100 Baby Snacks – healthy and easy recipe ideas for babies and toddlers 9 months – 2 years! This post covers when to serve snacks to your baby (and young toddlers), serving sizes, a rundown of my favorite snack containers, and PLUS I’m going to share over 100 foods and recipes that are PERFECT for your baby.

Medically reviewed and cowritten by Jamie Johnson, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), and Lauren Braaten, Pediatric Occupational Therapist (OT).

A grid of images of colorful baby plates and bowls on a white counter. The images are in a grid and show different homemade and store-bought snacks for baby.

Looking for some inspiration for what to feed your baby for snacks?

Then you’ve come to the right place!

Snacks for your baby can be as easy as cutting up fresh strawberries and mangos or serving chopped veggies with hummus. They can also be freezer-friendly recipes such as Pumpkin Pancakes, Blender Muffins or Spinach Waffles. And don’t forget those easy on-the-go snacks like Strawberry Applesauce in a reusable pouch or Cheesy Whole-Grain Crackers.

Whatever your baby’s snacking needs are, this post has got you covered!

Snacks for Baby Video

Top 5 Snack for Baby Recipes

A small glass container with five different flavors of baby yogurt melts. The container is sitting on a marble countertop with my hand reaching over and grabbing an mango carrot flavor melt.

Easy 2-Ingredient Yogurt Melts for Baby

4.64 stars (46 ratings)
These easy 2-Ingredient Yogurt Melts are a simple (and seriously fun!) way to offer your baby a nutritious snack. Perfect for easing teething discomfort, encouraging self-feeding, or just adding a little joy to snack time, they’re cold, creamy, and melt beautifully on tiny tongues. Great for 8 months and up!
Get the recipe
hand holding a half of spinach muffin over a purple kids plate filled with mini muffins on a white kitchen countertop.

Kid-Requested Spinach Muffins (made with Applesauce)

4.80 stars (43 ratings)
These homemade Green Spinach Muffins are easy and quick to make with the help of a high-powered blender. They’re made with fresh spinach, applesauce, and no refined sugar—they’re a great option for breakfast, snack, and perfect for school lunch boxes, too! Great for 9+ months and up!
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Purple plate with banana pancakes and raspberry pieces for baby.

The Best 3-Ingredient Banana Pancakes for Baby

4.99 stars (311 ratings)
Made with only 3 simple ingredients – banana, egg and flour, yet these pancakes are fluffy, soft and perfect for baby, baby-led weaning and toddlers!
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My hand holding a green kids bowl full of golden-brown cheese crackers with a red cooling rack filled with more crackers next to the bowl.

(No Rolling!) Easy Homemade Cheese Crackers

4.96 stars (46 ratings)
If your family loves cheese crackers, these homemade ones are about to ruin the boxed version forever. They’re crunchy, cheesy, made with whole grains, and come together with just 5 ingredients. No rolling. No fuss. All flavor!
Get the recipe
Clear sippy cup filled with a green avocado smoothie for baby and toddler sitting on a white surface.

Avocado Green Smoothie for Baby + Toddler

4.83 stars (17 ratings)
This Avocado Green Smoothie is a tasty first green smoothie for your baby and toddler! Loaded with avocado, yogurt, and spinach, this smoothie can be served as a healthy breakfast, lunch or snack for baby or toddler! Great for 9 months and up!
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Snacks for 9-12 month olds

Babies usually start to become hungrier between meals around this age, so it may be appropriate to start giving snacks. Basically, any mashable food is good to serve to your baby in 2-3 inch strips or chopped into “pea” size pieces. Aim to include at least 2 food groups to make a balanced, nutritious snack.

  • Soft fresh fruits- banana, blueberries, kiwi, watermelon, mango, peaches, pears, raspberries, etc.
  • Steamed veggies- sweet potatoes, squash, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, peppers, string beans, etc.
  • Puffs
  • Teether crackers
  • Yogurt and fruit
  • Cottage cheese and fruit
  • Hummus
  • Avocado
  • Unsweetened applesauce
  • Well cooked pasta
  • No salt added and rinsed canned beans
  • Lentils
  • Peanut/almond butter – mixed into yogurt or applesauce or thinly spread on toast
  • Low sodium turkey/ham/chicken slices
  • Hard-boiled egg
  • Egg muffins
  • Baby food pouches

Snacks for Toddler (1 year and up)

By this age, toddlers’ diets now rely more on solid foods rather than breastmilk or formula so another snack may be added throughout the day in a larger portion. Toddlers can have any foods a baby can, plus some harder textures, and now honey.

  • All of the above foods
  • Cheese sticks
  • Cheerios or other small, whole-grain cereal
  • Freeze-dried fruit
  • Rice cakes
  • Whole-grain crackers
  • Quartered cherry tomatoes
bowl of steamed carrots for baby.

Veggie Snacks

Veggies don’t have to be offered just at mealtime. Snack time is a great time to serve veggies to your baby. Depending on your baby’s age, you may need to steam or cook the veggies before serving. Serve veggies in spears or strips. Pair the veggies with a fun dip for some snack time fun.

  • Carrot Sticks
  • Green Beans
  • Sugar Snap Peas
  • Red, Yellow or Orange Peppers
  • Zucchini Spears
  • Broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Cucumber Spears (peeled)
  • Green Peas (frozen and thawed)
  • Cherry Tomatoes (cut lengthwise into 4 or 6 pieces)
  • Veggie Quesadilla
  • Kale Chips: Store-Bought or Homemade
  • Roasted Seaweed

Dips for Veggies

Fruit Snacks

Fruit is a great snack option for your baby as all fruit is filled with essential nutrients for growing babies! Plus, they are reliably available, easy to pack for an on-the-go snack, and most babies like their sweet taste.

Fresh Fruit

Soft fruits can be served in long 2-3″ strips or cut into “pea” size pieces. If the fruit is too hard (such as unripe pears or some apple varieties), you can gently steam slices or chunks of it on the stove or in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.

Fruit Dips

Frozen Fruit Tip: An easy way to serve a wide variety of fruit to your baby year-round is to use frozen fruits that have been thawed. Bigger frozen fruits, such as mango, peaches, or pineapple, can be thawed and then patted dry with a paper towel or clean kitchen towel (to make them easier to eat) and then served to your baby. Smaller frozen fruits such as berries or cherries can be thawed, patted dry, and served as is or mashed with the back of a fork to make a “jam” like consistency. You can serve this as-is or mixed into yogurt or applesauce.

Carbohydrates

Serving carbohydrates to your baby as a snack will help provide the energy baby needs in order to crawl, walk or scoot all around the house (especially to the places you don’t want them to go to:).

Time-Saving Tip: When making a batch of muffins, pancakes, or waffles for your baby, double the recipe and freeze some so you will always have a healthy snack for your baby on hand. To thaw, heat in the microwave in 20-second increments until warm or pop into the toaster.

Protein Filled Snacks

Providing a serving of protein to your baby at snack time is a great idea as protein helps to fill your baby up and helps with muscle growth and development. Unless you are a plant-based family, aim to give a combination of both plant and animal proteins for a variety of nutrients and textures.

Store-Bought Snacks

Not all baby snacks have to be homemade! Purchasing a selection of store-bought snacks for baby to have on hand will make snack time for baby and toddler a breeze. You can also pair store-bought snacks with a serving of fruits, cheese, or veggies.

  • Baby Food Pouches (a guide to my favorite store-bought brands)
  • Freeze-dried fruits: strawberries, mango, berries, banana, etc
  • Baby Puffs
  • Baby Melts
  • Cereal: no-sugar-added whole grain such as O-cereal or Chex
  • Crackers: whole grain
  • Yogurt: look for low or no-added sugar
  • Fruit: canned or in a cup within 100% fruit juice or fruit pouches
Reusable pouch full of mango puree for baby.

Reusable Pouches

Having reusable pouches filled with fruit, veggie, and/or yogurt is an easy way to have a healthy snack on hand for your baby. I like to load my reusable pouches up on the weekend to have an easy grab-and-go snack at the ready all week long.

Reusable Pouch Suggestions

  • veggie puree
  • fruit puree
  • yogurt
  • applesauce

Favorite Combinations

Baby Teething Snacks

A great way to soothe your baby’s sore gums is to give them a cool melt or popsicle to help relieve teething pains.

Small snack bowl full of chunks of avocado.
avocado and egg mashed and served on a toast or baby-led weaning.
Pink plate with dried fruit on it.
Baby melts in a small bowl.

When to Serve Snacks to Baby

You can start giving your baby a snack around 9-12 months, as she starts relying more on solid food rather than breastmilk and formula to fill her up. At 12 months, most toddlers get 2-3 snacks a day- between breakfast and lunch, lunch and dinner, and sometimes after dinner if needed. But keep in mind that every child is different and may need more or less. Pay attention to your child’s cues to see if she is getting hungry in between meal times. It’s best to have a set time for snacks every day for kids since they do best on a routine.

Serving Sizes

Serving sizes will vary from child to child, but generally, toddlers need a quarter of the portion an adult does, and babies generally just need a few tablespoons. Parents tend to overestimate their children’s servings. I recommend starting small to avoid overwhelming your baby, and give seconds if your baby is giving cues. Let your baby determine how much to eat. Here are some examples of typical serving sizes for toddlers:

  • 1/4 cup dry cereal
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 banana
  • 1/4 -1/2 slice of bread
  • 1/2 egg
  • 1 oz. meat
  • 1/2 piece of fresh fruit
  • 1/3 cup of yogurt
  • 1-2 tablespoons of cooked veggies

Balanced Snacks

Try to include at least two food groups when constructing a snack to make it nutritious and filling. As a reminder, the food groups are fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy. And try to keep added sugar to a minimum. Below are some sample snacks with at least 2 food groups:

  • Yogurt and blueberries
  • Hummus and peeled cucumber spears and whole-grain pita bread
  • Peanut butter and banana
  • Cottage cheese and strawberries
  • Cheese stick and pear slices
  • Applesauce and Cheerios
  • Boiled egg and steamed carrot sticks
  • Avocado and whole grain bread

Baby Snack Containers

If you are looking to take baby’s snacks on the go or to daycare, it’s super important to have small containers that don’t leak! Here is a list of our favorite brands that have been put to the test over the years.

  • WeeSprout Glass Baby Food Storage Jars: great size for storing and serving small snacks for baby. They also make a plastic version. Some daycares do not accept glass, so make sure to get plastic if this applies to you!
  • Skip Hop Grab & Go Stackable Food Container Set: a great system that keeps the different snacks separated (so the juices of the strawberries don’t leak on the muffins) and is awesome for tossing into a diaper bag.
  • GoBe Kids Snack Spinner: a fun and interactive way for baby and toddler to try new snacks. Toddlers will especially love this snack spinner!

Tips for Healthy Baby Snacks

  • Mini Meal: try to think of snacks for baby as mini-meals so that they are a combination of carbs, protein, and fruit or veggie. When serving these mini-meals, the goal is to provide baby with enough healthy food to fuel them until their next meal or bottle.
  • Mix it Up: even if your baby has a clear preference on what they like to eat for their snacks, try to mix up their snack offerings so you are continuously opening and expanding baby’s palate.
  • Start Small: Babies and young toddlers won’t need much of a snack, just a few tablespoons should be offered of each snack item at a time. As your baby grows, so will their snack time servings. Also, babies’ and toddlers’ appetites will vary from day to day, so if a baby doesn’t want a snack one day or if they want several servings of snack the next, just remember this is completely normal.