If your kiddo is heading off to preschool this year and you need preschool snacks, this list of easy ideas has you covered. I aimed to include affordable and easy to eat options that are nut-free and kid-approved!
Preschool Snacks
Packing a preschool snack for kids is one of those parts of parenting that’s often harder than it seems—especially if you aren’t sure how hungry your kiddo will be or what they might be in the mood for. This list of preschool snack ideas has an assortment of healthy, yummy ideas that you can use individually or mix and match to pack a more substantial snack—because some kids are hungrier than others in the afternoon.
I know that many preschools have parents share snack duty, so this list will give you ideas in that situation, too.
You’ll find shelf-stable snacks, fresh produce ideas, nutritious store-bought snacks, peanut-free options, and more to make packing snacks for preschool and daycare easier.
(You may also like my favorite lunchbox ideas, bento lunch box ideas, peanut-free snacks for school, and birthday treats for school.)
Table of Contents
Preschool Snack Ideas
My goal with this list is to offer a range of ideas that require little to no prep work on your part, are appropriate for preschoolers from a nutritional and chewing standpoint, and are foods kids usually like. There’s probably no snack that every single kid will eat, but I did my best!
You can supply just one of these snacks or a combination of two of them for a balanced snack. If there will be milk served, one snack item may be enough depending on appetite.
- Applesauce Mini Muffins
- Applesauce pouches
- Banana
- Banana and graham crackers
- Banana Mini Muffins (can be an easy egg-free choice)
- Blueberries
- Canned fruit in 100% fruit juice
- Cheese stick
- Clementines
- Cucumbers (sliced) and puffs
- Crackers (cheese crackers or whole grain) and cheese
- Crackers and hummus
- Dino Bars snack bar
- Dried fruit like apples (or learn how to store fresh apple slices without browning)
- Dry cereal (Cheerios, Kix, Chex, or other whole grain cereal)
- Fruit leather and crackers
- Kind Kids Granola Bars
- Milk and crackers
- Milk and cereal
- Mini bagel and cream cheese
- Pretzels and cheese
- Raisins and sunflower seeds, dry cereal, or slivered cashews (not whole) if nuts are allowed
- Sandwich quarter or half
- Snap peas and hummus
- Snap pea crisps and fruit
- Smoothie in reusable pouch
- Toddler Trail Mix
- Yogurt, drinkable
- Yogurt pouch or tube
- Cliff Kid Z Bar
TIP: Find my favorite Healthy Kids Snacks to buy at the store, too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Options including cheese sticks, fresh fruit and sliced raw vegetables (such as bell peppers and cucumbers), granola bars, muffins, small sandwiches, smoothies in a reusable pouch, yogurt, and similar options are nutritious options for preschool.
It depends on the duration of the time at preschool. Typically, preschoolers have a morning snack and an afternoon snack. It can help to keep them fuel between meal times to pack 2 food groups, with a protein snack and some beneficial fat, to help satisfy their hunger.
Options including homemade muffins, pita bread and hummus, thinly sliced carrot sticks and guacamole or other dip, whole wheat bread sandwiches, plain yogurt with fruit, whole grain crackers and more are nutritious options for nursery school.
Easy Homemade Snacks for School
These foods are great to keep in mind for sending snacks to any school since most kids will be hungry by mid-afternoon. They’re kid-friendly, no matter the age, and can be expanded upon as kids get older. Choose the ones that work best for your child’s situation.
Reusable Snack Containers
These three containers are ones that we’ve used for years for preschool snacks and find to be super durable and easy to clean (and the first two are shown in this post).
Re-Play Stacking Snack Containers (these are the colorful ones shown above) and are sold in a set of 4 containers for about $13.
Beaba Clip Containers (these are the clear containers shown above with the yellow and blue lids underneath) and are sold in a set of 6 for about $15.
Bumkins Reusable Bags are great to use instead of plastic bags if you want a reusable option. I usually rinse ours out but you can also run them through the dishwasher or washing machine. A set of 2 bags is usually less than $10.
Best Tips for Preschool Snacks
- Follow guidelines from your preschool or daycare on allergies or any other ingredient recommendations.
- Aim to include 1 or 2 food groups for balance and to keep the kids satisfied until the next meal.
- Trust the kids to eat as much as they need to fill their hunger cues.
- Remember that it’s okay to keep things simple. You don’t have to make snacks from scratch all the time!
- Rotate through favorites to expose the kids to a range of nutrients.
- Feel free to share this list with your preschool or daycare or parents association if you share snack duty with other families.
- You may also like my master list of Toddler Snacks and my Protein Snacks for Kids.
Related Recipes
If you have any questions or additions to my list, please comment below. The more I hear from you all, the better I can make my content for your families!
30 Healthy Preschool Snacks (Easy, Nut-Free, Kid-Approved)
Ingredients
Shelf-Stable Produce
- 1 applesauce pouch
- 1 container canned fruit in 100% juice
- 1/4-1/2 cup freeze-dried fruit
- 1 fruit leather
- 1/4 cup dried fruit
Fresh Produce
- 1 banana
- 1 clementine
- 1/4-1/2 cup berries
- 1/4-1/2 cup sliced cucumber
- 1/4-1/2 cup snap peas
- 1/4-1/2 cup sliced bell pepper strips
- 1/4-1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
Whole Grains
- 1-2 Applesauce Mini Muffins
- 1-2 Banana Mini Muffins
- 2-4 graham crackers
- 1/4-1/2 cup whole grain crackers
- 1/4-1/2 cup puffs
- 1/4-1/2 cup cereal
- 1 slice whole grain bread
- 1 mini bagel
- 1/4-1/2 cup pretzels
- 1 snack bar
Proteins
- 1-2 tablespoons hummus
- 1-2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
- 1 oz deli lunch meat
- 1/4-1/2 cup snap pea crisps
- 1 cheese stick
- 1 yogurt tube
- 4-8 oz milk
- 4-8 oz smoothie
- 4- 8 oz drinkable yogurt
- 1/4-1/2 cup cottage cheese
Instructions
- Choose 1-2 items from the list above. Choose milk or water.
- Offer to the kids or pack for preschool and let the kids decide how much to eat according to their hunger.
Notes
- Follow guidelines from your preschool or daycare on allergies or any other ingredient recommendations.
- Aim to include 1 or 2 food groups for balance and to keep the kids satisfied until the next meal.
- Trust the kids to eat as much as they need to fill their hunger cues.
- Remember that it’s okay to keep things simple. You don’t have to make snacks from scratch all the time!
- Rotate through favorites to expose the kids to a range of nutrients.
- Feel free to share this list with your preschool or daycare or parents association if you share snack duty with other families.
Nutrition
This post was first published July 2020.
I just had to copy and paste for a project thanks tho
Hi Amy! I just joined the community and have a soon to be preschooler. We are doing half days and only need to bring a morning snack, so these ideas are wonderful!
I was wondering how to keep things like fresh fruit cold since we won’t really be packing a lunchbox. Do you find the replay containers do the job? Maybe it’s not an issue since her day is so short. Thank you!!
Hi! If it’s 2-3 hours, and the food will be inside (and it’s not crazy hot), you probably don’t need an ice pack. But you could also send snack in a little lunch bag with an ice pack if you want to. I hope it’s a good start to the year!
These are such great after school snack ideas! I am going to try some of these for my kids. They have a pediatric dentist appointment coming up I want to get them in a good routine of having less sugary snacks. Thanks so much!
Amy,
Thank you so much for all your hard work! Makes life a lot easier having such great resources available online.
Lots of blessings to your family!
Hi
I was googling for content about healthy school snacks for kids, When i came across your excellent resource page.
I just wanted to say that your page helped me, I would have never found the resource with out it.
Great list!!
Thanks for sharing now I have some ideas for my kids when they start the kindergarten
Love this list! And advice for how to send snacks for the class? At my child’s school we take turns bringing snacks and I would rather not use plastic Ziploc baggies every time, would you buy enough reusable snack containers for the whole class or how would you do it?
You could use a big reusable bag (like one from Stasher) to transport them? I guess you could buy enough containers for each kid, but that seems like a lot to ask for one parent to do!
Cashews are technically not a nut, they’re a seed. It grows on the cashew fruit (which makes very interesting wine btw!) Great list, this helps! I apparently make over complicated lunches for my son, he would rather I just keep it simple, so these simple snack ideas are perfect for my overthinking brain.
What age can toddlers eat raw nuts and raisins? What about “energy bites”?
The full info on nuts is here. Raisins are typically fine over about 12/14 months. If they are very large, you can cut them in half.
Can these animal crackers be made gluten free?
My Animal Crackers recipe should work nicely with a cup-for-cup style of gluten-free flour blend like the one from King Arthur Flour.
It’s not about skipping them if you can’t do them. It’s about your title being misleading. If you are making a nut free snack list then it should not include cashews. Someone who is not aware might send them with their child without knowing. The previous poster was right for posting and letting you know.
You’re right, I will fix it.
Hi,
Cashews are a NUT! please do not include in a list that is supposed to be nut free thanks!
You can skip the cashews if you can’t do them! Some schools are just peanut-free, but of course follow your specific guidelines!
It’s not like she’s sneaking it past you into your food. If you find it on a list of ingredients just skip it.
It’s not about her sneaking it past anyone. It’s about including a NUT in a post that clearly states: 30 Healthy Preschool Snacks (Easy, Nut-Free, Kid-Approved). They are not all nut free since she is including cashews. If she wants to include them that’s fine but she should edit her title. Too many people take things for face value on the internet and that’s why I pointed it out.
I will fix it, thank you.
May I ask what type of containers used for the small snacks? Your website has helped me a lot. Thanks!
Sure, they are these Snack Cups from Replay Recycled. I should have and will add that info to the post!