When there are food allergies in your family, finding allergy-free snacks isn’t always easy. Instead of spending time standing in the grocery store, read our allergy-free snacks list of 32 ideas that are free from the top 8 allergens and perfect for back-to-school lunches.
In the U.S. companies are supposed to clearly list on the label if a product contains one of the top 8 allergens. The most common food allergies are:
This list contains allergen-free snacks, but companies sometimes change ingredients or may begin processing other products that contain allergens in the same facility. Always double-check the label to look for changes, and when in doubt, you can contact the manufacturer with questions.
What Does It Mean to be Allergen Free?
Being "allergen-free" means that a snack or food product is formulated without the inclusion of common allergens that can trigger allergic reactions in sensitive individuals. Allergy-free snacks are designed to be safe for those with food allergies, offering peace of mind when you eat.
They go a step further to ensure cross-contamination risks are minimized, making such treats suitable for almost anyone. The best allergen-free snacks deliver both safety and taste, making them a staple in your pantry.
The Top 8 Most Common Food Allergies
Dealing with food allergies can feel frustrating. But finding safe and delicious allergy-free snacks to eat in their place isn’t as challenging as you might think. Here are alternatives for the top 8 most common food allergens:
Milk
Those with a milk allergy can find solace in the wide range of plant-based milks available today. Almond, oat, and coconut milk are excellent substitutes, each offering a unique flavor profile suitable for cereal, coffee, or smoothies. This makes them perfect components for allergen-free snacks.
Wheat
For individuals allergic to wheat, alternative grains such as quinoa, rice, and buckwheat offer nutritious and versatile options. These grains work well in salads, as sides, or in gluten-free baking recipes and also enhance your variety of allergy-friendly snacks.
Eggs
Chia or flax seeds soaked in water can mimic the binding properties of eggs in baking. Avocado and banana also serve as great substitutes in different recipes. They can expand your allergy-free snacks list with more wholesome choices.
Peanuts
Sunflower seed butter and pumpkin seed butter provide a similar creamy texture and nutty taste for those avoiding peanuts. They're excellent in sandwiches or as dips, adding to some of the best allergen-free snacks for both adults and children.
Tree Nuts
For those avoiding tree nuts, seeds like hemp, flax, and chia offer a safe and nutritious alternative. These can be sprinkled over yogurt or blended into smoothies to create allergen-friendly snacks that are both satisfying and nutritious.
Fish
For a source of omega-3 fatty acids without the fish, flaxseeds, chia seeds, and walnuts are ideal. They can be easily incorporated into your diet, ensuring that you don't miss out on essential nutrients while searching for allergy-free snacks.
Shellfish
Individuals with shellfish allergies can explore alternative protein sources like lentils, beans, and tofu. These substitutes are not only rich in protein but also fiber, making them excellent staples in allergen-free snacks and meals.
Soy
Soy allergies require a bit of creativity with substitutes such as almond butter for soy butter and coconut aminos for soy sauce. These alternatives help maintain the flavor in your dishes and are perfect for if you’re compiling an allergy-friendly snacks list.
The Best Allergen-Free Snacks
Whether it's for the classroom, lunchbox, or home, the allergen-free snacks list below offers a variety of tasty and worry-free choices for kids and parents alike. From breakfast treats to savory and sweet options, these allergy-free snacks ensure that all kids can enjoy delicious treats without the concern of getting sick.
Allergy-Free Breakfast Snacks
1. Safe + Fair Granola
Safe + Fair’s manufacturing facilities are free from the top 9 allergens. Their Honeycrisp Apple Pie Granola is made with real apple pieces and oats for a delicious sweet allergy-free snack that tastes just like apple pie.
2. Enjoy Life Breakfast Ovals
Free of the top 14 allergens, these breakfast ovals are a great option for those rushed mornings while getting in the groove of being back to school. These allergen-free snacks are made with rolled oats, bananas, and semisweet chocolate chips.
3. Zego Seed and Fruit Bar
Plant-based and allergy-friendly, the Zego Seed+Fruit bars have 6 grams of protein and 8% of your daily iron needs. The fudgy chocolate flavor is made with 70% dark chocolate chips to give them a deliciously rich flavor.
4. Surf Sweets Organic Fruity Bears
Surf Sweets fruity bears are made with organic fruit juice and free of the top 10 most common allergens. Each pouch of these allergy-free snacks has just 45 calories.
5. Libre Naturals Vanilla Cinnamon Protein Bar
The vanilla cinnamon protein bar by libre naturals comes with a crispy and chewy texture. It contains 10 grams of vegan-based protein and is free from the top 10 allergens.
6. Made Good Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
Nothing beats a classic like chocolate chip granola bars as the perfect treat for back-to-school lunches. Made Good granola bars are not only allergen-free, but they also add a hidden serving of vegetables to add more vitamins and minerals.
Savory Allergy-Friendly Snacks
7. SunButter Sunflower Butter
Keeping a school free of peanuts takes away the classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich. But SunButter’s Sunflower Butter is a perfect substitute for those sandwiches. Each serving of these allergen-free snacks has 7 grams of plant-based protein.
8. Skinny Pop Popcorn
Made with just popcorn, sunflower, and salt, the original Skinny Pop Popcorn is a perfect allergy-friendly snack. Available in both larger bags for sharing and mini single-serving bags.
9. Safe + Fair Hickory BBQ Pea Protein Chips
The pea protein chips by Safe + Fair are loaded with 9 grams of plant-based protein in each serving. They are certified both vegan and kosher. These allergy-free snacks are also available in sea salt and sweet jalapeno flavors.
10. Ka-POP! Super Grain Chips
Ka-Pop! products are free from the top 12 allergen foods. Their super grain chips are perfectly crunchy and available in rosemary garlic, dairy-free cheddar, salt & vinegar, olive oil & sea salt, and red & green sriracha flavors.
11. Quaker Lightly Salted Rice Cakes
Rice cakes make for really diverse allergen-free snacks for kids. These lightly salted rice cakes are back with just brown rice and salt. Dress them up with sunflower seed butter for a delicious and filling snack.
12. Chomps Beef Jerky Sticks
The original beef sticks by Chomps are made with 100% Grass-Fed and Finished Beef and certified 100% non-GMO. Our original flavor first made us popular for its delicious, slightly smokey, and a little bit spicy flavor.
Don’t forget to try our other flavors like the jalapeno beef, sea salt beef, and Italian style beef chomplings.
13. SUPERSEEDZ Pumpkin Seeds
The SUPERSEEDZ pumpkin seeds come in sea salt, somewhat spicy, and cinnamon & sugar flavors with 8 grams of protein per serving. Available in 5-ounce bags to share or 1-ounce bags perfect for packing into lunch boxes.
Sweet Allergen-Free Snacks
14. Cybele’s Free to Eat Cookies
These soft-baked cookies make for a tasty back-to-school snack. They are allergy-free snacks and contain no artificial preservatives. The cookies come in confetti, chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, chocolate chunk, and oatmeal raisin flavors.
15. Better Bites Bakery
The Better Bites Bakery Cake Bites come in vanilla, double chocolate, and strawberry flavors, all dipped in chocolate. These classroom-friendly allergen-free snacks are a delicious birthday treat to send with your kid to school.
16. Free2b Dark Chocolate Mint Cups
The free2b dark chocolate mint cups are certified vegan and allergy-friendly snacks. They provide 4 grams of fiber and 16% of daily iron needs. Like the mint cups? You can also try their dark chocolate sun cups made with sunflower butter and dark chocolate.
17, FreeYumm Crunchy Chocolate Bites
FreeYumm’s Crunchy Chocolate Bites are made with just chocolate, quinoa, brown rice, and Himalayan salt. Their products are made in a dedicated bakery to keep the facility clean from the top 9 allergens.
18. Made Good Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies
Soft, chewy, and made with vegan dark chocolate, the Made Good Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies are both delicious and allergy-friendly.
These allergen-friendly snacks are also available in snickerdoodle, red velvet, double chocolate, not nut butter, chocolate banana, and apple cinnamon flavors.
19. No Whey Pea Not Cups
The No Whey Pea Not Cups are filled with sunflowers and made with milkless chocolate. These are certified vegan, free of the top 8 allergens, and perfect allergy-free snacks for the classic peanut butter cups.
20. Partake Foods Soft Baked Cookie Butter Cookies
These sweet, buttery, and perfectly spiced foods by Partake are everything you want in a snack without the top allergens. They are also available in chocolate chip and triple chocolate flavors.
21. All Free Bakery Brownie Bites
The All Free Bakery brownie bites are school-safe and allergen-friendly. Once thawed, the brownie bites will stay good for 30 days. These allergen-friendly snacks are available in double chocolate chip, sea salt caramel, and s’mores flavors.
22. Enjoy Life Crunchy Cookies
The Crunchy Cookies from Enjoy Life are made with buckwheat flour, which is naturally gluten-free. These delicious crisp cookies are available in chocolate chip and double chocolate flavors.
Allergy-Free Snacks for Lunch Boxes
23. 88 Acres Sunflower Seed Butter
The 88 Acres Seed Butter is a perfect alternative to nut butter and safe for your kid to take with them back to school. Try their original sunflower seed butter, get a sample pack to try the pumpkin and watermelon seed butter as well.
24. Chomps Turkey Chomplings
With just 35 calories and loaded with 5 grams of protein, the Turkey Chomplings make delicious allergen-free snacks. You can always trust that Chomp’s products are allergen-free because we are committed to eliminating the guesswork to make allergen-free snacking easy.
Our mini turkey meat sticks are the perfect size for adding to your kid’s lunch box.
25. Go-Go Squeez Fruit Pouches
Packed with a delicious blend of fruit, your kids will love having these fruit pouches as allergy-free snacks in school. They have ten flavor combinations available to keep your kid’s taste buds entertained through the whole year.
26. Trader Joe’s Soft Baked Cookie
Trader Joe’s Soft Baked Snickerdoodles are free of the 8 common allergens and deliciously chewy.
27. Crispy Green Dried Fruit
Is your kid tired of opening their lunch box to see brown apple slices? The freeze dried apples from Crispy Green are prepared when they are perfectly ripe and last for years in the pantry. So, you don’t have to worry about these allergy-free snacks bruising or turning brown during the school year.
28. Perfectly Free Fruit Bites
The fruit bites by Perfectly Free contain half a serving of fruit in every poach with half of the sugar of leading fruit snacks. Easy to grab for on-the-go snacking and will become a quick lunch box staple the next school year.
29. 88 Acres Berry Blend Seed Bar
Berry Blend Seed Bars from 88 Acres are delicious allergen-free snacks to pack in lunches and contain 5 grams of protein. The bars come in six different flavors, so there is sure to be one everyone in the family will love.
30. Spudsy Sweet Potato Puffs
The vegan cheesy cheddar sweet potato puffs are a healthier version of cheese puffs. They are free of the top 8 allergens and made from a blend of rice flour, pea protein, sweet potato, and tapioca. The puffs are available in 5 flavors total and can come in variety packs so you can try each flavor.
31. Enjoy Life Seed and Fruit Mix
Enjoy Life’s seed and fruit mix is available in grab & go sizes perfect for school-safe allergy-free snacks. They are made with sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, fruit, and dairy-free chocolate chips.
32. BFree Kids Sweet Wraps
BFree foods are all free of the top allergens. These sweet potato and banana wraps help to support kids’ digestive health and provide powerful antioxidants. The Kids Sweet Wraps are perfect for the lunch box or as part of your kids’ after school allergy-free snacks.
The Bottom Line
Allergen-free snacks can be difficult to find, but some brands are committed to making snacking with allergies easier. You can count on Chomps products to stay allergy-friendly.
While this list is full of allergy-friendly snacks, be sure to double-check other products when purchasing for changes in ingredients or production.
Interested in exploring Chomps’ variety of meat sticks? Check out our full collection of meat snacks to supplement a healthy diet.
