Snack Ideas for Work: The Best Office Snacks for Your Desk, Fridge & Freezer

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It’s been ages since we talked about snack ideas for work — so let’s discuss! What are the best office snacks? What do you keep in your desk drawer, hidden somewhere else in your office like a filing cabinet, or in the office fridge (or your own mini fridge)?

(Psst: we’ve also talked about the best travel snacks, as well as how to eat healthy while working from home!)

Snacks I’ve Always Loved To Keep at the Office

During my legal eagle days I spent so much time at the office that snacking was par for the course — I used to keep a banker’s box on my window filled with random snacks.

I also splurged on a teeny fridge so I could keep cold water, a Diet Coke, a string cheese or two, and possibly sandwich fixings or yogurt nearby. I tried to avoid the office fridge where possible (things tended to… disappear in there…) but I kept a few things in the freezer on our floor, also. (Our office microwave was on a different floor entirely, so I didn’t use it often at all!)

These are some of the best snacks I’d recommend you look into keeping at the office, both to stay energized at work, as well as to keep you from wandering to the local fast food/fancy coffee spot (bad for your budget and your waistline).

I’ve never been much for packing a lunch daily, but I would often bring several things in at the beginning of each week (yogurt, sliced cheese to add to bagels, etc).

How about you, ladies — what are the best office snacks? What do you pack each day, each week — and what do you keep at the office? Do you pack a lunch regularly, or try to cut costs by bringing the “expensive” part of a lunch (e.g., meat, cheese, a more exotic ingredient like artichoke hearts or your favorite olives, to add to an affordable plain salad or bagel)? 

Shelf-Stable Snack Ideas for Work

Even if you have access to a fridge, sometimes it’s easiest just to keep a few things in your desk drawer.

Peanut butter or powdered peanut butter like PB2 or PBfit – I’m a fan of the powdered peanut butter for portion/calorie/protein reasons (I add it to Greek yogurt, oatmeal, and sometimes just mix it with water to eat with apples) but it’s hard to beat a jar of peanut butter and some crackers in your office for an “I have no time to go get lunch today!” lunch.

Shelf-Stable Milk or Protein Drinks — these can fill you up for those days where you really “can’t leave your desk” but need to drink something — I like to add a splash to coffee or tea for a teensy midday snack, but once opened do note that you have to refrigerate. My personal favorite is the Fairlife Chocolate shakes, although I do think they’re better a bit chilled… I’ve also drunk my share of Premier Protein drinks!

Oatmeal – The caveat here is that you need a source of hot water — I’ve made it just with the hot water intended for tea, though. Oatmeal packets are the easiest to keep at work because they’re preportioned and often pre-sweetened, but I have a friend who keeps a cup of old-fashioned oats in a baggie in her purse and just asks for hot water when she needs a quick snack. I like to add powdered peanut butter to plain oatmeal, maybe with a splash of Premier Protein… you can also add dried or freeze-dried fruit, pureed fruit like applesauce or the kind found in shelf-stable pouches like GoGoSqueez, yogurt, or even go for a more savory snack such as with spinach, bacon, etc.

Jerky – Jerky is a great snack, but there is an important caveat: once you open a jerky packet it has to be refrigerated. For portion control/no refrigeration requirements I’m a fan of the Archer or Chomp beef sticks; these are larger bags but I’m also a fan of the dried steak strips you get at big box stores like Costco and Sam’s Club. (This Wagyu beef jerky is also good!)

Fruit – I’m a big fan of grabbing an apple or banana for a quick snack. Both are great to mix into oatmeal, or to eat with a bit of peanut butter. You can also keep dried fruit, applesauce packs, or even those Go-Go Squeez pouches (which, as noted above, are great additions to oatmeal!).

Protein Bars – Yes, yes, everyone says they’re just fancy candy bars — if you’re still open to protein bars I think the best ones are Barebells and Built bars. In the past I’ve also bought RX Bars, Quest, Luna, KIND bars, and FitCrunch bars. A corollary here: fiber bars like these brownie bars from Wal-Mart.

Tuna or other canned/pouched seafood – They make a lot of flavored tuna pouches now, but I’m a big fan of mixing tuna with wing sauce (also shelf stable) — it’s weird but it’s so good! You can add these to salads or sandwiches, or eat by themselves. A tip: be verrrrry careful if you’re opening a can; you don’t want it to spill on you or (gasp) the office carpet near your desk. Also be wise in finding a place to dispose of the can or pouch.

Tea. I refuse to think of tea as a snack, although I suppose you could add enough milk to make it a snack — but I still like to stock desk drawers with tea packets I’ve purchased at home. I tend to like herbal and dessert-themed teas, so they’re a bit outside the usual black or green tea usually on offer.

I wouldn’t call them healthy, but there are obviously a ton of other portion-controlled snacks to consider, from healthyish ones (nuts and things like dried edamame or beans) to unhealthy ones (Halloween candy is great for this!). If you prefer to make your own portion-controlled snacks or otherwise want reusable lunch containers, that’s a great idea too!

The Best Office Snacks to Keep Refrigerated

Whether you’ve got a mini-fridge at your desk or you just make good use of the office fridge, there are a lot more snack ideas for work once you can refrigerate. A lot of these can also be brought in with an ice pack for lunch — but then you have to generally eat them that day.

• Yogurt – I eat a lot of yogurt, what can I say?
• Cottage cheese
• Cheese Slices, String Cheese, Babybel Cheese – years ago when I just started and was on a crazy budget, I used to buy a bagel at the deli for $.50 and add my own cheese or meat from home to make a really cheap sandwich.
• Hummus or avocado — these both come in preportioned containers, and I could see being great snacks or something to add to an otherwise boring sandwich or salad
• Overnight oats
• Turkey pepperoni, rotisserie chicken, or other meats — add to salads, sandwiches
• hardboiled eggs (but watch out for the smell factor if you store them in a public fridge, and plan to use a garbage can that is not in your office!)
• egg frittatas/egg muffins you make at home – I love eggs but just can’t get into these, but if you can they’re great.
• Salad fixings – If you feel comfortable leaving things in the office fridge for multiple days, this is a great way to save on salads and sandwiches for lunch — you can keep artichoke hearts, olives, pickles, pepperoncini, jalapeños, shredded cheese, salad dressings, and more. I’ve always been a fan of getting a very basic salad like grilled shrimp or chicken on spinach, then adding fun stuff to it back in the office.

Work Snacks for the Freezer, Microwave, or Both

If you have a freezer AND microwave, your options are basically endless — but even if you only have one or the other, you can keep additional snacks at the office.

Snacks For Work If You Have a Freezer, But No Microwave

Snacks that can defrost in the fridge or on your desk are great! Keep in mind that if you have access to hot water (or even just hot coffee) you might be able to get things to defrost slightly more quickly. Some ideas:

• frozen fruit — you could freeze bananas to mix into oatmeal, or just munch on frozen grapes
• frozen treats, whether purchased or made yourself – I have a Ninja Creami and often make a mix of protein powder and milk that (IMHO) tastes pretty good.
• things that can defrost and be eaten cold or room temperature, like frozen muffins, oatmeal bakes, etc.

Office Snacks If You Have a Microwave, But No Freezer

If you have a microwave but no freezer, you can still use the microwave for shelf-stable and refrigerated items — for example:

• cans of soups and beans (or packets)
• popcorn
• tortillas — use with refrigerated cheese to make mini quesadillas! If you’re using a high-fiber tortilla this can be a good way to get your fiber in.
• shelf-stable rice dishes

If you have access to a microwave AND a freezer, then your lunch and snack options open up tremendously! The only thing I wouldn’t bring in this instance is a) things that are too smelly and might seem rude to coworkers, and b) things that are gross microwaved (like chicken breast, IMHO).

{related: how to make your office smell nice}

How about you guys — what are your best snack ideas for work?

Stock photo via Pexels / Karolina Grabowska.