The healthy snacks that keep you full longest combine protein or fiber with a little healthy fat: an apple with a small handful of nuts, plain yogurt with berries, vegetable sticks with hummus, a boiled egg, or air-popped popcorn. Keep most snacks to about 100 to 200 calories, and choose whole foods over packaged snacks that are high in sugar or salt. The World Health Organization recommends at least 400 g of fruit and vegetables a day, and snacks are an easy way to add to that.
What makes a snack filling?
- Protein: yogurt, eggs, cheese, nuts, hummus and beans help a snack last longer than one made mostly of sugar or refined starch.
- Fiber: fruit, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds and popcorn add bulk.
- Some fat: nuts, seeds, cheese and avocado make a snack more satisfying, but they’re calorie-dense, so portions matter.
- Water: fruit and vegetables are mostly water, so they fill you up for few calories.
A snack that’s mostly sugar, such as sweets, biscuits or a sugary drink, has little protein or fiber to keep you going.
15 healthy snack ideas, with calories
Using values from USDA FoodData Central:
| Snack | Portion | Calories | Protein | Fiber |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple and almonds | 1 medium apple (180 g) + 15 g almonds | 180 | 3.6 g | 6.2 g |
| Plain Greek yogurt and berries | 170 g nonfat yogurt + 75 g strawberries | 116 | 16.7 g | 1.8 g |
| Carrot sticks and hummus | 100 g carrots + 30 g hummus | 112 | 3.3 g | 4.4 g |
| Hard-boiled egg | 1 large egg (50 g) | 72 | 6.3 g | 0 g |
| Air-popped popcorn | 25 g | 97 | 3.2 g | 3.6 g |
| Almonds | 30 g (a small handful) | 174 | 6.4 g | 3.8 g |
| Banana and peanut butter | 1 small banana (100 g) + 1 tbsp (16 g) peanut butter | 185 | 4.6 g | 3.4 g |
| Cottage cheese and tomato | 100 g cottage cheese + 1 tomato | 99 | 11.3 g | 1.2 g |
| Cheese and an apple | 20 g cheddar + 1 small apple (150 g) | 159 | 5.0 g | 3.6 g |
| Rice cakes with avocado | 2 rice cakes + 30 g avocado | 118 | 2.1 g | 2.8 g |
Portions are examples. Adjust them to your appetite and the rest of your day.
More ideas without exact numbers:
- Edamame, steamed, with a pinch of salt
- A small bowl of plain porridge or overnight oats
- Cucumber and pepper sticks with a yogurt dip
- Roasted chickpeas with spices
- A piece of whole grain toast with tomato
Smart snacking habits
- Plan snacks rather than grazing. Decide what and when, and portion it out.
- Eat from a bowl, not the bag or packet.
- Keep healthy options visible: fruit on the counter, cut vegetables at eye level in the fridge.
- Drink water first if you’re not sure whether you’re hungry or thirsty. Our guide to how much water to drink explains how much you need.
- Notice why you’re snacking. Boredom, stress or habit are different from hunger.
Snacks to keep as occasional
- Sweets, chocolate, cakes and biscuits, which are high in sugar and often saturated fat.
- Crisps and salty snacks. The NHS classes more than 1.5 g of salt per 100 g as high.
- Sugary drinks, including fruit juice and smoothies. The NHS suggests keeping juice and smoothies to 150 ml a day.
- “Healthy” bars and granola bars, many of which contain a lot of sugar. Check the label: the NHS classes more than 22.5 g of total sugars per 100 g as high.
Our guide to how much sugar per day explains how quickly sugary snacks add up.
Snacks for different needs
- For kids: fruit, vegetable sticks, plain yogurt, cheese, whole grain crackers and milk. The NHS suggests two healthy snacks a day is enough for young children, so they come to meals hungry.
- On keto: nuts, cheese, boiled eggs, olives, celery with nut butter, and small portions of berries. Our keto food list has more.
- Before exercise: a banana, a slice of toast with honey, or yogurt about an hour before.
- At work: a pot of nuts, an apple, a yogurt in the fridge, or hummus and crackers.
Do you need to snack at all?
Not necessarily. Some people do well on three meals a day; others prefer smaller meals and a snack or two. If you’re often very hungry between meals, it may help to add more protein, vegetables or whole grains to your meals. If you snack mainly out of habit, stopping may be the simplest change of all.
Snack prep for the week
A little preparation makes healthy snacking automatic:
- On the weekend, wash and cut carrots, peppers and cucumber into sticks and store them in a container in the fridge.
- Boil 4 to 6 eggs and keep them in the fridge in their shells.
- Portion nuts into small containers or bags of about 30 g each.
- Make a batch of hummus or buy a tub, and divide it into small pots. Our guide to whether hummus is healthy includes a quick recipe.
- Keep fruit in a bowl where you’ll see it.
Cooked eggs and other prepared foods should be refrigerated and eaten within a few days. The USDA’s leftovers guidance gives 3 to 4 days for cooked leftovers.
Common questions
Are dried fruits a healthy snack?
In small portions. Dried fruit counts toward your fruit and vegetables, but it’s more concentrated in sugar and calories than fresh fruit and easy to overeat. A small handful is a sensible portion.
Is fruit juice a good snack?
Not really. Juice has the fiber removed and counts as free sugar, according to the World Health Organization. Whole fruit is the better choice.
How many calories should a snack have?
There’s no single number, but 100 to 200 calories is a practical range for most adults between meals. A very active person, a teenager going through a growth spurt or someone with a physical job may need more. Fit snacks around your meals, so you arrive at the next one hungry but not starving.
This article is general information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian before making big changes to how you eat, especially if you have a health condition, take regular medication, or are pregnant or breastfeeding.
