Before we jump in, I want to remind you that YOU are in charge and that anything can be served at snack time. If you have some leftover steak and sweet potatoes, use that as a snack if you want. When I say anything, I really mean it.

The whole point of a snack is to be a small amount of food to tide you over until your next big meal. There are no hard and fast rules about what can and cannot be served at snack time.

What are Dairy Free Snacks?

Dairy free snacks are free from all dairy products and milk of mammals (buffalo, camel, cow, goat, sheep, etc.). Milk products are commonly found in store bought snacks, including snacks you may think would never have milk (such as granola bars or chips). This is why reading the product labels is critical to your success.

The good news is that you can make a great snack at home that’s dairy free, or purchase one, as we live in a time where there are lots of options available. I’ll be sharing ideas, brands, and recipes throughout this article to help you.

Who Needs Dairy Free Snacks?

• People who manage a lactose intolerance.
• Someone with a milk/dairy allergy.
• A person who follows a vegan diet (read this helpful article on how some new products labeled vegan aren’t safe for those with a milk allergy).
• Some people with Celiac Disease (a large portion of people who follow a strict gluten-free diet also learn they need to be dairy free as well).

Related Article: Dairy-Free Diet ~ How to Go Dairy Free

Dairy-Free Snacks to Make at Home

Here are some delicious dairy-free snack recipes you can make at home. Some are super easy, such as power balls, which only require a food processor. Many of these snacks are kid friendly, and if you have a child with food allergies, they can help you make them. I’m a big fan of getting kids with food allergies into the kitchen whilst they’re young, as cooking will be a critical life skill for them.

• Granola Bars
• Power Balls
• Baked Oat Bars
• Smoothies
• Fruit Leather
• Muffins

No-Cook Dairy-Free Snack Ideas

We live in busy times, and not everyone can always make a snack at home. Other times, you may be out and about and want to pick something up at a local grocery store. Here are some super easy dairy free snack ideas that don’t require any cooking.

• Fresh Fruit
• Peanut Butter/Almond Butter + Celery (think ants on a log)
• Rice Cakes + Toppings
• Hummus + Veg to Dip (such as bell peppers and carrot sticks)
• Fresh Vegetables + Dip (such as dairy free ranch)
• PB&J Crackers (there are also lots of gluten-free crackers and allergy friendly crackers to choose from)
• Trail Mix (No Whey Chocolate sells DF + Top 9 Free faux M & Ms you can add to your mix)
• Smoothies

The nice thing about these snack ideas is that you can customize them to meet your needs and preferences to make the perfect snack you’ll enjoy. For example, if you don’t like raisins, try your ants on a log with dried cranberries. If you have a little kid, tell them they’re fire ants.

Hummus can be made either sweet or savory. Honestly, my kids detest hummus, and then one day, I made a cookie dough hummus and they were IN. I also made this sesame free, chocolate hummus for them and they love it. Sometimes, you need to think outside the box, and suddenly you have a snack you’ll enjoy.

You can top your rice cakes with absolutely anything. Try to think of it as the Lunchables we had as kids. You can serve rice cakes with pizza style toppings, a chocolate spread and berries (great for those with a sweet tooth), or anything else. You can also dust your rice cakes with something simple like cinnamon if you’re only looking for something very basic. Lundberg sells a range of flavoured rice cakes, some of which are dairy free. I’m told the mini apple pie flavoured rice cakes are amazing.

If you have free time, you can make your fresh fruit look super cute. Here’s an article that can show you examples. I personally enjoyed doing this sometimes for my kids when they were little, as the novelty effect brought them so much joy.

Packaged Dairy-Free Snacks to Purchase

The good news is that these days, just about every grocery store carries dairy-free products, including delicious dairy free snacks. You’ll need to start by reading the ingredient label. Milk is a major allergen here in the US, and in each country that has a list of major allergens. In the US and EU, milk will be called out on the label. Here in the states you’ll see “Contains Milk”. Alternatively, the term milk may be bolded in the ingredient list.

Some companies will voluntarily disclose if a product is made on shared equipment with milk. I’ve found that about 30% of people with food allergies can’t eat food made on shared equipment. If you fall into that category, you’ll need to research and contact companies before making a purchase. The apps Spokin and Fig can give you great product leads, as well as the website Snack Safely.

List of Packaged Dairy Free Snacks to Purchase (not an exhaustive list):

• Protein Bars
• Granola Bars (my kids really enjoyed Free Yumm Foods and Made Good Foods)
• Freeze Dried Fruit (can be mixed with dairy free yogurt)
• Cookies (My kids like the Partake brand for crunchy cookies)
• Cereal (an often overlooked snack option)
• Graham Crackers (can be paired with hummus or other dips)
• Flavoured dairy free crackers (the brand Everybody Eat is a great example)

Savory Snacks to Purchase

• Sweet Potato Chips & Regular Potato Chips
• Crunchsters Mung Bean Snacks (comes in a few flavours)
• Savory Chickpeas (they’re usually a crunchy style of chickpea)
• Salted/Spicy Nuts and Seeds (the brand Super Seedz sells some interesting flavours)

Healthy Snack Ideas That are Dairy Free

I’m sure many of you reading this are hoping to create a nutritious snack. Before I share those ideas, remember, the term “healthy” is not a regulated one. It can have different meaning to different people. When creating your snacks, look at the ingredient labels and make sure you’re happy with the stats. There may be some essential nutrients you’re looking for, so make sure you read the labels well.

If you think making snacks is the only way to have a healthy dairy free snack, the fantastic news is that there are lots of companies now offering clean, nutrient rich, packaged snack options (Ona Cookies are a great example of this). Here are some brands that offer a healthy snack lineup (not an exhaustive list):

• 88 Acres
• Artisan Tropic
• Bearded Bros
• Chomps (their sticks are dairy free and they have great allergen info on the website)
• Crunchsters
• Nana Joes
• Sacred Heart
• Skout Organic
• Wild Zora
• Zego Foods

When you’re looking for cleaner options, be sure to look at Paleo diet snacks. These *tend* to be on the healthier side. Snacks for the AIP Paleo diet are also a great starting point (Wild Mountain Paleo has great leads).

Beware of snacks that are like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I’ve seen brands that claim to be this, that, or the other. Then, you read the label and the first three ingredients are some form of sugar. Remember, commercial brands are generally driven by profit, and if that means making a snack palatable with extra sugar, they’ll do it.

You can also lean into simple healthy snacks at home. They can be no-cook snacks such as fresh fruit and fresh vegetables, or something you make such as hummus or muffins.

Your Dairy-Free Snacks Questions Answered

Do you know of any good snacks that are free from added sugar?

First, check out the list of no-cook snacks further up in this article. A lot of the suggestions are free from added sugar. From there, think about foods that are naturally sugar free. Here are a few examples:

• Epic Meat Bars and other Meat Sticks
• Nuts & Seeds (easy to grab a handful or two for a snack)
• Dried Fruit (only natural sugar should be present)
• Plain dairy free yogurt (you can add your own flavoring such as sugar free jam or fresh fruit)
• Homemade trail mix (you can use a dairy free keto chocolate chip or Pascha 100% pure dark chocolate chips if you’d like something more traditional)
• Crackers, Tortillas, and Rice Cakes (they can be paired with a range of toppings that are all free from added sugar)
• Roasted & Seasoned Chickpeas (you can purchase them and they’re usually crunchy)
• Seaweed (mix with other delicious foods or eat standalone)
• Grain Free Tortilla Chips (you could pair this with a sugar free salsa)

Finally, if you’re struggling to find dairy free packaged snacks without added sugar, consider eating small portions of leftovers as a snack. My kids did this a lot growing up and there were zero complaints.

Do you have any good snack ideas for picky eaters?

Managing a kiddo (or adult) with a food allergy (or food intolerance) that also happens to be a picky or selective eater is not easy. My first big suggestion is to get them involved with each step of the process (that’s age appropriate). This can be looking at pictures of food, selecting snacks, grocery shopping, washing and prepping food, and then making said food. Each step is exposing them to the snacks which increases the chances they’ll give it a try.

Next, make sure the food tastes GOOD. All too often, people are serving up bland and lowkey gross food, then wonder why it goes uneaten. Especially when compared to a packaged product. Well, packaged products are engineered to be delicious. They want you to come back for more. Think about taste and texture as you make and purchase snacks.

Be sure to offer a range of flavor options. Making snacks at home will allow you to try new things and see what sticks (rather than be pigeon-holed into specific flavours at the grocery store). Once you see what the person gravitates towards, make more options with that flavour. For example, if they seem to enjoy strawberries, make a range of foods with strawberries (smoothie, granola bar, dairy free yogurt topping, and so on).

Take note of what types of foods the eater enjoys. Are they soft foods? Cold foods? Hydrating foods? If you see a pattern of what they tend to eat more of, lean into that.

Here are a few ideas of foods you can make at home, that give you a huge range of flexibility. This allows you to meet the eater where they are:

• Homemade granola bars
• Refined sugar free cookies
• Chia Pudding
• Smoothies (leftovers can be frozen in popsicle molds for a novelty affect)
• Toast/Bagel + Toppings

My kids are always hungry, even after snacks. Any tips on making a filling snack?

Kids can absolutely eat you out of house and home! A great way to make sure the snacks you serve will keep them satisfied is to pair your snack with a healthy fat and protein. This creates more fullness, and will last longer. Examples of healthy fats include coconut oil, legume/tuber/nut/seed butter, and avocado.

The snacks don’t have to make sense either. Here’s what I mean. You could serve a meat stick, a handful of cashews, and grapes. They seem random, but it’s a good combination of fat, carbs, and protein. As long as your child likes what’s being served, you have a winning snack combination.

I’m looking for a good dairy free crunchy snack. Any ideas?

When I think about crunchy snacks, the first thing I think of is crunchy produce such as crisp apple slices or celery sticks. My second thought is crunchy peanut butter and crunchy almond butter. Though, it is a different kind of crunch (think snap vs crips vs texture). Here are a few crunchy snacks you can purchase (or sometimes make at home):

• Crunchsters – a mung bean based snack.
• Crunchy Cookies (my kids love the Partake foods crunchy cookies)
• Crackers (these days you can get a huge range of cracker flavours and crackers that meet specific dietary needs)
• Crunchy Chickpea Snacks (this is a packaged product you can purchase, or make at home)
• Tortilla Chips (you can pair this with a range of dips and these days, even a dairy free queso)

I had an adverse reaction to a snack that didn’t have milk in the ingredients. How does that happen?

I’m so sorry to hear that this happened to you. There are a few ways this can happen.

1. The product was mislabeled and it really does contain milk. Reach out to the manufacturer to confirm.

2. There was undeclared milk in the product because something went wrong in the manufacturing. Contact the company with the lot/batch number and see if there’s an active recall.

3. The product was made on shared equipment with milk and you had an adverse reaction to the trace amounts present in the product.

4. This product may have been made in a shared facility with milk, and trace amounts of milk got into said product, which you then reacted to.

5. In the ingredient supply chain, milk is present somewhere (equipment, etc.) and you’ve reacted to trace amounts of milk.

Essentially, it boils down to milk was either in the product, accidentally in the product, or the product was exposed to milk via shared equipment/facility. Only the manufacturer can help clear this up for you.

My child needs extra calories. How can I add them to snacks?

The easiest way, in my humble opinion, is to make ice cream at home or smoothies. These can be easily adapted for high calorie needs. In a smoothie for example, you can start with a non-dairy milk of choice, add fresh and frozen produce, and also add a little oil (olive oil, coconut oil, tiger nut oil, etc.).

If your child enjoys the taste of coconut, use full fat coconut milk where you can, as this is another easy way to add calories into their diet. This guide on RAISE can further help you with adding calories when you’re working with a restricted diet.

Power balls made at home are another easy way to boost the caloric content. You can make them in a huge range of flavours, and they have a great shelf life when stored in your fridge.

I’m looking for high protein dairy-free snacks. Have any suggestions?

Whilst there are high protein bars available on the market that are dairy free, you may want to consider making something at home. I only say that because of the high price is of said bars. For example, you can make a typical granola bar recipe and mix in your favorite dairy free protein powder. Now you have a high protein snack that didn’t have to cost a lot. Since you’re making it at home, you can create a range of different flavors you enjoy.

You can also easily mix protein powder into smoothies, power balls, and muffins. You can also rotate through different protein powders to make sure you’re getting a range of nutrients.

Should you need to purchase high protein snacks, meat bars/sticks come to mind as an easy way to have protein. Nuts, seeds, and hard boiled eggs are also great options. When purchasing your dairy free snacks, make sure you inspect the ingredient label not only for protein, but added sugar. If you find the ratio of sugar to protein is too high, you may want to purchase something else instead.

My Final Snacky Thoughts

Making and purchasing dairy free snacks is no longer a super difficult task (10 – 15 years ago it absolutely was). We’ve seen so much progress and a huge new range of options. Look at apps such as Spokin and Fig, along with the Basquet website and Snack Safely for cool leads. Also, VitaCost has a huge selection of allergy friendly packaged snacks and ingredients.

If you find yourself regularly making snacks at home, make sure you have the right kitchen tools and storage containers, as these will make all of your work more enjoyable. Also know that most homemade snacks will freeze well. This allows you to make large batches, then coast for a couple of months.

If you need more snack ideas or recipes, be sure to check out RAISE (every recipe is dairy free), along with the Advanced Recipe Search. With the advanced search, you can use more than 100 filters to make sure the recipes meet each and every one of your needs.