9 Cheap & Easy Road Trip Snacks

If you're looking for the best road trip snacks to pack for your next vacation, you've come to the right place... Whether you're packing snacks for adults or kids, I've got plenty of ideas for both.

Cheap & Easy Road Trip Snacks

For us, summer vacations mean several road trips in a fairly short time. While some are longer than others, I've found it always pays to pack at least a few easy snacks and simple games for the drive - a strategy that saves us both money AND time!

I mean, if we stopped every time one of our five kids said they were hungry, I'm pretty sure we'd NEVER make it to our destination. Not to mention, we'd go broke in the process!

I've learned that the best approach is to plan ahead and pack a variety of snacks. It can be hard to please everyone, but I've learned a lot over the years. So today I'm sharing my best road trip snack ideas for adults and kids alike...

It all starts with a cooler full of bottled water, paired with a variety of the snack foods suggested below!

Fresh Fruit

Fresh fruit is always a great option for an on-the-go snack. Grapes, sliced apples, and peeled oranges also make great road trip snacks.

Less-messy berries, like blueberries and strawberries, may be a good choice for younger kids. And we'll often toss in a bunch of bananas for added variety.

If you're willing to chance a slight mess, portion some of this easy cream cheese fruit dip into cups to serve alongside the fruit!

Dried Fruits

Dried fruits are great snacks for road trips. However, they're typically more expensive than their fresh counterparts. We just pack them in small snack bags and pass them out more sparingly.

You'll get the most bang for your buck with raisins and dried cranberries. But I love snacking on a mix of dried mango, cherries, and apricots with almonds.

Fresh Veggies

Fresh veggies definitely aren't my kids' favorite snack option, but packing a thick-ish dip makes them more appealing. I've found they'll eat pretty much any veggie paired with this cream cheese veggie dip!

One of my favorite healthy road trip snacks is baby carrots and/or snap peas with individual hummus cups. Celery sticks with these individual peanut butter packs have also made the cut.

Individual serving sizes are almost always more expensive than their full-size counterparts. But these dips are an exception for the convenience of not having a ton of containers that need to be washed when we reach our destination.

If you're willing to exchange a little time and effort to save some cash, you can portion out your own dips. Using a small cookie scoop to fill these lidded condiment cups will speed up the process!

Cheese

String cheese makes an excellent travel snack, as do these Babybel cheeses! For a more budget-friendly alternative, consider purchasing cheese in blocks and cutting it into cubes.

Sealed PB&J Sandwiches

Sealed sandwiches, like these homemade Uncrustables, are perfect for a more substantial snack. You can customize them with different jellies, swap the jam for honey, or use Nutella instead of peanut butter.

I'm always surprised by how many of these my kids can go through in a trip, so make more than you think you'll need!

Nuts

A handful of nuts is a great protein source. I almost always pack a bag of roasted almonds. If you're watching your salt intake, you can cut the extra sodium by choosing unsalted or lightly salted roasted almonds. Roasting them adds plenty of flavor, so you won't even miss the full salt!

As with dried fruit, I choose the store-brand almonds to save a bit. If they only offer unroasted almonds, I pop them in the oven to toast while I pack up our other snacks.

Granola or Energy Bars

Granola bars or energy bars, like my kids' favorite Clif Zbars, travel well. If you're going for granola, chewy bars tend to be less messy than their crunchy counterparts. I'm partial to the crunch, though!

If you want to try your hand at making your own, I recommend either these no bake peanut butter bars or these homemade crunchy granola bars.

Dry Cereal

Not just for toddlers! Cereal was among my kids' first finger foods, but even now I still find them wandering the house, munching on a box of dry cereal...

So why not portion it out as a travel snack? One of our family favorites that's stood the test of time is Honey Nut Cheerios.

DIY "Prepackaged" Snacks

Prepackaged crackers and such are certainly convenient, but you'll pay a premium for that convenience. So my simple solution is to make our own. If you have picky eaters, these make the best snacks for a road trip!

I purchase full-size boxes of my kids' favorite graham and cheesy crackers. Then we all spend a few minutes portioning them out into snack-size Ziploc bags. We do the same to create custom fruit and nut mixes. Using these storage bag stands makes this task super quick and easy.

For longer drives, we make larger snack and sandwich boxes. These square food storage containers are inexpensive and the perfect size for this use.

Check out these turkey hummus wrap snack boxes, individual hummus snacks, and these simple veggie cups for more ideas. You still get all of the convenience at a MUCH lower price!

More Road Trip Essentials

In addition to snacks and bottled water, I pack several other road trip essentials for every trip.

Before leaving, I make sure we have a roll of paper towels, a package of baby wipes, and my DIY cereal container trashcan. As shown above, it's just an inexpensive plastic cereal container lined with a 2-gallon trash bag. The lid closes tightly, keeping messes trapped inside.

I also stash several empty plastic grocery bags and extra napkins in the glove compartment. A recent addition is these new Kleenex canisters, perfectly sized to fit in a car cup holder.

Oh, and I always keep a roll of toilet paper in our car! I can't tell you how many times we've stopped at a rest stop and found the bathrooms out of TP. And don't even get me started on the portable toilets at soccer tournaments...

Do you have any other good road trip snacks and/or essentials to add to this list?