If you travel for work or leisure, you know how difficult it is to find healthy food choices in an airport or on a flight. Between long lines, limited time in between flights, and overpriced food choices, it definitely makes sense to pack your own snacks. In this post, I’ll outline some heart healthy nutrient dense snacks for kids and adults that are easy to pack for your next trip. Let’s dive in!

What are the Best Airplane Snacks?

When traveling, you need snacks that are going to fill you up and give you long lasting energy! Not all snacks are created equal. There is nothing worse than eating a snack and then hunger striking AGAIN 30 minutes later.

To have a satisfying filling snack be sure to:

1. Include Foods High in Fiber + Protein
   the two key components to keep you satisfied and less peckish while traveling.
   
   
2. Pair Your Foods Together!
   Eating an apple will not be as filling as an apple with peanut butter. Plain crackers will not hold you over. Period.
   
   

What are Bad Airplane Snacks?

1. Foods that are over 3.4oz/100mL

TSA approved snacks have to be under 3.4oz. This isn’t just typical liquids from drinks. It also can be liquid foods such as

• Greek yogurt
• Applesauce cups
• NOKA smoothie pouches/fruit pouches that are more than 3.4oz
• Smoothie/kefir bottles
• RTS (ready to serve) protein shakes
• Juice boxes
• Filled water bottles

2. Sauce-y, Messy, Greasy or Smelly

Sorry tuna, chips and salsa, or hardboiled eggs are going to have to wait!

3. Refrigerated items**

Warm cheese sticks are out in my opinion.

**HOWEVER, TSA does allow for ice packs as long as they don’t melt down and become watery. I usually do not have space to pack a lunch box, so I prefer to pack non refrigerated foods and just put them straight in my carryon.

What are Healthy Airplane Snacks?

If saving money at the grocery store while eating healthy is important to you, I provide some great tips in Smart Ways to Save Money on Groceries | Top Tips from a Dietitian.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I only recommend products I would personally use or recommend to clients as a registered dietitian

1. Low Sugar Protein Bars

I like protein bars because they are compact and come in so many different flavors. They definitely are more filling than a regular granola bar.
Here are some of my favorites:

• BUILT Puff – honestly, they taste like a chocolate marshmallow and no after taste!
• ONEbar
• Lenny and Larry CookieFied – these are great if you don’t like protein bars
• RXbar

I include a whole list inside Protein Bars for Weight Loss: Top Picks from a Dietitian (2026) if you want even more brands to pick from.

If you usually buy Quest Bars for travel, I do a full review inside Are Quest Bars Healthy? What a Dietitian Wants You to Know Before You Buy. These bars are usually at every kiosk or convenience snack stand inside airports.

2. Trail Mixes, Nuts, and Nut Butters

Remember, it’s best to pair your snacks so you aren’t eating a single food. When eating nuts or nut butter, pair it with fresh or dried fruit, whole grain crackers, or low sugar cereal.

You don’t have to make your own trail mix as there are many pre-made options available. I love this trail mix brand, Nature’s Eats, because it is low in added sugar and uses pumpkin seeds for a boost of Vitamin E.

I’m a big fan of these individual almond butter packs from Justin’s and bringing along a whole grain bagel or bread. I can then make a sandwich for trips that have long layovers to avoid buying food at the airport.

3. Freeze Dried Fruits or Vegetables

These are going to be the more expensive per serving compared to fresh fruit. They also are not as filling as fresh because there is no water content.

However, I love a good crunch and I definitely think they are worth it to include in your own trail mixes, homemade granola bars, or to eat by itself. BARE has some delicious apple chips here.

For toddlers or young kids, I would pick freeze dried raspberries, strawberries, peach or mango instead of apples. I’ve found the apple kind are harder to chew/when they are broken they have sharper edges like tortilla chips.

4. Fresh Fruits**

Fruit is a perfect travel snack because of its high water content. Your hydration needs increase when traveling via airplane because of the altitude.

My go to fruits to pack are:

• Apples
• Banana
• Clementines
• Grapes
• Berries
• Pears

Skip any fruits that would need utensils like cantaloupe, pineapple, kiwi, or watermelon.

I usually use a plastic container with a lid to prevent heavy objects from crushing them. Not only is plastic lighter to travel with, you won’t have to worry about a glass jar breaking in route!

**If you are flying from Hawaii, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands into the U.S. you cannot take most fresh fruits and vegetables.

5. Jerky Sticks

These are an easy source of protein to pair with fruit, granola bars, whole grain crackers or nuts.
Brands like Archer Farms and Chomps can be found in larger bags at Costco or Sam’s Club for a better price then buying them at a grocery store. They also come in a mini size for small kids.

6. Healthier Granola Bars/Oat Bites/Muffins

• KIND
• Belvita Snack Bites
• MadeGood Granola Pops
• Cascadian Farms No Added Sugar Granola Bites
• Veggies Made Great Muffins (in the frozen section)
• Clif NutButter Bars – unlike other cliff products, these are lower in added sugar and have no soy protein
• Kodiak Bars
• GFB Protein Bites

If you usually buy Clif bars when traveling, be sure to read over Are Clif Bars Healthy? A Dietitian’s Unfiltered Review 2026
 to learn which Clif bars are best.

7. Water enhancers + Powdered Tea sticks

Hydration is KEY! Especially if you are traveling for a long time, or are crossing over time zones. Dehydration worsens jet lag. Most airlines have both hot and iced water free of charge you can ask for, so all you need to bring are the drink packets.

While you might think to avoid liquids so you don’t need to pee, don’t do it! Get in your water for better energy and digestion.

8. Dried Edamame, Chickpeas, or Broad Beans

All of these brands offer a variety of sweet and savory flavor choices ranging from ranch, buffalo, Siracha, honey mustard and even cocoa!

Some of my favorites include:

• Bada Bean Bada Boom
• Biena
• Saffron Road
• The Only Bean

All of these are VERY crunchy, so I would keep these for older kids and adults instead of young kids or toddlers.

These are high in fiber and a good source of protein. It’s perfect if you want something crunchy, but want a better option than potato or tortilla chips.

9. Crunchy Snacks

• Popcorn
• Harvest Snaps
• Whole Grain Crackers
• Parmesan Cheese Crackers (Whisps, Parm Crisps, Sonoma)

Because the airlines will charge you $5 for a single bag of any of these. Agh!

You can also make a tasty trail mix using low sodium cereal, unsweetened dried fruit, and nuts. There are a lot of low sugar low sodium cereals in a list inside Best Low Sodium Cereal: 23 Dietitian Approved Brands (2026).

If you want to save on costs, making your own bars, or oat pops can save you a ton! The trade off of course is the time it takes to make them. However, these are all recipes I’ve tried before and can say I would definitely recommend them!

Sweet Potato Peanut Butter Muffins

The peanut butter doesn’t overpower the taste overall of these muffins. The blend of healthy fats from the peanut butter and carbs from the potato make these not only fluffly but filling!

Date Oat Bites

These are similar to larabars, but use oats and coconut. Something sweet to

Sweet Potato Muffins

You don’t need to wait for fall for a good sweet potato recipe! These muffins are totally fluffly and packed with Vitamin A.

Low Sugar Granola Bars

These are great if you like to customize your mix ins. Adding in freeze dried blueberries, dried cranberries, coconut flakes, or mini chocolate chips. The possibilities are endless!

The list below are definitely great choices for adults too!

These easy airplane snacks involve less mess, fewer crumbs, and are a single serve package. You can serve them as is, or for a boost you can add a side of protein from a jerky stick, nut butter, or baked cheese crisps.

This way you don’t have to worry about your toddler spilling the family sized snack bag all over the airplane floor. Which from personal experience, is a total dissapointment!

• Nature Valley Muffin Bars- lower in sugar + higher in fiber than other nature valley varieties. I go over others in Are Nature Valley Bars Healthy? A Dietitian Shares All.
• Frooze Balls
• SMASH bites
• GFB Protein Bites – they have SO many flavors!
• Freeze Dried Fruit
• Rx Mini
• Larabar mini
• Clif mini
• MadeGood Granola Pops
• MadeGood Oat Cups

1. Store in small reusable silicon bag or fabric bag 

This keeps all snacks together and prevents them from falling to the bottom of your carry on backpack or purse. TSA advises keeping snacks all in a bag anyway in the case they need to be examined.

I have purchased different brands of silicon bags, but by far my favorite are from Stasher. They are higher priced than other brands, but they are better quality and can be used in the freezer too.

If you don’t want to travel with reusable bags, but still want to be concious of the environment, Stasher also makes recyclable brown bags in cute prints like bees and dinos too!

2. Consider a small plastic hardshell bento box or tin

Your carryon bag will take a lot of throwing around. This prevents that nice granola bar from being smushed or bent in half.

If you left your snacks at home or just ran out of time- here are some healthy airport snacks that can be found at various retailers within the terminal or gates.

• -Egg White Muffin Bites
• -String cheese + Apple
• -Protein Snack Box (grapes, almonds, cheese)
• -MUSH Protein Overnight Oats
• -Protein Latte
• -KIND or PERFECT bar

• -Trail Mix
• -Greek Yogurt
• -Protein Bar
• -Peanut Butter Crackers
• -Turkey Jerky Stick

• -Fairlife Ultra-filtered Milk
• -Smoked Salmon Bagel Thin
• -Egg and Cheese Sandwich

Having healthy airplane snacks packed in your carryon luggage is a perfect strategy for saving time and money in the airport. There are a variety of shelf stable snacks that provide a good source of protein and fiber to provide you with lasting energy and satiety. Use lightweight plastic containers or silicon storage bags to keep everything together to make traveling through security easier.

Laurie Thenedy, RD

Laurie is a Registered Dietitian passionate about helping healthcare professionals lower their weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol so that they can regain confidence and energy to live a more full life.