Who doesn’t love the decadent taste of dark chocolate? Don’t get me wrong, milk chocolate is delicious, I’d likely still opt for it on s’mores, but there is something about the stand-alone richness of dark chocolate that does the taste buds right.
The good news is that dark chocolate has many health benefits. including improving blood flow, lowering blood pressure, reducing insulin resistance, and reducing free radicals. Dark chocolate, in particular, contains a higher percentage of cacao, which will offer you more health advantages than milk chocolate. Most importantly, dark chocolate means less sugar, so your blood glucose levels can remain stable.
Thankfully many food companies are on board with the benefits of low-sugar products and know that low-carb chocolate is a priority for those of us with a sweet tooth. Here are my favorite dark chocolate bars that are rich in flavor but lack unnecessary sugar!
Lindt 85% Cocoa Dark Chocolate Excellence Bar – 7g net carbs
Eating a traditional brand of well-known chocolate will help you feel like part of the gang, but won’t spike your blood sugars. Lindt chocolate comes in a variety of flavor and cocoa percentages, be sure to check out the ones with 85% cocoa or more which taste rich and decadent but not too overpowering. Each serving is only 7 grams of net carbs, which is a treat when we are talking about indulgent chocolate bars.
Ghirardelli Intense Dark 92% Cacao Dark Chocolate Bar – 6g net carbs
This intense flavor of dark chocolate can pack a punch of sweetness while also offering the rich taste of high percentage cacao. With 6g net carbs per serving, this is something you can indulge in. Be sure to check out Ghirardelli’s other offerings, many are diabetes-friendly!
Lakanto Sugar-Free Chocolate Bar – 3g net carbs
Our friends at Lakanto, who are known for using zero glycemic index monkfruit sweetener, created these delicious chocolate bars that only contain 3g net carbs! Monkfruit is one of our favorite zero-sugar sweeteners. With 55% cocoa, this bar is slightly more creamy and less rich than some of the others on this list and is great for baking too!
ChocZero Raspberry Dark Chocolate Rose Bar – 3g net carbs
These bars are beautifully designed in the shape of a rose, which makes the perfect gift for a loved one. They will appreciate the delicious taste of tart low-sugar raspberry combined with the richness of dark chocolate and can rest assured that it won’t spike their blood sugars. At only 3g net carbs per serving, this bar, also sweetened with monkfruit, is one to try!
CHOCOperfection Dark European Chocolate Bar – 2g net carbs
Another beautiful bar, with gold foil wrapping, will make you feel like you’re eating something extremely sophisticated. The taste of this European dark chocolate is perfectly rich without being bitter and includes 9 whole roasted almonds in each bar. The entire bar is only 2g net carbs making this bar an absolute must-try if you are looking for great taste and stable blood sugars!
Ross Chocolates Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt – 7g net carbs
This brand was founded in 1995 by Bob Ross, who was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and wanted to watch his sugar intake but not give up his love for chocolate. He went on to create this line of chocolate, using stevia as a natural sweetener, that doesn’t contain any added sugars. They were kind enough to send it to me free of charge and I was more than pleasantly surprised. My favorite is the dark chocolate taste combined with a salty crunch; it only has 7g net carbs!
As you can see from the decadent dark chocolates listed above, there are plenty of diabetes-friendly chocolate bars out there. Make sure to read the nutrition label and ingredients list to know for sure if your chocolate is truly low-carb. Also, pay attention to what the bars are sweetened. Maltitol, for example, is a sugar alcohol that can actually spike your blood sugar.