French Snacks: 14 Most Delicious Ideas [Including Snacks For Kids] (2024)

Our favorite French snacks are rich in flavor, a little bit healthy, and inspired by the traditions of their region. You can find many of these snacks in France at local markets or patisseries, or you can purchase them online to stock your pantry at home.

The best way to stay healthy is by eating a balanced diet. Healthy food doesn't mean you have to eliminate all the foods you love to eat. It simply means making the right choice of what you eat most of the time.

Healthy eating requires planning, knowledge, and commitment, but it does not have to be a complicated process. Here are some tips for healthy eating:

• Choose whole grains instead of processed white flour products, such as white bread, pasta, rice, and crackers.
• Eat a wide variety of colorful fruits and vegetables for more nutrients.
• Include lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts in your diet.
• Limit saturated fat intake from meat and dairy products like butter or cheese; choose low-fat or nonfat versions instead.
• Avoid salty snacks like chips and fries along with high-sodium canned foods like soups or frozen dinners; use herbs or spices instead of salt to flavor your food.

There are many traditional French snacks, but the ones listed below will appeal to all tastes.

Les Fraises Tagada

Les Fraises Tagada is a very famous French snack. It is like the strawberry-flavored candy but in the shape of a giant strawberry. It's like a huge jelly bean. The best way to describe it? Imagine the softest strawberry-flavored marshmallow treat you've ever had, dipped in a coating of coarse sugar that gives it just enough crunches to make every bite as exciting as the last. As soon as you pop one into your mouth before you even start chewing, the delicate scent of strawberries wafts through your nose, making it impossible not to smile at this little symbol of joy.

Once you start chewing, you're greeted by the sweetest taste of strawberry mixed with notes of vanilla. The crunchy sugar crystals add a lovely textural contrast that creates a truly unique experience.

Panisses

What are panisses? A crunchy, salty chickpea snack from the South of France.

Panisses are a classic French snack that originated in Provence, along the Mediterranean coast and inland to the Rhône Valley. These savory patties or puffs are made from chickpea flour — hence their nickname "little chickpeas" (petit* pois) — and resemble a cross between a falafel and a hushpuppy. They're versatile too: you can eat them with your fingers, as a Hors d'oeuvre, or top them with fried eggs for a quick lunch.

• In France, they're traditionally cooked in a huge skillet full of oil, and they're often served alongside salad in a meal.
• You can also enjoy them as a crispy snack, with your favorite sauce for dipping.

Canistrelli

The Canistrelli is a traditional French snack. It is a sweet biscuit native to Corsica. The Corsicans call it "Biscotti" or "biscotto" in Corsican, which means biscuit and is sometimes served with coffee.

They are usually made of wheat flour, sugar, olive oil, and almonds; aniseed is often added.

Canistrelli is a type of white biscuit from France. It is trendy in the South West of France and Belgium, where it is eaten dipped in wine, as a snack with foie gras, or with jam for breakfast. Canistrelli is made with flour, brown sugar, white sugar, butter, and baking powder. The dough is crumbly and dry; it is formed into ovals before baking. They are traditionally served in small baskets or tins.

• These biscuits are made traditionally, by hand, and without preservatives or colorings.
• These biscuits have a base of almond paste, honey, and olive oil.
• Their appearance is distinctive: dry, cracked, and crunchy.

Palets de Dames

The snack of the moment is the Palets de dames. These little cookies come in different flavors, initially three: chocolate, caramel, and vanilla. But now they are available in a wide range of flavors.

I've seen them with strawberry, raspberry, and pistachio. Palets de dames are addictive, buttery French cookies. They are easy to make, and you can use your favorite cookie cutters to change the shape of the cookies.

Chaussons aux Pommes

Chaussons aux Pommes is a delicious French snack, served both in the afternoon and evening. They may be served hot or cold with a soft, apple-filled interior.

Chaussons aux Pommes can be enjoyed as a breakfast pastry or an afternoon snack. They are also great for dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of caramel sauce. To make them even more delectable, sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

• These Chaussons aux Pommes are best consumed shortly after baking so that the pastry is flaky and fresh.
• However, leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature and reheated in the microwave for 15 to 20 seconds.

Pissaladière

Pissaladière is a French snack. The dish called Pissaladière originated in the south of France and is similar to an Italian pizza. The base of this savory pie is made with bread dough, but it is often thinner and crispier than that of a pizza.

Traditionally, the toppings consist of caramelized onions, anchovies, and black olives; however, it is commonly made without anchovies today. It can be served hot or cold.

Gougère

The Gougère is a French cheese pastry of choux pastry, typically flavored with cheese. The name derives from the Occitan dialect Gouge meaning "cake." The addition of cheese makes the pastry crust hard to be eaten, either hot or cold.

The dough is a savory choux pastry and can be served as an appetizer or accompaniment to soup or a main course. It is often served on its own. The savory version is made

• By using Parmesan cheese, but any hard cheese can be used.
• The cheese is mixed with the dough, and the resulting mixture is piped into small balls or long puffs, which are then baked in an oven until they are golden and crisp. They are best served hot.

Vol-au-Vent

Vol-au-Vent is a delicious French snack. It's made from puff pastry and filled with ganache, and it's perfect for parties or as a crowd-pleasing dessert.

It's straightforward to make, but you need to keep in mind that you can't just eat them right away. Vol-au-vent needs a few hours at room temperature after baking to allow the steam to escape and the puff pastry shell to dry out a bit. Once they're dry, they last up to five days in an airtight container at room temperature.

• Vol-au-vent is typically filled with ganache and served as a dessert, but many variations exist.
• For a savory snack, you can use vanilla pastry cream instead of ganache or fill them with ham, cheese, and tomato.

Pain aux Raisins

Pain aux raisins are a French snack made of sweet yeast dough, rolled into a log, and topped with a layer of butter and sugar. The butter melts into the bread and creates a caramelized crackly crust when baked. A pain aux raisin, also known as a French Danish, is a sweet roll filled with raisins and sugar. The roll is commonly found in bakeries across France and may be made from brioche dough or croissant dough.

Pain au chocolat may be prepared from the same dough as pain aux raisins. In this case, the pastry is topped with one or two pieces of chocolate before being rolled up.

Chouquette

Chouquette is a French pastry made of choux pastry and pearl sugar. They are crunchy on the outside and light on the inside, with air in them.

Chouquettes are often eaten as a snack, like chips or popcorn. Some people eat it with chocolate, caramel, or vanilla cream. Chouquettes are very easy to make but can be time-consuming because they need to be baked twice — once before they're filled and then again after they're filled.

Since chouquettes are made with choux dough, they don't contain any yeast. This means you don't have to wait for them to rise before baking them, which makes the process go much quicker than it would if you were making traditional loaves of bread or pastries.

Pommes Frites

Pommes Frites is a popular snack in some parts of the world. French fries are widely available as li portion of fast food, served with ketchup and mayonnaise, often in cardboard cartons or paper bags.

They can be eaten either hot or cold and seasoned according to taste. For example,

• Poutine is a Canadian dish made with French fries, cheese curds, and gravy; Chili cheese fries are topped with chili and melted cheese, and disco fries are covered in gravy and mozzarella cheese.
• French fries are also available at fast-food restaurants. As well as being served in their traditional fast-food packaging, they can be served in a bowl with an optional fork.

The ultimate guide to French Snacks for Kids:

The French are famous for their cheese, wine, and other food. But what do they feed their kids?

All the parents said that breakfast was essential: "a good start to the day," as one respondent put it. Bread or croissants with butter and jam or honey were popular choices for growing children; some had cereal or yogurt.

The most common snack was fresh fruit - especially apples - but some kids also had a snack at school. This was usually savory, such as a sandwich or sausage roll (or just bread with jam). Many also liked sweet biscuits, cakes, or pastries with their mid-morning coffee break at school or nursery (which even the youngest children take).

Here is a list of French Snacks for kids;

1. Les tartines

Les Tartines are slices of bread, usually baguette, toasted or grilled, and then covered with savory spreads and toppings. They're great as an appetizer or a light meal, they can be served hot or cold, and they're easy to make.

Tartines are served any time of day; they are sometimes warmed after being assembled to melt the cheese if needed. They can be made in advance, chilled, and reheated before serving.

2. Les biscuits et les gâteaux

I often get asked what LES BISCUITS ET LES GÂTEAUX French snack is. The literal translation of it is 'The Biscuits and Cakes.' However, it means much more than that, and there's a lot of confusion about it.

LES BISCUITS ET LES GÂTEAUX is a traditional French dessert that has been around since the early 19th century. It was initially made from sugar and milk and contained many different biscuits and cakes, each unique taste. Today, there are many different varieties of this dessert, so you can try them all to find which one suits your taste best.

Biscuits and cakes are two of the main categories of French pastries. They are the most popular snacks for children.

Les biscuits

The term "biscuit" refers to all kinds of cookies, from little butter cookies to shortbreads, hard crackers (galettes), and even animal-shaped cookies.

Les gâteaux

Gâteaux are sponge cakes, pound cakes, madeleines (little shell-shaped cakes), financiers (almond cakes), choux pastry puffs such as éclairs and cream puffs, and more.

3. Les compotes

Les Compotes is a new fruit-based snack that comes in a cup. It's made with 100% natural ingredients and has no added sugar, preservatives, or food coloring. You can eat it with a spoon, and it's perfect for on-the-go snacking. The product is currently available in two varieties: Apple & Pear and Peach & Apricot.

This healthy snack is convenient to eat. It is ideal for children, adults on the go, or for people looking for healthy snacks without being too complicated.

So nothing looks like a French snack, and nothing tastes like a French snack. There are no nachos or kettle chips, no popcorn or corn chips, no cheese puffs, no bagel chips. And yet the French snack like mad. They do it differently.