Cooking

39 After-School Snacks for Kids (and Adults Too)

From peanut butter cereal treats to tangy tomato popcorn.
Peanut butter rice crispy treats as seen from overhead.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Nicole Louie

There’s hungry, and then there’s post-recess, post-pick-up-line, post-band-practice hungry. If dinner is still a couple hours away, we’ve got you covered: These after-school snacks—with plenty of sweet and savory options to pick from—will satisfy kindergartners, high schoolers, and adults alike. If you’re a planner, you can whip up some of these recipes on a Sunday to enjoy throughout the week, like Brown Butter Banana Nut Muffins, Furikake-Ranch Snack Mix, or Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats. But if you need a kid-friendly snack and you need it now, many of these can be assembled in a flash (like Easy Pickle Dip or this Blueberry-Banana Smoothie).

  • Tofu Nuggets on a white plate placed on a yellow background
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Mieko Takahashi
    1/39

    Crispy Baked Tofu Nuggets

    These simple vegan nuggets taste just like the dino-shaped ones in the freezer aisle.

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  • GarlicNori Fries in a blue bowl on a pinstriped fabric
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Judy Kim, prop styling by Gözde Eker
    2/39

    Air Fryer Garlic-Nori Fries

    Frozen fries get the ultimate makeover thanks to a sweet-salty-umami mix featuring plenty of seaweed, garlic, and one secret ingredient.

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  • Scattered furikakeranch snack mix including pieces of chex pretzels goldfish and oyster crackers on a pink surface
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Judy Kim, Prop Styling by Nicole Louie
    3/39

    Furikake-Ranch Snack Mix

    Like all good snack mixes, this one is a reliable crowd-pleaser, hitting all of the sweet and salty notes. Plus, it’s wide open to swaps and modifications.

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  • Peanut butter rice crispy treats as seen from overhead.
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Nicole Louie
    4/39

    Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats With Brown Butter

    If you’ve ever wondered how to make the beloved snack even better, try this nutty, savory-sweet version powered by peanut butter and toasted dry milk powder.

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  • Overhead view of dill pickle dip surrounded by ridged potato chips.
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
    5/39

    Easy Pickle Dip

    This 5-minute dip is creamy, crunchy, and made for chips.

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  • Three Banana Nut Muffins on a plate with one cut open and spread with butter.
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca
    6/39

    Brown-Butter Banana Nut Muffins

    All the fun of banana bread in a portable, oh-so-charming package. Plus, it all comes together in one bowl for easy cleanup.

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  • Spicy Tuna Mayo Onigiri next to a bowl of Furikake
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Liberty Fennell, Prop Styling by Suzie Myers
    9/39

    Spicy Tuna Mayo Onigiri

    Warm rice and hot sauce transform budget canned tuna into a craveable, handheld dish.

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  • Image may contain Plant Food Confectionery and Sweets
    Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou, Prop Styling by Sophie Strangio
    10/39

    Chocolate Date-Caramel Cups

    Assembling these dessert cups in muffin tin liners (just the liners!) helps speed up the process and ensure the sticky date caramel doesn’t get out of hand.

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  • Image may contain Confectionery Food Sweets Bread and Hot Dog
    Photo by Chelsie Craig, styling by Judy Mancini
    11/39

    Crispy Cheese Twists

    You’re just a package of store-bought puff pastry (and any cheese and spice blend of your choosing) from these speedy, cheesy, flaky, shareable snacks.

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  • Loaf of chocolate zucchini bread cut into slices on cutting board.
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca
    12/39

    Double-Chocolate Zucchini Bread

    Zucchini makes this chocolaty quick bread moist and tender. The best part: There’s no fussy step of squeezing and draining shredded squash. (Save those zucchini tops for even more snacking possibilities.)

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  • Ranch fun dip recipe for raw veggies
    Photograph by Laura Murray. Food Styling by Yekaterina Boytsova
    13/39

    Ranch Fun Dip

    Dip and dunk any of your favorite veggies in this ultra-savory, nutty blend—made possible by nutritional yeast. Carrots, radish, and sweet snap peas are all great contenders.

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  • Bowl of seasoned popcorn on a floral tablecloth with two cans of soda.
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Judy Kim, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca
    14/39

    Tangy Tomato-Chile Popcorn

    Tomato powder makes a simple umami-packed seasoning you’ll want to lick off your fingers while you’re snacking.

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Antara is an associate editor at Bon Appétit whose work includes writing about the joys of cooking with South Asian spice blends, a review of Bad Bunny’s Miami restaurant, and plenty of ingredient and technique explainers to help level up your kitchen skills. She developed the “Part-Time Plant-Based” cooking column ... Read More
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