It’s back-to-school season, so we’ve been keeping our eyes peeled for healthy, fun, and DELICIOUS snacks you can give to your kids after they get home from school. If you’re looking for extra credit, you can also have your kids help make these — or help you prep a recipe the night before as a way to introduce them to meal prep. Keep scrolling for 10 of our favorite healthy after-school snacks!
1. Fruit Kebabs
From Dinner At The Zoo. How cute and simple are these? Just wash your fruit (cutting cute shapes optional) and thread onto skewers. The dip is just vanilla yogurt with a secret ingredient to get the kids excited: rainbow sprinkles.
2. Frozen Yogurt Bites
The Best Ideas For Kids brings us this easy, yummy idea for frozen yogurt bites! Greek yogurt, pureed fruit and honey is all you need to make this sweet, cool treat.
The weather is usually still warm at the beginning of back-to-school, so why not cool off with a delicious smoothie? Most kids love a Creamsicle-inspired orange smoothie, and it’s easy and fun to have them help add ingredients to the blender.
4. Ants On A Log
This classic snack combines veggies and proteins. It’s a little salty, a little sweet, and a family favorite. For the original snack, fill celery stalks with your choice of nut butter and add raisins as the ants. If your kids have had the original, mix it up with one of these ideas courtesy of I Heart Naptime.
5. Homemade Fruit Snacks
This one’s definitely more complicated than some of our other snack recipes, so save this one as a special treat to prep ahead of time – maybe to celebrate their first week of school! From Dinner For Two.
6. Ranch Pretzels
This recipe from Julie’s Eats and Treats is an easy and unique snack for kids. Combine popcorn oil, dill weed, garlic powder, pre-made dry ranch seasoning, pretzel sticks and butter-flavored pretzels in a bowl. Bake them for an hour at 250 degrees F, stirring every 15 minutes. You may find you want to make a second batch for yourself!
7. Homemade Fruit Leather
Wow, we love this recipe from Mom Makes Dinner. For this one, all you need is a single ingredient: ½ pint washed and hulled strawberries. Preheat your oven to 170 Degrees F, then blend the strawberries in a food processor until liquidy. Spread the mixture onto parchment paper and cook 3-4 hours. Let cool and tear into strips.
8. Egg Cups
Eggs are usually a go-to for breakfast, but this protein-packed finger food is a perfect snack at any time of day. You basically add ingredients to muffin tins and top with eggs then bake. Try ham, cheese, bell pepper, mushroom, spinach, tomatoes, onions! Whatever you please. There are lots of recipes but we like this one from Pop Sugar.
9. Cheese Board For Kids
Setting up a cheese board is a fun way to use up leftover fruits and veggies in your fridge and encourage adventurous eating. We love this cheese board by Taming Twins, but it’s a little large for an after-school snack. Feel free to use a smaller platter or add extra protein and use this idea as a no-cook dinner.
10. Crispy Apple Chips
Thanks, Well Plated – we can’t wait to crunch into these crispy apple chips! You’ll need 3 large apples (Honeycrisp, Fuji, Jazz, or Pink Lady recommended) and ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees F. Core the apples, then use a mandolin or very sharp knife to cut them into slices. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake for 2 hours, switching the pans’ positions in the oven halfway through.