Healthy Snack Ideas

These healthy snacks are packed with nutrients and flavor. Perfect for a late-night snack or eating throughout the day. All made with clean ingredients, vegan, gluten-free, paleo, there’s a snack for everyone!

Before you end up walking up and down the junk food aisle at the grocery store, try these snack ideas first. The best part is that most can be made with ingredients you probably already have in your fridge or pantry.

Whether you have a sweet tooth or crave something crunchy and salty, these healthy snacks are sure to satisfy any craving. Oh, and did I mention they are MEGA delicious?

Crispy Roasted Chickpeas

For the salty or spicy chips lovers amongst you, I’ve got some roasted chickpeas! They are so much more nutritious and just as if not more delicious than chips!

You will need a can of chickpeas and your favorite seasoning. The key to getting super crispy chickpeas is to make sure they are very dry before you add oil and seasoning.

First, drain the chickpeas really well and put them on a clean kitchen towel. Rub and tab until they are completely dry. Then drizzle some oil (whichever you like best, my favorite is avocado oil), and seasoning. Some great options are:

• salt & pepper
• cajun seasoning
• Chinese 5 spice mix
• bbq
• salt & chili
• sugar & cinnamon (yes, you can even make them sweet, not my favorite though)

Then you have two options. Either add them very spread out on a large baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes at 400F. Or, add them to your air-fryer for about 15 minutes at 400F.

For EXTRA crispy chickpeas, bake them at 400F for 20 minutes and then turn off the oven. Leave the chickpeas in there for an extra 15 minutes, without opening the oven. That way they will continue roasting with the residual heat without burning. They will crisp up amazingly.

Crispy chickpeas aren’t just a healthy snack, they also serve as a protein in your lunch or dinner! Try them in this Cucumber Avocado Salad and these Zucchini Noodles.

Toasted Seeds

The easiest and quickest healthy snack is a bowl of toasted seeds. All you need is a handful of your favorite seeds (I usually have pumpkin and sunflower in my pantry) and some sea salt.

Add the seeds to a dry hot pan, sprinkle them with sea salt and toast for 5-8 minutes, stirring constantly. Then serve them in a bowl. They will be hot, be careful not to burn your hands. Eat them while still warm. So yummy!

Apple Nachos

The snack I’m probably the fondest of is apple nachos. They sound fancy but they’re SO easy to make. All you need is an apple, some dark chocolate chips and your favorite nut butter. I’m using green apples because they are lower in sugar and I’m adding dark chocolate, but you can use any kind of apple.

First, slice the apple thinly and arrange it on a plate. Then melt some peanut butter (or any other nut butter) and some chocolate chips in separate bowls. You can microwave them or use a water bath. I don’t have a microwave, so I put some water in the kettle, add the boiling water to a pot and then place my glass jars in them. It takes like 5 minutes to melt the chocolate, make sure to stir often.

Drizzle the liquid nut butter and the liquid chocolate over the apples. If you want you can sprinkle with unsweetened desiccated coconut and extra chocolate chips or nuts. Tada! It’s not only delicious but also a PRETTY late-night snack to eat in front of the TV.

Single-Serve Almond Cookie

My almond cookies recipe went viral on social media because it’s so simple people first don’t believe me it’s possible. Then they try it and they loooove it! It’s like magic!

You need only two ingredients. Yes, just TWO! Almond flour and maple syrup. The only problem is that it’s so good that you can end up eating half the batch in one seating.

The best solution: make a single-serve cookie as a healthy snack. Maple syrup is totally fine as part of a healthy diet as long as it is enjoyed in moderation.

You want a 4:1 ratio “approximately”. The exact ratio depends on the almond flour grind. Start with 4 Tbsp of almond flour and 1 Tbsp of maple syrup. Mix well until you get a soft playdough-like consistency (see video). Then chill the dough in the fridge for a few minutes, and then form it into a cookie. Make it whichever shape you like.

Bake it at only 250F so the almond flour doesn’t burn, for 15-25 minutes depending on the thickness of the cookie. It’s meant to be VERY soft when you take it out. Place it on a wire rack to cool completely, that will harden the outside but leave the inside super soft and chewy.

Remember these ingredients are safe to eat raw. There is no need to overbake the cookie at the risk of hardening it and making it super hard to chew.

Puffed Amaranth Cereal

Last, but definitely not the least of my healthy snack ideas, is puffed amaranth as a replacement for cereal. Who doesn’t love a bowl of cereal at midnight? Or am I the only one?

I make puffed amaranth about once a month and have it in a large jar in my pantry at all times. Here’s a tutorial on how to make puffed amaranth. Easy peasy, promise!

For your cereal, you can toast some unsweetened coconut if you want, then mix the puffed amaranth with dried fruits and nuts. Then sweeten it all with honey or maple syrup and add it to a bowl of plain yogurt. Or you can just pour some milk in and enjoy.

Tadaaa!! A healthy snack you’ll want again and again and again.