Allergen Information
Contains: Gluten, Wheat
May contain: Milk, Sesame, Soy
Nutrition per 100g
Snacks & Sweets › Chips & Savory Snacks
Pretzels for Gestational Diabetes
Hard pretzels are a popular baked savoury snack made primarily from refined wheat flour, water, yeast, and salt. Dough is shaped into traditional twists, sticks, or small bites, dipped briefly in an alkaline bath to produce their characteristic glossy brown crust, and then thoroughly baked until crisp and dry. Most commercial varieties feature coarse rock salt pressed onto the exterior. Because they contain little water or fat, hard pretzels have a firm, crunchy texture and a long shelf life. They are widely eaten on their own or served with dips across many regions worldwide.
At a glance
Pregnancy safety
SafeBlood sugar impact
mediumCarbs / 100 g
80gIs Pretzels safe with gestational diabetes?
Hard pretzels consist predominantly of carbohydrates derived from refined wheat flour, offering about 80 g of carbohydrate per 100 g with very modest amounts of dietary fiber at 3.0 g. Because refined flour digests rapidly, pretzels tend to have a higher glycemic index of 81. For anyone navigating gestational diabetes, incorporating them into an eating plan generally calls for careful planning and strict attention to serving sizes. While they contain minimal fat at 2.5 g per 100 g, their concentrated carbohydrate density means they can easily cause post-meal glucose readings to rise higher than desired if consumed freely.
How does Pretzels affect blood sugar during pregnancy?
Because the starch in white wheat flour is rapidly broken down into glucose, hard pretzels tend to raise blood sugar levels quite quickly. The lack of significant fat, protein, or viscous fiber means there is minimal physical barrier to slow gastric emptying. As a result, eating pretzels alone between meals may produce a steep upward glucose trend. Even though their total sugar is low at 2.5 g per 100 g, the high starch content behaves much like simple sugars during digestion. Checking your blood glucose levels after eating can help you observe how your body processes this refined snack.
What is a safe portion of Pretzels for gestational diabetes?
A sensible single portion for a gestational diabetes eating plan is around 25 g, which typically equates to a small handful of mini pretzels or about fifteen small sticks. This 25 g serving supplies approximately 96 calories and 20 g of carbohydrate, which fits comfortably within many individual snack allowances. Eating directly from a large bag makes it easy to take in double or triple this amount without realizing. Weighing your portion on kitchen scales or placing a counted amount into a small ramekin helps you stick to your intended carbohydrate target for your snack.
How should I combine Pretzels to manage blood sugar during pregnancy?
To help buffer the quick absorption of refined carbohydrates, pair a 25 g portion of pretzels with sources of protein and dietary fat. Dip them into unsweetened natural peanut butter, almond butter, or a portion of cream cheese. Alternatively, enjoy your pretzels alongside a hard-boiled egg, a stick of cheddar cheese, or a bowl of full-fat unsweetened Greek yoghurt. Adding sliced raw cucumbers or celery sticks can also provide extra volume and hydration without extra carbohydrate. Discussing personalized snack combinations with your dietitian, diabetes educator, or midwife can help support your daily food choices.
Last reviewed: August 31, 2026
Important Safety Information
Every pregnancy is different, and gestational diabetes is managed differently depending on your readings, your medication and how far along you are. The ratings and portions on this page are general information — not a diagnosis, a treatment plan or a medical device — and they cannot see your results.
- Low blood sugar:
- If you take insulin or diabetes medication, eating less carbohydrate than your team planned for can push your blood sugar too low. Treat a reading below 70 mg/dL (3.9 mmol/L), or symptoms such as shaking, sweating, confusion or a racing heart, with fast-acting carbohydrate immediately and retest after 15 minutes. Never use this page as a reason to skip or shrink a meal you were told to eat.
- Carbohydrate and ketones:
- Cutting carbohydrate hard to force a number down is not safe in pregnancy — it can produce ketones. Published guidance sets a minimum of 175 g of carbohydrate per day in pregnancy. Readings that stay above target for several days need your care team, not a smaller portion.
- Medication and insulin:
- The portions here are generic and know nothing about your insulin doses, your metformin, or the steroids given to mature your baby's lungs — all of which change how a meal affects you. Never adjust a dose or a mealtime based on this page.
- Food safety in pregnancy:
- Blood sugar is not the only thing that makes a food suitable while you are pregnant. Some foods with excellent glycemic numbers still carry mercury, vitamin A, listeria or alcohol risks, and those are judged separately from the ratings shown here. Check your national pregnancy food-safety guidance before adding an unfamiliar food.
- What these ratings can and cannot tell you:
- Glycemic index values, impact ratings and maximum servings are population averages taken from published tables. Two people eating the same food can get very different readings, so your own meter is the only measurement that describes you. Nutrition figures are indicative per 100 g and vary with brand, ripeness and preparation.
Contact your care team the same day if: your readings stay above target for several days; you have a reading below 54 mg/dL (3.0 mmol/L) or needed someone else's help to treat a low; you test positive for ketones; or your baby is moving less than usual. Seek emergency care for confusion, fainting, repeated vomiting, or a low you cannot bring back up.
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Sources & Editorial Review
Content independently developed by Dalo Labs ApS, informed by the American Diabetes Association's Standards of Care in Diabetes, ACOG's gestational diabetes guidelines, and the IADPSG consensus criteria. Not endorsed by or affiliated with any referenced organization. · Last reviewed: August 2026
- American Diabetes Association — Management of Diabetes in Pregnancy: Standards of Care in Diabetes—2026
- ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 190 — Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (reaffirmed 2026)
- USDA FoodData Central — Nutritional Database
- Atkinson et al. — International Tables of Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load Values 2021 (Am J Clin Nutr)
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