Ranked: The best road trip snacks

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Got a long journey or road trip coming up? At some point, you’re bound to get a bit peckish, so it’s a good idea to have some good car snacks handy.

But choosing the right snacks for in the car isn’t as easy as you might think. Pick the wrong snack and you could end up with crumbs in all the seat cracks, grumpy passengers, and - worst of all - a rumbling stomach.

So before you set off on your next trip, check out our list of the top 10 best car snacks below 👇

Considerations for choosing car snacks

At Cuvva, we take car snacks very seriously - and so should you.So while you’re planning your road trip, here are some important things you should think about before you load up on treats:

  • Will it make a mess? Whether you’re driving your car or borrowing someone else’s, it’s best to choose snacks that won’t create loads of crumbs, or melt and make a mess of the seats. Unfortunately that rules chocolate and crisps out immediately.
  • How long does it need to last? When you’re going to be on the road for a couple of hours, most snacks will last the distance. But snacks with a short shelf life won’t work for longer journeys, unless you bring a cool bag along for the ride (most keep food cold for around 12 hours).
  • Is it too smelly? If you’re going to be travelling with other people, don’t take any snacks you wouldn’t take into the office. Anything that smells strongly - like fish, egg or curry - is a no-no.
  • Will it keep me going? Before you pick up a share bag of sweets, consider whether you need something a little more substantial to keep hunger pangs at bay while you’re on the road. Remember, a sugar rush only lasts so long.
  • Will it be easy to eat in the car? You don’t want to be spooning soup into your mouth when you go over a speed bump, or tucking into chicken wings without being able to wash your hands after. Make your life easier by packing snacks that are portable and easy to eat - bonus points if they’re bite-size!
Snacks are an essential part of every road trip
Snacks are an essential part of every road trip
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Top 10 best car snacks

Whether you’ve got a sweet tooth or prefer your snacks to be savoury, whether you’re ready to indulge in a tasty treat or you want to stick to healthy foods, there’s a snack for everyone in our top 10 list:

Tenth - Gummy sweets

A go-to car snack for good reason, a multipack of gummy sweets is a must for any road trip. From Haribo to Wine Gums, there are plenty of tasty flavours to choose from, and they’re almost too easy to eat.

They’re also a real crowd-pleaser if you’ve got lots of passengers, especially as you can now find halal and vegan versions of many classic gummy sweets. Just make sure you take something a bit more substantial if you’re going on a really long journey, or you might need to sleep off the sugar crash in a service station car park.

Ninth - Yoghurt pouches

Fancy something sweet, but more nutritious than actual sweets? A yoghurt is a great option, but eating a standard yoghurt with a spoon in a moving car is bound to lead to stained seats. Choose yoghurt pouches instead so you can skip the spoon and avoid any spills.

They might be small, but yoghurt is high in protein, which should keep you fuelled while you’re on the road. yoghurt pouches are also packed with calcium, and some contain probiotics that can keep your gut healthy. So if you’re looking for healthy on-the-go snacks, look no further!

Eighth - Mini sausages

Looking for a snack with plenty of protein? Pick up a pack of mini sausages - or mini veggie sausages, if you’d prefer a plant-based car snack. You’ll feel like you’re having an in-car picnic, and these bitesize snacks are easy to eat while you’re on the move.

Sure, they’re not the healthiest snack out there, but if you want a tasty treat you can’t go wrong with a mini sausage. There’s just something really moreish about them, which means you’ll probably eat the whole pack in a matter of minutes. But they won’t last long outside of the fridge, so that’s a good thing!

Seventh - Nuts

Nuts aren’t just one of the best snacks for car trips, they’re also one of the healthiest foods you can snack on full stop. Walnuts are full of Omega-3, for example, and the healthy fats in almonds can help to reduce your cholesterol levels.

Okay, the salted peanuts you pick up from the petrol station won’t have quite as many nutritional benefits. But whatever type of nut you choose, they will be easy to eat and should keep you going for a few hours. Add some sunflower seeds or dried fruits for an even tastier snack!

Sixth - Mini biscuits

As a general rule, biscuits don’t make good car trip snacks - after a few bites, you’re sure to have crumbs crushed into your seats. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a delicious biscuit in the car. Grab some bags of mini biscuits designed for kids’ lunchboxes so you can eat each biscuit in just one bite, reducing the risk of mess.

Loads of classic biscuits come in miniature form these days, and they’re good snacks to keep in the car, as they tend to have a long shelf-life. Stash a few in your glovebox so you always have something tasty to nibble on if you get hungry while you’re out and about.

Fifth - Apples

We thought long and hard about the best fruit to include in this list, and apples came out on top. Why? They’re easy to carry around, they don’t need to be kept in the fridge, and they won’t create any mess (as long as you throw away the core).

Whether you prefer a Pink Lady or a Granny Smith, take a pack of apples on your next trip so you always have some healthy car snacks to hand. Although they’re naturally sweet, they release energy slowly, and apples also have a high water content, so they’ll help to keep you hydrated during a long drive.

Don’t pack anything that crumbles or melts
Don’t pack anything that crumbles or melts

Fourth - Popcorn

A great alternative to crisps - which create too many crumbs - popcorn is one of the best snack foods for road trips. Air-popped or lightly seasoned popcorn is surprisingly healthy, as popcorn is a whole grain. And as it’s high in fibre and low in calories, a portion of popcorn will keep you fuller for longer than a portion of crisps.

Of course, popcorn doesn’t always have to be healthy. If you’re craving something sweet, there are plenty of tasty flavours to choose from, like chocolate orange and toffee apple. It’s also really easy to make your own if you don’t have time to pop to the shops before you hit the road!

Third - Rice cakes

There’s a rice cake out there to suit everyone. Fancy something sweet? Pick up some chocolate- or yoghurt-covered rice cakes. Aiming for something a bit healthier? Stock up on high-protein or salt-free rice cake snacks.

They’re also really easy to eat in the car, as they’re gone in a few bites and they’re satisfyingly crunchy without being crumbly. Rice cakes are typically low-calorie, if that’s important to you, and they’re low in fat too. Choose wholegrain rice cakes if you’re trying to stay full for longer, as they are a pretty light snack.

Second - String cheese

You might not have eaten string cheese since you had your last school lunch box, but trust us when we say that stringy cheese makes excellent travel food! As they’re designed for kids, most are free from artificial colours, flavours, and preservatives, and cheese is a great source of calcium.

Pulling the cheese apart can help pass the time when you’re stuck in traffic, and they’re really tasty too. So if you’re more into savoury snacks than sweet ones, be sure to pack some string cheese on your next trip - just keep it in a cool bag if you’ll be on the road for more than a few hours.

First - Granola bars

They’re long-lasting, super easy to eat, and really tasty - what more could you ask for in a car snack? If you’re keen for a healthy snack, it’s pretty easy to make your own granola bars from scratch.

Or you could treat yourself to a shop-bought bar with plenty of chocolate chips. Either way, the nuts, seeds, and oats in granola bars provide plenty of slow-releasing energy that should keep you going for a few hours (until you make your next snack stop).

Snack safely

Once your glove compartment’s full of tasty car snacks, it might be tempting to tuck into them straightaway, but it’s really important to snack responsibly. If you’re driving, it’s best not to snack on anything at all. Eating behind the wheel can distract you from driving, and if food goes down the wrong way the consequences could be extremely serious.

But that doesn’t mean you have to go for hours without eating. Before you set off, plan to stop at a service station so you can stretch your legs and munch on a snack (without paying service station prices!). If you’ve got a passenger with you, you could even switch places with them at this point so you can share the drive. Ask them to get insured for the rest of the drive in minutes with Cuvva, so you can spend the rest of the journey making your way through the snacks.

Does short-term car insurance cover car snacks?

Cuvva’s short-term car insurance policies are always fully comprehensive. That means you can rest assured that you’ll be covered for any damage to the car you’re driving, any damage to other people’s vehicles, and personal injury claims.

However, even a fully comprehensive policy won’t necessarily cover every possible conceivable risk - and won’t cover car snacks. So unfortunately, if you have an accident and your car snacks are damaged, you won’t be able to include them in any claim you might make.

Wherever you’re going - and whatever you’re eating on the way - Cuvva can get you there, with policies from 1 hour to 28 days starting from £11.90.

And it only takes a few minutes to get a quote.

Updated on 5th February 2025