Between creative cottage cheese toppings, frozen yogurt bites, and pumpkin-spiced everything, there’s likely no shortage of snack inspo on your social feeds. But according to nutritionists, there is one massively underappreciated snack category: fruit.
“Fruit is a healthy snack ingredient that contains a lot of the nutrients and antioxidants that have anti-inflammatory properties, which may help reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer,” says registered dietitian Keri Gans MS, RDN, owner of Keri Gans Nutrition. Flavor now, longevity later!
While a single piece of fruit can make a great snack for people on the go, fruit on its own isn’t quite as filling as most people need a snack to be. Why? The sugar content. Natural fruit sugar (known as fructose) is far healthier for you than the sugar found in processed snacks and sweets (typically known as sucrose or glucose), but the sugar content in fruit can still spike your blood sugar, says registered dietitian Bonnie Taub-Dix, RDN, author of “Read It Before You Eat It.”
“When your blood sugar spikes, it also drops, which can make you feel tired and fatigued,” Taub-Dix explains, which is the exact opposite of the energizing effect most people are after when snacking.
The trick to making fruit a healthy, satiating snack is to pair the fruit with additional foods. “If you combine the fruit with a healthy fat or protein source, you slow down the speed the body can metabolize the fruit sugar, which helps keep your blood sugar level,” she says. And that stands whether you’re eating fresh, frozen, freeze-dried, dried, or canned fruit, she says.
With that in mind, we put together the below list of healthy snacks with fruit, each of which pairs fruit with another satiating ingredient (or two). Trust, whether you’re looking for a post-workout snack, morning grab-and-go, or midday munch, you’ll find a fruit snack option that works with your goals, tastes, and needs.
Related: 12 Flavorful, Crunchy Veggie Snacks Dietitians Love to Up Your Fiber Intake
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Cottage Cheese and Fruit
Cottage cheese is a lot like CrossFit in that you either love it or you hate it. But there are way more reasons to love cottage cheese than hate it – at least nutritionally speaking. “Cottage cheese is incredibly high in protein, as well as calcium, while being low in fat,” says Taub-Dix. Indeed, just one cup of cottage cheese has 25 grams of protein, while ringing up at just about 200 calories.
If you’re craving a savory snack, she suggests mixing in some French-onion-soup powder mix and topping with tomatoes (yep, that’s a fruit) and/or chives. Meanwhile, if you are craving something sweet, cottage cheese pairs well with pineapple and honey, or fresh peach and mint.
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Fruit and Dip
No doubt, plain almond and peanut butter make great spreads for fruits like bananas and apples. Unfortunately, due to their thick consistency, they aren’t quite right for dipping. That’s why, if you have a little extra time on your hands, Taub-Dix suggests making her Creamy Chocolate Banana Dip recipe.
A combination of one-fourth cup of almond milk (ideally, chocolate flavored), one-half cup of nut butter, one-half cup bananas, chia seeds, and cinnamon, this dip is filling, thanks to the healthy fats in the nut butter as well as the fiber in the bananas, chia seeds, and side fruit. “This is a great option for kids after school, as well as for post-workout,” she says.
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Salad With Fruit
Salad and fruit is an iconic combination – and for good reason. Both fruits and vegetables are incredibly nutrient-dense food groups, making the pairing perfect for getting a wide array of micronutrients. And the sweetness of fruit can help make the more earthy flavor of lettuce and other vegetables more tolerable for picky eaters, Taub-Dix says. “Orange slices, dried cranberries, pomegranate seeds, watermelon chunks, and figs are just some of the many fruits that can jazz up a salad,” she says.
At face value, this snack may only seem accessible for work-from-home folks who have time to whip up a snack with a nutrient punch. But with a little planning, it can work for on-the-go snackers, too. “You can always combine fruit and vegetables into a Tupperware, bring it with you, and wait to add the dressing until you’re ready to eat it,” she notes.
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Ricotta Cheese and Fruit
Most people only eat ricotta cheese when it’s baked into lasagna, eggplant parm, or another classic Italian dish. But the cheese also makes a wonderful dip or yogurt alternative, according to Taub-Dix. “It is a great source of protein, low in sodium, and high in calcium and vitamin B,” she says. Actually, just a half-cup serving of part-skim ricotta cheese has 14 grams of protein and just 150 calories, per the United States Department of Agriculture.
Slightly sweet in taste, ricotta cheese is excellent when paired with berries, Taub-Dix says. If you can believe it, the combo is reminiscent of a berries-and-cream dessert. Best of all, the curds in ricotta cheese are far smaller than those in cottage cheese, meaning that the Italian cheese is typically far more tolerable amongst “texture-phobes” than cottage cheese.
Try having a small bowl of ricotta with half a cup of blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, or blackberries, and drizzle with a little balsamic glaze or hot honey for a fruit-forward snack. To make it even more filling, spread the ricotta on a piece of toast, then load it with fruit and other toppings of your choice.
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Dried Fruit
Generally, it’s best to combine fruit with another food that’s high in protein or fat. But for a quick pre-workout snack or burst of energy, dried fruit can be a great choice, according to Taub-Dix. An especially common choice among athletes, dried mangos make a great pre-workout snack, she says. That’s because the body can use the sugar in them as a quick carb for energy while you exercise, she explains.
“Dried fruit can also be a good option when fresh fruit isn’t accessible or portable,” says Taub-Dix. For instance, if you are hiking, it may be harder to carry (and not crush!) a fresh mango than dried mango.
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Dried Fruit With Nuts
Before you hop on an airplane or head out on an outdoor adventure, Taub-Dix suggests throwing together a combination of dried fruit, nuts, and seeds into a zip-lock. “DIY trail mix is much easier to transport with you through security or on a hike than fresh fruit,” she explains.
In addition to being portable, homemade trail mix is also filling and full of nutrients. “The healthy fats in the nuts and seeds will keep you satiated, while also slowing down the speed with which your body metabolizes the sugar in the dried fruit,” she says.
Any dried fruit will work well in a homemade trail mix. But if you’re going to have a sweet add-in (like M&Ms), consider opting for a tangy or sour dried-fruit, like dried cherries, peaches, Persimmons, or apricots. Meanwhile, if you have a spicy add-in like wasabi nuts, spicy peanuts, or chili bits, you might prefer a sweeter option like apple, mango, or strawberries.
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Fruit Smoothie
If you are looking for a healthy breakfast or post-workout fruit snack, look no further. “Smoothies are a great way to consume the nutrients of a wide variety of fruits at once,” says Taub-Dix.
If you add in some Greek yogurt – which she recommends, due to its ability to increase the creaminess and satiating power of your smoothie – you’ll also work towards your daily protein goal. If you prefer to use a different base for your smoothie, that’s OK. But in that case, she suggests adding in a scoop of protein powder, especially if you are consuming it after a workout.
Planning to have a healthy smoothie for breakfast? Taub-Dix suggests prepping your blender before bed. “Just throw a bunch of ingredients into the belly of your blend before you go to bed and put the whole thing in your fridge,” she says. Then, when you wake up, all you have to do is whip it up.
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Fruit and Cheese
If you’ve ever been to (or hosted!) a party with a well-made charcuterie board, you know fruit pairs well with cheese. Well, you don’t have to wait for a party with hors d’oeuvres to eat the two together. Simply slice the cheese of your choosing with a fruit that will pair well with it.
As far as fruit-and-cheese combos go, there are some iconic options. To name a few: apples and cheddar, pear and blue cheese, watermelon and feta, and peach and burrata. Taub-Dix recommends picking your fruit based on what’s seasonal. “In the summer, you might opt for watermelon and other melons, while in the fall, you might lean on pears and apples.”
Oh, and if you’re looking for a convenient option, Gans suggests grabbing a string cheese and apple.
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Yogurt and Fruit
Whether you have time to whip up a yogurt parfait or are looking for a grab-and-go snack, Greek yogurt with berries is a good choice.
“Greek yogurt is high in protein, with each serving containing about 17 grams of protein,” says Taub-Dix, which is a lot considering that a serving typically weighs in at just 100 calories. You can top or layer the yogurt with fruit of your choosing, but berries can taste especially good due to their sweetness. As an added bonus, “with berries, you get fiber and lots of antioxidants, such as vitamin C,” notes Gans.
