19 Road Trip Snacks Recipes
Delicious, Fun, Healthy - For Kids & Adults Too!
Planning a big trip with little ones? It’s time to pack some of the best road trip snacks for kids! We’ve included some amazing recipes and great tips for keeping the children fed, happy, and entertained.
19 Road Trip Snacks Recipes infographic19 Road Trip Snacks Recipes
| Recipe Name | Ingredients + Tools | Special Instructions |
|---|---|---|
| Munchies Necklace | Oat Loop Cereal, Fruity Loop Cereal, Pretzels, String | |
| Apple Chips | Apples (2 to 3), Sugar (1 ½ teaspoons), Ground Cinnamon (½ teaspoon) | Bake at 225 degrees F for 45 minutes. |
| Caterpillar Kabobs | Grapes, White Frosting, Chocolate Chips, Skewers | |
| Pinwheels | Ham, Cheese, Wrap | |
| Hummus Jars | Carrots, Celery, Hummus, Jar | |
| DIY Healthy Fruit Leather | Overripe Fruit (4 cups), Lemon Juice (2 teaspoons), Sugar (1 cup) | Puree fruit, sugar, lemon juice, and any spices in a blender. Bake in a lined baking sheet for 5-6 hours at 150 degrees F with the oven door partway open. |
| Ants on a Log | Celery, Peanut Butter, Raisins | |
| Popcorn Balls | Plain Popcorn (3.5-oz. bag), Marshmallows (10-oz. bag), Butter (¼ cup), Pretzels or Candy (Optional) | Pop popcorn. Melt butter in the microwave slowly, then add marshmallows and stir. Fold popcorn (and any additions) into mixture and form balls with greased hands. |
| Homemade Trail Mix | Your favorite nuts (1½ cup), Your favorite dried fruit (1 cup), Your favorite seeds (¼ cup), Other chips or candies (¼ cup) | |
| Salt and Vinegar Edamame | Edamame (16-oz. bag), Vinegar (¼ cup), Salt (¾ teaspoon) | Stir ingredients and let sit for 10 minutes. Bake on a baking sheet for 40 minutes at 375 degrees F, tossing intermittently. |
| Apple “Cookies” | Apple slices, Peanut Butter, Almond slices, Chocolate Chips | |
| Homemade Granola Bars | Rolled Oats (1 1/2 cups), Almond or Peanut Butter (1/4 cup), Honey (¼ cup), Your favorite nuts (1 cup), Pitted dates (1 cup), Your choice of chocolate, coconut, candies, fruit, or other sweets (½ cup) | Process dates in the food processor. Heat honey and peanut butter in saucepan over low heat for a few minutes. Pour in ingredients. Press down into baking sheet. Chill for 20 minutes, then cut. |
| Sandwich Sushi | Peanut Butter, Banana, Bread | |
| Homemade Spicy Chex Mix | Corn Chex, Rice Chex, Mixed nuts, Pretzels, Cheese crackers, Butter, Worcestershire Sauce, Hot Sauce | |
| Mason Jar Salad | Your favorite lettuce, Crunchy, Hard Veggies, Dressing | Pour dressing in the bottom of the jar. Place the foods that will not wilt at the bottom, and stack the rest of your ingredients on top. |
| No-Bake Energy Bites | Rolled Oats (1 cup), Almond or Peanut Butter (2/3 cup), Ground Flaxseed (½ cup), Honey (1/3 cup), Vanilla Extract (1 teaspoon), Your choice of chocolate, coconut, candies, fruit, or other sweets (½ cup) | Form balls and let set for 1 hour. |
| Zucchini Chips | Zucchinis (3-4), Fresh Dill (½ tablespoon), Lemon Juice (2 lemons’ worth), Salt (to taste) | Bake in a low oven for about 2 hours, until crisp. |
| Spider Crackers | Peanut Butter Crackers, Pretzels, Raisins | |
| Olive Penguins | Olives, Carrots, Cream Cheese, Toothpicks |
Sources:
http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/dry/fruit_leathers.html
http://www.craftsy.com/blog/2013/10/10-trail-mix-recipes-and-ideas/
http://www.emilieeats.com/salt-vinegar-roasted-edamame/
http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/no-bake-energy-bites/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-Popcorn-Balls/
http://minimalistbaker.com/healthy-5-ingredient-granola-bars/
https://www.babble.com/travel/25-road-trip-snacks-for-kids-recipes/
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/hot-and-spicy-chex-party-mix/7a095991-beac-454e-9e3c-887bf9af2b40
http://thehealthyfamilyandhome.com/lemon-dill-zucchini-chips/
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/216073/spooky-spider-snacks/
http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/penguin-appetizers/f1f0e8bd-c68d-45c2-96df-9751ecff5203
DON’T FORGET TO CHECK OUT OUR SNACK RECIPE VIDEOS in the Discovery Center or our YouTube Channel
Unhealthy vs. Healthy Snacks for Road Trips
Once upon a time, greasy fast-food items were considered to be good snacks for road trips for kids. Ignoring all of the obvious health drawbacks, it’s clear that this kind of food often makes kids groggy, hyper, moody, and stressed out, which is less than optimal when you’re somewhere between Albuquerque and Yellowstone National Park, not to mention that it can make the car smell like a fry vat!
Today, moms and dads everywhere work on coming up with cute road trip food ideas that are both healthy for their kids and fun to eat. By folding up snacks, shaping them into animals, or just making them bite-sized, a parent can have an easy time convincing kids to eat delicious, healthy snacks. These unique, clever road trip recipes are for parents looking for a great alternative to a greasy meal, and they may quickly become the favorite snacks for home, too.
What Needs to Go Into the Cooler?
Sometimes, the amount of healthy snacks you can bring is limited by the size of your cooler. Plan ahead and pack safely. As food temperatures rise, the likelihood that bacteria will grow does, too. The “danger zone” is between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, so if you’re going on a really long trip, you may want to put a thermometer in your cooler and check it every once in a while to keep certain types of food cold and safe. These are foods to watch:
- Deli meat (such as cooked ham or turkey)
- Dairy (like milk, yogurt, and cheese)
- Fresh produce (including cut-up fruits and vegetables)
- Summer salads (like egg salad or pasta salad)
Messy pasta salads may not be the best snacks to take on a road trip. When transporting cooked seafood, be especially careful, and of course, you don’t want to include anything raw.
What Can Be Left Out?
We’ve included many different items that are fine to be left out of the cooler in our list of kids’ favorite road trip recipes.
- Popcorn balls
- Baked fruit or vegetable chips
- Peanut butter sandwiches
- Trail mixes
- Granola bars or energy bites
- Crackers
High-protein, salty, and sweet snacks like these are some of the best food for road trips because they can also help to alleviate motion sickness.
Being Allergy-Aware
When your child or a visiting child has some kind of allergy, such as a peanut allergy, it’s important to read ingredient labels very closely when packing snacks for a road trip, not only for peanuts but for other things like peanut flour, nut oils, and peanut butter. Sneaky peanut oil hides in all manner of things that you’d think wouldn’t be dangerous:
- Chocolate bars
- Cereal
- Some cake icings
- Chinese foods (like pre-made egg rolls)
And that’s just for peanuts! There are all sorts of things hidden in foods that you wouldn’t think contain allergens. In our road trip snack list, we’ve indicated which snacks have peanuts, but it’s important to look at each ingredient’s nutritional facts on your own to double-check. Not all cereals or pretzels are made the same! Whenever you’re traveling with a child with known allergies, or even with a young child with no known allergies, have medication on hand and know how to recognize the signs of a reaction.
Tricks for Keeping Your Kids Mess-Free
So many of the best road trip snacks for kids include honey, peanut butter, fruit, or other sticky substances. Putting them on a straw or skewer can help avoid a mess. Keep wipes and a small trash bag handy. Also, use cups for snacks instead of just for drinks to help prevent cereal flying everywhere! Parents have come up with many different hacks such as these for keeping the car mess-free.
No matter where you go, have fun on your ultimate road trip!
DON’T FORGET TO CHECK OUT OUR SNACK RECIPE VIDEOS in the Discovery Center or on our YouTube Channel
