If you’re not dreaming about your snacks well before it’s time to eat them, they just might need a makeover. Yep — even with dietary restrictions.
Your favorite vegan, dairy-free, nut-free snacks can start to seem blah if you have them in heavy rotation. The solution? Add greater variety to your snack menu. Dare to discover overlooked ingredients and new-to-you flavors!
We rounded up 5 versatile recipes to tickle your snacking fancies. Are you a sucker for sweets? Do you crave crispy treats? Are you aiming to satisfy your sophisticated palate?
Keep reading and find the fun you’ve been missing!
Tasty Takeaways From This Article
- Avoiding certain foods isn’t as hard as it seems.
- Flavor is only one characteristic that makes a food enjoyable.
- Creative cooking and eating are fun!
“Variety's the very spice of life, That gives it all its flavour.“
William Cowper, poet, “The Task” (1785)
Remember These Snack Hacks
Keep your between-meal snacks vegan, dairy-free, and nut-free with these easy tricks:
- It is possible to maintain a vegan diet without eating nuts. The key? Think seeds.
- Avoid forbidden foods by identifying favorite ingredient substitutions. Use coconut oil in place of butter, for example. Or replace a nut butter with a seed butter.
- Be a mad scientist. Think of snacks where you can combine complementary flavors. Invent a lemon and ginger fruit dip. How about toasting granola in a sweet-spicy honey and chili pepper glaze? Experiment with coffee and chocolate wherever and whenever you can.
- Professional chefs know that we eat with our eyes first. Let vibrant colors, stimulating shapes, and tantalizing textures prep your palate for what’s to come.
- A snack that’s aromatic is aero-magic. Baked goods scented with fresh or dried lavender or other edible florals really deliver the goods.
Everyday Chocolate Strawberries
You’ll love it if you love: fresh fruit, sweet-tart treats, chocolate-hazelnut spread.
Don’t wait for Valentine’s Day to enjoy chocolate-enrobed strawberries. Luxurious and sweet, these treats are vegan, dairy-free, nut-free, and stress-free to make. Since strawberries and other fruits are naturally gluten free, they make an excellent basis for a dessert.
Ingredients:
- Fresh strawberries (as many or as few as you like)
- Dark chocolate sunflower seed butter
Directions:
- Dip strawberries in Dark Chocolate Sunflower Seed Butter and place on wax or parchment paper.
- Freeze dipped strawberries to give the seed butter fudge-like consistency.
- Enjoy (and share if you feel like it).
Variations:
- Roll dipped strawberries in granola before freezing for added crunch.
- Sprinkle dipped strawberries with flaky sea salt.
- Sub a favorite dried fruit, like mango slices, for added chew.
Tangy Berry Freeze
You’ll love it if you love: smoothies, sour candy.
Tall and cool, with a bit of an attitude, this tangy, healthy snack is filling, nourishing, and delicious!
Ingredients:
- 2 frozen, peeled green-ish bananas
- 1 cup of your favorite frozen berries, like raspberries or blueberries (or a mix if you’re bold)
- Squeeze of fresh lemon
- ¼ cup sunflower seed butter
- 1 cup oat milk
Directions:
- Put all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.
Variations:
- Too tangy? Add a touch of honey or maple syrup to the mix.
- Too thick? Put crushed ice in the blender to thin the consistency.
Crowd-Pleasing Popcorn
You’ll love it if you love: crunchy snacks. That are salty. And sweet. And savory, if that’s your preference.
Riffing on this no-nonsense recipe makes pleasing all eaters possible! Essentially, it’s a key to making kettle corn that’s great served straight-up or with add-ins.
It takes less than 10 minutes and feeds 4.
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup popcorn kernels
- 2 tablespoons of your preferred cooking oil, like coconut or avocado
- 2 tablespoons of white or brown sugar
- Fine salt
Directions:
- Add oil to a large pot. Warm it over medium heat.
- Place a single kernel in the oil. When it pops, add the rest of the kernels and the sugar.
- Cover the pot and shake it until the popping slows. Important: keep shaking the pot so the contents don’t scorch. When there’s a 2-3 gap between pops, the popping phase of this recipe is done.
- Remove the pot from heat. Transfer your kettle corn to a serving bowl and salt to taste. (Fine grain salt will stick better than big flakes.)
Variations:
- Douse with vegan, dairy-free, nut-free, gluten-free nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast adds a light, cheesy aura–without the cheese!
- Mix in granola for a heartier snack with a wider range of textures and flavors.
- Drizzle with Dark Chocolate Sunflower Seed Butter or Vanilla Cinnamon Sunflower Seed Butter for extra decadence!
Odds are that there won’t be leftovers. But if there are, store them in air-tight containers (grab-and-go zip-top storage bags or tubs with snug lids). Your popcorn will keep its crunch for 1-2 weeks!
Nice Cream Affogato
You’ll love it if you love: allergen-safe creaminess, caffeine.
This one might best be reserved for the adults in the house. Put the kids to bed and enjoy this version of an affogato.
An affogato is an Italian dessert that brings together remarkable combos. Piping hot espresso and freezing cold Nice Cream. And bold, bitter, beautifully brown coffee and a sweet, complementary-colored confection, to name two. Nice cream is a great non-dairy ice cream alternative, and it pairs well with espresso.
Ingredients:
- Espresso shots
- Nice Cream (be sure to make with coconut milk or other preference)
Directions:
- Make espresso. As many shots as you think is wise.
- Put a scoop of homemade allergen-free Nice Cream into a tall glass.
- Pour espresso over the top of the Nice Cream.
- Get stuff done before the caffeine wears off.
Variations:
- Top with a dusting of granola.
- You can, of course, make this treat using decaf coffee.
- For a super-quick and yummy twist, use cold brew.
Crispy, Herbed Mushrooms
You’ll love it if you love: savory, umami-loaded snacks.
Ingredients:
- Mushrooms (think white buttons and/or cremini)
- Cooking oil of choice
- Herbs of choice (rosemary, sage, thyme, and tarragon are all good herbs to start with)
- Salt
Directions:
- Slice mushrooms into bite-size pieces.
- Place mushrooms in a baking dish. Splash with your favorite cooking oil. Add salt to taste.
- Bake in the oven at 375 degrees.
- After 10 minutes, drain any water from the mushrooms that’s collected in the baking dish. Return the baking dish to the oven.
- After 10 additional minutes, remove the baking dish from the oven. Serve mushrooms immediately. They don’t keep well, so eat them all!
Variation:
- Mix roasted mushrooms with neutral-flavored granola for contrasting textures.
“There will be snacks.”
Andrew Bird, musician, “Tables and Chairs”
Have Your Allergen-Free Snacks Ever Been This Fun?
These 5 vegan, dairy-free, nut-free recipes are merely the tip of the allergen-free snack iceberg.
Whip up your own recipes. Focus on ingredients you enjoy, feed all of your senses, and dare to eat differently!