11 Healthy Sweet Snacks for When You Want a Little Treat

When you’re craving sugar, there’s nothing more satisfying than the first bite of a sweet treat. This is especially true if you have an affinity for all things sugary—i.e., you have a sweet tooth. The drawback? Eating too much sugar can increase your risk for a myriad of health issues, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and overall inflammation.

Now, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the occasional sweet treat. They’re what makes life, well, sweet! But given the possible health effects of high sugar intake, it’s worth reaching for healthier snack options when possible. To get you started, we asked registered dietitians for the best snacks to eat when you’re craving sugar, complete with tips for making them at home.

Why Do I Crave Sweet Snacks?

“Sweet cravings aren’t just about having a sweet tooth,” says Jennifer Pallian, BSc, RD, a registered dietitian, food scientist, and founder of Foodess. Instead, they’re often related to more complex reasons, including biology and behavior. So much so that “these cravings can actually tell us a lot about what’s happening in the body and brain,” says Pallian.

Here are possible reasons behind your sugar cravings, according to dietitians: 

• Energy needs: “If you go too long without eating, or have a meal that’s not balanced with protein, fiber, and healthy fats, your body may crave sugar for a quick energy fix,” explains Valerie Agyeman, RD, a registered dietitian and host of women’s health podcast, Flourish Heights.
• Stress: “Cortisol—the stress hormone—can increase appetite and make you crave comforting carbs,” says Agyeman. Pallian echoes this notion, calling out the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the part of the brain that controls the body’s stress response. Chronic stress can keep the HPA axis overactive (and ultimately, increase cortisol levels), which can reinforce sugar cravings as a coping mechanism, notes Pallian.
• Habits: Sometimes, a hankering for sugar is actually habitual. “If you’ve conditioned yourself to reach for something sweet during certain moments, like an afternoon pick-me-up, it becomes routine,” says Agyeman.
• Emotional eating: Similarly, you might crave something sweet when you’re feeling certain emotions. “Eating sweets triggers a dopamine release, giving you a quick mood boost,” shares Agyeman. In turn, you might associate sweets with comfort, happy memories, or rewards, which can trigger a craving for sugary foods when you’re feeling stressed, anxious, or bored, Agyeman adds.
• Hormonal changes: “Hormonal shifts, such as those during menstruation, pregnancy, or menopause, can also make sweets more tempting,” says Agyeman.
• Lack of sleep: “When you’re sleep-deprived, your hunger hormones get out of balance, leading to stronger cravings for sugar,” explains Agyeman. 

  All that said, persistent or extreme cravings might be worth paying attention to, notes Pallian. “For example, in some cases, intense sweet cravings have been reported in Parkinson’s disease before motor symptoms appear,” Pallian explains. Frequent cravings might also point to more severe versions of the aforementioned reasons, like extreme stress or serious hormonal changes. In either case, it’s worth chatting with a healthcare provider if your sugar cravings won’t quit.

Snacks For When You’re Craving Something Sweet

“To reduce sugar cravings, the trick is to replace simple (low-fiber) carbohydrates with complex (high-fiber) carbohydrates,” says Michael Reavis Jr., MS, RD, LDN, a clinical dietitian at University of Maryland Medical Center. “Complex carbohydrates provide a more sustained energy source by slowing digestion, which signals to the body that energy will be available for a longer period,” Reavis continues.

Need ideas? Try the following dietitian-approved foods for when you’re craving something sweet. These snacks emphasize complex carbohydrates and, in many cases, a touch of naturally sweet ingredients that will satisfy your sweet tooth.