By / Last Modified On August 27, 2023
We know how discouraging it can sometimes feel to find gluten-free snacks for kids. You want them to tick all the boxes: tasty, affordable, and easy to make if homemade.
Well, we’re here to help! This guide to the best gluten-free snacks for kids includes both store-bought and homemade options. We’ve even broken them down into categories to make life easier.
Now, having kids that require a gluten-free diet is no longer so daunting. Your kids will be in gluten-free snack heaven!
Gluten-Free Bars for Kids
This gluten-free foods list for kids is for those who love a granola bar in their lunchbox every day.
Annie's Gluten-Free Chewy Granola Bars
You will soon realize that when it comes to store-bought gluten-free kid snacks, we love Annie’s selection of treats. Take these Oatmeal Cookie Gluten-Free Chewy Granola Bars, for example. They’re certified gluten-free, made with organic ingredients, include whole grains, and taste just like oatmeal cookies.
Clif Kid ZBar
Did you know that Clif offers a range of protein bars just for kids? The Clif Kid ZBar range includes chocolate chip, chocolate mint, and cookies ‘n creme protein bars. Made with organic rolled oats, each bar contains five grams of protein. Clif promises that the crispy kid-friendly texture “can satisfy even the pickiest of eaters at lunchtime.” Is that music to your ears?
Gluten-Free Granola Bars
If you’d prefer to make your own granola bars, check out our gluten-free granola bar recipe. They’re packed full of delicious ingredients like oatmeal, dried currants and cranberries, nut crumbs, and cinnamon.
ZEEK Bar
Zeek Bar offers Kids’ Protein Bars in Brownie Blast Off and Cosmic Cookie Dough flavors. They’re made with 50% less sugar than leading granola bars and include whole ingredients like tapioca flour, almond butter, chocolate chips, honey, cocoa, and gluten-free oats. With eight grams of protein and six grams of fiber, they’re the perfect snack to fuel active kids and keep them feeling fuller for longer.
Gluten-Free Chickpea Snacks for Kids
Below, you’ll find two of our preferred gluten-free chickpea snacks for kids.
BIENA Chickpea Snacks
We know your children might be skeptical about trying roasted chickpeas. But once they give BIENA Chickpea Snacks a go, we bet they’ll be won over.
These gluten-free snacks are vegan, grain-free, dairy-free, and nut-free. They also include four to six grams of plant-based protein and five to six grams of fiber per serving.
You can pick up a variety pack that includes the following fun flavors:
- Barbecue
- Habanero
- Honey Roasted
- Lil’ Bit of Everything
- Ranch
- Sea Salt
Hippeas Chickpea Puffs
If chickpeas in their original form scare your kids, try Hippeas Chickpea Puffs. They’ll never know these gluten-free puffs are made with chickpeas. While they might be vegan, the puffs are coated in a faux cheese flavor that makes them taste similar to Cheetos. In fact, Hippeas is one of our top recommendations for gluten-free alternatives to Cheetos.
Gluten-Free Crackers for Kids
When it’s cracker time, turn to these gluten-free options.
Gluten-Free Goldfish
No, your kids don’t need to miss out on iconic Goldfish crackers, thanks to our homemade Goldfish recipe. They’re crispy, cheesy, and made with simple ingredients. Get out the fish cookie cutter, and we bet your children will want to help make them alongside you.
Related: If you’re looking for even more gluten-free foods for kids that you can make with them at home, check out our recommendation for the best gluten-free cookbook for kids.
Pamela’s Gluten-Free Honey Graham Crackers
You have two choices when it comes to gluten-free graham crackers alternatives.
First, make them at home with our recipe for gluten-free graham crackers. Second, head straight to Amazon and buy a box of Pamela’s Honey Graham Crackers. When it comes to gluten-free graham cracker brands, we think these win the prize for best flavor.
Simple Mills Almond Flour Crackers
Simple Mills calls these Almond Flour Farmhouse Cheddar Crackers a “better-for-you” version of Cheez-It Crackers. They’re made with real cheese and a nut and seed blend that includes almonds, sunflower seeds, and flax seeds. You’ll also find that they’re certified gluten-free, grain-free (therefore paleo-friendly), plant-based, and corn-free.
Sensible Portions Garden Veggie Straws
Most people have heard of Garden Veggie Straws and the good news is, they’re a great and healthy gluten-free alternative to potato chips. The ingredients include potato starch and flour combined with dehydrated garden vegetables like spinach, bell pepper, and carrot.
Gluten-Free Cookies for Kids
If cookies are your kids' snack of choice, we have lots of gluten-free options for you.
Annie’s Bunny Grahams
This is one of our favorite gluten-free toddler snacks, because what kid doesn’t like to nibble on little gluten-free cocoa and vanilla bunny-shaped cookies?
As the name suggests, Annie’s Bunny Grahams are graham cracker-style snacks, just cuter (and certified organic). Another option is Annie’s Organic Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites for bite-sized chocolate chip goodness.
Related: Here’s an alternative if you’d prefer homemade gluten-free chocolate chip cookies.
Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
Peanut butter cookies are one of our favorite gluten-free treats for kids. We love this gluten-free peanut butter cookie recipe because it’s easy to follow and if you’re a gluten-free baker, we bet you already have most of the ingredients at home. They pair a rich peanut butter flavor with a satisfying crunch!
Glutino Gluten-Free Chocolate Vanilla Creme Cookies
These Glutino cookies are our top pick for the best gluten-free alternative to Oreos. Your kids won’t be able to tell the difference, as they include decadent gluten-free chocolate cookies with a vanilla cream center.
Tate’s Gluten-Free Cookies
If you’re already a fan of Tate’s award-winning cookies, we have good news. They have a range of gluten-free cookies made with rice flour in a dedicated gluten-free facility. The company is recognized by the Celiac Support Association and says that its products test at 5 ppm of gluten or lower. FYI: the FDA says a product must test below 20 ppm of gluten to be labeled gluten-free.
For the kids, we bet they won’t turn down the Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies or the Gluten-Free Ginger Zinger Cookies.
Gluten-Free Fruit-Flavored Snacks for Kids
Here are some gluten-free snack ideas for kids when you want them to pack a fruity punch.
Annie’s Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks
Who said gluten-free kids’ snacks couldn’t be fun? With Annie’s Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks, they can nibble on some cute gluten-free snacks in multiple shapes and flavors: Summer Strawberry, Berry Patch, and Bees, Bugs, and Butterflies. They contain no artificial flavors or synthetic colors. They’re also certified organic, vegetarian, and gelatin-free.
GoGo squeeZ Fruit on the Go
If you’re looking for gluten-free dairy-free snacks for kids, you must try these GoGo squeeZ Fruit on the Go pouches. As the name suggests, they’re the perfect healthy snack for when you’re on the go and they’re free from all nine major allergens. In fact, the Apple Apple variety contains just three ingredients: apple, apple puree concentrate, and lemon juice concentrate.
Here are the other available flavors:
- Apple Banana Mango
- Apple Banana Strawberry
- Apple Cinnamon
- Apple Peach
- Tropical Variety Pack (with Apple Mango Guava and Apple Pineapple Passionfruit).
Seneca Apple Chips
Dehydrated apples are a great gluten-free kid snack, and thanks to Seneca, you can buy them in bulk.
You can pick up both Original Apple Chips and Cinnamon Apple Chips. Either way, they’re made with 100% Red Delicious apples from the Yakima Valley in Washington State. They’re sliced and then crisped to perfection “for unbeatable real apple flavor/crisp texture.”
Stretch Island Fruit Leather Snacks
Fruit Leather is another great fruit-based gluten-free snack, as it contains no added sugar and no artificial colors or flavors.
Pick up a variety pack and get 50 in an assortment of flavors, including cherry, apple, raspberry, grape, strawberry, and apricot.
Gluten-Free Pretzels for Kids
One of our top gluten-free snacks, in general, is pretzels. Fortunately, Glutino has a comprehensive gluten-free pretzel range. For kids, we recommend the snack packs of their Gluten-Free Pretzel Twists. For a more indulgent snack, you can’t go wrong with the Yogurt Covered Pretzels. Any child (or adult!) with a gluten sensitivity will surely enjoy these snacks.
Related: Turn gluten-free pretzels into an even better treat with this gluten-free Chex Mix recipe.
Homemade Gluten-Free Snacks for Kids
While we’ve included some homemade recipes above, here are even more naturally gluten-free snack ideas for kids that you can prepare at home:
- Ants on a log: celery sticks filled with nut butter with raisins dotted on top.
- Apple slices with nut butter
- Fruit with yogurt
- Fruit cups
- Dried fruit
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Rice cakes with nut butter or cream cheese
- Nuts
- Popcorn
- Sweet potato fries
- Trail mix
- Veggie sticks with hummus
Which Gluten-Free Snacks Are Good for Kids’ Parties?
Here are our top recommendations for store-bought and homemade gluten-free birthday treats for school and kids’ parties.
Savory
- BBQ meatballs
- Gluten-free chicken nuggets
- Gluten-free corn dogs
- Kid-friendly charcuterie board, with cheese, meat, hummus, veggie sticks, rice crackers, and the Simple Mills crackers mentioned above.
- Pirate's Booty Cheese Puffs
- Popcorn
Sweet
- Chocolate cake donuts
- Fruit skewers: just thread the fresh fruit of your choice onto wooden skewers. But you get bonus points if you use different-colored fruit.
- Gluten-free birthday cake
- Ice cream sundae bar. Set up different ice cream flavors with gluten-free toppings like chopped nuts, chocolate sauce, mini marshmallows, and sprinkles. You can even make your own gluten-free ice cream.
- Vanilla cupcakes
The Options of Gluten-Free Snacks for Kids are Endless
We hope this list of gluten-free snacks for kids helps you on your next shopping trip. Whether you’re looking for store-bought or homemade treats, there’s something for every gluten-free child, whether they have celiac disease or any other gluten intolerance.
But if you want to leave the shopping to someone else, we highly recommend these gluten-free snack subscription boxes. Get gluten-free cookies, macaroons, and jerky delivered directly to your door.
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