Best Snacks for Lunch

There are many categories of snacks in the world, like work snacks, game day snacks, road trip snacks––you get the picture. Today we’re talking about lunch snacks, which I view as snacks that serve as nice accompaniments to one’s lunch or things you can use to cobble together an entirely snack-based lunch. Snacks are an essential part of a balanced lunch, and by “balanced lunch” I mean a lunch that consists of so many fun things to take bites of that it’s impossible to get bored. Let’s dig in.

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NatureSweet Cherubs

Grape tomatoes are cute, healthy additions to any lunch. Halve them and they work well on sandwich, or keep them intact and toss them on a salad. Putting a few of these in a reusable baggie in the morning is quick and easy, even when you’re short on time. I usually spring for NatureSweet brand because their tomatoes are always perfectly ripe and so pleasantly sweet. They make consuming veggies with lunch a treat rather than a chore. 

Sargento Balanced Breaks Cheese & Crackers

Listen, I’ll be honest. I’ve stolen quite a few of these from my mom on my work-from-home days. They’re kind of like Ritz Bits for grownups—they even come with little Ritz crackers! These little packs also include slices of both pepper jack and colby jack cheeses, which help add a bit of variety and spice (literally) to your lunch. The only thing I wish they did differently is include a few more crackers—the cheese-to-cracker ratio always feels a little off to me—but, at the same time, too much cheese is never a bad thing, right?

Primo Taglio Genoa Salame & Provolone Cheese Snack Pack

If it doesn’t include deli meat and cheese, is it even lunch? This snack pack is really convenient because, much like the aforementioned Balanced Breaks, you can just pull one out of the fridge along with your lunch and you’re good to go. This pack would pair well with a salad or anything you’d like to add an extra salty kick to. Snack packs for the win!

Quaker Everything Rice Cakes

In managing editor Gwynedd Stuart’s ranking of the best rice cakes, she reinforced what some of us have long known: rice cakes are pretty good, especially when they’re flavored. They’re also a great healthy snack choice for lunchtime. Gwynedd placed Quaker Everything rice cakes in the top spot, and it’s an excellent choice. Why choose just one flavor when you can get salt, garlic, onion, and sesame seed all in one snack? She noted that these Quaker cakes are coated in a finely milled everything-flavored power that is “ground up real good so it really infiltrates all the crannies in the cake.” You’ll definitely catch me sliding one of these onto my plate come lunchtime.

Oikos Blended Greek Yogurt

If it’s Tuesday and you’re having tacos for lunch, greek yogurt is a great snack to have on standby in the fridge. As a lactose-sensitive person, I will implode if I even look at sour cream, but greek yogurt isn’t as gloopy and is usually a safe bet. If you’re like me, I recommend grabbing a little cup of greek yogurt and eating it with your tacos in place of sour cream. You can top them or dip them—we’re not judging—but plain greek yogurt is the way. Even if you’re not having a savory lunch, plain greek yogurt makes a great snack with berries and granola for a mini yogurt bowl. Oikos Blended Greek Yogurt is the entry-level contender that Sporked editor-in-chief Justine Sterling recommends in her best Greek yogurt ranking. She emphasized that it’s not huge on tang, which to us screams versatility, baby.

Sprouts Market Corner Low Moisture String Cheese

The ultimate lunch snack is—surprise!—string cheese! String cheese has the ability to enhance most any lunch because it pairs well with so many things. You’ve got your fruit and cheese, your meat and cheese, your crackers and cheese—string cheese does it all. In her best string cheese ranking, senior staff writer Jordan Myrick put Sprouts string cheese in the top spot because of its expert pliability. This string cheese also has a perfect balance of salt that was hard to come by in the other string cheeses from the tasting. If you’re springing for string cheese as your lunch side, you may want to stop by Sprouts.