15 Homemade Road Trip Snacks to Fuel Your Adventures (2024)

15 Homemade Road Trip Snacks to Fuel Your Adventures (1)

No matter where you're headed, the ultimate road trip snacks don't come from gas stations—instead, they are homemade. Avoid making too many pitstops by stocking up on the types of sweet treats, crunchy snack mixes, healthy bites (like the Vegan Granola Bars shown here), and portable meals you love to enjoy on the road before you get in the car. The general idea? Pack foods that don't just fill you up, but rather options that keep you satisfied for the long haul. Sure, they require a little advanced preparation, but it all pays off when you set off stocked with a pleasing snack arsenal in your car.

From a food perspective, road tripping starts with a good cooler and a designated snack bag—we suggest repurposing any tote or grocery bag, to keep everything contained and easy-to-find. Then, select smart snacks to make and stock up on before you go. When it comes to long car rides and keeping every passenger in the car feeling satisfied, variety is the key. Select a few recipes, each with different flavors and textures.

Beyond keeping you and your crew stocked with cold drinks, bringing a cooler opens up a world of eating as you can keep your goodies fresh for longer. Pack everything from incredible dips and sliced vegetables to deli meats and cheeses—they're sure to stay cold! Toss in a few yogurts for breakfast on the go. Just make sure to bring utensils and napkins.

Whether you're driving for four hours or 14, our easy to make snacks will fuel everyone in the car so you can make it to your destination on a full stomach.

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Maple Bran Muffins

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Eager to get on the road? Take breakfast to go. We've made over the bran muffin and created a better-for-your breakfast option that's packed with plain yogurt, two forms of bran cereal, and maple syrup for sweetness.

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Crispy Chickpea Snack

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If you're not super hungry but still want something healthy to snack on, reach for our crispy chickpeas. Flavored with garam masala, salt, and pepper, they're a protein-packed alternative to nuts.

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Peanut-Butter Granola Balls

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This low-maintenance recipe is simple to make and requires just five ingredients: honey, peanut butter, rice cereal, rolled oats, and dried fruit (plus salt). The mixture is formed into tablespoon bites and served in paper cups, making them easy to eat on the road.

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Whole-Grain Breakfast Cookies

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Cookies for breakfast? Yes, please! With quick-cooking oats as the base, and a mixture of buckwheat flour, millet, cashew butter, and fresh raspberries, these cinnamon-spiced treats will keep you fueled all morning long.

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Spanish Gazpacho

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Thermoses aren't just for keeping beverages cool; they also work great for keeping soup. Pull over at a rest stop or site and enjoy chilled gazpacho with a spoon topped with hard boiled egg or slices of Spanish ham. You can also skip the toppings and sip while you go.

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Toffee-Nut Snack Mix

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Turn up the music! This party-friendly snack mix is as fun to eat during a car dance party as one at home. The toffee bits melt right into the crunchy snack mix for an addictive sweet-and-savory snack.

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Chocolate-Cherry Granola Bars

There's no fighting over the last bar with these portable chewy chocolate chip and cherry studded granola bars. This recipe makes enough to get you there and back, no matter which way you're going.

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Crunchy Ramen Snack Mix

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Long road trips can get mundane, so keep it interesting with an unexpected snack mix. This snack mix coated in golden curry powder, features everyone's favorite instant soup star in its crunchiest form, ramen noodles.

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Red Lentil Hummus

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Take advantage of cooler space and add this fresh, healthy snack into the mix. Pack a container of homemade lentil hummus and bags of pre-cut vegetable dippers like celery and carrot sticks.

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Rosemary-Cayenne Snack Mix

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Rest-stop snacks are a thing of the past thanks to this satisfying snack mix. Puff corn cereal is baked in a blend of butter, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, and a few dashes of rosemary and cayenne. It's sweet, spicy, and so satisfying.

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Hazelnut Puppy Chow

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When it's time for a sweet treat, bring out our decadent take on Muddy Buddies. A finger friendly way to get your chocolate-hazelnut fix, Chex are coated in the spread and then dusted with cocoa powder.

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Elote-Style Popcorn

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Not just a movie snack, popcorn is also perfect for snacking on the road. Bring out a bag of our Mexican street corn inspired popcorn—made with Pecorino Romano cheese, Tajín seasoning, and a pinch of cayenne pepper—and enjoy both the flavor and the view.

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Fig-and-Almond Crackers

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Crackers are the perfect vehicle—no pun intended—for a variety of toppings, including pre-sliced meats and cheese and dip. Ours are made by pulsing almonds, flour, and salt until crumbly and forming the mixture into discs with finely chopped figs before baking to crispy, golden brown perfection.

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On-the-Go Trail Mix

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Here is a snack that will please any passenger and was pretty much invented for journeys of all sorts: trail mix. Make one big bag with your choice of mixed dried fruit (think apricots, cherries, and raisins), pecans, and candy-coated chocolate.

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15 Homemade Road Trip Snacks to Fuel Your Adventures (2024)

FAQs

What is the number 1 snack food on road trips in the US? ›

While potato chips were the road trip snack champion by a decent margin, there were quite a few other snacks that were the favorite of at least 2 states, including rice cakes, Combos, Sour Patch Kids, sunflower seeds, hummus, Flamin' Hot Cheetos, popcorn, and pork rinds.

What are easy snacks to eat while driving? ›

Similar to carrots, grapes are a great option for when you are bored and want to eat something on the road. Healthy, clean, and easy to eat, grapes will help stave off the boredom. Just don't go overboard with the grapes — they do have a lot of sugar in them.

What food is good for a long road trip? ›

Sweet snacks

Better sweet road trip snacks are cookies, muffins, cake, or banana bread. Candy is also a great option when it comes to sweet road trip snacks. A great option is for example trail mix, but more about this later.

What are the most popular car snacks? ›

My favourites include apples, bananas, popcorn, pretzels, and granola bars. A variety of nuts like peanuts, almonds, and cashews is also a hit with the family and make great road trip snacks for my kids. The best part is that these snacks are easy to pack, eat, and dispose of throughout the trip.

What is the best food to eat while driving? ›

While driving, food needs to be single bite, not greasy and able to be easily picked out of a cup or bag. So, cheese cubes, cut up fruit, small pieces of beef jerky, candy, etc.

What is the best cheese for a road trip? ›

"Aged Gouda is a great example of a perfect traveling cheese," says fromager Dan Utano. "It's hard so it doesn't melt, it's aged so it can last through the travel and the flavor is so rich you can just eat a little at a time and it will last you."

Which food is good for long travel? ›

19 Best Foods to Pack Up for a Road Trip
  • Parmigiano black pepper popcorn. Share on Pinterest. ...
  • Carnitas avocado breakfast burritos. Share on Pinterest. ...
  • Butternut squash and goat cheese hand pies. Share on Pinterest. ...
  • Tamarind trail mix. ...
  • Homemade cheese crackers. ...
  • Soft pretzel rolls. ...
  • Crackly sugar cookies. ...
  • Homemade veggie chips.
Nov 8, 2022

How to budget for food on a road trip? ›

Budgeting for Food

“On average, it costs about $4 per person per meal when doing the cooking yourself.” By using this cost estimate, you can get ahead on planning by multiplying $4 by the number of times a day you will be making meals at home, and multiplying that number by the number of days the trip will be.

How to pack food for car travel? ›

General Tips for Good Road Trip Foods:

Be sure to use a cooler for foods that need to be kept cool. For short trips or only a few refrigerated items, try using an insulated cooler bag or lunch box. Bring along a box of large re-sealable plastic freezer bags for ice to keep the food in the cooler cold.

What is the most addictive snack? ›

Every person has different food preferences, of course, but most will agree that seven of the most addictive foods are:
  • Pizza.
  • Chocolate.
  • Potato chips.
  • Ice cream.
  • French fries.
  • Cake.
  • Cheeseburgers.
May 25, 2022

What are some good snacks? ›

Healthy Snacks
  • Apples (dried or cut into wedges), 1 medium or ¼ cup (35 grams)
  • Bananas, 1 medium.
  • Raisins, ¼ cup (35 grams)
  • Fruit leather (dried fruit puree) without added sugar.
  • Carrots (regular carrots cut into strips, or baby carrots ), 1 cup (130 grams)
  • Snap peas (the pods are edible), 1.5 cups (350 grams)
  • Nuts, 1 oz.

What is the most popular snack in the US? ›

Rice Krispies Treats Are America's Most Popular Snack

The customer and data-centric platform HubScore recently released its Favorite Snack By State Report, showcasing the most sought-after munchies nationwide. The winner? Rice Krispies Treats.

What is the 1 food in America? ›

popularity is the % of people who have a positive opinion of a american dish. Find out more
  • 1 Mashed potatoes86%
  • 2 French Fries86%
  • 3 Hamburgers85%
  • 4 Cheeseburger83%
  • 5 Grilled Cheese82%
  • 6 Steak and Baked potato82%
  • 7 Hash browns82%
  • 8 Fried Chicken82%

What is the most popular street food? ›

For picnics and snacks on the go, Scotch eggs and pork pies are also popular. There's a wide range of different street foods in England, from fish and chips and jellied eels to doner kebabs and pork pies. The classic street food in the UK is fish and chips, but there are different cuisines to try as well.

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