Getting ready to hit the road? Fuel up for your big adventure with the best road trip snacks for kids that the whole family will love!
More than 100 million Americans plan to take a family vacation this year, according to AAA. If you're like more than half of Americans, at least one of those vacations will be a family road trip.
Do you plan to vacation this year? How many road trips do you and your family take each year?
Family Road Trips
My husband, the kids, the dog and I do at least three road trips a year. Some of them are shorter road trips, like to the Oregon Coast (1-3 hour drive) or Southern Oregon (3-5 hour drive). Some are mid-range road trips, like to Yakima, Washington or Walla Walla, Washington (4 hours). Maybe once a year, we'll take a longer 6-13 hour road trip to Vancouver BC Canada, Montana, Idaho, or further south in California.
I grew up taking regular road trips with my family. That's how we traveled for the majority of my childhood. I think I only embarked on a plane once during my elementary school days, and that was to go to the Philippines.
We'd road trip from Portland, Oregon to Seattle, Washington. From Portland, Oregon to Vancouver BC Canada. And we did several California road trips throughout my childhood.
Driving up and down the West Coast, my parents became road trip snack experts. Luckily, I was taking mental notes, and have carried on some of those family travel traditions with my own kids!
What are good snacks to bring on a road trip?
The length of your road trip, age of your kids, and the weather might best determine the best snacks to bring. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when choosing the best road trip snacks for the whole family.
- Choose food that is non-perishable, or packs easily into a small cooler. You want to choose ingredients that won't spoil quickly, and can be kept fresh for the length of the road trip.
- Protein-rich ingredients are great for long road trips. Some of the best road trip snacks contain super foods that pack a lot of energy-building protein into each bite. Think energy bites/energy balls and snack mixes with nuts.
- If you have a few minutes, homemade really is best. Convenience foods like store-bought granola bars and protein bars are convenient, but they're not necessarily good for you. Homemade snacks like granola, energy bites, muffins, and snack mixes are super easy to make, often take just a few minutes, and can be much healthier for you & your kids than store-bought snacks.
Road Trip Snacks for Kids
My favorite road trip snacks for kids and adults alike are fresh fruits and veggies. Wash them, slice them, pack them into portable containers with some ice packs, and you're ready to go!
But in addition to fresh fruits and vegetables, here are 40+ healthy road trip snacks that the whole family will love. These are all vegetarian snacks, too!
Best Road Trip Snacks
Here are some of the best road trip snacks! This list is full of easy recipes for adventurers on-the-go.
MUFFINS
My kids have declared these the best muffins ever! Packed with veggies in the batter, these Apple Cinnamon Muffins are healthy, tasty, and perfectly portable for road trips!
One Bowl Blueberry Muffins are great for a road trip. Healthy with oatmeal and ricotta, quick and easy to make and best of all, these aren’t too crumbly so they won’t make a mess in your car!
Almond Flour Banana Muffins are gluten free and the perfect portable snack, ideal for before or after a workout or for the kids. You can whip these easy banana muffins up in less than 30 minutes without any oil or added sugars!
These Double Berry Chocolate Chip Muffins are bursting with juicy summer fruits and sweet chocolate morsels. They’re delicious healthy muffins to pack for family road trips!
These lemon and poppyseed muffins are gluten and refined sugar free. A healthier version that packs a huge protein punch from the almond flour used to make them. The perfect light, zesty springtime snack.
These healthy Zucchini Carrot Oat Muffins make it easy to get some veggies and fruit in, even when you’re on the road!
BARS
Homemade M&M Granola Bars make a delicious on-the-go snack!
A naturally sweetened gluten-free granola bar for when you’re on the road or enjoying a break. This recipe offers a healthy dose of omega 3 from the addition of ground flax seed. Absolutely delicious…sweet and salty goodness in chewy bar form, with a light drizzle of dark chocolate.
Easy to make homemade granola bars are the perfect snack for busy on the go families. Healthy-ish and fun to eat!
These chocolate chip bars are chewy, chocolatey, yummy bars that are perfect to pack for road trips!
These Peanut Butter Granola Bars are the perfect make-ahead breakfast or snack that you’ll feel good about. They are packed with protein and easily made gluten-free.
These chew apple granola bars are delicious grab-and-go road trip snacks!
GRANOLA
This easy spiced coconut granola comes together quickly to make the perfect snack on the go.
This Homemade Granola Recipe with Brown Butter and Almonds is sweet and crunchy, packed with protein and Omega-3s. It’s a delicious make-ahead snack for long road trips!
ENERGY BITES
Chocolate No Bake Energy Bites are made with 6 superfood ingredients. They’re soft, chewy, naturally sweetened and they take 15 minutes to make…that’s it! They taste so rich and indulgent, you truly won’t believe these energy bites are vegan and gluten-free!
In minutes, you can whip together these nutrient dense, raw, collagen-filled keto protein balls for ANY time you need a quick and satisfying treat! Loaded with healthy fats and collagen, these no bake keto fat bombs are super addicting!
Tasty Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Bites are super simple to make, and pack well for long road trips! The whole family will love these!
Cranberry Almond Energy Bites are a no-bake energy bite that are easy to make and even easier to throw in your bag for a quick, healthy snack or treat. Oats, chopped almonds, dried cranberries, almond butter, honey, chia seeds and cinnamon are mixed together to create a sweet, delicious bite.
Loaded with chia seeds, hemp protein powder, ground flaxseed, and of course peanut butter, these little energy balls will help stop your food cravings in their tracks.
These toasted coconut and chocolate bliss balls are the ultimate mid-day pick me up! They’re perfectly sweet, gluten free, vegan and double as an easy dessert recipe. Perfect for on the go fuel, for school lunches, or late night snacking!
COOKIES
These incredibly easy no bake cookies have just three ingredients. Perfect for a sweet treat on a long journey.
These maple walnut cookies are a nutritious snack the whole family can enjoy. They’re easy to make and perfect for munching in the car.
These cookies are soft, delicious & perfect with a coffee or tea! They are gluten, dairy & refined sugar-free! They are perfect for on-the-go as well!
These low carb and keto breakfast cookies are filled with almonds and hemp hearts and are so delicious! They are perfectly sweet and the perfect grab and go keto breakfast.
These no-bake vegan snowball cookies made with almond flour, and sugar-free coconut flakes are a healthy winter treat that are also paleo and gluten-free.
SNACK MIXES
A crunchy, cake-battery take on the classic Puppy Chow!
Looking for a quick last minute sweet snack mix recipe for a long journey? Then this 5-Minute Sweet Snack Mix with pretzels is the one you need.
Puppy chow is one of those snacks that everyone loves. Perfect for snacking on, it's easy to make and can be done gluten free and dairy free!
This easy S’mores Snack Mix satisfies your (or your kid's!) s’more cravings while driving to fun spots like hitting the beach, visiting the zoo, or just out and about running errands.
Trail mix seems to be the long last favorite saved for camping and hikes, but it's a GREAT road trip snack. This tropical trail mix has a little something for everyone!
This peanut butter maple snack mix is loaded with yummy coated cereal coated in an easy peanut butter maple mix, then extra peanuts, raisins and candies are mixed in to make it a super fun treat.
CRACKERS
With just four ingredients, Hidden Valley Ranch Oyster Crackers are an easy way to shake up snack time! Perfect for parties or road trips!
These savory little crackers are cheesy, spicy and flaky and make a great party snack…or anytime snack. Full of cheddar cheese, herbs and spices, they’re like Cheez-Its, Goldfish and Cheddar Bay Biscuits all wrapped up into one.
Dilly Ranch Cheez-Its are a three-ingredient snack that will have you covered for every binge-watch, car ride, football game, and poolside party.
These homemade Cheez-It crackers are so cheesy, crunchy, and yummy. They make awesome road trip snacks for the whole family!
FRUIT & VEGETABLE SNACKS
Apple chips are light, crispy, easy to make, and surprisingly full of flavor! Turn them into a sweet snack with a dash of cinnamon, or crumble them into bits as a topping for a delicious fall salad.
These vegetarian wraps are the perfect food to bring along for a road trip! Served cold and filled with avocado, arugula lettuce, red pesto and halloumi cheese they're topped with walnuts and an instant favorite with kids & adults alike.
Crunchy, salty, healthy and delicious kale crisps! A quick and easy snack that you’ll find yourself making over and over again. Post includes oven and air fryer instructions.
More Family Road Trip Tips
Fall Road Trip Essentials
Portland to Victoria BC Family Road Trip
Road Trip Bliss: Portland, Oregon to Boise, Idaho
Road Trip Tips + Free Travel Printable
Free Summer Printables: Road Trip Games and Water Bottle Label
Free Printables: Road Trip Games
Becca says
I love road trips! My kids are 9 and 12 so they do pretty well on car rides at this point. But snacks are a definite must! Love this list of road trip snack ideas, I’m road tripping this summer so I will have to keep this list to check back on. Thank you!!
Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says
Agreed! Safe travels!!
Katie says
So convenient and helpful! Thanks for sharing.
Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says
Of course! Thanks, Katie! :)
Beth Neels says
Such a great list of snacks, it's going to be hard to pick a couple for our vacation next week!
Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says
Why not all of it!? ;) Stay safe!
jen says
I'm from PDX too, and love all your ideas for road trips! Great snacks in here for mom and dad too
Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says
Glad you liked the post! Thanks, Jen! :)
Emily Liao says
Love this roundup! Will definitely be making some of these next time I'm on the road :)
Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says
Thanks, Emily! :)
Denay DeGuzman says
I'm loving hard on this delicious collection of snacks for road trips. These are perfect for Spring Break!
Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says
Thank you, Denay! :)
Katie Carrick says
YES! I always wait until the LAST minute and then I'm scrambling for what to feed my kids on the trip. These options are great.
Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says
Glad this was helpful! Thanks, Katie!
Erin @ Platings and Pairings says
With this roundup of road trip snacks - I'm definitely ready to hit the road! Thanks Marlynn!
Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says
Glad you enjoyed the post! Thanks, Erin! :)
Renee | The Good Hearted Woman says
This is a great roundup of road trip snacks! I love that you've focused on relatively healthy, protein-rich options - it really does make a difference those long ride days.
Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says
Agreed! I always feel awful after road-tripping with junk food!
Amy says
I love that you have a wide variety of road trip snacks, Gluten free, protein packed snacks, and even some muffins! Can’t wait to try the lemon flavored muffins. Thanks for your creativity, keep ‘em coming Marlynn!