As people who cook, eat, and write about food for a living, we know a thing or two about healthy snacks—as nebulous as the term healthy may be. Because of all of that aforementioned work-related eating, we’re constantly on the lookout for little treats between meals that also feel satiating and nutrient-rich. Still, we want something more exciting than an apple or a hard-boiled egg and something that feels a little less unhinged than spooning peanut butter or hummus straight out of the container (though we’ve been known to engage in these snacking habits too).
The single most important factor—for us—in a healthy snack is that it simply has to taste good. Beyond that, it’s hard to apply a one-size-fits-all rubric, because sometimes what you want is a meat stick, and other times you want some really good dried fruit. In general, we try to look for things that don’t have a ton of added sugar or artificial sweeteners and that don’t contain a plethora of stabilizers and protein powders.
We also look for snacks that contain protein from sources like nuts, beans, and meat as well as healthy fats and good-for-you carbs. Because the point here isn’t weight loss, it’s mixing some nutritious stuff into our diets between making triple-chocolate brownies and BA’s best lasagna.
Could you make your own healthy snacks, like these oven-roasted chickpeas? Yes. But sometimes you just want a quick bite that requires absolutely no effort. All of the snacks on this list are store-bought, and since the market for healthy snacks is constantly growing, we’ll be trying all the newest ones and updating this list on a monthly basis. Read on to see our favorite healthy snacks for summer, or scroll down to see our all-time favorites.
Summer Favorites
The Peach Truck
For me, peak summer is embodied in a single dilemma: Which is better, a perfect tomato, or a perfect peach? This year, I’ve been leaning peach thanks to The Peach Truck, a company that delivers peaches so flawless they look like they belong in a Studio Ghibli movie directly to your door. The downside? Once you try a Peach Truck peach, you’ll never want to risk the disappointment of buying one from the grocery store only to come home and find that it’s mushy and flavorless.—Carina Finn
Sorbabes & Fudgy Pops
Nothing says peak summer like eating a frozen dessert on a popsicle stick, and Sorbabes might be my new all-time favorites. If you love chocolate-coated ice cream bars (or getting your cone dipped at your local soft serve stand), you’re going to want to stock your freezer with these. The textural contrast of flavorful, fruity sorbet and crisp chocolate coating is pure catnip to me, and I love that they’re dairy-free and don’t contain any artificial sweeteners.
If you want your freezer to feel like pure nostalgia, I also recommend getting a few boxes of Fudgy Pops. These are like those grocery store fudge pops you grew up eating, but so, so much more delicious. For starters, they’re made with high-quality Guittard chocolate, and come in elevated flavor combos like chocolate with mint, raspberry, or my personal favorite: orange. —CF
Jackson’s Sweet Potato Chips
I brought these to a barbecue, mostly and selfishly so I could grab a bag for myself and eat them while I grilled all night long. The chips are kettle-cooked in avocado oil and come in flavors like spicy jalapeño, farmhouse ranch, and habanero nacho—my personal favorite of the bunch because they actually have a kick to them. For Ruffle’s fans like myself, there are also wavy varieties in cheddar and sour cream or sea salt (which has only three ingredients!). The chips aren’t greasy and have a nice thicker heft for dipping while still maintaining that optimal crunch for eating them by the handful. The only downside is that I wish the bag were fuller. —Kate Kassin
Karma Cashew Cookie Bites
I do a lot of hiking and camping, which means I’m constantly on the lookout for portable, protein-filled snacks that 1) aren’t just granola bars and 2) actually taste good. Karma’s Cashew Cookie Bites fit that bill perfectly. These tiny, chewy cookies remind me of the miniature Entenman’s chocolate chip cookies I used to eat by the handful after school, except these are actually kind of good for you.—CF
Foods Alive
A seedy cracker is my platonic ideal of a snack between meals. Most of the ones I love (like Ella’s Flats or Cult Crackers) lean savory, so I was naturally very excited to stumble upon Foods Alive’s sweet varieties while perusing the snack aisle at Whole Foods. Their sprouted crisps have a lot of the usual flavor suspects like everything or onion and garlic, but there’s also ginger snap, coco-coconut, lemony lemon, and maple cinnamon. The ginger snap is delightfully reminiscent of a gingerbread cookie with the addition of blackstrap molasses, ginger, and clove, while the coco-coconut is rich and nutty with shredded coconut and cacao nibs. Thanks to the organic seed blend base (which varies slightly in each flavor), the crackers pack in a great amount of fiber and protein. —KK
Stellar Eats Single Servings
The mug cake trend has had a few resurgences and for good reason—who wouldn’t want dessert for one whipped up in a few short minutes at the drop of a hat? Most importantly, you don’t have to turn on your oven in the dead of summer. Naturally, I was thrilled to see the latest release of Instant Treats from Stellar Eats, my go-to brand for gluten-free baking mixes. They’re single-serve portions of their mixes like banana bread, carrot cake, and fudge brownie (my personal go-to) and are ready to eat in less than two minutes—all you need to do is pour the contents into a mug, add an ingredient or two like water or oil as instructed, and patiently wait a few minutes for your cake to cook and cool. —KK
All-Time Favorites
West-Bourne
There’s a lot to love about the sustainability-focused pantry goods from West-Bourne, but snacks are where the brand truly shines. The Omakase Berry Butter takes toast or yogurt to a luxurious place, and West-Bourne’s fully compostable, plant-based snack mixes like the Togarashi Crunch are savory, sweet, and umami-packed. We also can’t wait to try the Casa Bosques Pistachio Dukkah Chocolate Bar, which the brand just launched in collaboration with artisanal chocolatier Casa Bosques.
Hu Kitchen
No nighttime routine is complete without a few squares of dark chocolate, and Hu’s fair-trade organic dark chocolate bars are among the best you can get. We love the dark chocolate variety pack, which offers a sampling of flavors like almond butter and puffed quinoa and crunchy mint. The cashew butter-filled chocolate bar is one of our favorites for a quick midday pick-me-up. And don’t miss the hunks, a.k.a. almonds and cashews dipped in dark chocolate, and gems, gumdrop-shaped chocolate chunks that are, well, gems.
Snow Days
Frozen pizza rolls are a peak comfort food. They also live in that wonderful gray area between a lunch-y thing and a snack-y thing. Snow Days has managed to preserve all of the salty, gooey deliciousness of the pizza rolls of your youth in a more nutritious package. The rolls are made with well-sourced ingredients like grass-fed mozzarella cheese and organic tomato sauce, and crust is made from cassava, which makes them ideal for those who might need to follow a grain-free or gluten-free diet.
Ella’s Flats
Ella’s Flats rank high on our crackers hall of fame. The small family-owned brand makes savory crisps just from seeds, from sunflower to pumpkin to flax, and spices like cumin and caraway. Ella’s Flats are sturdy enough to dip into hummus or work as a bread substitute for avocado toast, yet they’re light enough to eat on their own for a protein-and-fiber-packed snack. We also love the Everything or Spicy varieties crumbled into a salad or the Sesame or Hemp ones into a yogurt bowl for an added crunch.
Chomps
If you told us a few years ago that everyone would be walking around eating beef jerky sticks, we’d might not have believed you. But the desire for high-protein, low-sugar, and keto- and paleo-friendly foods has led to an influx of packaged snacks in this category. Chomps offers our current favorite meat sticks in beef, turkey, and venison. These sticks contain no sugar and no fillers, and they also come in a half-size option that can fit in your pocket. This is a satisfyingly savory snack that’s great for when you need to each something filling on the go.
Cheerie Lane
This is not the fake-butter-covered, so-salty-you-feel-it-for-days microwaved popcorn of your youth. Cheerie Lane’s popcorn pods contain minimal packaging and come in an adorable corn shape. The pods pop on the stovetop quickly and evenly and come in flavors like classic butter as well as rosemary garlic and tomato basil. For serious popcorn lovers, Cheerie Lane also offers a popcorn of the month club that features exciting new flavors.
Solely
If you miss the fruit snacks of your elementary school days, you’ll love Solely’s fruit gummies, which are filled with nothing but whole organic fruit and vitamin C. The mango-and-guava or mango-and-orange single-serving packs are perfect to toss in your bag for when that mid-afternoon sweet craving hits. If dried fruit is more your style, we love the brand’s fruit jerky, which packs a whole mango, banana, or pineapple into a single stick, as well as its dried fruit pouches (both of which also come drizzled with 100% cacao if that’s more your style).
