A Cultivated Nest

Helping You Manage Your Home and Life on a Budget

20 Snacks You Can Make At Home Instead of Buying

By

I don’t know about you, but I love snacks! Sweet, salty, healthy, decadent, I love them all! But if you love snacking like I do, there may also be two things you don’t like about store-bought snacks: the prices and the artificial ingredients. Many snacks are so easy to make that paying store prices seems ridiculous! And other snacks are “bad” enough with all their sugar that when you see the list of artificial ingredients, you almost don’t want to eat them! So instead of buying snacks, check out these 20 snacks you can make at home instead of buying (copycat type recipes)!

14 Snacks You Can Make At Home Instead of Buying - these snacks are simple to make at home and healthier than the store bought version.

20 Snacks You Can Make At Home

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links to Amazon and/or Etsy, which means that I may earn a small commission from some of the links in this post. Please see our Disclosure Page for more information.

Don’t think you have to make everything from scratch at once!  Just try making one new snack recipe a week and ease yourself into making your own snacks.

  • Start with something simple! Maybe cooking and baking aren’t your thing, so this task seems really daunting! Don’t worry just pick a recipe that seems simpler or that really makes your tastebuds water! Then, you will have an incentive to finish it!
  • Master one recipe. Maybe the thought of making all your snacks is pretty overwhelming;  what I would do is pick one recipe and make it multiple times until it becomes easy. Then, try to tackle a new one.
  • Air-tight Storage Containers. Make sure to use air-tight storage containers to keep your homemade snacks fresh! Nothing would be more disappointing than spending a bunch of time making snacks and then having them become stale quickly!

1.  Homemade Samoa Cookies

Homemade Samoas-14 Snacks You Can Make At Home Instead of Buying - these foods are simple to make at home and healthier than the store bought version.

These homemade Samoa cookies  from Just a Taste look absolutely delicious, and just like the ones you’d buy! But instead of a bunch of unpronounceable ingredients, you know exactly what goes into these!

2. Homemade Graham Crackers

14 Snacks You Can Make At Home Instead of Buying - these foods are simple to make at home and healthier than the store bought version - homemade graham crackers

This homemade graham cracker recipe from Love to Be in the Kitchen is easy and fast to make. I’ve made homemade graham crackers before, and they tasted exactly like the kind you can buy in the store, but minus all the weird preservatives!

3. Homemade Larabars

14 Snacks You Can Make At Home Instead of Buying - these foods are simple to make at home and healthier than the store bought version-homemade Larabars

These homemade energy bars from Real Food Real Deals only take a few ingredients, and like their store-bought counterparts, are gluten-free. You can make several different flavors and could cut them into whatever size/shape you wanted!

4. Homemade Buttery Crackers

14 Snacks You Can Make At Home Instead of Buying - these foods are simple to make at home and healthier than the store bought version - homemade Ritz Crackers

These homemade buttery crackers from Cupcake Project are delicious! I know because I made some a few months ago, and everyone ate them up very quickly! Like with most homemade recipes, you can make them whatever shape you want. Though it’s fun to make them look like the commercial version and watch people realize that A: they’re homemade, and B: they taste so much better!

5. Homemade Potato Chips

14 Snacks You Can Make At Home Instead of Buying - these foods are simple to make at home and healthier than the store bought version - homemade potato chips I’ve made potato chips many times, and every time they’re absolutely delicious! This homemade potato chip recipe from This Silly Girl’s Life only takes a few ingredients, and you don’t need a deep fryer. You can flavor them with salt, or make your own flavorings.

6. Homemade Apple Chips

14 Snacks You Can Make At Home Instead of Buying - these foods are simple to make at home and healthier than the store bought version - homemade apple chips

These two-ingredient homemade apple chips from Kosher On a Budget are super easy to make! And they’re a healthy snack! If you left off the cinnamon, these would make great homemade dog treats, too!

7. Homemade Goldfish Crackers

14 Snacks You Can Make At Home Instead of Buying - these foods are simple to make at home and healthier than the store bought version - homemade goldfish crackers

I’ve made this homemade cheesy fish cracker recipe from Tasty Kitchen before, and all the crackers were eaten within 15 minutes! You can make the traditional fish shapes, or whatever shape you want! I made mine using small leaf-shaped cookie cutters because it was fall, but right now it’d probably be fun to make them into flowers for spring or hearts for Valentine’s Day instead!

8. Chocolate Fudge Toaster Pastries

14 Snacks You Can Make At Home Instead of Buying - these foods are simple to make at home and healthier than the store bought version - homemade chocolate poptarts

These homemade chocolate fudge toaster pastries from Half Baked Harvest look so delicious! And if you like chocolate, then this recipe should be perfect for you!

9. Filled Cereal Bars

14 Snacks You Can Make At Home Instead of Buying - these foods are simple to make at home and healthier than the store bought version - homemade cereal bars

These homemade filled cereal bars from Super Healthy Kids are another great after-school snack for kids! These are filled with strawberries, but you could easily swap that out for blueberries, or any other fruit that you like!

10. Trail Mix

14 Snacks You Can Make At Home Instead of Buying - these foods are simple to make at home and healthier than the store bought version. - homemade trail mix recipes

Trail mix has always been a versatile and easy to make homemade snack, but sometimes it’s hard to decide exactly what mix you want. You should be able to find at least a few favorites in these 21 homemade trail mix recipes from Greatist!

11. Fruit Leather

14 Snacks You Can Make At Home Instead of Buying - these foods are simple to make at home and healthier than the store bought version - homemade fruit roll ups

This is a very easy to make homemade fruit leather snack from Oh My Veggies. With only one ingredient, you can make your own fruit leather that you can roll up and take with you, or give to your kids! I think I’d like to try making mine with blueberries!

12. Granola Bars

14 Snacks You Can Make At Home Instead of Buying - these foods are simple to make at home and healthier than the store bought version - homemade no-bake granola bars

These delicious homemade granola bars are one of my recipes. They’re no-bake and only have 5 ingredients. As a result, they’re very quick to put together, making them perfect for when you’re feeling snackish but don’t feel like messing around in the kitchen for long! These are white chocolate cranberry, but you can add in whatever you like.

13. Fruit Snacks

Homemade Fruit Snacks- If your kids love fruit snacks, but you'd rather they didn't eat dyes and artificial flavors, then you need to make your own tasty homemade fruit snacks! | recipe, candy, dessert, treat, homemade snack recipe, healthy eating, make your own fruit snacks

Make your own fruit snacks using my recipe and get rid of all the junk ingredients you don’t want your kids to be eating! You can use whatever fruit you want so you can make them fit your palate! You could also sneak in some veggies to make them even more nutritious!

14. Vegan Doritos

overhead-close-up-vegan-doritos-in-bowl-pin

Strength and Sunshine has a recipe for healthy Doritos! You will want to munch on these all day long! Plus they are vegan and gluten-free!

15. Chewy Granola Bars

A cup full of Granola Bars

Whip up some chewy chocolate chip granola bars from Love From The Oven! Your family will love this tasty treat that is easy to make!

16. Healthy Cheez-Its

hand-grabbing-cheez-it-bowl-pin

I love to munch on Cheez-Its but they are loaded with all kinds of yucky ingredients! These homemade, gluten-free, vegan Cheez-Its are going to be on my must-try list this year! Grab the recipe from Strength and Sunshine.

17. Chunky Homemade Granola

Chunky Homemade Granola by The BakerMama

Chunky Homemade Granola from The Bakermama is a great snack for several reasons:  it’s healthy, perfect for after a workout snack, or when you hit that mid-afternoon slump.

18. Lemon Poppy Seed Cake Energy Bites

lemon poppy seed energy bites on a plate

Ambitious Kitchen offers a delicious, easy, and budget-friendly snack, Lemon Poppy Seed Cake Energy Bites. They make a great snack for school lunches and are portable for snacking on the go.

19. Homemade Tortilla Chips

Homemade tortilla chips

Homemade Tortilla Chips from A Couple Cooks are a snack everyone loves to eat, and this recipe can be made by frying or baking. The choice is yours and then simply serve it with salsa or your favorite dip.

20. Monster Popcorn Balls

A closeup of popcorn balls with M & Ms.

Do you remember your grandma making popcorn balls and how much you loved them? Kids and Adults both love them! You can find Monster Popcorn Balls at Swanky Recipes, so grab the ingredients and customize them to suit your taste.

Hopefully, you can use one of these recipes to make a delicious and healthier version of your favorite store-bought snack!

What’s your favorite snack?

You might also like this post: Homemade Brownie Mix

Comments

  1. Deanna says

    That is a great list of snacks. Thank you for the links Manuela! We like to make our own snacks, and this list will give my girls a few new ones to try!

  3. Melanie says

    Thanks for the ideas, Manuela. We like our snacks here too, but I will not buy any (or ANY food item for that matter) with artificial ingredients in them, nor any “bad” oils, high fructose corn syrup, etc. So any of the snacks I do buy are healthy ones…Trader Joes has crackers without any bad oils and artificial ingredients in them, or I make my own Larabars (like you showed above) and we air pop our own popcorn.

  4. doreen@househoneys says

    I’m with you Manuela. You won’t find too many boxes or cans at my house. You want to know one of my favorite snacks? Roasted grapes. Yup. They are delish. I started eating them last year when I went on Weight Watchers and they were a life saver. Roasting them really adds to their sweetness. If organic aren’t available, or if they’re too pricey, soaking them in salt helps to pull out most of the chemicals.

    I love your ideas too. May have to try a few!

    • Manuela Williams says

      Roasted grapes? I’ve heard of frozen grapes. I’ll have to try that! I only buy organic grapes and apples. I’d rather go without than buy conventional on those two.

  5. Brandi Clevinger says

    Are you kidding with how amazing this list is?? This is great! Especially those apple crisps and go gurts! I’m definitely trying those along with the fruit filled bars. I like these snacks, but avoid them at the store because of the process bad stuff that goes along with it. My kids would love to have these snacks back on the menu, and I’d love the healthier versions!!

    Thanks for sharing at Inspire Me Mondays!

  7. Laura Sue Shaw says

    These all look so amazing! I’m for sure going to check out some of the recipes. I like to have a supply of snacks at work, but I don’t love all the ingredients on store-bought munchies. Thanks for sharing!

Search the Archives

Popular Posts