Tired of wasting money at the drive-thru and gas station to feed your hangry child? Here’s my favorite road trip snacks for toddlers!

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I have a close-knit but geographically distant family so we make a lot of weekend road trips with the kids. For a long time the main goal of these trips was just survival but as my husband and I learned to track our spending we realized the frequent stops to McDonalds and Kwik Trips for snacks were really adding up! That set me on a search for relatively healthy, toddler friendly snacks I could keep stocked in our van. Here’s what I found works best!

Saving Money with Road Trip Snacks for Toddlers

A quick way to lose money on a road trip is to stop for snacks. Gas stations and drive- thru’s make it easy to grab food but you end up paying extra for the convenience. A great way to save money is to plan ahead and pack snacks your toddler will enjoy. To save yourself time, pack non-perishable snacks that can stay in the car even after the road trip is over. Less packing and unpacking and then the snacks will be there for their next doctor’s appointment that runs late!

Toddler Friendly Road Trip Snacks

A good road trip snack for a toddler is food that can be sealed and resealed again and can be eaten without supervision. This is important because toddlers don’t always finish all the food they ask for. Eating it without supervision is a must because your hands are busy driving. A great road trip snack is also not messy. Nothing is worse than getting to your destination and realizing your toddler is completely covered in melty chocolate!

The Best Road Trip Snacks for Toddlers

There are plenty of toddler friendly road trip snacks available but the goal here is to save money so I’ll be sharing the most affordable snacks that are somewhat healthy.

1. Graham Crackers

Graham Crackers are my #1 go-to snack for the car. They are super cheap, easy to break into smaller pieces, and are whole grain! They can withstand heat and cold fluctuations in the car to be stored year round. Buy the generic brand to save money. Also, save yourself the headache of sticky hands by opting for the honey flavor, not the cinnamon sugar crackers. Can you tell I learned the hard way?

2. Veggie Straws

Veggie straws are easy to hand over to the back seat. Plus, they melt in the mouth so toddlers and even older babies can have them! While veggie straws are not necessarily “healthy” they’re better than some other products so I’ll keep them around. The one downside to Veggie Straws is that they go stale pretty quickly. I’ve found that dumping the bag into a resealable gallon ziplock before the road trip can help keep them fresh!

3. Yogurt Pouches

These can be a little more expensive than other options on the list but they do seem to regularly go on sale at Sam’s Club. I haven’t yet found a generic version but it’s such and easy snack and my kids love it! Before a road trip, make sure you can trust your child to eat a pouch without squeezing too hard and spilling. I practiced with my 2 year old a few times before our first car yogurt. For my 1 year old, I do still pack these but I help hold them for him to eat when we make stops for bathrooms and gas.

4. Applesauce Pouches

Similar to yogurt pouches only there are many more flavor options and other generic products available to help decrease cost! My kids prefer regular applesauce but there are a huge variety of fruit and veggie flavors available in shelf-stable pouches. Again, make sure you can trust your toddler to eat this without squeezing too hard and spilling all over the car seat.

5. Dried Mangos

If your toddler has a pretty full set of teeth, they might enjoy trying dried mangos! These snacks are delicious but a little chewy. I’ve found that they are available in small bags at Aldi if you want to try them out. If you fall in love like my son and I have, you’ll want to buy the bigger pack at Sam’s Club where they are half the price per ounce. These dried snacks are great in the car because they can withstand heat and cold and can stay in the car year round!

6. Raisins

Another one of my favorite road trip snacks for toddlers! Raisins are easy to eat, not too messy, and if you buy the boxed variety they can even keep your toddler busy for a while digging them out! Take it from me, though, if you’re traveling in the colder months do not store the raisins near the heater. They get much stickier and your whole car will smell strongly of hot raisins. Oof!

7. Cheese Sticks

If you’re willing to bring along a small lunch box or cooler for snacks, cheese sticks can be a great option! At a gas station cheese sticks can be a dollar a piece. If you buy a generic brand pack from the store they’re closer to $0.22/stick. That’s a huge savings!

8. Fruit Strips

Fruit strips, or fruit leather, are cooked down concentrated fruit. They’re a great snack for any berry fans you may have! Fruit strips come in a variety of flavors and are individually packaged for easy travel. They are slightly sticky and chewy so make sure you have wipes available, but it’s nothing that will cause any damage to clothes or carseat.

9. Plain Granola Bars

Plain granola bars are one of the classic road trip snacks for toddlers. I don’t love that they can get crushed under other snacks, but if you keep them on top or in a stiff box they do okay. My whole family loves granola bars on the road but we’ve found that the plain ones work best. Fudge dipped, chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips are just too messy in hot little toddler hands!

10. Cheerios

You had to know Cheerios (or in my case, Honey Nut O’s) would make the list! I carry a baggie of cheerios with me everywhere we go so of course it comes with us on road trips! We love these because they’re whole grain, easy to eat, and fit well into toddler snack cups.

I hope this helps you prepare for your upcoming trip. Happy travels! Let me know what you ended up packing and how it worked for you!

Want to prepare activities for travel too? Check out this list of easy travel activities for kids from my friend at oursliceofhome.com