From The American Retirement Advisor

Sugar Smarts

Monthly guidance for better diabetes management

October 2026 Recipe

Chicken, Brussels Sprouts and Mushroom Skillet Bake

Photo: Eddie for ARA | Recipe: Diabetes Food Hub, American Diabetes Association

Ingredients

Chicken & Vegetables

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 1/2 lbs fresh Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size cubes
• 8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced

Seasoning

• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Creamy Finish

• 1 tbsp 1% milk
• 2 tbsp plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F with a rack in the middle.
2. Do all the knife work first: trim and halve the Brussels sprouts, dice the onion, slice the mushrooms, and cut the chicken into bite-size cubes. Once the pan is hot this dish moves quickly, so having everything ready is half the job.
3. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Cast iron is ideal, but any skillet that can go in the oven will do.
4. Add the onion, Brussels sprouts, chicken, and mushrooms all at once, then sprinkle over the Italian seasoning, kosher salt, and black pepper. Cook about 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the vegetables soften, the sprouts pick up some brown color on their cut sides, and the chicken is cooked through with no pink in the center.
5. While the skillet works, whisk the 1 tbsp milk and 2 tbsp Greek yogurt together in a small bowl until smooth.
6. Drizzle the yogurt mixture over the skillet and stir gently so everything gets lightly coated.
7. Scatter the 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella evenly over the top. Move the skillet to the oven and bake 15 minutes, until the cheese has melted and is bubbling at the edges.
8. Serve straight from the skillet, about 2 cups per person. One word of caution: that handle stays dangerously hot long after the pan leaves the oven, so lay a folded towel over it the moment you set it down.

Why This Recipe Works for Diabetics

This one comes out of the American Diabetes Association's own kitchen over on their Diabetes Food Hub, so the numbers were vetted long before I ever put a fork in it. Now, look at the panel and you will see 21g of carbohydrate, and I know that number makes some of us flinch. Read the next line down. Seven of those grams are fiber, which your body does not turn into blood sugar, so the carbohydrate that actually counts against you is closer to 14g. The Brussels sprouts are the reason. A pound and a half of them spread across four plates puts 7g of fiber on your fork, which is a quarter of what you want in an entire day, and fiber is the brake pedal on everything else in that pan. Add 33g of protein from the chicken and you get a plate that rises slowly and settles slowly. I wear a continuous glucose monitor, and this is the curve I want to see after dinner: a gentle climb, no spike, and no crash at nine o'clock that sends me back into the kitchen. There is no added sugar anywhere in it. The creamy finish is 2 tablespoons of Greek yogurt and a tablespoon of milk rather than a can of condensed soup, and that quarter cup of mozzarella browning on top is what turns a pan of sprouts into something you actually look forward to. If you are on one of the newer GLP-1 medicines, this plate works with you instead of against you, because even a smaller portion still leads with protein and fiber, and if you are not on one, nothing here changes; it is simply a very good dinner. One skillet, stovetop to oven, and it reheats the next night just as well as it ate the first.

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Sugar Smarts is a monthly feature in The American Retirement Advisor newsletter.

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