15 PCOS Friendly Desserts To Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth

If you have a sweet tooth, you’re going to love these PCOS friendly desserts!

As a PCOS dietitian, I’m absolutely not against “regular desserts” but I’m also always interested in trying new desserts that taste delicious and have a bit of good nutrition in them. 

In this blog post, I’m going to walk you through what a PCOS friendly dessert is and I’ll give you some easy PCOS friendly dessert ideas and recipes. 

What Are PCOS-Friendly Desserts?

While the internet and social media are filled with misguided advice that everyone with PCOS should go gluten-free or low carb, you’re probably wondering how your favorite delicious desserts could ever fit into a healthy PCOS diet. 

The truth is that eating a lot of traditional dessert options will drastically increase your carbohydrate and sugar intake. This can cause higher rises in your blood sugar levels, which may worsen your insulin sensitivity over time (aka make insulin resistance worse). 

Since insulin resistance and chronic inflammation play a big role in PCOS symptoms, balancing blood sugar levels and lowering inflammation are key. The good news is that a healthy diet and lifestyle changes can be a great way to accomplish this. 

PCOS-friendly desserts are usually lower in added sugar. They may also have beneficial nutrients that can support your PCOS. 

PCOS friendly desserts that are more beneficial for your PCOS may contain: 

Less Added Sugar 

It’s no surprise that regular desserts are loaded with sugar, particularly added sugar, which can spike blood sugar levels. A PCOS friendly dessert may simply use less added sugars, such as white sugar or brown sugar. 

Even natural sweeteners like maple syrup, honey, coconut sugar, or agave nectar should be used more sparingly. They’re not off limits, you just want to be mindful of your intake since these natural sugars can still impact your blood sugar levels like regular table sugar can. 

If you’re trying to steer clear of added sugar altogether, you may be more interested in desserts that use monk fruit sweetener, stevia, allulose, or erythritol. These are naturally occurring sweeteners that are low calorie and low carb.

Fiber

Fiber is a type of carbohydrate that moves through the digestive system relatively slowly, which gives a longer lasting feeling of fullness. It also keeps blood sugar levels more stable and supports digestion and heart health.

Oats, oat flour, almond flour, chia seeds, flaxseeds, or fruits like berries are a few ingredient additions that can really boost the fiber content of your desserts.

Protein

Getting enough protein will keep you feeling full for longer periods of time by stabilizing blood sugar levels and positively altering your hunger and fullness hormones. 

Using Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, nut butters, or protein powders in your recipes are some ways to sneak more protein into desserts.

Healthy Fats

Fat is necessary for hormone production and is often overlooked. Healthy fats are also heart healthy and can keep you feeling full for longer too. 

Incorporating ingredients like nut butter, seed butter, nuts, chia seeds, flaxseeds, avocado, olive oil or shredded coconut can help you sneak some healthy fats into your diet. 

Simple ingredient tweaks can easily make a traditional dessert recipe into a healthy dessert recipe if you like to make your own. There’s also several options on grocery shelves that can line up with your PCOS health goals too. 

Store-Bought PCOS Friendly Dessert Ideas

Sometimes you just want to be able to pick something up at the grocery store when the cravings hit. Trust me, I get it! Store-bought desserts are easy and convenient. With a bit of selectivity, you can also have a PCOS friendly treat. 

Here’s some of my favorite store bought PCOS desserts:

1. Yasso frozen bars
2. Kind frozen bars (the dark chocolate almond sea salt and nut one tastes like a frozen Snickers bar!)
3. Chocolate covered nuts like this one or this one
4. Chocolate hummus with strawberries or apple slices
5. Honey roasted nuts or seeds without a ton of added sugar like this one or this one
6. PB chocolate cups like this one or this one
7. Smart Sweets
8. Brownie squares
9. This caramel cashew bar. I’m not sure how they do it but it tastes like a candy bar!

If you’re a baker or homemade dessert lover, let’s dive into some delicious recipes that are PCOS friendly. 

Easy PCOS Dessert Recipes

Like I mentioned before, some simple tweaks to traditional recipes can be a great way to create delicious sweets that also align with your health goals. 

If you’re an avid baker and want to experiment more with healthier alternatives for PCOS, there are some pantry staples that I’d consider keeping on hand, such as:

• Almond flour
• Coconut flour
• Whole wheat flour
• Natural sweeteners such as monk fruit sweetener, honey, and maple syrup
• Dark chocolate chips (these are my favorite brand, they have 5 grams of fiber and no added sugar per serving)

Ok, let’s dive into some PCOS-friendly dessert recipes! Here are a few of my favorites:

10. PCOS Friendly Cookies

These sweet treats are both delicious and more nutritious than your typical chocolate chip cookie. This recipe uses a few easy ingredient swaps such as oat flour, ground flaxseed, and dark chocolate chips to give you a delicious PCOS cookie. Each cookie gives you up to 6 grams of fiber, 5 grams of protein, and healthy omega 3 fatty acids. 

11. No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Cups 

If you’re looking for a dairy-free dessert option, these peanut butter chocolate cups are a great idea. They’re easy to make, only 5 ingredients, and require zero baking. Plus, they will satisfy your sweet cravings, while also giving you fiber, protein, and healthy fats. 

12. Healthy Greek Yogurt Popsicles

These fruity pops are simple to make but pack a lot more nutrition than your typical popsicles. With Greek yogurt and fresh fruit, you get fiber and about 4 grams of protein per popsicle – a significant bump from your typical popsicle. 

13. Chocolate Chia Pudding

While you may not usually think of chia pudding as dessert, this chocolate chia pudding recipe may change your mind! This chia pudding has a delicious chocolate flavor while also delivering quality nutrition. Chia seeds are rich sources of magnesium and zinc: two nutrients that most people with PCOS are usually low on.  

With a whopping 10 grams of fiber, 5 grams of protein, plus healthy fats, this dessert is one that will satisfy your sweet tooth and keep your blood sugar levels stable. 

14. High Protein Chocolate Pudding

Cottage cheese is the secret ingredient in this chocolate pudding, providing an impressive 13 grams of protein per serving plus gut-healthy probiotics. This easy recipe only requires 4 ingredients and a few minutes of active prep time to have a decadent chocolate dessert in your fridge. It also freezes well in popsicle molds to give you a high protein fudgsicle!

15. Frozen Cottage Cheese Bark

If you’re looking for a frozen sweet treat, this cottage cheese bark is absolutely divine! It combines probiotic and protein-rich cottage cheese with a little honey then the perfect ratio of peanut butter and dark chocolate layers. Store it in the freezer for when you want an afternoon or evening pick-me-up!

PCOS Friendly Desserts FAQs

Do I Always Have To Eat PCOS Friendly Desserts?

Absolutely not. As someone who lives with PCOS, I totally understand that the birthday cake at your cousin’s birthday party or the brownies at your friend’s pot luck aren’t always going to be the most PCOS-friendly options. 

Eating well for PCOS is all about balance. Not everything that you eat is always going to be the better option or the healthiest version that it could be. Follow the tips in the next section for how to eat your desserts…it’s especially helpful in this situation!

How Can I Include Dessert With PCOS?

The time that you eat your dessert will make a big difference in your blood sugar levels. If you eat your dessert alongside a meal, you’ll see less of a blood sugar spike. That’s because your meal will have other nutrients (such as protein, fiber, and fat) to slow down how quickly it’s digested. 

The Bottom Line

Just because you have PCOS does not mean you need to exclude your favorite sweet treats.

When eaten alone, traditional desserts may spike your blood sugar levels. Using some simple ingredient swaps, PCOS friendly desserts typically have less added sugar and may contain beneficial nutrients such as fiber, protein, and healthy fats.   

If you’re having sweet cravings, I’d recommend enjoying a PCOS friendly dessert alongside your meal to reap the most benefits. You can find many PCOS friendly dessert options at your local grocery store or you can make your own using any of the recipes mentioned above. 

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