Dietary carbohydrates have long been expected to be associated with risk of type 2 diabetes; however, the associations for many carbohydrates and carbohydrate-rich foods remain inconclusive. This study analysed associations between intakes of six types of carbohydrates and thirteen carbohydrate-rich foods with incident type 2 diabetes in 26 622 participants (61 % women) in the Malmö Diet and Cancer Study in southern Sweden. Dietary intake was assessed at baseline (1991-1996) by using a modified diet history method. During mean follow-up of 18 years, 4046 cases were identified. Adjusting for potential confounders (including lifestyle, BMI and dietary factors), comparing highest v. lowest quintile of intake, monosaccharides (hazard ratio (HR) 0.88; 95 % CI 0.79, 0.98; Ptrend = 0.02) and fruits (HR 0.91; 95 % CI 0.82, 1.01; Ptrend = 0.03) were inversely associated with incident type 2 diabetes, while disaccharides (HR 1.17; 95 % CI 1.04, 1.30; Ptrend = 0.002) and sweets (HR 1.09; 95 % CI 1.00, 1.19; Ptrend = 0.02) were positively associated. After stratification by sex, marmalade/honey/jam (HR 0.82; 95 % CI 0.72, 0.94; Ptrend < 0.001) and vegetables (HR 0.85; 95 % CI 0.73, 0.98; Ptrend = 0.06) were inversely associated with incident type 2 diabetes in men and chocolate (HR 1.26; 95 % CI 1.09, 1.46; Ptrend < 0.001) was positively associated in women. In conclusion, we identified inverse associations for intake of monosaccharides and fruits with type 2 diabetes risk, and positive associations for disaccharides and sweets. Additional sex-specific associations were also identified. Future studies are needed to explore these associations further.