Use this list of healthy snacks for kids to make snack time easier. This list of toddler snacks includes fresh and nonperishable options to make it easier to serve nutritious food kids will actually want to eat.
I hope this healthy snacks for kids list helps to remind you of other options when you feel stuck or encourages you to try a few new foods with your little one.
There are nutritious kids snacks that range from fresh fruits and veggies to whole grains, dairy snacks, protein snacks, and more.
Each option is lower in added sugars, higher in whole grains and fiber, and can be paired up with another snack option to make a filling mini meal.
So whether you need protein snacks for kids, no-added sugar snacks, baby snacks, or no-bake snacks, this post has you covered.
TIP: Remember that most kids eat fairly balanced if you zoom out and look at their intake over the course of the week. So try not to stress about each specific meal or snack being “perfect”. It usually all evens out!
Table of Contents
Your toddler won’t eat? Help is here!
Sign up for our email updates to get tips and ideas sent your way!
Kids Snacks with Fresh Fruit
Here are some easy snacks with fruits for kids to try with your kids. All are really fast, hydrating, and nutritious.
- Apples, thinly sliced into matchsticks or very, very thin slices
- Baked Apple Slices
- Bananas
- Berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries)
- Citrus such as clementines, oranges, or mandarins, sliced
- Grapes, sliced in half vertically
- Fruit Cups (homemade or from the store in 100% juice)
- Fruit Wands
- Kiwi
- Melon
- Mango
- Peaches, sliced or stewed peaches
- Pears
TIP: Slice fresh fruit into small cubes or very thin slices for little kids so the pieces are easy to bite.
Toddler Snacks with Fresh Veggies
Offering veggies at snack time is a helpful way to increase the odds that the kids will eat more vegetables throughout the day. These are some favorites.
- Avocado, cubed or mashed on bread or toast
- Cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
- Cucumbers, sliced or diced
- Roasted sweet potato
- Shredded carrots or carrot slices/sticks (raw carrots are very hard to chew, so make sure they are very thin to start)
- Snap peas, slivered as needed
- Warmed frozen corn
- Warmed frozen edamame
- Warmed frozen peas
TIP: Offer a dip or sauce, such as ranch, guacamole, almond butter, salsa, sour cream, or hummus alongside any of these veggies to make them more flavorful and delicious.
Product we love
Dino Bars
These soft fruit and veggie bars are one of our very favorite toddler snacks. Use code yummy10 to save 10%.
Healthy Shelf-Stable Fruit Snacks
These are some of the fruits and veggies I like to keep in my pantry for additional healthy snacks for kids options besides just fresh.
- Apple chips (homemade or store-bought ones like Bare Snacks)
- Applesauce pouches
- Canned fruit in 100% juice
- Dried fruit (mango, apricots, cranberries, cherries), cut into small pieces as needed
- Freeze-dried fruit and veggies
- Fruit leather, torn into little pieces as needed
- Raisins
- Toddler pouches (like these Clearly Crafted ones or these yogurt pouches)
Whole Grain Toddler Snacks
These are some of my favorite whole grain snacks for kids to give them lots of energy between meals.
- Baby Puffs
- Cereal for kids (low sugar): Cheerios, Kix, Chex
- Cubes of sandwich
- Graham Crackers
- Healthy Breakfast Bars
- Homemade Cheese Crackers
- Homemade Granola Bars
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Energy Bites
- Toddler Muffins
- Waffles (leftover)
- Whole grain crackers for toddlers
TIP: These Banana Oatmeal Muffins are a forever favorite of ours.
Crunchy Kids Snacks
Kids often like crunchy textures, which can be really helpful sensory input. Just steer clear of foods like chips or tortilla chips since they can be hard to chew. (Here’s more about how to prevent toddler choking hazards.) Here are some safer ideas with crunch.
- Cheese crackers
- Chickpea Puffs
- Freeze-dried fruit
- Mini rice cakes
- Quinoa chips (these are softer than regular chips and high in protein)
- Snap pea crisps
- Triscuits Thin Crisps (which are easier to chew than traditional ones)
- Veggie Straws
TIP: Avoid whole nuts and popcorn until over age 4 to reduce the risk of choking.
Healthy Dairy Snack Ideas
Feel free to pair any of these with a fruit for an easy snack. Whole-milk dairy will help keep the kids fuller until the next meal—and often tastes better!
- Cheese, sliced, cubed, or string cheese
- Cottage cheese (or Cottage Cheese Dip)
- Drinkable yogurt or Yogurt Drinks
- Kefir
- Milk (dairy or nondairy)
- Plain yogurt or a Fruit-on-the-Bottom Yogurt
- Smoothies for kids
Protein Toddler Snacks
Snacks can be a great time to offer protein from vegetarian or meat-based sources. Here are some of our favorite easy options.
- Beans, slightly mashed
- Chickpeas (like these Soft Roasted Chickpeas)
- Chopped cashews and walnuts (2 or 3 and up)
- Cubed chicken
- Cubed turkey
- Deli meat (sliced turkey, ham, or salami, cut up as needed)
- Edamame, thawed and out of the pods
- Eggs, hard-cooked, scrambled, or as Egg Muffins
- Frozen peas, thawed
- Hummus (on crackers, bread, or as a veggie dip)
- Nut butter or sunflower seed butter (on toast, on apple slices, as a dip for pretzels, etc.)
- Peanut Butter Muffins or Chocolate Protein Muffins
Best Tips for Toddler Snacks
- You can always serve leftovers as snacks or as a mini meal, especially if the kids are starting to refuse “regular” foods and only wanting snacks.
- Remember that appetite can vary from meal to meal and day to day. It is very hard to accurately predict another person’s hunger, so let the kids show you how hungry they are.
- Learn about the Division of Responsibility as an approach to mealtimes that can alleviate stress.
- My Baby Muffins and Spinach Banana Muffins are forever favorite toddler snacks, too.
Related Recipes
I’d love to hear about your favorite snacks for kids, so please chime in below in the comments!
This first was first published February 2018.
My grand baby loves your Italian chicken sausage meatballs. Finding the sausage is a challenge but so worth it.
I’m glad to hear that!
Thank you so much. Loved your healthy recipes and snacks ideas.
Sorry you have to deal with a couple snarky, snobby commenters. IMHO, those people are tone deaf in a way, and probably come from a middle/upper middle class background. Not everyone does, and these foods are acceptable options for those who can’t afford to spend an arm and a leg at a store like Trader Joe’s. Also, like Any already mentioned, there are organic/non GMO options if that is what you are willing and/or able to spend your money on. Please consider being open-minded and put yourself in another person’s shoes.
Edit: autocorrect wins again! Should be Amy, not “Any”. ? P.S. I’ve deferred to your lists for guidance on more than one occasion! Thanks!
I just found this site selling fruit snacks any ideas about the frutina bars?
You have shared a lot for us, but I like your healthy & tasty recipes of Snacks. Some of the recipes are outstanding which are most beneficial for the kids. Thank you for your participation.
Hi Amy, Thank you for sharing, such wonderful recipes, and snack items with us my sister has acute little toddler and she keeps asking me what all items she can make to eat him, now this post will surely help her know what all items she can share it with her little tod.
I look at this list at least once a week. Thank you so much for this. Question: I want to get my kiddo crackers and pretzels, but worry about them being to hard or choke-y. She did not like Triscuits. Do you think Wheat Thins would be ok? And is there a form of pretzel, or a brand, you like?
You could try Wheat Thins, the round whole grain crackers (they make little ones) from Trader Joes, the crackers from Bitsy’s Brainfood (usually available at Target or Whole Foods) or a whole grain Ritz type cracker. Mini pretzel sticks are usually less hard than larger ones and could be a good place to start. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Could you make this into a printable pdf? Great list!
That’s a good idea! I’ll add it to my to-do list!
Thank you for all your ideas Amy!
It can get overwhelming trying to be creative in planning meals and snacks for the family! I really appreciate your ideas and approach! As a Registered Dietitian myself, I was really pleased with your approach, ideas and enthusiasm! Their is a lot of information on the internet and it’s not always what I’m looking for. I found all of this very useful and plan to frequent your website!
Thank you for this list Amy. It’s a helpful place to refer to to get kids on the right track towards making healthy choices.
Thanks for the suggestions, but these are not all healthy options. Veggie straws are processed junk food and dried fruit is basically lots of unnecessary sugar. Deli meats are not healthy options for toddlers, as they have high levels of nitrates. Corn is so genetically modified and has zero nutritional value.
I appreciate your comment! I think it would depend on your definition of “healthy”. Most fruit leather doesn’t have added sugar and can be a good shelf stable option for on the go. Deli meats don’t necessarily have nitrates and corn isn’t necessarily GMO. I don’t aim for perfection, but moderation and being realistic. And then we each get to decide what to do with our own kids!
I thought some of the same. The other problem I had was the thawed veggies. On most of the frozen veggies packages it gives an indication that you shouldn’t eat it raw.
You could warm them and serve them at room temp if you prefer!
Thank You, that’s look so tasty !
What type/brand of lunchmeat do you recommend?
I like Applegate when I can find it!