The Best Allergen-Friendly Back To School Snacks

With food allergies, finding back-to-school snacks that everyone can enjoy can be challenging. But don't worry, NaturaMarket has got you covered! Our delicious and allergy-friendly snacks will ensure every kid can have a worry-free treat.

Yes, it’s that time of the year again; back-to-school season! The weather is slowly getting cooler and everyone's mind is on the impending school year. School supplies, the perfect first-day outfit, new shoes, and, our personal favourite, back-to-school snacks! The hustle and bustle of preparing for heading back to class can be hectic, and as we all enjoy the last few weeks of the beautiful summer weather, we want to help reduce the stress of that crazy back-to-school preparation.

Finding specific allergen-free snacks for your kids can sometimes be an added stress as it can be difficult to find brands that cater to your needs. So, for all the parents out there, we’ve compiled a categorized list of the best allergen-friendly school snack brands for your children so that you can do all your snack shopping in one place, without leaving the comfort of your couch or the beautiful shade of your backyard.

Let’s do back to school the right way!

Types of Snacks

Gluten-Free

Grain-Free

Dairy-Free

Vegan

Big 8 Allergen Free

Gluten-Free

Gluten-Free foods exclude gluten, which is a protein found in wheat and several other grains. Products that commonly contain gluten include bread, crackers, cereals, baked goods and more.

If your child has a gluten intolerance, we have a great list of gluten-free snack options that they will love!

One snack we know kids can’t live without is popcorn! It’s not just a treat for the movie theatres- popcorn can actually be a great healthy snack to bring to school. It’s naturally gluten-free so it’s a perfect and safe option for kids with gluten intolerances. Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP pre-popped popcorn is fast and easy to pack for lunches. 

Crackers are such a classic and easy school snack, and it can be difficult to find healthy crackers that are gluten-free, but your kids shouldn’t have to miss out. From the Ground Up makes gluten-free and veggie-packed crackers, chips and more that you can feel confident and comfortable sending with your child's lunch. These tasty snacks are made with different plant-based ingredients like cauliflower and butternut squash- filled with health benefits but disguised with great flavours like Sour Cream & Onion, and Sea Salt- your kids won’t even know the difference!

Simple Mills and Iwon Organics also carry a large variety of different crunchy (and soft) gluten-free treats that are perfect for school: Plant-Based Protein Puffs, Organic Sweet Thin Crackers, and more!

If your kid prefers sweeter snacks or baked goods, Legendary Foods gluten-free Tasty Pastries are the perfect sweet treat for an after-lunch snack. With flavours including Red Velvet, Hot Fudge Sundae, Birthday Cake, Strawberry and more, your kids will have the most popular lunch box in the class!

Grain-Free

Grain-Free foods eliminate all grains including wheat, millet, rice, spelt, barley, oats, rye, and dried corn.

A lot of school snacks include grains that are common allergens, which makes finding safe snacks for school that much harder. But don’t worry! We’ve got you covered with some great grain-free snack brands that are kid-safe.

Siete is a brand that sells grain-free tortilla chips in a variety of delicious flavours!

Dairy-Free

Dairy-Free products exclude milk and milk products.

If you are looking for dairy-free back-to-school snacks for kids with lactose intolerance, check out these healthy brands that carry perfect alternatives to children’s dairy products.

Quinn Snacks’ pretzel snacks come in a variety of salty and sweet flavours, and they even carry Plant-Based Cheesy Style Filled Pretzel Nuggets containing no dairy at all so that your kids can still enjoy “cheese” filled snacks to fuel their day.

Let’s be real- we’ve never met a kid (or an adult) who didn't love chocolate. It’s fun to bring a little chocolate treat to school every once in a while, and they can be healthy as well! Just because your child can’t eat dairy doesn’t mean they have to cut out delicious chocolate. Dark chocolate is completely dairy-free, and Unreal carries a selection of yummy dark chocolate treats like their Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups and their Dark Chocolate Coconut Bars. All pre-wrapped, these sweet snacks are super easy to pack and bring to school. 

Vegan

Vegan foods exclude animals and all animal products.

We have a ton of great vegan and plant-based brands and products, however, we’ve compiled a list of the best kid-friendly vegan brands to send with your kidlets to school this year.

A really great safe choice for vegan school snacks is Sweets From The Earth. They make kid-favourite snacks like brownies and cookies with all plant-based ingredients, along with Rip Van’s low-sugar chocolate wafers that are also pre-wrapped and ready to go for school mornings.

Big 8 Allergen Free

Lastly, we have the Big 8. The Big 8 is a group of the eight major allergenic foods: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybean.

With most schools having a ban on products containing peanut and/or tree nuts, Big 8 Allergen-Free products are probably the most popular and safe options to choose for your kids' school snacks.

Healthy Crunch and Made Good both sell strictly Big 8 Allergen-Free products that are meant to be taken for school snacks. Granola Bars, Cookies, Crackers, Crispy Squares, every back-to-school snack you could ever dream of- all kid-friendly, healthy, and allergen-free.

Final Thoughts

So, there you have it parents! Every allergen-friendly snack brand that you could ever need to prepare for the crazy back-to-school season! We hope that you and your kidlets love these snacks and that this list is helpful to you in your search for healthy allergen-free alternatives!