goods can work here too, as long as the muffin is small. This batch makes 32 of them. Cornmeal and whole wheat flour form the base, along with buttermilk, one egg, canola oil, and a single tablespoon of honey for the entire tray.

Seeded jalapeños, scallions, and sharp cheddar give them enough kick that you won't reach for butter. Each muffin comes in at 71 calories and 7g carbs. They freeze well, so bake the batch and pull out what you need.

8g carbs · 30 mins · serves 8

Muffins cover the soft and warm side of the table. This recipe covers crunch! Parsnips and one small sweet potato get peeled, sliced thin, tossed with olive oil, and baked until they crisp up, with salt and pepper as the only seasonings.

Root vegetables do sit higher on the carb scale than zucchini, and that is the trade you make for real texture. You still get 2 grams fiber against 8g carbs. Set these out when there is a bowl of chips on the table and you want something else to reach for.

10g carbs · 60 mins · makes 32

Hitting double digits buys you something more filling, which matters in the evening when one small bite has to hold you for a while. Rolled oats, vanilla protein powder, low sodium peanut butter, and canned pumpkin purée get rolled into balls with dark chocolate chips mixed through.

Maple syrup is the only sweetener and it is spread thin across the whole batch, so the sugar line reads 4 grams. Each ball contains 3 grams protein and 10g carbs. Keep them in the fridge and you have an answer ready when a craving hits.

20g carbs · 30 mins · serves 16

Here is the highest carb count on the page, and also the most filling thing on it. What earns it a spot is what those carbs are made of. Canned black beans get blended with garlic, cumin, lime juice, and hot sauce, then served with whole wheat tortillas cut up and baked into chips.

Beans bring fiber and protein right along with their starch. Each serving gives you 4 grams fiber and 7g protein, with 20g total carbs of 20 including the chips. Put it out in a big bowl and nobody will guess it is diabetic party food.