The Best Airplane Snacks (From A Dietitian!)
Healthy airplane snacks can help fuel you through a day of travel and here is a roundup of the best airplane snacks to fly with from a registered dietitian!
With family in another state and a career that takes me across the country, I often find myself sitting in an airplane. I also tend to find myself sitting in an airplane with my children with me as well… and if you have ever flown with children before, you know that you can never be over-prepared.
From toys to tablets, ways to fill you and your children’s time is imperative on a long flight. While it can be tempting to look at the your activities, my advice to you as a dietitian and a mom who is constantly traveling is to pack great airplane snacks!
Snacks can occupy time, fill hungry bellies, and balance blood sugar (and therefore, mood!) while you travel. With tons of packaged options at your fingertips, I rounded up a list of the best airplane snacks for you to pack in your bag that are healthy, easy to fly with, and kid friendly.
Let’s get to the list!:
Best Airplane Snacks
Why are great airplane snacks important?
Entertainment and a good attitude are essential for traveling but bringing great airplane snacks is another strategy to support a better travel day… for you AND for kids! Here’s why airplane snacks are important:
1) Manage hunger levels… and therefore, reduce any hanger!
Let’s be honest, flying can be frustrating. Between the craziness of the airport, the rush to get to your flight, and even some disgruntled travelers, there are many opportunities for frustration. Now, could you imagine navigating all of that AND being incredibly hungry?
Using snacks to bridge the time between main meals has plenty of health benefits but most importantly, they manage hunger and blood sugar levels. By avoiding low blood sugar, you can also stave off any feelings of hanger that may arise and be exasperated by travel issues.
2) The best airplane snacks provide important vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.
It can be difficult to meet your nutrient needs while you are traveling but choosing healthy airplane snacks helps put some of the control back in your court and won’t leave you entirely at the mercy of which restaurants are open at the airport.
Healthy snacks provide nutrients like protein, fiber, and micronutrients that support your health and manage hunger while you travel.
3) Entertainment!
Honestly, bringing airplane snacks with you quite frankly gives you something to do while you are traveling. While this may not matter to an adult, I find that healthy airplane snacks are a great way to entertain my toddler and give him something to look forward to.
The build the anticipation even more, I always let me toddler choose some of his own snacks for an airplane. Letting your toddler help you pack the snacks can excite them to eat it on the plane and help you have a great experience traveling with a toddler.
4) Airplane snacks can be hydrating.
In the ongoing attempt to avoid the small airplane bathroom, dehydration is very common while traveling. Luckily, our hydration comes from both what we drink AND what we eat so choosing airplane snacks that have some water content, like fruit and vegetables, can actually help keep you hydrated.
5) Healthy airplane snacks can take the pressure off of “perfect” mealtimes.
As we already discussed, nutrient dense snacks can help travellers increase their calories, vitamin, and mineral intake by providing extra eating opportunities while you are in the air.
While this is helpful on a physical front, it can also help reduce the mental load of needing to create perfectly balanced, calorically sufficient meals when you are running from gate to gate or avoiding the long line at the only restaurant in the airport.
Toddler Snack Ideas
Looking for fuel ideas for kids? Here are a few toddler snack ideas!
What are good snacks for an airplane?
As a registered dietitian, I choose the best airplane snacks by looking for snacks that are: 1) Portable- great airplane snacks should be backpack friendly and be easy to grab and go, 2) The snack should provide healthful calories and key nutrients, and 3) The snack should be balanced with a carbohydrate containing food and a protein containing food.
For my recommendations, I put together a helpful airplane snack idea list and also pulled some easy snack idea recipes for you to prep before your flight. I focused on items that were portable, healthful, and family friendly!
Airplane snack idea list:
Trail-mix, nuts, and seeds
Nut and seed based trail mix (not the ones loaded with candy and chocolate) are one of the easiest ways to snack on plant-based protein and essential vitamins and minerals. Also, do yourself a favor and buy nuts that have already been shelled.
You can make your own trail mix at home by combining your favorite nuts and seeds or buy store-bought options like these dietitian picks:
Freeze dried (or baked!) fruit
While some fresh fruits are travel friendly, freeze dried or baked fruit is a great way to travel with some fruit on hand without the risk of a mess. It’s loaded with fiber, micronutrients, and antioxidants and is easy to pair with a protein containing food like a protein shake or greek yogurt pouch for a healthy airplane snack idea. Plus, it’s a toddler friendly travel snack!
You can buy freeze fried or baked fruit from just about any grocery store or try some of these ones:
Freeze Dried Fruit Crisps Variety Pack
Freeze Dried Strawberry and Bananas
Bare Baked Variety Pack (a great chip alternative!)
Dried fruit
We talked about freeze dried and baked fruit snacks, but dried fruit is another travel friendly way to bring fruit with you. Dried fruit has had the moisture of fresh fruit removed but still retains most of the nutrition, so it’s perfect to put in a backpack or overnight bag for a colorful snack idea.
When choosing a dried fruit, be sure to choose one that is unsweetened with no added sugar! Here are a few of my favorites to travel with for me and my kids:
Roasted chickpeas
If you want a healthy crunchy airplane snack then roasted chickpeas should be added to your travel bag. They come in a variety of flavors, are roasted to crispy perfection, and offer some plant based protein and fiber to keep you satisfied while you fly. Plus, its fully vegan if you need a vegan airplane snack idea!
Here are my favorites:
Whole grain cereal
If you want something with a little bit more sustenance, especially for kids, you can bring a bag or box of whole grain cereal that is high in fiber. Pair your cereal selection with a protein containing food like jerky or a cheese stick for a balanced airplane snack idea.
Greek yogurt pouches
Greek yogurt pouches are an easy protein snack for an airplane that work best for shorter flights where they can stay cool. If you are worried about keeping your greek yogurt cold, you could always pack a small bag with a frozen ice pack but most yogurts will be fine in your bag for a short time.
If you choose to bring a yogurt pouch from home, be sure that it is under 3.4oz as TSA will treat it as a liquid. Here are a few that you could buy that are below that liquid limit:
Edamame beans
Similar to the roasted chickpeas, edamame beans are one of my dietitian go-to crunchy snacks for an airplane. Edamame is full of high quality, complete protein and these roasted snack bags make it travel friendly and an easy high protein low carb airplane snack:
Crunchy corn
Another good snack for an airplane is crunchy corn with simple ingredients and a tasty crunch. This can take the place of a chip, nut, or cracker and has a corn nut like feel making it great for snacking! Here are a few of me and my sons favorites:
Harvest snaps
As a registered dietitian, one of my all time favorite snacks to bring for me and my toddler on an airplane are harvest snaps. These are baked vegetable crisps, contain plant protein, and make you feel just like you are eating a chip! They also come in delicious flavors… which is an added bonus.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Fruit bars
Dried fruit is a travel friendly way to include some fruit in your diet but sometimes, especially if you are traveling with kids, the small size of dried fruits like prunes and raisins feels like it could be a mess. If you are worried about the fruits being dropped, I recommend bringing fruit bars instead:
Granola Bars
Granola bars are always a good option to travel with because they provide a little bit more sustenance than some of the other snack ideas in this list. Try to bring granola bars with minimal added sugar (I look for less than 6 grams), fiber, and some protein from nuts, seeds, or nut butters.
Here are a few of my dietitian picks for a good airplane snack:
Oatmeal energy bites
Oatmeal energy bites are one of the most popular, healthy snacks to keep on hand when traveling. They are incredibly easy to make (try this recipe or this recipe), can be a great source of nutrition, and can be filled with different mix ins like dried fruit, seeds, or flax seeds.
Generally, I like to fill my oatmeal energy bites with nut butter, nuts, and seeds as the protein source instead of using protein powder but you can also boost the protein content by choosing a recipe with protein powder in it.
Peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole grain bread
If you need something with more sustenance, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole grain bread is typically one of my go-to’s. With slightly more calories than some of the other snack options listed, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are a great airplane snack for longer trips.
To make this more balanced, you can boost the protein content by mixing protein powder into your peanut butter for a protein boost. Next, choose a low or no added sugar jelly option or make your own raspberry jam with chia seeds for a fiber boost. Finally, choose a whole grain bread instead of one that is refined.
Try these no added sugar jams!
Travel friendly fresh fruits or vegetables
Of course fresh fruit and vegetables are always a healthy airplane snack to bring with you when you travel but you will want to be picky with which ones you choose to bring. Stick with hard fleshed, firm fruits and vegetables that will not easily smash. A few of my favorites are:
Fruit: Apples, citrus like oranges or easy peel mandarins, grapes, pears.
Vegetables: Celery, carrot sticks, sugar snap peas, radishes, jicama, and cauliflower or broccoli florets.
Popcorn
Popcorn is a fantastic chip alternative that is a whole grain snack and easy to travel with. You can bring bags of popcorn onto the plane for a healthy airplane snack or make your own snack mix at home that is blended with popcorn, nuts, seeds, and seasonings for flavors.
Beef jerky (or meat stick)
Yes, beef jerky is a processed meat but it is also incredibly convenient, protein packed, and an easy protein option to toss into your travel bag when heading to the airport. I would recommend bringing some gum or a mint afterwards… because jerky can make your breath smell!
Here are a few of my favorite brands:
Vegetables based chips
If you want a good airplane snack that has the crunch of a chip but the nutrition of a fish vegetable then pack some 100% vegetable chips. Similar to freeze dried or baked fruits, there are baked vegetable chips that are lightly salted or unsalted and offer more nutrition than a regular chip.
A few of my favorites are:
Protein Bars
Another filling airplane snack to bring with you while you travel is a protein bar. Often used as a meal substitute, most protein bars have a significant amount of protein in them and pair well with high fiber foods for a filling snack that will balance your blood sugar and satisfy your hunger.
Some of my dietitian picks are:
Roasted seaweed
Delicious? Yes. A little stinky? Also yes. Roasted seaweed is a unique airplane snack that is loaded with nutrients like healthy fats and iodine. Plus, it takes a while to eat and can help occupy your time while you travel. Just be sure to check your teeth after you are done snacking!
Dried cheese crisps
If you want a high protein airplane snack but don’t like protein bars then try packing dried cheese crisps in your bag. Made from a variety of cheeses, these baked cheese crisps are a low carb, crunchy alternative to chips or pretzels and have the same amount of protein as a protein bar.
Whole grain crackers
Whole grain crackers are always a great snack for airplanes and pair well with nut butters, dried cheese crisps, or a packed string cheese that you have in your bag. Make sure you choose a high fiber, whole grain cracker that has at least one gram of fiber per 10 grams of carbohydrates.
Nut butter packs
Individual nut butter packs are a great way to travel with heart healthy fats but without the large peanut butter container (that isn’t TSA friendly!). These grab and go packs pair well with fresh fruit, fruits crisps, whole grain crackers, or on whole grain bread for a peanut butter and jelly.
String cheese
Similar to the greek yogurt pouch, a string cheese can be a convenient dairy product to pack with you for shorter flights. I recommend keeping a string cheese cold for about 2 hours to ensure its safety or packing it with a small cooler bag for longer flights.
Core power or other protein drinks
Possibly the easiest high protein airplane snack to travel with is a protein drink. This may be something you need to purchase once you are in the airport, as many are above the liquid limit to bring through TSA but they are readily available in most airport shops.
Here are my favorite recommendations:
OWYN (vegetarian and vegan friendly)
Fruit Pouches
100% fruit pouches are another great way to fly with fruit and are perfect for both babies, kids, and adults! Truly a family friendly airplane snack idea. Be sure to choose a fruit pouch that has no added sugar and is made with 100% fruit like
Easy Airplane Snack Recipes:
Want to prep a few thinks before you fly? Here are a few recipes or blogs from my website that you could make and bring with you for a travel friendly snack! Many of these are also kid friendly and great for other hungry mouths that you may have traveling with you on the airplane:
Nuts and Seeds Protein Granola
Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Energy Bites
Salted Caramel Medjool Date Protein Balls
4 Ingredient Banana Oatmeal Cookies (Toddler Friendly)
The takeaway:
Bringing the best airplane snacks is one way to make your travel day easier. From grab and go vegetable chips to protein rich cheese crackers, there are plenty of healthy airplane snacks to choose from that are family friendly and don’t require any refrigeration!
Liked this review? Check out some of my other deep dives:
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Hey! I’m Lauren
I’m a Registered Dietitian and busy toddler mom committed to bringing you delicious, nutritious, and easy-to-make recipes!