Foods Here it is. The Ultimate List of 101 Easy Gluten-Free, Grain-Free Snack Ideas for Kids (and Parents). Enjoy.
So, you’ve decided to cut gluten or maybe all grains in your kids’ diet (or maybe you’ve just determined to cut back on them), but whatever in the world will you feed them for snacks? Crackers, tortilla chips, muffins, cookies, granola bars…virtually all snacks seem to have some sort of grain in them.
Not so, my dear friend, not so. I’ve compiled a list of 101 snack ideas for kids that are gluten-free and grain-free. Both you and your kids can enjoy these!
Looking for more gluten-free resources? This Everything Gluten Free page is a library of everything gluten free we’ve worked on.
These 101 gluten-free, grain-free snack ideas for kids are divided up into categories: fruity & veggie snacks, crunchy snacks, dips, crackers and other fun dippers, sweet snacks, muffins & more, homemade puddings etc., cookies & bars, smoothies, healthy pre-packaged snacks, and other stuff. Hopefully there is something here to fit your every snack craving!
Need more kid-approved recipe ideas? Check out my Grain-Free, Brain-Fueling Breakfasts for Kids and Their Parents.
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Fruity & Veggie Snack Ideas for Kids
Of course, any raw fruit or veggie makes a yummy snack. Our kids love fruit. Here are a few gluten-free and grain-free fruit and veggie snack ideas for kids to spice things up if you’re looking for something different.
1. Dried Fruit
2. Apples with peanut butter
4. Olives
5. Strawberries and homemade whipped cream
6. Celery and cream cheese
8. Homemade Fruit Snacks (kind of like a Fruit Rollup, only healthy)
9. Apple Chips
10. Strawberry Coconut Popsicles
11. Bananas with Peanut Butter and Raisins
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Crunchy Snack Ideas for Kids
Sometimes ya just have to have something that has some crunch. These snack ideas for kids are sure to satisfy an addiction to crunchy snacks!
13. Maple Roasted Walnuts (recipes for plain, cinnamon vanilla, or curried)
14. Trail mix (this is one recipe, but the possibilities are endless)
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Dips Snack Ideas for Kids
Creamy. Cheesy. Sweet. Salty. I love dips. It’s not hard to come up with dip ideas if you’re gluten-free, but here are a few of my favorite dip snack ideas for kids. Coming up with dippers when you don’t eat grains can be a bit trickier. Many of these recipes will work well with fresh veggies or fruits, but don’t forget to see my dipper ideas below.
16. Dill Dip
17. Hummus (my kids are crazy about hummus)
21. Kalamata Spread
22. Spicy Chive dip
23. Homemade Ranch and Potato Chips
24. Nacho Not-Cheese Sauce (dairy free)
25. Sombrero Dip
26. Pepper Dip
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Crackers and Other Fun Dippers Snack Ideas for Kids
Looking for hearty grain-free dippers to use in place of crackers or tortilla chips? Look no further! One of these 7 snacks ideas for kids recipes are sure to suit your needs.
27. Raw Kale Crisps
29. Parmesan Crisps
31. Coconut Curried Beet Chips
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Sweet Snack Ideas for Kids
If you have a sweet tooth and are looking for candy or other sweet treats, this is the section for you. Most of these snack ideas for kids recipes are made with natural sugar alternatives such as honey, maple syrup, or stevia.
34. Homemade Fudgesicles (dairy-free & sugar-free too!)
36. Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Candy
37. Cocoa Crack (Healthy Chocolate Candy)
40. Chocolate and Coconut Macaroons
43. Fried Plantains
44. Mock “Pay-Day” Peanut Treats
46. Raw Cookie Dough Bites (because, who doesn’t love cookie dough?!)
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Muffins & More Snack Ideas for Kids
Just because you’re not eating grains doesn’t mean you can’t indulge in bread, like muffins, scones, and biscuits!
48. Cinnamon Muffins (this recipe is one of our family favorites!)
50. Cheesy Biscuits (I love making a double or triple recipe for dinner so we have extras to snack on the next day)
52. Orange Rosemary Mini-Scones
53. Raspberry Scones
56. Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti
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Homemade Puddings, etc. Snack Ideas for Kids
These would make the perfect after-dinner or bedtime snack ideas for kids. Easy to whip up and sure to delight your tastebuds!
58. Chocolate Mousse
59. Banana Coconut Chia Pudding
60. Homemade Jello
61. Banana Custard
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Cookies and Bars Snack Ideas for Kids
Your kids don’t have to give up cookies and bars just because they are gluten-free. Oh no. This list of 17 recipes proves that. Perfect recipes for that after-school snack 🙂
62. Rich and Delicious Brownies
64. Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Ginger Snaps
67. PB& J Bars
70. Homemade “Lara” Bars or this “Lara” Bar Recipe
71. Homemade “KIND” Fruit and Nut Bars
72. Coconut Flour and Almond Butter Cookies – 3 Ways!
74. Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
75. Cashew Coconut Flour Shortbread Cookies
76. Chocolate Chip Trail Mix Cookies
*For more homemade protein-packed bars check out the book High Protein, No Powder.
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Smoothies Snack Ideas for Kids
My kids love smoothies! Whipping them up in my Blendtec blender makes them especially easy (you can also check out this budget-friendly refurbished blender). If your kids like them too, here’s some smoothie inspiration for some great snack ideas for your kids.
79. Berrylicious Dairy-Free, Sugar-Free “Milkshake”
80. Dairy-Free, Sugar-Free Chocolate Coconut “Milkshake”
82. Blackberry Coconut Smoothie
*For more homemade protein-packed smoothies check out the book High Protein, No Powder.
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Healthy Pre-Packaged Snack Ideas for Kids
Though I’d rather make everything from scratch, sometimes I need a grab-and-go snack or a healthy mix that I can whip up quickly. These aren’t easy to come by. Most grab-and-go snacks and mixes are filled with grains, sugar, soy, and more. Here’s a list of snacks you can fill your pantry with for times when you don’t have the time or energy to whip up a homemade treat.
85. Nick’s Beef or Turkey Sticks (My family absolutely loves these sticks made from grass-fed beef and free-range turkey.)
86. Lara Bars
87. Quest Bars (these are some of my favorite sugar-free packaged protein bars!)
88. Organic No-sugar Added Applesauce (I especially like to get them in the squeeze pouches for easy on-the-go snacks!)
89. Organic Yogurt
90. String Cheese
92. Chocolate Muffin Mix from Simple Mills (You will not believe that these mixes are made from 100% healthy ingredients. They are that good!)
93. Banana Muffin Mix from Simple Mills
94. Pumpkin Muffin Mix from Simple Mills
96. Peanuts (the little packets are so easy to throw in the diaper bag or purse)
97. Raisins (I like the little boxes of these to throw in my purse or diaper bag too)
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Other Stuff
These are the snacks that just didn’t fit in any of the other categories. Don’t miss out on them though, they’re tasty and make great snacks too!
98. Homemade Yogurt (My kids can eat boat-loads of this. Their favorite way to eat it is mixed with some pureed fruit and vanilla stevia or with a little bit of honey. But you can mix lots of things with homemade yogurt or make fruit and yogurt parfaits.)
99. Hard boiled eggs
100. Deviled eggs
101. Naturally Fermented Pickles
For more Snack Ideas…
- Follow our Snack Ideas board on Pinterest.
Follow Trisha Gilkerson’s board Gluten-Free Snack Ideas on Pinterest.
For more Kid recipes…
- Learn about Grain-Free, Brain-Fueling Breakfasts for Kids
Thanks for the kind shout-outs on some of our favorite GF snacks! What a terrific post! I’ve pinned it so I can keep referring back to it! Blessings, Kelly
Fabulous list! Thanks for including me!
Awesome list! We are slowly going grain free and I have been finding snacks to be hardest. This will definitely come in handy!
What a great list! My daughter and I will be having fun making everything in the fruity and veggie snacks section 🙂
This is AWESOME. Thanks so much for putting together such a fantastic list!!!
What a great list! We eat a LOT of nuts and fruit for snacks around here. It would be great to incorporate these ideas for some variety!
Thank you so much for linking up to Good Tips Tuesday this week! THis list rocks! Thank you so much.
So many great ideas in one place! Thanks for sharing on Allergy Free Wednesdays, I am featuring your post this week!
Thanks for the ideas. It was very encouraging! When I hear, “What can I eat, Mom?” I cringe! After 19 years of raising 5 children, and constantly learning about new allergies over the years, I am worn out! I keep giving the same old, simple snacks, but even with all of the allergies it is not necessary. From your snack ideas I typed up a list of “12 Snack Catagories”. I am going to print it out and hang it up on the refrigerator for quick reference. The catagories I listed were as follows… 1. Smoothies 2. Fruits 3. Vegetables 4. Dried Fruit 5. Nuts & Seeds 6. Crackers & Chips 7. Dips 8. Puddings & Yogurts 9. Healthy Ice Pops 10. Muffins & Breads 11. Cakes & Cupcakes 12. Cookies & Natural Candies. Hopefully we’ll be eating more from the top of the list than from bottom 😉
I’m so happy that you found some new ideas here! I put this together because *I* need inspiration. Sometimes you just need a nice list to shake things up 🙂
Thanks for including me!!
I need to get to the store and buy some more of my gluten free ingredients so I can make these yummy treats!
This is a great resource with some deliciously wholesome gluten free snacks! I’ve pinned it. Thank you for sharing this post with us at the Hearth and Soul hop.
What a great collection of snacks for the big kids too! Hope you are having a great weekend and thanks so much for sharing your awesome recipe with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Great collection big thanks to the author, I was looking for some more healthy ideas. My kids would have as a snack Chomps Snack Stick(www.gochomps.com) which is very good as it 100% grass fed beef, gluten free and paleo friendly without junks in it; but i would like my kids to have sometimes something still very healthy but different – although they don’t want..
Thanks again for your article — I find it very helpful
Thanks! I hope you enjoy some of the ideas. 🙂
Amazing list – Thanks for putting this all together! I recently launched a Gourmet Gluten Free Snacks Gift Box you might like as part of Undiscovered Kitchen’s gift collection – Here’s the link: http://undiscoveredkitchen.com/undiscovered-kitchens-gift-collections/gourmet-artisan-gluten-free-snacks-box Super tasty and gluten free with minimally processed and nutritionally packed snacks using the best ingredients from makers across the country 🙂 #shoplocal
Thanks for the heads up! I’ve never heard of Gourmet Gluten Free Snacks – sounds great 🙂
THANKS for responding. I have a 5yr. old child allergic to wheat, shrimp, soy, egg whites and peanuts. I am now waiting on test results of tomatoes and citrus. I am looking for simple recipes for breaskfas, lunch and snackss for school. Any suggestions would be a great help also finding it hard to locate places to get some items for recipes. Thanks, Again
Nettie, That’s very difficult. I’d suggest ordering from Amazon. I order almost all of my specialty products on Amazon to make grain-free treats.
Great post full of ideas. I recently did a healthy cooking workshop for kids for the state PTA convention and wish I would have seen this post prior to that, I will keep track of this for future use!
Glad you like the list if ideas!
My 7mo. has a food allergy to grain. With grains being in almost everything I was super nervous about her diet. This is very helpful!