Best Snacks for Gaming | Snacks for Gamers

Okay gamers, put on your headsets and listen up, because we are about to dive into the 11 best snacks for gaming (besides Cheetos and chopsticks, of course—that one is a given).

And when we say best snacks for gaming, we don’t mean “best snacks to eat while casually playing Mario Kart with friends on a Saturday evening,” we mean “best snacks for feverishly trying to improve your Valorant ranking at 3 a.m. on a Wednesday when you absolutely do have work at 8:30 that morning.” In other words, we chose snacks that will keep you fed, hydrated, and ready to game all through the night. These are the best snacks for gamers.

Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Nut Almond Granola Bars

Oh, Nature Valley bars. Once known as the “after school but before soccer practice bars” or the “whoops totally forgot to eat breakfast bars,” they’re in a league all their own according to the Sporked team. One could even call it a League of Legends 👀 What makes these some of the best snacks for gaming? Well first of all the Jordan Myrick stamp of approval. They called these bars “the best granola bars they’ve ever had in their life.” Why? Because they are “sweet and salty, while also packing a flavor punch of oat and almond.” Also, the almond butter coating on the bottom of the bars tastes more like frosting than it tastes like almond butter. Try these out for a clean snack that won’t get all up in your RGB keyboard.

Read the full ranking of the best granola bars

Snyder’s of Hanover Snaps

Snyders of Hanover Snaps are, according to Sporked contributor Danny Palumbo (Pennsylvania native and therefore a pretzel expert), the best pretzels out there. If you are looking for a non-greasy option to avoid getting smudges all over your brand new controllers, then these pretzels are for you. Danny called them “properly salted, crunchy but not dry, and easy to eat.” What more could you ask for in a snack you are going to absentmindedly eat an entire bag of while focused on more important things, like infiltrating your opponent’s base while also not dying?

Read the full ranking of the best pretzels

Welch’s Mixed Fruit Snacks

But Jessica, what am I supposed to snack on that’s not messy and also not salty? Don’t you worry, Princess Peach, I’ll save you! (Side note: You ever feel like that woman is super capable of saving herself and just enjoys watching Mario struggle through like 14 bajillion different worlds just to be reunited with her?) Of course, fruit snacks are among the best snacks for gaming, and Welch’s are the classic best of the best. As Jordan put it, “They are the most classic, fruit snack-y tasting fruit snacks you can possibly imagine,” and they have the perfect mix of real fruit flavor and that artificial punch every fruit snack should possess.

Read the full ranking of the best fruit snacks

Fast Fixin’ Chicken Breast Nuggets

These beautiful chicken nuggets have made it onto a few of our best-of lists. Why? Because they’re so good—rich, juicy, chicken-y, and, as Jordan put it, “shockingly flavorful.” So flavorful, in fact, that they may not even need sauce. But why eat chicken nuggets while gaming? Well, they are salty, savory, can be popped into your mouth in one bite so you don’t have to hold on to anything, and, importantly, have a significant amount of protein to keep you energized and your health meter at the maximum level for an entire night of button mashing.

JIF Creamy Peanut Butter

There are few things that can bring a person back to life quite like a spoonful of peanut butter (figuratively speaking, of course). If it’s 2 a.m. and all you need to get you through the next round is a heaping tablespoon of creamy, dreamy JIF, then by golly eat the creamy dreamy JIF. It truly is the best peanut butter out there. According to S;orked managing editor Gwynedd Stuart, it has “plenty of nutty flavor upon first bite” but then it evolves as “sweetness rears its head, along with just the right amount of saltiness.” Truly the platonic idea of PB—the favorite of choosy moms and one of the best snacks for gaming.

Read the full ranking of the best peanut butter

Frosted S’mores Pop-Tarts

Here we are again, yet another best gaming snack contender that has made its way onto several of our best snacks lists. These S’mores Pop Tarts give gamers all of the flavor, warmth, and gooey satisfaction of a real s’more, all packaged up in a self-contained pastry pocket ready for on-the-go s’moreification without s’morifying your laptop keyboard by accident. Camp out by your computer with one of these bad boys and make all those internet randos jealous.

Read the full ranking of the best Pop-Tarts flavors

GoMacro Sunny Uplift (Cherries + Berries)

Hey, guess what? Vegans can be gamers, too. In fact, a lot of the gamers I know are vegan. But just because they are vegan does not mean they can get through a whole night of gaming without a protein-packed snack. That’s where these come in. These bars from GoMacro are protein-packed, delicious, and most of all, vegan! Gwynedd said this one was the best vegan protein bar she’s tasted (and, believe me, she has tasted a lot). It’s “bursting with berry flavor” and “full of chewy dried cherries that give it a nice tart flavor.” If you are a vegan gamer (or any gamer really) and that sounds good to you, go get these and add ‘em to your stash of gaming snacks to have them at the ready.

Read the full ranking of the best vegan protein bars

Fairlife Core Power Vanilla

Yes, this is a milk product and not a Denver-based yoga gym. Brought to us by Fairlife, the ultra-filtered milk company, this vanilla protein shake apparently tastes like melted vanilla ice cream in a bottle according to Danny. It’s also low in sugar and has a whopping 26 grams of protein per bottle, so if you’re looking to drink your gamer fuel, and you’re not an energy drink person, this seems like the thick, creamy, drinkable protein for you.

PATH Still Water

I know, I know. Why is there water on the snack list? Many reasons, so hear me out. For starters, this isn’t just any water, this is Sporked’s favorite canned water (yes, there is a difference between canned water options, and, yes, this was better than Liquid Death). Secondly, this stuff has electrolytes added to it (yay health, replenish those bad bois), which also make it taste like water with the “slightest tinge of rain,” according to editor-in-chief Justine Sterling. And thems is some poetic words about water. I’m not even sure I know what a tinge of rain tastes like but now I absolutely have to try it. And, lastly, People won’t know what you are drinking and will think you are super bougie, probably. I mean look at this sleek packaging. It looks like it costs Voss money. You can intimidate your online opponents with this mystery drink that is really just sort of snazzy water.

Read the full ranking of the best canned water

Juice Monster Pipeline Punch

It wouldn’t be a list of the best snacks for gaming without at least one energy drink. If you are going to be up all night virtually thirsty for the virtual blood of your virtual enemies (no real-life bloodlust allowed in this household), then you need a boost of energy, and what better way to get that boost than to chug (or daintily sip) 160 milligrams of caffeine that taste like POG and tropical fruits, in general. Juice Monster Pipeline Punch was so good that it had Link saying “dang, dang, dang!” when he tried it on Good Mythical Morning.

Read the full ranking of the best Monster energy drink flavors

Chomps Original Beef Stick

Lastly but not leastly, every gamer snack arsenal needs a meat stick, and Chomps is the beefiest of the beef. That is to say, with their 100% grass-fed and grass-finished beef, this meat stick reminded Danny of ribeye steak and other literal cuts of beef while he was eating it. It tastes that truly beefy. So next time you need a mess-free meat stick to go with an intense night of Smash Bros, Chomps has got you covered while you simultaneously chomp your virtual enemies (or anyone else you have virtual beef with).

Related: Best Beef Sticks You Can Buy