Name: After School Snack Tray
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 8 (Serves 6-8)
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: Assorted fruits; Assorted vegetables; Protein: boiled eggs (hummus, cheese, meat roll ups); Carb: crackers (pita chips, pretzels); Something fun: seasonal candies (chocolate chips, trail mix)

The perfect fridge and pantry clean out! Theafter school snack trayis a great way to feed hungry kiddos and clear out some space in your kitchen.

Charcuterie boards seem to be all the rage now, and while the fancy cheeses, meats, nuts, and jellies sound pretty darn great to me, they aren’t exactly the most kid-friendly platters. Enter my version of kids’ charcuterie, theafter school snack tray!

This simple setup is the best thing to happen to you, I promise, especially if you’re used to hearing “I’m hungry!” a hundred times after school. When I take 10 minutes to throw some of the contents of the fridge on a little tray, they tend toeat more fruits and veggies, I get toclean out my produce drawer, and it’s justfun for everyone.

assorted fruit in a clear tupperware bowl.

Why You’ll Love This Snack Idea

This is a great way to help the family eat healthier foods and sneak in fruits and vegetables in between meals.
Snack trays willuse up odds and ends from the refrigerator and pantry, helping you waste less.
These snack combos are so quick and easy to pull together!
Perfect for picky eaterssince everyone can choose what they like from the options on the tray.

What to Put On an After School Snack Tray

Everything! Anything! Literally. Whatever you have in the fridge that’s on its final leg or anything that’s been lingering in the pantry. I load them up with lots of

Fruits and veggies
Boiled eggs
Hummus
Cheese
Deli meat
Crackers
Pretzels
Nuts
Trail mix
And even chocolate chips for a pop of fun!

orange carrots, green broccoli and cucumbers, and multicolored peppers cut up in a clear plastic bowl.

Snack Tray FAQs

What can you do with leftovers from an after school snack tray?

You can just store the leftovers in a container in the fridge. It’ll already be prepped and ready to use in lunch boxes or as a side for a meal at home—or even for tomorrow’s snack tray!

What are good times to make a snack tray?

After school is just a hungry time in many homes, so this is very handy for planning around that 3 o’clock hour when it’ll still be a while until dinner. You can also make one for movie nights or when friends come over!

How do I get picky eaters to eat healthier snacks?

Fill the snack tray with a variety of flavors and textures to help win over the pickier eaters. Using both softer and crunchier textures of fruits and vegetables will provide options for different eaters. Have both salty and sweet (natural salty and sweetened is best!) foods to help please whatever taste bud is eating!

green apple slices around bowl of peanut butter dip.

Expert Tips

When it’s out and ready to be picked through, I find my kids are way more open to choosing to eat produce than if I were to try to force it.
Store leftovers in airtight containers in the fridge, and use it later to fill in a meal or to add to lunch boxes.
Using seasonal foods will always help with keeping costs low when feeding a large group and will keep the snack trays on the healthier side. It’s also fun to tailorsnack trays for special holidays!
Snack trays are a hit for movie nights or when friends come over and are perfect snacks formaking ahead.

blue-green and white tray piled with assorted fruits, vegetables, and snacks.

More Snack Ideas to Consider

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Other great after school snack ideas:

After school snack traysare a game changer for cleaning out your lingering produce and snacks, and to feed hungry kiddos after a long day at school!