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Sweets, crisps, biscuits… we all love to snack! But snacking doesn’t have to be a guilty pleasure.

Instead, it can be a great way to fuel your body with essential nutrients and keep your energy levels steady throughout the day.

The key is choosing healthy vegan snacks that provide a balance of protein, fibre, and healthy fats, rather than just empty calories.

Whether you need a quick bite between meals, a post-workout boost, or something to satisfy a sweet craving, there are plenty of delicious and nourishing options to explore.

By making small swaps and paying attention to food combinations, you can turn your snacks into a source of sustained energy and better overall health.

From how to make your own healthy snacks to where to look for a calcium boost, these ten tips will help you upgrade your snacking game and make every bite count.

Ideally, every snack should include fruit or vegetables to ensure you’re choosing healthy vegan snacks that support your wellbeing.

Scientific studies show that people who eat at least five portions of fruits and veggies daily have the best health and the lowest risk of many diseases.¹

Fresh fruit is better than dried, but the latter also counts if it’s unsweetened. Snack vegetables are best raw, but you can ‘hide’ them in a smoothie.

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Use fresh fruits and vegetables as a starting point for your snacks and you're guaranteed a daily nutrient boost. Photo © Charday Penn/iStock

Combine foods to make a nutritious snack that supports the body’s needs by adding sources of protein and healthy carbs to fruit or veg.

These include wholegrains, such as wholemeal bread, oatcakes, brown rice cakes or wholegrain cereal, and pulses, which include roasted beans, peas, chickpeas, houmous, tofu or soya yoghurt.

These foods are also good sources of vitamins and minerals. The key is adjusting the calories of the snack to your lifestyle.

If you’re active, you may want a wholegrain tortilla with houmous and veg, but if you’re more sedentary, have the houmous with rice cakes.

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Balancing veggies with whole grains and protein ensures your snack delivers a combination of nutritious benefits. Photo © katrinkivi/Adobe Stock

If your work makes munching on snacks inappropriate or impractical – or if you prefer smoothies in general – it’s a great idea to prepare a homemade smoothie and pack it with nutritious ingredients.

Banana ensures good consistency while other fruit adds flavour, and if you throw in a handful of green leaves and a spoonful of nut butter, you have a superb liquid snack.

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A wholesome green smoothie makes a great healthy vegan snack in a hurry. Photo © bojanstory/iStock

You may love having your tea or coffee alongside your snack, but it’s best kept separate.

Of course, you can have a biscuit or a chocolate square with your cuppa, but when it comes to more substantial snacks, it’s a different story.

Tea and coffee can inhibit iron absorption from food, so you should drink them an hour before or after your snack.

To maximise iron absorption from your snacks, avoid drinking coffee or tea at the same time. Photo © SasaJo/iStock

It’s a good idea to include nuts in your daily intake of healthy vegan snacks. Thanks to their plant-based protein and fibre content, they provide energy and a great nutrient boost.

The pulses and whole grains in the examples above can help too. You could have a banana and mixed nuts or veggies and a handful of roasted seeds. Unsalted peanuts or whole-nut peanut butter are also great options.

Of course, plenty of shop-bought nut bars can make a good choice. Just look for ones that contain more fruit than nuts.

Nuts are a great choice for slow-release energy and a satisfying hit of protein. Photo © Julio Ricco/iStock

If you want your snacks to up your protein intake, there are plenty of foods that will help you achieve that.

Think nuts and seeds, nut butters, tofu and tofu-based spreads, roasted beans, peas and chickpeas, wholemeal seeded bread, wholemeal pitta, oats, protein bars and shakes.

There are plenty of high-protein vegan snack recipes you could try, but a simple wholemeal sandwich with nut butter and fruit slices or a fruit smoothie with silken tofu and tahini will provide a serious high-protein dose.

High-protein, healthy vegan snacks don't need to be complicated. Simple fruit with peanut butter on toast will do. Photo © DronG/iStock

The idea of a convenient, ready-to-eat mix of healthy, tasty snacks is great, but in reality, trail mix is often disappointing.

The solution? Make your own healthy vegan snacks with all your favourites, like natural and roasted nuts, dried fruit, or vegan chocolate buttons. Here, mixing salty and sweet tastes isn’t just allowed; it’s actively encouraged.

Have it on its own as a standalone snack, stir it into yoghurt or sprinkle it on bread with nut butter, which will make the trail mix stick.

When you make your own trail mix, you can ensure it only contains healthy ingredients you love. Photo © Alejandro Arias/iStock

If you want to make your vegan party food spread a little healthier, add more nourishing foods to the usual mix of crisps, sweets and breadsticks. For example, roasted nuts and seeds, olives, oatcakes, seeded wholegrain crispbreads, roasted beans, or lentil and chickpea crisps.

Accompany these with cherry tomatoes, grapes and pineapple, which aid digestion, and you have a winning combo. You could also make plain chocolate-covered strawberries or banana slices – healthy and delicious!

Party snacks can be both nourishing and delicious, just make sure you include plenty of fresh veggies and whole foods. Photo © Valery Zonov

If you have a sweet tooth, you can still enjoy healthy vegan snacks that satisfy cravings without compromising nutrition.

Your best choice would be nuts with dried fruit and a couple of squares of dark chocolate. Another option is a DIY oat and chia pot, similar to overnight oats, with your favourite plant milk, fruit, and a splash of date syrup or healthy chocolate chips.

However, there are days when you simply want vegan cake or biscuits and nothing else will do. In that case, have some! A treat once in a while is better than going without and then overeating to compensate.

It shouldn’t be your regular snack—only a true treat. You can make it healthier by adding some fresh fruit and perhaps a few nuts, as these will help to slow down sugar absorption from the sweet treat.

Long term balance and variety are key. Grabbing just a quick bit of fruit every now and then won't hurt, nor will the occasional sugary treat. Photo © sveta_zarzamora/iStock

Calcium is a vital mineral for bones, muscles and nerve function, but if we rely on processed foods, we can easily get too little. Luckily, it’s easy to make snacks calcium-rich.

Calcium-fortified plant yoghurts and milks are easy options, but you can also get a decent dose of calcium from bean dips, houmous, almonds, chia seeds, sesame seeds (tahini), oranges, roasted beans and calcium-set tofu.

Greens, such as broccoli, Chinese leaf and kale, are superb calcium sources, but not common snack foods – unless blended into a smoothie.

Ultimately, you have to find your favourites and what works for you. If you want, make your own energy balls combining dried fruit, nuts, oats and spices.

Making a smoothie for the day ahead is a healthy habit, as is keeping a nut butter jar at hand to dip veg sticks or fruit slices in.

Featured photo © eclipse_images/iStock

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