When you want a late-night bite, turn to one of these healthy snack ideas. These recipes include ingredients like popcorn, yogurt and peanut butter, which are packed with protein, fiber and healthy fats to help you feel full and satisfied for a good night’s rest.
The challenge is figuring out what you can eat that’s quick, tasty and won’t cause you to pack on the pounds.
Healthy Midnight snacks
Strawberries with Greek Yogurt
Protein-rich Greek yogurt and sweet strawberries make for a super-simple and satisfying snack.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup sliced fresh strawberries
- ½ cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
Steps
Place yogurt in a bowl and top with strawberries.
Classic Deviled Eggs
Classic deviled eggs are easy to make and only take a few simple ingredients: hard-boiled eggs, mayonnaise, and mustard, along with a little seasoning. It’s also easy to customize the flavors by adding an ingredient like pickle relish. Boil the eggs ahead of time and stash them in the fridge to make assembly quicker. Double the recipe if you’re serving a crowd.
Ingredients
- 1/4 teaspoon ground paprika, or to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
- 6 large eggs
- 3 to 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon salt or seasoned salt blend)
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh parsley
Steps
- Gather the ingredients.
- Put the eggs in a medium saucepan and cover with about an inch of water.
- Cover the saucepan and bring to a full boil over high heat. Leaving the cover on the pan, remove from the heat, and let stand for 17 minutes.
- Transfer the eggs from the hot water and into a bowl of ice-cold water and let cool completely.
- When the eggs are cold, peel under the water in the bowl or under running water.
- Slice the eggs in half lengthwise and set on a platter or egg plate. Scoop the yolks into a medium bowl.
- Mash the yolks with a fork, then add the mayonnaise, mustard, and salt or seasoned salt. Add chopped fresh chives or parsley, if desired.
- Taste and add black pepper and more salt, as needed. Add more mayonnaise, if desired.
- Using a small spoon or cookie scoop, fill the egg white halves with the yolk mixture. Alternatively, you can pipe the filling into the egg whites using a wide nozzle.
- Sprinkle the eggs lightly with paprika before serving. Enjoy!
Yogurt with Blueberries
Blueberries add all the sweetness you need, naturally, to protein-rich Greek yogurt in this satisfying snack.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup blueberries
- 1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
Steps
Place yogurt in a bowl and top with blueberries.
Apple Chips
You can use any kind of apple you like. We found firm and slightly sweet apples work best. Macouns, cortlands, and McIntosh apples are great choices.
Baked apple chips are crunchy, sweet, and perfect for satisfying all of your chip cravings, without any of the guilt.
Ingredients
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 large apples (or more, use as many as you like)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
Steps
- Gather the ingredients.
- Preheat the oven to 200F. Using a mandoline or a very sharp knife, slice the apple thinly (about 1/8-inch). Coring is not necessary but you can core the apple if you wish. Start by slicing the bottom or top of the apple.
- Pat the slices dry with a paper towel before baking. This step is important for creating the right texture and to reduce browning.
- Place the apple slices in one layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour.
- After one hour, flip the slices and cook for an additional hour. Remove the chips from the oven. Allow them to cool slightly. You can eat the apple chips just like this, or follow the instructions below for sweet, cinnamon sugar apple chips.
- Whisk together the corn syrup with a tablespoon of water. Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Brush each apple chip with the corn syrup mixture. Dip the chips in the cinnamon and sugar and then place back on the baking sheet. Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes. Let them cool on the baking sheets and then serve!
Peanut Butter Toast & Apple
A pinch of ground cardamom punches up the flavor in this classic combo of apples and peanut butter on toast.
Ingredients
- Pinch ground cardamom
- 1 slice whole-grain bread, toasted
- ¼ cup sliced apple
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
Steps
Top toast with peanut butter, apple and cardamom.
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Spicy Edamame (Soy Beans)
While fresh edamame in their pods can certainly be used for this recipe, it is sometimes difficult to find fresh edamame unless you grow them in your backyard, which is what my grandparents used to do in the summer. Some farmer’s markets or Asian markets might sell edamame on the stalk, especially during the summer months, but it is more commonly found year-round in the frozen section of Japanese or Asian supermarkets.
Ingredients
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon Japanese rayu (or chili oil), to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon Japanese shichimi togarashi (7-spice chili pepper), to taste
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes, for garnish
- 1 pound frozen edamame (in shells)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
Steps
- Gather the ingredients.
- Cook frozen edamame (in their shells) in boiling water for 5 minutes.
- Rinse quickly with cold water. Drain completely. Set aside, and allow edamame to dry off slightly. Use a paper towel if necessary to remove excess water.
- In a large pan, heat sesame oil and chopped garlic over medium heat until fragrant.
- Add Japanese rayu (chili oil) and cooked edamame (in their shells). Quickly stir-fry, then turn off heat.
- Add shichimi togarashi (7-spice chili peppers) and salt. Gently toss.
- Serve spicy edamame on a platter and garnish with red chili pepper flakes.
Peanut Butter-Banana Cinnamon Toast
This satisfying peanut butter-banana toast gets a sprinkle of cinnamon for an extra flavor boost.
Ingredients
- 1 small banana, sliced
- Cinnamon to taste
- 1 slice whole-wheat bread, toasted
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
Steps
Spread toast with peanut butter and top with banana slices. Sprinkle with cinnamon to taste.
Peanut Butter with Rice Cakes
Top multigrain rice cakes with creamy peanut butter for a nutritious snack with protein and fiber to keep you feeling full.
- Ingredients
2 multigrain rice cakes - 1 ½ tablespoons peanut butter
Steps
Divide peanut butter between rice cakes and spread evenly.
Hot Cereal
Just about any cooked whole grain can be combined with milk or other toppings for a healthy late-night snack. The melatonin in grains like oats and barley supports sleep, and a 3/4 cup (175 grams) of cooked oatmeal made with water only has 124 calories.
Hot cereal isn’t just for breakfast. It’s also a great way to wind down at night.
Hot, whole-grain cereals like oatmeal are good sources of fiber. Plus, they’re generally a healthier choice than cold, more refined products.
You can also think outside the box by turning cooked barley or whole-grain rice into hot cereal with the addition of milk and toppings like cinnamon, nuts or dried fruit.
Prepare whole grains that require longer cooking times in advance and store them in your fridge for a few days. Simply add a bit of water and reheat the grains when you’re ready for a late-night snack.
Besides satisfying your hunger, oats, barley and rice (especially black or red rice) are natural sources of melatonin.
Bottom Line
If you’re truly hungry late at night — rather than just bored or stressed — eating a snack under 200 calories shouldn’t tip the scales.
Whole, minimally processed foods like berries, kiwis, goji berries, edamame, pistachios, oatmeal, plain yogurt and eggs make easy, tasty and healthy late-night snacks.
Many of these foods even contain sleep-supportive compounds, including tryptophan, serotonin, melatonin, magnesium and calcium.
The most important thing is to keep healthy snacks on hand that you enjoy. You’ll be less tempted to run to the convenience store or hit the nearest fast-food drive-through for an unhealthy, high-calorie snack before bed.
