List of snack foods facts for kids

Light snacks in Azerbaijan

Fried snacks in Myanmar

This is a list of snack foods in alphabetical order by type and name. A snack is a small portion of food eaten between meals. This may be a snack food, such as potato chips or baby carrots, but can also simply be a small amount of any food.

Batter and dough-based

Many cultures have dishes that are prepared by cooking batter and deep frying dough in many various forms.

Name	Image	Origin	Description
Bitterballen		Netherlands	A round shaped beef-ragout version of croquette, typically containing a mixture of beef or veal (minced or chopped), beef broth, butter, flour for thickening, parsley, salt and pepper, resulting in a thick ragout. Most recipes include nutmeg and there are also variations utilizing curry powder or that add in finely chopped vegetables such as carrot.
Bonda		South India	Various sweet and spicy versions of exist different regions. The process of making a spicy bonda involves deep-frying potato (or other vegetables) filling dipped in gram flour batter.
Cereal		United States	A food made from processed grains that is often eaten cold, usually mixed with milk (e.g. cow's milk, soy milk, rice milk, almond milk), juice, water, or yogurt, sugar, and sometimes fruit, but may be eaten dry.
Cokodok		Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore	A traditional Malaysian fritter snack that is made with flour and banana, and is fried. It is usually round in shape and tends to vary in size.
Cracker nuts		Japan	A snack food produced with peanuts that are coated in a wheat flour dough and then fried or deep-fried
Crêpe		France	A type of very thin pancake, usually made from wheat flour (crêpes de Froment) or buckwheat flour (galettes). The word is of French origin, deriving from the Latin crispa, meaning "curled".
Croquette		Spain	A Spanish invention with worldwide popularity, a croquette is a small breadcrumbed fried food roll containing, usually as main ingredients, mashed potatoes and/or ground meat (veal, beef, chicken, or turkey), shellfish, fish, cheese, vegetables and mixed with béchamel or brown sauce, and soaked white bread, egg, onion, spices and herbs, wine, milk, beer or any of the combination thereof, sometimes with a filling, e.g. sauteed onions or mushrooms, boiled eggs (Scotch eggs).
Doughnut		Netherlands	A fried dough snack popular in most parts of the world
Gulha		South Asia	A popular snack in Maldives
Khanom buang		Thailand	A snack sold by street vendors in Thailand
Pakora		India	A fried snack (fritter) found across South Asia
Pancakes		Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome	Flat, soda-leavened semi-sweet cake made with egg and flour. In the United States, pancakes are typically eaten at breakfast with syrup, fruit and yogurt.
Parippu Vada		Kerala (India)	Traditional dal fritters
Pazham Pori		Kerala (India)	Traditional banana fritters
Pizza		Naples, Italy	Flat bread with meat, vegetable and/or cheese toppings. Pizza is often eaten as pizza by the slice, "mini pizza" or "pizza baguette," and is often sold by the slice or by weight
Poffertjes		Netherlands	A traditional Dutch batter treat
Pretzel, soft		German Italian-American	A traditional baked treat
Tele-bhaja (chop)		India, Bangladesh	Bengali fritters; a famous deep-fried snack made with vegetables and besan
Uzhunnu Vada		Indian subcontinent	Popular in South Indian states like Kerala, Tamilnadu and Karnataka
Waffle		Belgium	A batter-based or dough-based cake cooked in a waffle iron patterned to give a characteristic size, shape and surface impression. There are many variations based on the type of iron and recipe used, with over a dozen regional varieties in Belgium alone.

Confectionery

Confectionery is related to food items that are rich in sugar and often referred to as confections. Confectionery refers to the art of creating sugar based dessert forms, or subtleties (subtlety or sotelty), often with pastillage.

Name	Image	Origin	Description
Brittle			A type of confection consisting of flat broken pieces of hard sugar candy embedded with nuts such as pecans, almonds, or peanuts. Pictured is peanut brittle cracked on a serving dish
Imli Candy		India	A type of confection made with traditional spicy sour treat made with tamarind, jaggery, Chili and curry leaves. Made by hand in small rural kitchens.
Bubblegum		United States	A type of chewing gum, designed to be inflated out of the mouth as a bubble. As with chewing gum, the product is made from chicle and is available in various flavors.
Candy			Also known as "lollies", many diverse candies exist, which include (but is not limited to) candy cane, candy corn, gumdrop, gummi bear, gummi candy, jawbreaker, jelly baby, jelly bean, licorice (also spelled liquorice), lollipop, rock candy and taffy.
Chocolate			Chocolate has been used as a drink for nearly all of its history, and has become one of the most popular food types and flavors in the world. Sweet chocolate such as milk chocolate and dark chocolate are typically eaten as a snack food, as opposed to unsweetened chocolate, which contains primarily cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions.
Chocolate bar			A confection in bar form comprising some or all of the following components: cocoa solids, cocoa butter, sugar, milk. The relative presence or absence of these components form the subclasses of dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate.
Chocolate rugelach		Jewish	Prepared with a cream cheese dough and a filling consisting of chocolate, jam (or jelly) and cinnamon. The addition of raisins and nuts and raisins is also common.
Chocolate truffle		France	A type of chocolate confectionery, traditionally made with a chocolate ganache centre coated in chocolate, icing sugar, cocoa powder or chopped toasted nuts (typically hazelnuts, almonds or coconut), usually in a spherical, conical, or curved shape. Other fillings may replace the ganache.
Fudge		United States	Typically sweet and rich, it's prepared by mixing sugar, butter, and milk, heating it to the soft-ball stage at 240 °F (116 °C) and then beating the mixture while it cools so that it acquires a smooth, creamy consistency. Many variations exist with other flavorings added, such as chocolate.
Geplak		Indonesia	Made from equal parts coarsely grated coconut and sugar, in equal amounts, often colored brightly. Other variations exist.
Grass jelly		China	A jelly-like dessert prepared by boiling the aged and slightly oxidized stalks and leaves of Mesona chinensis (member of the mint family) with potassium carbonate for several hours with a little starch and then cooling the liquid to a jelly-like consistency.
Marshmallow			In its modern form, typically consists of sugar and/or corn syrup, water, and gelatin, whipped to a spongy consistency and coated with corn starch. Marshmallow probably came first into being as a medicinal substance, since the mucilaginous extracts comes from the root of the marshmallow plant, Althaea officinalis, which were used as a remedy for sore throats. Concoctions of other parts of the marshmallow plant had medical purposes as well.
Marzipan			Consisting primarily of sugar or honey and almond meal, sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. Pictured is marzipan made into the shapes of fruits.
Nougat			A variety of similar traditional confectioneries made with sugar and/or honey, roasted nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, and recently macadamia nuts are common), whipped egg whites, and sometimes chopped candied fruit.
Panforte		Italy	A traditional Italian dessert containing fruits and nuts, and resembles fruitcake or Lebkuchen. It may date back to 13th century Siena, in Italy's Tuscany region. Its preparation includes baking a mixture of sugar dissolved in honey, various nuts, fruits and spices and flour. The finished cake is dusted with icing sugar.
Pudding			Most often refers to a dessert, but can also be a savory dish. Depending on its ingredients such a pudding may be served as a part of the main course or as a dessert.
Rice Krispie treats		United States	A sweet dessert or snack made from Rice Krispies, melted butter or margarine, and melted marshmallows. Sometimes marshmallows and/or cereal that is seasonal is used to make these treats holiday-specific.
S'mores		United States	A traditional nighttime campfire treat popular in the United States and Canada consisting of a roasted marshmallow and a layer of chocolate sandwiched between two pieces of graham cracker.
Toffee			Made by caramelizing sugar or molasses (creating inverted sugar) along with butter, and occasionally flour. Toffee is sometimes prepared with nuts or raisins.
Turkish delight		Turkey	A family of confections based on a gel of starch and sugar. Premium varieties consist largely of chopped dates, pistachios and hazelnuts or walnuts bound by the gel; the cheapest are mostly gel, generally flavored with rosewater, mastic, bergamot orange or lemon.

Cookies, cakes and pastries

Cookies

Name	Image	Origin	Description
Arrowroot			Arrowroot used to be very popular in British cuisine, and Napoleon supposedly said the reason for the British love of arrowroot was to support the commerce of their colonies. It can be consumed in the form of biscuits, puddings, jellies, cakes, hot sauces, and also with beef tea, milk or veal broth, and noodles in Korean and Vietnamese cuisine.
Chebakia		Morocco	A sesame cookie that is fried and covered with honey. They're typically shaped as a flower.
Chocolate chip cookie			A drop cookie that originated in the United States and features chocolate chips as its distinguishing ingredient.
Cookie			In the United States, Canada and Australia a cookie is a small, flat, baked treat, usually containing fat, flour, eggs and sugar. In Scotland, a cookie is a plain bun. In most English-speaking countries outside North America, including the United Kingdom, the most common word for a small, flat, baked treat, usually containing fat, flour, eggs and sugar is biscuit, however in many regions both terms are used, such as the American-inspired Maryland Cookies, while in others the two words have different meanings. Pictured are butter cookies.
Ginger snaps			A globally popular biscuit based snack food, flavored with ginger.
Graham crackers		Invented in Bound Brook, New Jersey by Sylvester Graham	The original graham cracker was made with graham flour, a combination of finely-ground unbleached-wheat flour with the wheat bran and germ coarsely-ground and added back in providing nutrition and flavor.
Oatmeal cookie			Cookies prepared with oatmeal. Raisins and other ingredients such as chocolate chips are also sometimes used.
Peanut butter cookie		United States	A type of cookie that is distinguished by having peanut butter as a principal ingredient. The cookie generally originated in the United States, its development dating back to the 1910s.

Cakes

Name	Image	Origin	Description
Gansito		Mexico	A Mexican snack cake that is filled with both strawberry jelly and a creamy filling. They are covered in chocolate and have a chocolate sprinkle topping. It was created in 1957 by Marinela (the pastries division of the breadmaking Bimbo brand).
Jaffa Cakes		Scotland	Introduced by McVitie and Price in 1927 and named after Jaffa oranges, and now manufactured by numerous companies including McVities, Cadbury and other biscuit manufacturers, Tesco and other supermarket chains.
Snack cake			A baked dessert confectionery made with cake and icing.

Pastries

Name	Image	Origin	Description
Churros			Sometimes referred to as a Spanish doughnut, it's a fried-dough pastry, predominantly choux, based snack. Churros are popular in Spain, Italy, France, the Philippines, Portugal, Central America, South America and the United States. Pictured are churros drizzled with chocolate.
Fairy bread
Fruit bun
Pastry			Pictured is a profiterole, also known as a cream puff.
Scones
Snack pie
Toaster pastry

Drinks

Name	Image	Origin	Description
Amazake		Japan	A traditional sweet, low- or non-alcohol (depending on recipes) Japanese drink made from fermented rice. Amazake dates from the Kofun period, and it is mentioned in the Nihon Shoki, the second oldest book of classical Japanese history.
Atole
Coffee		Ethiopia; southern Arabia	A beverage prepared from the dried seeds (known as coffee beans) of Coffea species. It contains caffeine, a mild stimulant. It is often consumed with sugar and milk mixed in.
Colada morada
Energy drinks (Red Bull, Monster)
Flavored milk		Such Flavors include (not limited to) Chocolate, Strawberry, And even Flavors like Rose, or Banana.
Horchata
Juice			A beverage prepared from the forced extraction of liquids from fruit and vegetables.
Kefir
Malted milk
Milkshake
Root beer
Root beer float
Sikhye
Soft drinks
Smoothie
Sports drinks (Gatorade, Powerade)
Tamagozake		Japan	Consists of heated sake, sugar and a raw egg
Tea			Usually consumed warm. It contains hot water, a teabag for flavour, and sometimes milk and sugar is added.
Tejuino		Jalisco, Mexico	A cold beverage made from fermented corn. It is often served with a scoop of shaved ice.

Frozen

Name	Image	Origin	Description
Frozen custard		Coney Island, New York	A cold dessert similar to ice cream, but made with eggs in addition to cream and sugar. It was invented in Coney Island, New York in 1919, when ice cream vendors Archie and Elton Kohr found that adding egg yolks to ice cream created a smoother texture and helped the ice cream stay cold longer. In their first weekend on the boardwalk, the Kohr brothers sold 18,460 cones.
Ice cream		China	A frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners. The meaning of the phrase "ice cream" varies from one country to another. Phrases such as "frozen custard", "frozen yogurt", "sorbet", "gelato" and others are used to distinguish different varieties and styles. In some countries, such as the United States, the phrase "ice cream" applies only to a specific variety, and most governments regulate the commercial use of the various terms according to the relative quantities of the main ingredients. In other countries, such as Italy and Argentina, one word is used for all variants.
Ice pop		San Francisco	A water-based frozen snack that is made by freezing flavored liquid (such as fruit juice) around a stick. The first recorded ice pop was created in 1905 by 11-year-old Frank Epperson of San Francisco, who left a glass of soda water powder and water outside in his back porch with a wooden mixing stick in it. In the United States and Canada frozen ice on a stick is generically referred to as a popsicle due to the early popularity of the Popsicle brand. In Ireland the product is also referred to as a freeze pop. In the United Kingdom the term ice lolly is used. Ice block is used in parts of Australia and New Zealand, as well as icy pole, after a brand of the same name.
Milkshake			A sweet, cold beverage which is usually made from milk, ice cream or iced milk, and flavorings or sweeteners such as fruit syrup or chocolate sauce. Outside the United States, the drink is sometimes called a "thickshake" or a "thick milkshake" or in New England, a "frappe".

Natural snacks

Sliced cucumbers and tomatoes can be a natural and healthy snack.

Fruits and vegetables

Seeds, nuts, grains and legumes

A bowl of granola

Savory snacks

Name	Image	Origin	Description
Achappam			A traditional rice rosette popular in Kerala.
Ada		Kerala	A traditional Keralan delicacy, consisting of rice parcels encased in a dough made of rice flour, with sweet fillings, steamed in banana leaf and served as an evening snack or as part of breakfast. Grated coconut and rice flour are the two main ingredients.
Dolma		Balkans, Middle East, Caucases	A traditional dish of Armenian cuisine - minced meat wrapped in grape leaves
French fries
Hummus			Pictured is hummus with pine nuts and olive oil.
Instant soup
Khandvi		Gujarat	A collective term used for a type of snacks in Gujarati cuisine, from the Indian state of Gujarat
Kuzhalappam			A traditional rice based tea time snack popular in Kerala.
Meze
Nian gao
Obložené chlebíčky		Czech Republic, Slovakia
Onion rings
Piattos
Sesame sticks
Sev mamra		India	A mixture of spicy dry ingredients such as puffed rice, savory noodles and peanuts.
Spring roll
Tahini
Tapas			Pictured are tapas in Barcelona, Spain.
Tempura
Unniyappam,Kuzhiyappam		Kerala	A traditional rice/flour based, deep-fried fritters in round shape. It is popular in Kerala.
Yogurt

Bars

Name	Image	Origin	Description
Energy bar			Food bars containing cereals and other high energy foods. The first energy bar in the American marketplace was Space Food Sticks which Pillsbury Company created in the late 1960s to capitalize on the popularity of the U.S. space program.
Flapjack			A sweet tray-baked oat bar made from rolled oats, butter, brown sugar and golden syrup. The item is known as a "flapjack" in the United Kingdom and Ireland and as a "cereal bar" in Australia and New Zealand. In other countries such products are referred to as granola bars.
Granola bar			Granola bars were invented by Stanley Mason and have become popular as a snack, similar to the traditional flapjack oat bar or muesli bar familiar in the Commonwealth countries.

Bread/sandwiches

Name	Image	Origin	Description
Bagel		Poland	A bread product, traditionally shaped by hand into the form of a ring from yeasted wheat dough, roughly hand-sized, which is first boiled for a short time in water and then baked.
Bread		Egypt; Europe
Buterbrod		Russia, Ukraine	An open sandwich
Butterbrot		Germany	An open sandwich
Croissant
Croutons
Fried bake		Caribbean	A type of bread usually eaten with saltfish
Gua-bao		Taiwan	Consists of a slice of stewed meat and other condiments sandwiched between flat steamed bread
Houska		Czech Republic	Literally knitted bread
Lavash		Armenia	Traditional staple food of Armenian cuisine - soft thin bread. In 2014, "lavash, the preparation, meaning and appearance of traditional bread as an expression of culture in Armenia" was inscribed in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Open sandwich			One slice of bread with a topping or toppings
Pasta			Pictured is cavatappi with pesto.
Sandwich			A snack typically consisting of two or more slices of bread with one or more fillings between them
Smørrebrød		Denmark, Norway	An open sandwich
Tea sandwich		United Kingdom	A tea-time snack with the crust removed
Tortilla			A flatbread made from corn or wheat
Totopo		Oaxaca	A flatbread made from corn

Cheese

Name	Image	Origin	Description
American cheese		United States	A processed cheese from the U.S. American cheese was originally only white, but is now sometimes modified to be yellow-colored. Today it is typically manufactured from a set of ingredients such as milk, whey, milkfat, milk protein concentrate, whey protein concentrate, and salt.
Cheese			A generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Pictured is a plate of assorted cheeses.
Cream cheese
Korbáčiky		Orava region of Slovakia	A type of string cheese
Oaxaca cheese		Mexico	A semi-hard string cheese
Obatzda		Bavaria	A cheese delicacy
Parmesan cheese
Processed cheese			Also called "cheese food"; a food product made from normal cheese and sometimes other unfermented dairy ingredients, plus emulsifiers, extra salt, food colorings, or whey
String cheese		United States	Snack-sized servings of low-moisture mozzarella

Chips/crisps

Name	Image	Origin	Description
Banana chip			Deep-fried and/or dried slices of bananas. They can be covered with sugar or honey and have a sweet taste, or they can be fried in oil and spices and have a salty and/or spicy taste.
Cheese puff			A puffed corn snack, coated with a mixture of cheese or cheese-flavored powders
Chifle		Peru, Ecuador	A fried plantain snack
Corn chips			A cornmeal snack that is fried in oil or baked
Corn nuts			A snack food made of roasted or deep-fried corn kernels
Fish and shrimp chips
Multi-grain snacks			Example: Sun Chips
Nachos		Mexico	Fried corn tortillas covered with melted cheddar cheese, pickled jalapeño peppers, and other toppings
Pita chips
Pork rind
Potato chips
Pretzel, hard
Snack mix			Pictured is Chex Mix.
Tortilla chips		Mexico	Wedges of fried corn tortillas; originated in Mexico; first produced commercially in Los Angeles, California, United States

Crackers/biscuits

Name	Image	Origin	Description
Animal cracker			A small cracker or cookie baked in the shape of an animal, usually an animal one might see at a zoo. The most common variety is light-colored and slightly sweet, but darker chocolate-flavored and colorful frosted varieties are also manufactured.
Arare			Small Japanese rice crackers
Bagel chips
Crackers			Pictured are water biscuits with toppings.
Hardtack
Knäckebröd
Lavash
Oyster cracker
Rice cracker
Senbei
Soda cracker
Water biscuit

Meat-based

Name	Image	Origin	Description
Bacon			A cured meat prepared from a pig, bacon is prepared from several different cuts of meat.
Çiğ köfte
Corn dog
Dried cuttlefish
Dried fish
Dried squid
Fish such as fried fish
Hot dogs
Jerky
Kibbeh nayyeh
Omelet
Oysters (canned)
Pickled herring
Soused herring

Noodles

Name	Image	Origin	Description
Bombay mix			Bombay mix is the name used in the United Kingdom and Ireland for a traditional Indian snack known as chiwda, chevdo, bhuso (if made without potato), chevda or chivdo in India, or Chanāchura in Odisha and chanachur in Bengal. It consists of a variable mixture of spicy dried ingredients, which may include fried lentils, peanuts, chickpea flour noodles, corn, vegetable oil, chickpeas, flaked rice, fried onion and curry leaves.
Cup Noodles			A well-known brand of instant ramen noodle snack manufactured by Nissin, packaged in a foam food container, hard plastic or paper cup. Other brand names are used in specific countries, such as Cup Noodle in Japan.
Instant noodles		Invented by Momofuku Ando of Nissin Foods, Japan.	dried or precooked noodles and are often sold with packets of flavoring including seasoning oil. Dried noodles are usually eaten after being cooked or soaked in boiling water, while precooked noodles can be reheated or eaten straight from the packet.
Ramen			A Japanese noodle dish that consists of Chinese-style wheat noodles served in a meat- or (occasionally) fish-based broth, often flavored with soy sauce or miso, and uses toppings such as sliced pork, chāshū, dried seaweed, nori, kamaboko, green onions, and occasionally corn.