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Looking for go-for-you nibbles? These tasty healthy snack recipes are full of nutrients and energy to get you through the day.
It’s one thing to eat healthy dinner recipes and lunch recipes and breakfast recipes, but what about everything in between? Having healthy snack recipes on hand for when hunger strikes is crucial! As two cookbook authors who are also busy working parents, Alex and I have found this:
If we have healthy snacks stocked and on hand, it’s so much easier to choose those than an unhealthy alternative! But if our cupboard is stocked with potato chips and cookies, then of course we want those instead. Here are all our top healthy snack recipes to make on a weekly basis.
Our top healthy snack recipes!
Here’s a healthy snack that’s so delicious, you might find yourself sneaking one for dessert. Try this peanut butter energy balls recipe! Just mix a handful of simple ingredients together and bam! You’ve got an instant homemade snack that’s infinitely more delicious than store-bought granola bars or energy bites. Even better, they’ve got a good amount of protein and fiber for a tiny ball.
Here’s a healthy snack that’s captured our kiddo's imagination, and subsequently ours: Apple Nachos! This simple combination of sweetened yogurt, almonds and apple slices is so refreshing and delicious, it’s hard to stop sneaking bites.
These homemade protein bars are a family and fan favorite! They’re full of big peanut butter and chocolate flavor, using your favorite protein powder and a few extra ingredients. It’s a plant-based treat you can feel good about!
This spicy hummus is a spin on the classic dip with a little heat! It comes out ultra creamy and spiced to perfection, a great snack with veggies or pita bread. Add a spicy garnish if you like!
Here’s a go-to snack you’ll want to make again and again: this Veggie Dip recipe! It’s just creamy and savory enough, simple to whip up with just the right combination of spices. No need for prepackaged ranch seasonings here! This healthy veggie dip is a snack everyone will love: and it comes together in just 5 minutes.
Here’s a DIY healthy snack recipe that’s 100% worth making at home: Granola Bars! The flavor of a homemade bar is infinitely more delicious! The secret here? Lightly toasting the oats brings out a delightfully nutty undertone. Mix them with honey, peanut butter and cinnamon for a pure, wholesome flavor.
This delicious black bean dip is creamy, smoky, and full of flavor! Perfect as a snack or appetizer recipe, it’s so easy to whip up and pairs well with tortilla chips, veggies, or pita bread. It’s become a family favorite!
This date snickers recipe is a delicious, homemade no bake healthy snack made simply from Medjool dates, peanut butter, and chocolate! They’re great to keep on hand for snacking all week long, and fit many diets (gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan).
Here’s a fun and easy snack no one can turn down: Yogurt Bark! This play on chocolate bark uses frozen yogurt as the base. Mix Greek yogurt with a little honey and vanilla, then sprinkle with toppings of your choice: fruit, granola, chocolate chips, and nuts. Freeze it up and break it into pieces, and each bite is creamy and refreshing: perfect for kids and adults.
Need a quick, portable and energy boosting snack? Try homemade Trail Mix! It’s easy to find at the grocery, or mix it up at home. It’s fun, simple, and endlessly customizable to your tastes. Mix up your favorite blend of fruit, nuts, and seeds, and it’s a quick dose of energy for an afternoon slump or a portable snack for traveling.
Here’s an alternative that we think is even more fun than guacamole: this creamy Avocado Dip! Dip a chip into this luxuriously creamy, intensely savory magic sauce and pow! The meld of avocado, lime, cilantro and cumin is like a heightened version of your favorite guac. Even better: unlike guacamole, it magically stays green in the refrigerator for days!
Here’s a recipe that’s perfect for breakfast and all those in between moments, too: these ridiculously easy no bake Oatmeal Bars! These were big winners in our house and quickly solidified themselves into the weekly repertoire. These breakfast bars star peanut butter, honey, and Old Fashioned oats, and they’re a healthy breakfast or snack you can feel good feeding yourself or your family.
Want a chocolate fix? Here's the healthy snack for you! Here’s the great part: it tastes just like dark chocolate pudding! But it’s only Greek yogurt, dark cocoa powder, and maple syrup. So, you get the protein and probiotics of yogurt while getting your chocolate fix. Even better, you can make it in 2 minutes!
There's not too much needed to take those ordinary carrots and celery from blah to amazing. Our 3 best tricks? Play up the vegetable color and texture contrasts, make our dill dip recipe that takes just 5 minutes, add hummus as a contrasting dip, and go for steamed broccoli instead of raw: it makes everyone happy!
These healthy apple muffins use oatmeal and maple syrup to make a deliciously wholesome muffin! They’re made in a blender with no flour, and make a great breakfast or snack slathered with almond butter.
Here’s a tasty dip that will surprise you with its irresistibly creamy flavor: Black Bean Hummus! This spin on the traditional Mediterranean chickpea dip might sound fun, but here’s the thing. It tastes even better than it sounds! Black beans, lime, tahini and a bit of smoked paprika make creamy dip magic.
Stuffed dates are the perfect healthy snack, and they need no cooking at all! They're incredibly easy to make, and the flavor of this simple pairing is outrageous. Pair the sweet caramel chewiness of Medjool dates with tangy, fluffy goat cheese, and the sweet-savory combo is out of this world. For plant based, use any nut butter (like our homemade nut butter!).
These healthy oatmeal muffins are spiced and lightly sweet, featuring bananas, maple syrup and cinnamon. (They’re also gluten free and dairy free!) Mix up a batch early in the week and then reach for them when you need a quick energy boost.
Here’s a smoothie for when you’ve got a chocolate craving: the Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie! This tasty recipe features strawberries, banana, almond butter and cocoa powder, blended up into a lusciously creamy puree. Its rich, fruity flavor made it an instant hit over here, and we gobbled it up like it was a milkshake.
There’s nothing quite like the spiced crunch of a great granola recipe. The sweetness of the oats, the lightly fruity notes of hidden coconut, the gems of sweet raisin or cranberry…it’s both cozy and fresh, all once. Of course, the store-bought stuff can’t compare to homemade. Here’s our favorite recipe: sweet, perfectly spiced and ultra crispy.
Peanut butter frozen yogurt dots are a healthy treat and a sure hit with kids of all ages—even adults! Simply mix up yogurt with peanut butter and maple syrup and freeze it into little dot shapes. Then when you feel a sweet craving come on: head to the freezer!
This spiced crispy chickpeas recipe is the perfect salty, crunchy healthy snack! They’re baked simply with olive oil and spiced with chili powder and cumin. Alex and I are pretty addicted to these, personally.
Need healthy snack inspiration? Try a quick and easy Smoothie Bowl! Instead of sipping the fruity puree through a straw, try it in a bowl loaded up with toppings. It’s a satisfying blend of textures and flavors that admittedly tastes more like dessert than a healthy snack!
Need snack to impress? Try this Pineapple Salsa! The zing of the lime and heat of the jalapeno are the ideal pairing for this sweet fruit. Grab a juicy, ripe pineapple for this one: scoop it up with chips or crackers and each bite is an explosion of sweet, savory, salty and spicy.
Refuel yourself with homemade energy bars! This superfood pecan energy bar recipe is 100% kid approved and the perfect wholesome snack recipe. It’s perfect for on the go snacking.
Of course you don’t have to make homemade crackers: but it’s a great way to make sure they’re full of all natural ingredients and no preservatives! This almond cashew homemade crackers recipe shows you how to make crackers at home: they’re delicious and fun to make, too.
These simple honey roasted almonds take just 15 minutes to make and are refined sugar-free. One of our favorite healthy snack recipes to have on hand!
Here’s a customizable make-ahead recipe that works for a healthy snack (or lunch or breakfast): Egg Muffins! Bake up scrambled eggs in muffin tin cups with healthy veggies, then refrigerate them for meals all week! The filling is packed with good stuff: loads of spinach, cottage cheese for healthy protein, and jarred red pepper.
Why not try the same idea of those crispy chickpeas with black beans? Meet our new very favorite snack: roasted black beans! Make up a big batch and you will fall in love with this irresistible crunchy plant-based snack.
One of our fan favorite healthy snack recipes is this dark chocolate hummus! As dip for fruit and pretzels, it’s a surprising hit at parties and showers, and perfect for entertaining, too.
Healthy snacks…without a recipe!
Now, let’s also acknowledge that the easiest snacks have no recipe! Here are some snacks that we like to eat in our household that don’t require a recipe. What are your favorites?
- Peanut butter toast
- Sliced apples or bananas
- Roasted or smoked almonds
- Cheese and all natural crackers
- Cottage cheese
- Yogurt with a drizzle of maple syrup and berries
- Avocado toast (mashed avocado on toast with salt or Everything Bagel seasoning)
Want more? Go to our top Mediterranean diet snacks.
Energy Balls (& More Healthy Snacks!)
This peanut butter energy balls recipe is the best easy snack! Healthy oatmeal balls pack protein and fiber into tasty bites.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 20 1x
- Category: Snack
- Method: No bake
- Cuisine: Snack
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 2 cups Old Fashioned rolled oats
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter (no sugar added, or any nut butter or sunflower butter for nut free)
- ⅓ cup honey (or agave syrup for vegan)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup vanilla or chocolate protein powder (optional; we use this one)*
- 3 tablespoons mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Freeze the bowl for 5 minutes.
- Roll the dough into 20 small balls, pressing the dough together with your hands. We used a 1 1/2-inch cookie scoop (#40) to make uniform balls. You can also make smaller balls if desired. (If the texture of your nut butter makes the dough very dry, add a little more honey or a few tablespoons milk of choice until you can press it together into a ball shape.) Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. Enjoy!
More snack recipes
Want more? Here are a few more recipe ideas for snacking inspiration: