30 Best Dairy Free Snacks for Kids and Adults

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Dairy free snacks for kids and adults are super common and easy to get your hands on these days.

A dairy-free diet is not unusual anymore. If you’re looking for snacks for you or your kids that don’t contain dairy products, you won’t have any trouble finding them. You just need to know what to look for.

There are many food products on the shelves of your grocery store that contain dairy ingredients. In fact, many foods that you would think don’t have dairy in them actually do.

It’s pretty surprising how many things contain some form of dairy. We’ll get into what to look for and give you a big list of dairy free snacks for kids below.

Why Dairy Free Snacks for kids?

There are many reasons why you might want to find dairy free snacks for kids and yourself.

Food allergies are probably the most common reason parents get their kids off dairy, including lactose intolerance.

Milk is one of the most common food allergies that kids experience. About 2.5% of children under the age of 3 are allergic to milk and milk products.

A milk allergy is when the body’s immune system recognizing milk products as foreign and employs the immune system to fight against it.

Lactose intolerance, which is different than a milk food allergy, causes digestive distress. This is because of some people’s bodies do not have the ability to digest lactose, a type of sugar found in milk products.

Lactose intolerance is not life-threatening like a milk allergy may be for some people.

Aside from these health concerns, some people simply cut out dairy for healthy eating in general.

Dairy is not considered a health food in nutrition science. It is better consumed in moderation or not at all.

If you’re a parent who follows a plant-based diet you might be on the hunt for the best dairy-free snacks for your kids.

You’re probably looking for snacks that might be more appealing to kids than your own snacks that don’t contain dairy. Look no further!

Milk Ingredients to Look Out For

Before we dive into our list of dairy free snacks for kids let’s talk about food labels.

It’s worth a mention that when it comes to finding snacks in grocery stores that don’t contain dairy, things can get tricky.

There are plenty of items that are dairy free, but some may sneak dairy into products with uncommon or unfamiliar names for the dairy product or bi-product.

Look out for any words containing dairy or milk on the ingredients list and also for any of the following:

Casein: milk protein
Lactose: milk sugar
Lactitol: sweetener derived from lactose
Sodium caseinate: derivative of casein
Lactalbumin: derivative of whey protein
Whey powder, whey protein, or whey solids: made with milk protein

Dairy Free Snacks for Kids

Homemade Dairy Free Snacks for Kids and Adults

Homemade dairy free snacks will naturally be healthier. This is because they are mostly unprocessed and don’t contain preservatives.

1. Nice Cream

Nice cream is the healthiest and best substitutions for ice cream if you need to go dairy free. This is great snack if you want to avoid added sugar too.

All you need is a blender, frozen fruit of any kind, and a little splash of plant milk.

What’s really cool about this treat is that you can say yes to nice cream anytime, even for breakfast, because it’s totally healthy.

Make it an even better treat for desert by tossing some dairy-free chocolate chips on top.

2. Smoothie or Smoothie Bowls

Smoothies are similar to nice cream, but they contain more ingredients.

Smoothies are great for adding your favorite nut butters, fruit, and dairy free milk.

The best part is you can also sneak spinach into a smoothie and your kids would never know it.

The same goes for ground flax seed which is super healthy but might not be appealing to your kids otherwise.

3. No Bake Protein Energy Balls

This delicious recipe is great for anyone, young and old, everyone will enjoy these!

Peanut butter, oats, honey, and few other healthy ingredients come together to make these tasty little snacks.

These are great to have made so yourself and the kids can grab them when on the go.

4. Easy Sugar Cinnamon Pretzels

Sweet treats are great to keep on hand! It’s great to have easy recipes that come together quickly when your kids want something sweet!

These cinnamon pretzels are cheap and super fast to throw together.

5. Ants on a Log

Ants on a long are just celery filled with peanut butter, topped with raisens or chocolate chips.

Make sure to get dairy free chocolate chips. You can also make ants on a log with dairy free cream cheese and other toppings like olives, or use avocado and tomatoes.

6. Fresh Vegetables and Dip

Fresh cut veggies and dairy free dip are a great snack for kids.

Dairy free dip can be made easily at home with vegan mayo and spices.

7. Sweet Potato Chips

Sweet potato chips are a great dairy free snack for kids and adults. Plus they are super easy to make.

Just slice the sweet potato into chip size pieces. Toss them in a little olive oil and salt, or cinnamon, and bake them or cook them in the air fryer until they’re crisp.

You can make these with regular potatoes too for healthy potato chips!

8. Fruit Leather

Fruit leather is a fun dairy free snack that is really healthy and delicious!

What is fruit leather? It is fruit that has been pureed, spread then on parchment paper, baked in the oven on a low temperature, and given time to dry out.

Fruit leather is just like a fruit roll up, but without all the adding junk.

9. Apple Nachos

Apple nachos are made with apple slices, arranged on a plate and covered in toppings. You can add caramel syrup (camamel sauce is not dairy free), dairy free chocolate syrup, crushed peanuts, and marshmallows.

Use red or green apples for this or mix it up with both!

10. Fresh Fruit

This go-to snack is the easiest to offer up as a dairy free snack.

Keep fruit washed and prepped that your kids can grab anytime.

You can even take it a step further and make individual snack size containers of mixed fresh fruit. This way, you and your kids can grab them whenever y’all feel like having a snack.

Storebought dairy free snacks for kids

Storebought dairy free snacks might not always be as healthy as homemade snacks for kids. However, they are an easy way to always have a healthy-ish snack on hand.

Convenience is the best part of storebought snacks.

11. Blake’s Granola Bars

Dairy free granola bars are a great snack to have on hand at all times. These can be thrown in your bag, your kids’ lunch boxes, sports bags, your car, and any other place your kids might end up needing a snack.

12. Annie’s Organics Graham Crackers

Graham crackers are a classic snack and always a favorite with kids.

Annie’s Graham Crackers are organic and dairy free. These comes in chocolate, chocolate chip, and honey flavors.

13. Earth’s Best Garden Veggie Straws

It’s hard to find chip-like snacks that don’t have dairy.

These veggie straws are dairy free, crispy treats that kids will love. These are great to throw in a bag to go out for the day with the family or to send to school in your kids’ lunch boxes.

14. Nature’s Garden Trail Mix

Trail mix usually has some chocolate in it that isn’t dairy free.

This trail mix is totally vegan and a great option for crunchy snacks in individual packs that you can take with you on the go.

15. Orgain S’mores Protein Bars

These s’mores flavor protein bars are another great on-the-go snack. These come in peanut butter and peanut butter chocolate flavor too.

Protein bars will help keep you and the kids full between meals. They’re great to give your kids after a sports game – or something like dance class or gymnastics.

16. Rule Breaker Chocolate Brownies

If you’re kids love brownies, they’ll love these individually wrapped dairy free brownies from Rule Breakers.

They’re also great if you’re looking for a combination of dairy free and gluten-free snacks. This is a healthier treat for kids!

17. Free Yumm Cheezy Cracker Bites

Kids love cheesy snacks, so you’ll definitely want a dairy free replacement!

These cheezy cracker bites have all the cheezy flavor with none of the dairy. These are also gluten free and nut free.

18. That’s it. Crunchables

These little snack mix packages are great for a snack to take with you to sports games or family outings, but also great to put on top of plant based yogurts.

They’re made with nuts and dried fruit so they have a sweet and salty combination of flavors.

19. Annie’s Crispy Snack Bars

These are Annie’s Organics’ take on rice crispy treats with no high fructose corn syrup.

They are also gelatin free and vegan -as well as plant based. Some people even say these are better than regular rice crispy treats.

20. Nature’s Bakery Fig Bars

These fig bars come in a bunch of different flavors. These are great for every day life, road trips, and they’re a great alternative to the popular fig newtons.

They have plenty of fiber, making them a healthier snack than most processed snacks.

21. That’s it. Real Fruit Bars

These fruit bars are just fruit, That’s it. There are zero other ingredients.

These are a good options for kids and adults, everyone loves them! They are so delicious you’ll have a hard time saving them for your kids.

22. Hippeas Chickpea Cheeze Puffs

All kids love cheese puffs and they are a great alternative!

These are a good option if you’re looking for healthier ingredients in store-bought snacks. They’re high in protein and fiber.

23. Go-Go Squeeze Almond Blend Cocoa-Hazelnut Pudding

Pudding is full of dairy, about a half a cup of milk per box of pudding mix, which is a bummer because kids love pudding!

The good news is, these Go-Go Squeeze pudding pouches are made with almond milk. These come in different flavors too!

24. Super Major Snacks Oat Milk Chocolate Bars

Chocolate is hard to find without dairy!

These vegan chocolate bars are made with oat milk.

They can be crushed and sprinkled over their nice cream or eaten as is. You can also use chunks of these to make homemade plant based chocolate chunk cookies.

25. Homefree Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are another classic kids’ favorite!

These are great dipped in oat or coconut milk too! They’re also made with gluten free flour!

26. Rule Breaker Strawberry Shortcake Bites

These strawberry shortcake bites are a fun treat!

These are soft baked and free of the 11 most common allergens for kids. So they ar e a great snack to send to school parties or to serve at birthday parties.