15 Quick And Easy After-School Snacks For Every Type Of Kid

When your kids get home from school, your mind may be focused on what homework they have, but their mind is on one thing: food. Kids can be straight-up ravenous after school, which is where the after-school snack comes into play.

The best after-school snacks have a few things going for them: they can be made ahead of time or take very little time to come together, they can be filling without spoiling dinner and they include kid-friendly flavors and textures. It may be tempting to hand your little one a bag of fruit snacks or chips, but if you are looking for creative, tasty and (mostly) nutritious options, consider these 15 snacks.

As long as they're not allergic, peanut butter is a kid-favorite flavor. This easy, homemade trail mix uses peanut-packed ingredients: dry roasted peanuts, peanut butter M&M's, Reese's Pieces, peanut butter pretzels and peanut butter chips for a sweet, protein-packed snack.

For the Peanut Butter Lovers Trail Mix recipe, click here.

One of those childhood treats you may have forgotten about, Rice Krispies treats are a pure delight. There's no need to buy the ultra-processed packaged version when you can make them yourself. If you really want to make these fun, you can add colored sprinkles, M&M's, chocolate chips or peanut butter chips into the treats.

For the Rice Krispies Treats recipe, click here.

These quick and easy quesadillas can be ready in under 15 minutes and are a great option for days when your kids are absolutely ravenous. The simple cheese quesadillas are paired with a quick guacamole here, but you can easily serve with salsa or sour cream if your kids don't like avocado.

For the Jack and Avocado Quesadilla Triangles recipe, click here.

These homemade popsicles can be made on lazy Sunday mornings and eaten throughout the week as a cool, refreshing treat. You can customize these Greek yogurt-based ice pops to suit your kids' tastes, whether they want blueberry-orange, pineapple-orange or raspberry-watermelon flavors.

For the Easy Homemade Healthy Popsicles recipe, click here.

If your kids are chocolate fiends, you'll feel a little better giving them this (relatively) healthy dark chocolate treat after school. Dried fruits add vitamins to the mix, while a handful of nuts bring the protein.

For the Fruit and Nut Dark Chocolate Bark recipe, click here.

Getting little ones to eat fresh fruits and vegetables can be a challenge, but when you turn fresh fruit like mangoes into homemade Fruit Roll-Ups, aka. fruit leather, the fruit becomes fun.

For the Mango Fruit Leather recipe, click here.

Cream cheese and ranch seasoning give these fun ham-and-cheese pinwheels a kid-friendly flavor and texture. If you find yourself pressed for time, you can keep these in the fridge for a few days.

For the Ham-and-Cheese Pinwheels recipe, click here.

A nostalgic snack for the ages, muddy buddies (also known as puppy chow, muddy munch and by other names) is an irresistible combination of Chex cereal, peanut butter, melted chocolate and powdered sugar. If your kid is allergic to peanuts, consider another nut butter or a nut-free alternative like sunflower butter or cookie butter.

For the Homemade Muddy Buddies recipe, click here.

A favorite at breakfast and brunch, blueberry muffins are seriously underrated as an after-school snack option. The best part about muffins is that you can make a big batch when you find yourself with a spare hour or two, freeze them and then pop them in the microwave to defrost when your child is hungry.

For the Blueberry Muffins recipe, click here.

A simple, fun snack that your kids can help make, ants on a log are just celery sticks slathered with protein-packed peanut butter and topped with raisins. 

For the Ants on a Log recipe, click here.

If your kids will eat it, hummus is a phenomenal, healthy, protein-packed snack. Serve this favorite dip along with carrots and celery or toasted pita.

For the Easy Homemade Hummus recipe, click here.

If you have particularly picky kids, you can't go wrong with an easy, four-ingredient cinnamon toast. Just toast white bread, spread on a pat of butter and sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top. Boom! Snacktime, complete! 

For the Cinnamon Toast recipe, click here.

You don't have to save popcorn for movie nights. This caramel almond popcorn feels like a special treat but takes just 40 minutes to make and can be saved for days in an airtight container.

For the Caramel Almond Popcorn recipe, click here.

Kids love finger foods and these little cucumber bites are the perfect bite-sized snack. Cottage cheese and sour cream add a little dairy and protein to this dish, while bacon crumbles on top add saltiness. Don't worry about frying up bacon come 3 p.m., though. Try this leftover bacon hack so you always have some on hand.

For the Cucumber Bites recipe, click here.

Cookies and milk feel like a standard after-school snack, but if you want something a little healthier, make this oatmeal raisin granola and give it to your children with a cup of Greek yogurt. Or, you know, you can keep it classic with some of our 50 favorite cookie recipes.

For the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Granola recipe, click here.

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