The Best Recipes To Make And Take On A Road Trip

Road trips are one of the best getaways to plan of all time, any time of year. Whether you're hitting the open road with a group of your best friends or packing up with the family, it's sure to be a time perfectly set to make lots of memories and take plenty of pictures.

There are a lot of essentials to pack in order to enhance your ride, like a great playlist, a few car games, pillows, and cozy blankets. But, let's be honest, here. One of the most crucial components of any road trip that you plan out is a kickin' cooler filled with lots of fun things to snack on along the way.

It's inevitable that a short time into the trip someone will ask, "I'm hungry, what do we have to eat?" We're here to help you be plenty prepared with a plethora of yummy snacks, foods, and even a beverage that everyone can easily enjoy in your vehicle. You will be surely happy to have thought to pack some smart and scrumptious choices that will make taste buds happy and give you plenty of fuel when the ride starts to drag on. After all, there's nothing worse than hungry and cranky passengers on a long road trip! 

Plus, if you don't have to stop for meals, your wallet will be happy, too. Not only you can get to your destination much sooner, but you'll have extra money to spend when you get there.

Who doesn't love edible cookie dough? The answer would be nobody, and that's why this recipe is a perfect snack choice to pack up in your road trip cooler. It's a super easy snack to eat and the recipe only takes 10 minutes to prepare. Once you mix up the recipe, you can portion the dough into easy bite-size morsels and put them into individual storage bags or containers. They will be super convenient for each passenger to grab and eat on the road as they please.

All you will need for this edible cookie dough is flour, softened salted butter, brown sugar, milk, and mini chocolate chips. If you'd prefer, you can replace the chocolate chips with nuts, peanut butter chips, raisins, quick oats, or even white chocolate chips.

Brownies are a snack staple, wherever and whenever you want a treat. These Nutella brownies are truly delicious, meaning that any road trip cooler absolutely requires their presence. They are as chewy, moist, and decadent as they look in the picture. We can promise you that everyone will finish them before your halfway mark. So, you actually might want to think about doubling the recipe! 

These Nutella brownies only require three ingredients, including eggs, sifted flour, and Nutella. You can mix them up in the short space of only five minutes and they bake in a half hour. Trust us on this one: Nutella brownies are snacks you simply cannot forget to pack. Your family will be asking you to bake them over and over again when you return from your trip. Basically, do yourself a favor and have some Nutella on hand at all times.

If your crew likes something crunchy and sweet, they will absolutely love to munch on our easy puppy chow. In order to whip up this recipe, you will need any combination of or your favorite Chex cereal, chocolate chips, peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. In less than 20 minutes, you can have some sweet goodness ready to hit the road! Portion your mix out into plastic storage bags so they are easy to take out of the cooler and enjoy.

Our no-bake energy bites are yummy snacks that are jam-packed with protein — and they're also fun to eat. They're a great choice to prepare for your road trip to switch things up during the ride. Not only are they yummy, but they're also healthy. The ingredients you'll need to make this treat include peanut butter, pitted dates, walnuts, cocoa powder, water or almond milk, and dark chocolate chips.

For your road trip, we'd recommend that you individually wrap each one so they can easily be taken out of the cooler one at a time as everyone wants their snack. Your supply won't last long once your family or road trip buds discover them, so make sure you have yours before everyone else does. These will be perfectly convenient bite-size yummies that are sure to become an instant road trip favorite.

Lemonade is ultra-refreshing, making it a perfect beverage to pack that will please everyone, especially if you're making your trip in the midst of a hot summer. It's always a great idea to have a drink in the car, and having something other than water bottles will be such a treat for you and your passengers. This lemonade is simple to prepare and quite delicious to drink. You will only need three ingredients to prepare this copycat Chick-fil-A lemonade, including lemons, water, and sugar to prepare this drink. 

Consider filling a large beverage cooler and pack plastic cups for your crew. Alternately, you can fill up personal size thermoses for everyone. This will be a fun, unexpected surprise to pull out and serve and one where you're sure to get lots of likes.

Fresh egg salad sandwiches are a solid choice when lunchtime rolls around on the road. Packed on ice, they will be cold, filling, and undeniably yummy.

Our recipe for healthy egg salad is nothing less than delicious. It actually includes non-fat Greek yogurt and avocados. You will also need eggs, walnuts, chives, lemon, salt, and pepper to complete this meal.

Choose whatever bread you'd like for your sandwiches, though nutty whole wheat bread would work especially well here. Whatever loaf you pick, know that you can put this delectable recipe together in practically no time at all. If you'd like to add tomatoes and lettuce, feel free to do so. Cut the sandwiches for easy eating in the car, and wrap them up individually in aluminum foil. Don't forget plenty of napkins and don't forget to bring a few additions to this lunch, too, like mini bags of chips. 

Chex Mix is a recipe that's an all-time favorite crowd-pleaser. It has a lot of ingredients, but you can put it all together in just 15 minutes. When you're in the car and everyone wants a great snack, Chex Mix will have you covered.

You will need Wheat, Rice, and Corn Chex, along with lightly salted and roasted peanuts for your mix. You'll also have to add pretzels, unsalted butter, rye or bagel chips, onion powder, granulated garlic, kosher salt, and Worcestershire sauce. If desired, you can include chipotle powder, cayenne, or hot sauce for a spicy kick. 

You can make up individual bags or even mason jars or plastic containers for everyone to enjoy, and we promise they will.

Variety is the spice of life and so it's kind of a necessary concept when planning road trip sandwiches. There's always someone in the bunch of travelers who may not want something you chose to prepare, no matter how carefully you've taken note of everyone's food preferences. So, you will be covered if you have a couple of different sandwich choices packed and ready to go. Our Trader Joe's copycat chicken salad is sure to be an instant road trip favorite and a great recipe to add to your sandwich arsenal.

To prepare this simple recipe, you'll need cooked chicken, apple cider vinegar, mayonnaise, honey, poppy seeds, sugar, white pepper, kosher salt, chopped celery, pecans, and cranberries. Sounds pretty tasty, right? There's no doubt about it: this chicken salad is downright mouthwatering, and you will be so happy to have it with you for the ride. 

You can add anything you want to each sandwich, like lettuce, spinach, pickles, or tomatoes. Any bread will do — you could opt for fresh croissants or even slice up a loaf of cranberry walnut bread. Be sure to cut the sandwiches so they're neat and easy to eat, and wrap them individually in aluminum foil so they stay cold and dry in your cooler. These will go quickly when it's time for a meal.

Everyone who is road tripping with you will be pretty impressed if you whip out a batch of delicious, healthy, homemade granola bars. Not only is this recipe tasty and convenient to eat, but the bars are a healthy treat as well. You can cut them in smaller portions rather than longer bar-size if desired, just for the road trip.

These delicious bars are made with almonds, peanut butter, some optional nut butter, coconut flakes, coconut oil, honey, cinnamon, salt, vanilla extract, old-fashioned oats, and mini chocolate chips. Peanuts, walnuts, and pecans are also options. They will look almost too perfect to eat but will disappear pretty quickly once everyone knows they are there. This chewy snack is quick, easy, and neat to eat while on the road and should definitely have a reserved spot in your cooler.