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!

This article was first published on March 10, 2020. It was updated with more recipes, new content, and some updated photos and republished on July 22, 2023.

pacific northwest rainy road trip

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.

We love family road trips. And honestly, my favorite part? The road trip snacks!

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🚙 Family road trips

When the kids were younger, my husband, the kids, the dog and I would do at least three road trips a year. If you live on the West Coast like we do, there are so many great road trip options!

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).

About once a year, we’ll take a longer 6-13 hour road trip to Vancouver BC Canada, Montana, Idaho, or further south in California.

Schotland family road trip Portland to Seattle

Growing up, our family vacations usually consisted of family road trips. They will always have a special place in my heart. And packing family road trip snacks for kids (and us older kids!) is one of my favorite parts about preparing for a family road trip!

🍎 What are good snacks to bring on a road trip?

road trip snacks for kids

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 long trips.
  • 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. Snacks like energy bites/energy balls and healthy snack mixes with nuts are a great option.
  • If you have a few minutes, homemade really is best. Homemade snacks like granola, energy bites, muffins, homemade cheesy crackers, and snack mixes are great options. They often take just a few minutes to make. And these healthy snacks can be made the day before you head out on your big adventure.

🧊 Road trip snack tools and equipment

Make sure you are road trip ready with these items:

  • Small cooler
  • Ice packs
  • Water bottles or thermos that can keep cold liquids cold for hours and hot liquids hot for hours.

🫐 Road trip snacks for kids

fresh strawberries and peaches

My favorite road trip snacks for kids and adults alike are fresh fruit and veggies. Wash them, slice them, pack them into portable containers with some ice packs, and you’re ready to go! This simple fruit salad is a great road trip snack.

Also consider these portable snacks that you can easily stock up on at gas stations and convenience stores along the way if you need to:

  • string cheese
  • hard-boiled eggs
  • fruit leather (little kids and older kids alike seem to love these!)
  • sunflower seeds
  • nuts (almonds, peanuts, cashews are all great snacking)
  • dry cereal
  • peanut butter/almond butter
  • dried fruit
  • beef jerky

In addition to these healthy travel snacks, here are 50 healthy road trip snacks that the whole family will love that you can make the day before you embark on your big road trip.

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

Muffins are great road trip snacks the whole family will love! You can bake them up to two days in advance, then they're easy to pack up into airtight containers for grab-and-go breakfasts and snacks.

Bars

From protein bars to cereal bars, snacks in bar form are handy to take with you on road trips.

Granola

Granola is a classic road trip snack. Homemade granola is even better because you know exactly what ingredients are in those tasty treats!

Energy Bites

Easy to make from scratch and perfectly portable, energy bites are ideal snacks to take with you on road trips.

Cookies

When you really just want something to satisfy your sweet tooth on your next road trip adventure, bake a batch of one of these delicious cookie recipes.

Trail mix

Whether your road trip adventures involve hiking or you'll be in a car for hours at a time, trail mix is a great snack with a variety of foods and flavors in one.

Crackers

You need a little savory to balance out the sweet snacks while traveling! These crackers are great to make for road trip snacking.

Fruit and vegetable snacks

Fruits and veggies are an important part of anybody's daily diet. Here are some fun ways to sneak more fruits and veggies into your road trip food!

Make some of these easy road trip snacks ahead of time and enjoy your time on the road! These healthy snack options are much better than the junk food you’ll find at a fast food restaurant along the way.

Did you make any of these recipes? Don’t forget to leave a 5-Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating and comment below letting us know which one you made and how it turned out. Thank you!

More road trip tips

Whether you’re doing a short road trip to one of our favorite Oregon Coast towns, or doing a longer road trip, here are more travel articles to help you have the best road trip ever.

More summer recipes

This article was first published on March 10, 2020. It was updated with more recipes, new content, and some updated photos and republished on July 22, 2023.

Marlynn Jayme Schotland 2021 profile pic

About Marlynn

I'm a cookbook author, recipe developer, photographer, WSET 2 Certified wine pro, mom of two, and dog lover. I'm here to help you with fast, easy, and delicious recipes, food & wine pairings, cooking & baking tips, plus food and wine travel guides.

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21 Comments

  1. Alesia says:

    Listen- I rarely leave comments but this page is too incredible. You have done your WORK! I mean the options are excellent and everything is so thorough but not overwhelming. Iโ€™ll be trying most of your baking suggetions. We are a GF, corn free and soy free household and I feel like Iโ€™ve tried nearly everything in the book. But this gave me new hope that there are still new things to enjoy for our littlest family members!

    1. Marlynn Jayme Schotland says:

      So happy to hear you love these road trip snacks for kids, Alesia! Thank you for the kind compliment!

  2. Amy says:

    I love that you have a wide variety of road trip snacks, Gluten free, protein packed snacks, and even some muffins! Canโ€™t wait to try the lemon flavored muffins. Thanks for your creativity, keep โ€˜em coming Marlynn!

  3. 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.

    1. Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says:

      Agreed! I always feel awful after road-tripping with junk food!

  4. Erin @ Platings and Pairings says:

    With this roundup of road trip snacks – I’m definitely ready to hit the road! Thanks Marlynn!

    1. Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says:

      Glad you enjoyed the post! Thanks, Erin! :)

  5. 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.

    1. Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says:

      Glad this was helpful! Thanks, Katie!

  6. Denay DeGuzman says:

    I’m loving hard on this delicious collection of snacks for road trips. These are perfect for Spring Break!

    1. Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says:

      Thank you, Denay! :)

  7. Emily Liao says:

    Love this roundup! Will definitely be making some of these next time I’m on the road :)

    1. Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says:

      Thanks, Emily! :)

  8. jen says:

    I’m from PDX too, and love all your ideas for road trips! Great snacks in here for mom and dad too

    1. Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says:

      Glad you liked the post! Thanks, Jen! :)

  9. Beth Neels says:

    Such a great list of snacks, it’s going to be hard to pick a couple for our vacation next week!

    1. Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says:

      Why not all of it!? ;) Stay safe!

  10. Katie says:

    So convenient and helpful! Thanks for sharing.

    1. Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says:

      Of course! Thanks, Katie! :)

  11. 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, Iโ€™m road tripping this summer so I will have to keep this list to check back on. Thank you!!

    1. Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says:

      Agreed! Safe travels!!