Editors' Picks: 10 Best Snack Recipes (2024)

Whether they are salty, crunchy, chewy, creamy or sweet, the best snacks start with the best snack recipes. The Food & Wine editors rounded up their favorite snack recipes, ranging from creamy dips to bite-sized morsels and crunchy mixes. These nibbles can help you bridge the gap between meals, make excellent kitchen snacks or appetizers, or stand in as an entire meal. Whip up Fancy Clam Dip in no time at all, satisfy a sweet tooth with Salted Caramel Brownies or get crunchy with Chivda. Read on for those recipes, and to check out more of our best snack recipes.

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Fancy Clam Dip

Editors' Picks: 10 Best Snack Recipes (1)

"My go-to-snack is a bag of plain, salted potato chips — I love their sturdy, salty crunch, and they're the perfect conveyance for a creamy dip. When I'm feeling a little fancy, I'm a particular fan of this Fancy Clam Dip from F&W contributing editor Betsy Andrews. It leans on pantry ingredients (canned clams, natch, as well as cream cheese, crème fraiche, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce) goosed with a few fresh items (grated shallot, lemon juice and zest, fresh dill) that enliven it and keep it from skewing too old-school. It's easy to throw together, and terrific for family movie night or as an appetizer if I've got friends coming over for dinner." — Karen Shimizu, executive editor

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Sugar-and-Spice Nuts

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"There are a lot of spiced nut recipes out there, but this is a perfect version of the classic snack. The nuts are coated in equal parts spice, sugar, and salt, which actually stick to the nuts, thanks to a light egg white wash. Make a batch for party guests to snack on, or use them as meal prep and toss them into salads all week." — Merlyn Miller, social media editor

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Chivda

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"Yamini Joshi describes chivda as similar to trail mix, and the perfect combination of every delightful taste and texture you could want in one bite. Her recipe combines crispy poha (rice flakes), savory roasted chickpeas, fragrant shredded coconut, just enough black raisins for a sweet chew, and her signature blend of warming, tart, savory and lightly piquant seeds, and spices. You won't want to stop at just one batch." — Kelsey Youngman, food editor

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Spicy Lamb Meatballs with Green Goddess Dip

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"I've made these co*cktail meatballs—a recipe from my colleague, Justin Chapple— for the past two Christmases. Both times, they were a huge hit. They're tender, savory, and have just the right amount of heat, which is perfectly balanced by the cooling green goddess dip. Feel free to make them with ground beef instead of lamb, as I did, or even use plant-based meat. Whichever route you choose, they'll be delicious." — Bridget Hallinan, staff writer

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Three-Cheese Queso Nachos

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"For me, cheese is the most important part of any nacho platter, so when this recipe for three-cheese queso nachos came across my desk, I knew I had to try them. These nachos pack a ton of flavor throughout the layers of chips, chorizo, refried beans and guacamole, but the three-cheese queso definitely steals the show. The melted Jack and American cheeses keep it smooth, while goat cheese adds a welcome tanginess that sets this queso apart from the rest. Once you layer all the ingredients — don't skip the guacamole and pickled onions and jalapenos on top! — each bite is perfection." — Chandra Ram, senior digital food editor

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Feta-Stuffed Marinated Olives

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"Have you ever seen that meme that starts out: 'Hungry, but too tired to cook? Try 30 to 40 olives.'? That meme is me and I am that meme. When I have the energy and forethought though, I make these Feta-Stuffed Marinated Olives. They're briny, herbaceous, and have really leveled up my snack dinners. — Sarah Crowder, visuals editor

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Salted Caramel Brownies

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"I haven't stopped thinking about these magnificent, salted caramel-covered brownies from cookbook author Vallery Lomas since we made them in the test kitchen two years ago. They're rich, chocolatey, and gooey — pretty much everything you could ever want in a brownie, with the added bonus of a sweet-savory flavor thanks to the salty caramel. This will be the year I finally make them at home and have a pan all to myself." — B.H.

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Crispy Biscuit Crackers

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"I believe crunchy crackers are my love language. Normally I roil to listen to the cacophonous crunch of snacking but these crackers are different. As I sink them into a cup of creamy dip, alternate them with bites of crisp veggies and sandwich them with blocks of cheese without missing a beat, they bring me joy. Not only are Carla Hall's Crispy Biscuit Crackers a little noisy, the little kick of cayenne also takes my snacking pleasure to another level of bliss." — Nikki Miller-Ka, interim associate editor

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Sticky Baked Chicken Wings

Editors' Picks: 10 Best Snack Recipes (9)

"I adore sweet and sticky chicken wings, and this super-simple baked wing recipe features two of my favorite condiments: ketchup and gochujang. I usually have everything I need to make these on-hand, which counts for a lot in the cold winter months!" — Maria Yagoda, senior editor

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Chicken-Carrot Kade Paan

Editors' Picks: 10 Best Snack Recipes (10)

"Sam Fore of Tuk Tuk Sri Lankan Bites is the auteur of some of the best flavor moments of my life (I mean, if you haven't experienced her Roasted Curry Tomato Pie, you have not used your pleasure receptors to anywhere near their full capacity). Her Chicken-Carrot Kade Paan is no exception and coming from me, an adult human who tends to involuntarily gag at the mention of cooked carrots, that's saying a lot. Fret not about having to whip up fresh yeast rolls to stuff with the highly-seasoned chicken and vegetables. Fore's recipe uses frozen store-bought dough to form the golden-brown pockets of utter delight." ⁠— Kat Kinsman, senior editor

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