The best gluten free travel snacks to snatch up before your next adventure.
Finding gluten free travel snacks while on the road, in the airport, or near your hotel can sometimes be challenging if there isn’t much around or you don’t know what to look for. It can be difficult and expensive to find gluten free food options in a pinch when you are hungry and stuck in the car or at the airport. Luckily, there are a bunch of convenient pre-packaged gluten free snack options that are easy to pack and will put your mind at ease when traveling.
In this post I will lay out what I consider to be the best options to take with you on your next journey across all different snack types. Crackers, pretzels, chips, popcorn, granola bars, nuts, beef jerky, candy, cookies- you name it and I’ve gathered my yummiest gluten free recommendations.
Take these recommendations with you to the grocery store before your next trip or when shopping at convenience stores on the road or in the airport!
Crackers and Pretzels
Crackers and pretzels are a no-brainer, easy gluten free snack to pack for your travels. Depending on where I am going I might pair them with hummus, cheese, or peanut butter for a more robust snack.
Cracker favorites:
- Good Thins – Hands down my favorite crackers. The veggie ones are best for pairing with cheese. If eating them on their own, the barbeque ones have the strongest flavor in my opinion.
- Simple Mills – More muted flavor which makes them a great pair with hummus or cheese.
- Cauliflower Crackers – The nacho flavor of these are probably the closest replacement to Cheez-Its that I can find off the shelf fairly easily.
- Mary’s Gone Crackers – These definitely have a more earthy taste. I suggest pairing these with something else rather than eating on their own.
Pretzel favorites:
- Snyder’s – Much like their non gluten free counterpart, Snyder’s dominates the gluten free pretzel universe too. Whether you want pretzel sticks, rods, or twists, Snyder’s has got them for you.
- Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps – This has to be one of my favorite recent gluten free additions. The texture and taste makes these a fantastic snack on their own or paired with something else.
- Quinn Peanut Butter Pretzel Nuggets – Before going gluten free, Trader Joe’s peanut butter-filled pretzel nuggets were one of my favorite snacks. These are the closest I have found to those- though there is still room for improvement on taste/texture.
Chips and Crisps
Next on the list of gluten free travel snacks are chips and crisps. Luckily, there are loads of “normal” chips that are naturally gluten free because they are either potato or corn based. I’ve additionally lumped rice crisps into this category since there are some awesome rice-based crisp brands that can also satisfy your salt cravings that you can often find around the chip aisle.
Chip favorites:
- Tortiyahs! – The exclamation mark is part of its name, but I would put it there anyways because these are my favorite chip of all time. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is you try their cantina style tortilla chip; it has the essence of a cool ranch dorito but maintains its own unique flavor.
- Lay’s Potato Chip– These speak for themselves. But watch out for the BBQ Mesquite flavor since they have been recorded to sometimes contain barley. These are great since you can buy the small bags.
- Kettle Chips – Another delicious potato chip brand among non gluten free and gluten free eaters. You can also find these in individual serving sized bags.
- Siete – These tend to run a bit more expensive, but as far as chips go these are one of your more healthy options. They use just a few, clean ingredients.
Rice Crisp favorites:
- Quaker Rice Crips – They have a variety of both salty and sweet flavors. You can find these in both family size and individually packaged portions.
- Popcorners – My favorite flavors are the Spicy Queso and Kettle Corn. I’ve noticed some airlines have started offering these as a snack option on flights so keep an eye out for them there as well.
Popcorn
Popcorn tends to be naturally gluten free so this shouldn’t be hard to shop for in the store. These are three of my favorites to keep an eye out for next time you are gluten free travel shopping.
Popcorn favorites:
- Boom Chicka Pop – You can find these in individual serving sizes. I highly recommend the Kettle Corn flavor.
- SkinnyPop – These also are sold in individual serving bags. If you like white cheddar popcorn, this should be your go-to.
- Lesser Girl – This brand is focused on making health and plant conscious-based food. The Pink Himalayan Salt flavor has a unique taste that I completely obsessed with.
Gluten Free Bars
Granola bars are a controversial topic in the gluten free universe. For those choosing gluten free as a lifestyle diet, or suffer from an intolerance you can eat most traditional granola bars and can skip down to my recommendations. For those with an allergy or Celiac Disease you have to be careful with oats.
What’s the deal with oats?
Time for a quick farming lesson! Farmers rotate crops so that the soil has a chance to replenish nutrients etc. in between growth cycles. Instead of growing the same crop over and over, they will swap out what is grown a specific area because different plants require different nutrients, etc. to grow. In the United States, it is common to rotate wheat and oat crops through the same field. When oats are grown in a field that has recently grown wheat, they become cross-contaminated and therefore unsafe for those with Celiac.
If you have Celiac and are buying something with oats, it is super important to verify that the oats were grown in a dedicated field for oats. Usually, it will say this on the packaging or in the ingredients. If not, you can assume they are not safe to eat. You can learn more about the differences between regular oats and gluten free oats here.
For this reason, most granola bars are not safe for those with Celiac Disease. Since I have Celiac, my list of bars will exclude non-Celiac safe ones since I cannot speak to those.
Gluten-Free Bars:
- Kind Nut Bars – I find that these are the most similar to traditional, oat-based bars.
- Lara Bars – There are so many flavors, you could probably eat a different flavor every day of your trip!
- That’s It – This a lighter option with the only ingredient being fruit…that’s it!
- Nature’s Bakery Fig Bars – I would say these are akin to a Nutrigrain bar (for those familar with the non-gluten free bar world). Just beware that they sell gluten versions of these in very similar packaging.
- ONE Protein Bar – These are good if you are looking to add some protein to your snack repertoire. I have taken these on flights, to festivals, and even used (rarely) as a meal substitute and can attest to how filling they are.
- RXBar – While they only contain a few ingredients, these healthy bars tend to be very filling.
- Heavenly Hunks – These are kind of a bar/cookie combo but I think their texture leans closer to a bar. Definitely a sweeter option.
Nuts and Trail Mix
Nuts/trail mix a great option for gluten free travel snacks on the road or gluten free flight snacks. They are high in fiber, protein, and healthy fats. I always pack a nut or trail mix option because they are compact and filling. Plus, they aren’t messy!
Nut favorites:
- Kar’s Trail Mix – All Kar’s products are gluten free and Kosher. If you can’t decide between a sweet or savory snack, I recommend the Sweet and Salty Trail Mix!
- Blue Diamond Salt N’ Vinegar Almonds – A great healthy alternative to salt and vinegar chips.
- Skinnydipped Almonds – A lower calorie choice if you are looking for a sweet snack. My only advice is to only eat these if you have wipes or the ability to wash your hands because the powder can be messy.
- Orchard Valley – Tasty and you can buy in individual serving sizes. If I am looking for a less sweet trail mix, I opt for the Cranberry Almond Cashew mix.
Jerky
When traveling, I sometimes struggle with finding protein that is gluten free and safe from contamination. Typically I find it difficult to find a sandwich, hamburger, or chicken nuggets. I tend to crave a protein option and have trouble just snacking off chips and crackers. For this reason, I’ve started packing jerky when I travel and it has helped tremendously to round out my travel meals.
Disclaimer: The only meats I eat are chicken and turkey, so I can’t speak to beef and pork based options but I have seen plenty of those in gas stations, airports, and grocery stores as well.
Jerky Options:
- Think Sriracha Honey Jerky Sticks – These turkey jerky sticks are life changing. The flavor and texture are incredible plus they are a lower calorie option.
- Lorissa’s Kitchen Ginger Teriyaki Jerky – This brand offers both meat strips and sticks. Primarily I have seen beef-based offerings in stores, but the Ginger Teriyaki jerky is chicken based and delicious.
- Chomp’s Turkey Sticks – Chomps offers turkey and beef based sticks and they are another healthier alternative to the big name Jerky brands.
Candy
Welcome to my favorite section of this gluten free travel snacks post: candy! I have a sweet tooth and could go on endlessly about all the best gluten free must-have snacks, but I have managed to narrow it down to my top five candy selections that you can find in almost any grocery store, airport, or gas station while traveling.
Candy Options:
- M&M’s – You can’t go wrong with a classic M&M. Most M&Ms are gluten free, though double check each flavor before buying because some are not gluten free (such as the pretzel ones).
- Sour Patch Kids – A classic gummy candy option that you can never go wrong with. Again, I always double check with specific flavors or holiday editions but for the most part these should be gluten free.
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Candy – Dare I say more? Reese’s is really good about labelling their items gluten free on the packaging. There are a lot of peanut butter cup variations that you wouldn’t expect to be gluten free that are such as their fast break bars.
- Butterfinger – I mention these because intuitively, I would not expect these to be gluten free. Plus, you can often find them all different shapes, sizes, and wrappings that they can be a good addition to gluten free road trip snack repertoire.
- Welch’s Fruit Snacks – Not exactly a candy, but wasn’t sure what other category this would fit in. Welch’s fruit snacks come in all types of flavors and sizes and I can often find these when I am traveling.
Cookies
A close runner up to candy for my favorite category are cookies. For other sweet tooths out there like me, I have the list of best packaged cookie brands.
Cookie Options:
- Gluten Free Oreos – A fairly new offering to hit grocery stores are the infamous gluten free oreos in the white packaging. Recently, they have added mint oreos to their gluten free offerings as well.
- Tate’s Bakeshop Chocolate Chip – If you like a crunchier cookie, Tate’s bakeshop has nailed their recipe down.
- Partake – Partake offers a variety of gluten free cookies in both crunch and chewy varieties.
- Kinnickkinnick Vanilla Wafers – These taste so good, I think it is hard to tell they are gluten free!
- Wow Cookies – Wow’s line of gluten free cookies includes chocolate chip, lemon burst, ginger snap, and snicker doodle among others. The one thing all these varieties have in common is their ability to melt in your mouth.
Whether it be gluten free road trip snacks, gluten free airplane snacks, or any other type of gluten free travel in between, I got you covered!
So before your next trip, refer back to these options so that you can pack some delicious, well-rounded gluten free travel snacks before your next trip! And if there are any you think I need to add to this list- drop a comment!
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