80+ of the Best Breastfeeding Snacks (That Won’t Leave You Feeling Gross)

Breastfeeding requires a lot of extra energy – which tends to make new moms HUNGRY! Instead of grabbing something unhealthy on an impulse, consider some of these amazing breastfeeding snacks for moms!

Healthy Snacks While Breastfeeding

If there’s one thing for certain, breastfeeding can make you hungry!

It’s also easy to feel worn down while breastfeeding if you aren’t eating enough – it’s recommended to have an extra 300-500 calories a day, and when you aren’t getting that…you are definitely going to feel it.

I know that a lot of people worry about eating too much after they give birth – but really, the most important thing is for you to feel fueled and to make sure you are producing enough milk.

There are ALL sorts of old wives tales out there about what snacks you should while breastfeeding. Some of them do have some basis for saying that (see 13 Foods That Support Healthy Breast Milk Supply), but a lot of them are merely because you are eating more calories (OREO cookies, I’m looking at you).

When you are sleep deprived and just trying to remember to eat, it’s hard to make big and complex snacks.

Which means it is easy to just grab something that isn’t super healthy.

And if you are trying to lose weight after giving birth, snacks and meals that are filled with sodium, sugar, and fat aren’t the best idea (really, they aren’t the best idea for anyone).

So I thought I would put together a list of snacks that will satisfy any craving you might be having (including sweet) but are easy to just grab in a hurry.

These are good snacks for breastfeeding moms at any time of the day! I won’t claim they’ll increase your milk supply (read, but they WILL help you stay fueled and help you have more energy – which honestly isn’t going to do anything to hurt your supply!

I surveyed my Breastfeeding Mamas’ Support Tribe on Facebook for many of these snack ideas, so these are tried and true recommendations from moms all over the world.

Click here for the best breastfeeding resources – breastfeeding 101. 

Originally posted in November 2018; updated in November 2019.

Healthy Snacks for Breastfeeding Moms

Bars

Snack bars are definitely the ultimate snack that requires very little prep work. They can pack a lot of nutrients into a small portion.

One thing to keep in mind is that these can have high sugar content, so you should definitely be looking at the nutrition facts.

Built Bars – These are my FAVORITE protein bars. They taste SO good (unlike pretty much every other kind I’ve tried), and I feel like I’m eating a treat. You can get 10% off through this link – definitely at least order the sample pack.

Larabars – these come very highly recommended from many mothers!

Nature Valley Granola Cups 

Orgain Protein Bars – these are another awesome brand, and they are plant-based if that’s important to you! You can get 25% off with the code CLARKS.

Kind Bars – One mom said to be careful with KIND bars because some have chicory root which can be problematic for breastfeeding.

Fiber One 

Nutrigrain 

Nature Valley Sweet ‘n Salty peanut

Nature Valley Breakfast Biscuits 

Nature’s Bakery Fig Bars

RX Bars – These are my personal favorite. One mother said that the blueberry flavor was her favorite.

Quest Bars – I personally don’t love quest bars. They taste too chalky to me. But several mothers said they enjoyed these.

Nature Valley Protein Bars

Trader Joe’s Nut and Chocolate Or Nut, Chocolate, and Fig Bars.

Kirkland Soft and Chewy

Caveman Bars – We love these. They are packed full of delicious flavor and nuts. They are a bit pricey though. We always buy them at Costco.

Bobo bars

Perfect bars

Sweets

One mom said, “Dry oatmeal, peanut butter, and a couple of chocolate chips in a mug and microwave for 30 seconds or less. It tastes so good.”

Yogurt and granola – fruit parfait

Belvita Soft Bakes (the Oats and Chocolate were one mom’s favorites)

Another mom said, “I like to melt dark chocolate and coconut oil together in the microwave, and I pour it over a cut up apple or whatever fruit I have on hand.”

Lactation cookies – There are all sorts of lactation treat recipes out there. I do think that if you have an okay supply, it can give you a little boost. This is a lactation cookie recipe I used that worked well and tasted good. I know a lot of people really like Milky Mama cookies, but they are a little pricey.

Chocolate graham crackers with strawberries and Greek yogurt.

Hot cocoa (for an added boost of protein, check out this peppermint hot cocoa protein powder. So yummy and packed full of protein, which is so important for breastfeeding mamas).

Kashi brand Oatmeal and Dark Chocolate cookies

Dark chocolate covered almonds

Boarshead mint chocolate hummus

Enjoy Life Soft Baked Cookies

Goodbites Mini Truffles (they have lots of other fun treats as well)

Fruits & Veggies

Fruits and vegetable are important to get throughout the day – five servings a day are recommended. They make for great snacks, especially if you are able to chop things up beforehand and have them ready to go.

I really like getting pre-sliced apples from Sam’s Club. Makes them so much easier to just grab and go. Here are some other ideas – many of these would pair great with some kind of dip, like hummus. If you like ranch, I’ve really liked the Bolthouse Farms brand – tasty but way less calories and fat.

Carrot sticks

Celery

Sliced bell peppers

Cutie clementines

Bananas

Cantaloupe

Grapes

Cucumbers

Blueberries

Avocado – add to toast for an extra delicious treat. Dave’s Killer Bread is one of my favorites.

Olives

Fruit pouches

Fruit cups

Fruit Leather – Stretch Island is a great brand (1/2 serving fruit in each serving)

Smoothies

I think smoothies are an awesome way to pack in a lot of nutrients in a quick and delicious way. I have smoothies nearly every day!

You can really do whatever you want for a smoothie, though there are plenty of recipes online. I typically will use protein almond milk from Silk, a banana, some protein powder, and then I will throw in some berries occasionally. If I’m feeling adventurous, I’ll put in some spinach or kale.

Orgain is one of the best and cleanest proteins out there. It doesn’t have the bad ingredients that you’ll find in a lot of protein powders, and they have both a grass-fed whey protein and plant-based. I also love that they had ready-made ones that are great for on the go.

You can click here and use the code CLARKS25 for 25% off your entire order.

Here are some other ideas from other moms:

Make baggies with smoothie ingredients and just blend with whatever liquid you wanted

I use Carnation Complete Breakfast powder to make a shake. I add spinach, 1 banana, 3 tablespoons of peanut butter, and 2 tablespoons of flaxseed, along with the chocolate powder packet, 8oz of milk and 4 ice cubes.

Kale, tofu yogurt , berries and a banana

Banana, another fruit, protein powder, flax seed, spinach and Lactaid milk

Savory

Hummus (with veggies, pita chips, etc).

Sweet Potato Fries

Mini brown rice cups with soy sauce

English muffin with cheese or other toppings

Turkey pepperoni

Italian herb crackers

Cheese – slices, string cheese, chunks of cheese…anything you want! Great when combined with lunch meats or crackers

Summer sausage

Triscuits

Frozen edamame bowls

Lunchables

Baked Chips

Jerky – I LOVE jerky. Perky Jerky is my favorite kind.

Chickpeas – a couple of good brands are Biena and Saffron Road

Other

You could signup for one of these snack subscription boxes

Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich

Leftovers

Flavored Almonds

Hard-boiled eggs (eat on their own or can easily be made into egg salad). Here is a great hard boiled egg cooker.

Granola – lots of amazing kinds out there (Thrive Market has tons of options)

Dry Cereal

Peanut Butter

Peanut Butter filled pretzels

Assorted Nuts

Peanut Butter Crackers

Trail Mix – people really like Archer Farms, Trader Joes, and Sprouts trail mixes

Veggie Chips

Pretzels

Ritz crackers with peanut butter

Pretzels and almond butter

Apples and cheese

Almond butter on english muffin

Rice cakes (add a nut butter of choice)

Almonds

Sunflower seeds

Muffins

Popcorn (Boom Chicka Pop is a great brand that has some fun flavors)

Hopefully, this will give you some quick and easy snack ideas that will help keep you feeling fueled while you breastfeed. Be sure to comment below with YOUR favorites!

Other Posts You May Enjoy:

• 11 of the Best Ways to Lose Weight While Breastfeeding
• Does Breastfeeding Help You Lose Weight? Well, maybe not
• 25+ of the Best Breast Pumping Tips: Must Read for New Moms
• Newborn Breastfeeding: Everything You Need to Know