10 Healthy Make-Ahead Snacks

When the kids walk in from the day and everyone is seconds away from a meltdown, it’s these moments when snacks are necessary. These10 Healthy Make-Ahead Snacksare going to be game-changers in your kitchen! Prep your fridge with these easy snack ideas with fruits and vegetables.

I have found the secret to snack success is the system. By usingwide-mouth mason jarsand aclever divider trick, you can keep your fruits, veggies, and proteins perfectly separated so nothing gets soggy and everything stays crunchy. Here is how to master your weekly snack prep with 10 combinations your family will love.

Havinghealthy, simple, easy-to-grab snackson hand in your fridge is a lifesaver when it comes to healthy eating, feeding a family, and getting some more whole foods into your diet. Make 10 or 1 or 1 of 10. No matter which you choose, you’ll have a fridge full of healthy snacks all week long!

While you’re in prep mode, make a fewSalad in a Jar recipesand aVeggie Boxto make lunch a bit easier all week long. It’s also a good idea to have someFrozen Smoothie Bagsin your freezer, too.

Key Takeaways

• These make-ahead snacks aresimple and easy.
• You likely have most of the ingredients on-hand.
• All the snacks are naturallygluten-free.
• Many of the snacks aredairy-free or vegan.

Ingredient Notes

• Vegetables:Such as cauliflower, broccoli, celery, bell peppers, cucumbers, and carrots. Hardier veggies make the best base because they can hold up for days.
• Fruit:Apples, mangos, pomegranate seeds, grapes, mandarin oranges. These fruits provide the natural sweetness with a burst of hydration.
• Peanut butter:Or your preferred nut butter. This will be an anchor to help keep you satisfied longer.
• Date BallsorOatmeal Energy Bites
• Cottage cheese: Perfect protein to keep you full longer and energized throughout the day.
• Hummus
• Cheese:A block of cheese (such as cheddar or mozzarella) is best so you can cut it into cubes.
• Nuts and seeds
• Granola
• Dark chocolate

See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.

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How to Make 10 Healthy Make-Ahead Snacks

The secret to keeping these snacks fresh is utilizing wide-mouth mason pint jars and inserting a clean, repurposed single-serve applesauce cup or a plastic snack divider into the rim. The bottom of the jar can hold your fresh produce or base, while the top can hold your dip, nuts, or dry toppings so they never touch until you’re ready to eat.

1. Cauliflower and Broccoli + Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip

• Wash and cut up your cauliflower and broccoli into small florets.
• Fill the Mason jar about 2/3 of the way full with your vegetables.
• Add some Greek yogurt ranch dip to the fruit cup (great time to measure and use portion control if you are prepping for weight loss), add the ranch dip in a cup to the Mason jar, screw on a lid.
• Place in the fridge for up to 5 days.

2. Cottage Cheese + Fruit

• Measure out a serving of cottage cheese and add it to the Mason jar.
• Fill the divider cup with the fruit of your choice (mango, pineapple, mandarin oranges, berries, and even cherry tomatoes are all good).
• Add the fruit in a cup to the Mason jar, screw on a lid, and place in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• When you are ready to eat, add the fruit to the cottage cheese and enjoy.

3. Greek Yogurt and Berries/Pomegranate + Granola

• Place a serving of Greek yogurt in the Mason jar and top with your choices of berries (fresh or frozen) and/or pomegranate seeds (arils).
• Add some granola to the divider cup (this is my favoritehealthy homemade granola recipe).
• Place the granola-filled cup in the Mason jar, screw on a lid, and place in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• When you are ready to eat, add the granola to the yogurt and enjoy.

4. Apple Slices + Cheese Cubes

• Prep the apples by slicing/coring them and dipping them in a little bit of lemon juice, orange juice, orFruit Fresh(it’s ascorbic acid) to prevent them from turning brown.
• Place apples in the bottom of the Mason jar.
• Fill a divider cup with a serving of cheese cubes.
• Place the cheese cube-filled cup in the Mason jar, screw on the lid, and place in the fridge for up to 5 days.

5. Cucumber + Date Balls or Oatmeal Energy Bites

• Prep your cucumber by washing it and slicing it into rounds or spears.
• Place the cucumber in the bottom of the Mason jar and fill the divider cup with one or twodate ballsoroatmeal energy bites.
• Place the “bite”-filled cup in the Mason jar, screw on the lid, and place in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• Cucumbers, especially cut ones, don’t last as long as other more firm vegetables. Plan to eat these first.

6. Celery + Peanut Butter

• Prep your celery by washing, trimming, and cutting it into sticks. Cut the sticks short (about 2.5 inches long) so that they fit in the Mason jar and you still have room to add your divider cup of peanut butter.
• Place the celery in the bottom of the Mason jar and fill a fruit cup with a serving of peanut butter.
• Place the peanut butter-filled cup in the Mason jar, screw on the lid, and place in the fridge for up to a week. Celery lasts a really long time like this!

7. Grapes + Roasted Chickpeas

• Prep the grapes by washing them and taking the grapes off of the stem.
• Fill a Mason jar 2/3 of the way full with grapes.
• Fill a divider cup withroasted chickpeas.
• Place the roasted chickpea-filled cup in the Mason jar and screw on a lid.
• Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.

8. Mandarin Orange + Pistachios

• Peel and segment a mandarin orange (or other small citrus fruit) and put the pieces in the Mason jar. If it is small enough, pop the whole fruit into the bottom of the jar.
• Fill a fruit cup with a serving of pistachios.
• Place the pistachio-filled cup in the Mason jar and screw on a lid.
• Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.

9. Apple Slices + Dark Chocolate and Nuts

• Prep the apples by slicing/coring them and dipping them in a little bit of lemon juice, orange juice, orFruit Fresh(it’s ascorbic acid) to prevent them from turning brown.
• Place apples in the bottom of the Mason jar.
• Fill a divider cup with a serving of nuts and dark chocolate.
• Place the nut and chocolate-filled cup in the Mason jar and screw on the lid.
• Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.

10. Bell Peppers and Carrots + Hummus

• Prep bell peppers and carrots by washing and slicing.
• Fill the Mason jar 2/3 of the way full.
• Place a serving of hummus in the divider cup (you can usehomemade hummusis or store-bought).
• Put the hummus-filled cup in the Mason jar and screw on a lid.
• Store in the fridge for up to 5 days. If you do only carrots and not bell peppers, you can keep it in the fridge for a week.
• Carrots that you peel and cut on your own last much longer than “baby carrots,” just FYI. I’m not sure what they do to baby carrots, but they seem to get slimy or soft much faster than a big carrot you prep yourself. If you are using baby carrots, I’d eat them within 3 days.

Recipe FAQs

Expert Tips

• Be sure to usewide-mouth pint-size Mason jarsbecause the little divider cups won’t fit in a regular mouth jar.
• You can use theseMason jar divider cupsor reuse the little cup from single-servings of applesauce – both will fit in Mason jars with wide mouths.
• Plasticscrew-on lidsfor your Mason jars are a total bonus,and I highly recommend them. They are also freezer-safe.

More Healthy Snack Recipes to Consider

By spending just about 20 minutes over the weekend slicing up a few fresh veggies and filling up these handy grab-and-go jars, you set your whole household up for a stress-free snack success, including yourself. This is a fun snack system for the kids to help prepare, too!

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