Food and Recipes Quick and Easy Dinner Snack Dinner Ideas for When You Can't Muster Up a Full Supper By Marissa Wu Marissa Wu Marissa Wu is an Editorial Fellow and Southern transplant by way of San Francisco, Boston, and Paris, France. She writes about anything and everything as it pertains to the South, but mostly home, food, and the occasional garden stories. Recipe reviews are a particular pleasure, as well as discovering the latest home trends.When not editing and producing articles or updating the homepage, she's trying new Southern Living recipes, jolting along in her manual transmission car, Fitz; hammering out a manuscript on her 1930s Royal Aristocrat typewriter, Georgie; and making film photographs with her Rolleiflex, Cecil.Marissa graduated from Boston University with a degree in journalism and a minor in French Studies. She still can't follow a football conversation but hopes her cheese straws make up for it. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on February 1, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis We've all been there. Some nights, we go all-out. Steak, salad, mashed potatoes. An epic cookout or Sunday dinner. Three courses, plus a fun cocktail or two. And then, there are the days when the only thing we want to do is break out the largest pile of snacks and call it dinner. Pull out the dips, smoothies, toasts, nuts, and crackers—these snack dinner ideas will hit just the spot when you can't find the willpower to muster up a proper supper. We guarantee the kids will love it, too. From Peanut Butter & Jelly French Toast Skewers to Smoked Fish Dip and a Watermelon Smoothie, these recipes prove you don't have to serve a classic big supper to make dinner fun, fast, and interesting. So whether it's a glass of Cornbread & Sweet Milk, a bucket of homemade potato chips, or Hot Cheesy Crab Dip piled high on crackers, dinner is served. 01 of 34 Boiled Peanut Hummus Southern Living Recipe: Boiled Peanut Hummus Swapping traditional chickpeas for boiled peanuts gives this dip a true Southern spin. Serve with your choice of raw veggies, toasts, and chips for a filling (but kind of healthy) snack dinner. 02 of 34 Orange-Carrot Smoothie Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Orange-Carrot Smoothie Pack in the fruits and veggies at dinnertime with this smoothie, which is filled with carrots, mangoes, vanilla yogurt, and orange juice. Pro tip: Serve this on a hot summer night when you can't bear to turn on the stove. 03 of 34 Roasted Sweet Potato Hummus Linda Pugliese; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Roasted Sweet Potato Hummus Sweet potatoes give this dip a playful orange hue. Serve with pita chips and crudités if you're craving a light dinner. 04 of 34 Cornbread & Sweet Milk Damaris Phillips Recipe: Cornbread & Sweet Milk Many a Southerner knows the magic of cornbread and milk, though consistencies and types of milk will vary. Here is Damaris Phillips' version, perfect as a dinnertime treat. 05 of 34 Carrot Hummus Recipe Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham; Food Styling: Marian Cooper Cairns Recipe: Carrot Hummus Recipe Carrots, red chiles, mint, coriander, and cumin ensure a lively dip that will tickle your tastebuds. 06 of 34 Apple Chips Micah A. Leal Recipe: Apple Chips Delicate, crunchy, and perfumed with cinnamon, Apple Chips are the perfect fall snack—we don't blame you if a pile of these disappears around dinnertime. 07 of 34 Smoky Black-Eyed Pea Hummus Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: Smoky Black-Eyed Pea Hummus New year? Super bowl? Lazy dinner? Whip up our Smoky Black-Eyed Pea Hummus for a light dinner or a gathering where a little luck is required. 08 of 34 Shrimp on Seasoned Crackers with Pepper Jelly and Cream Cheese Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke Recipe: Shrimp on Seasoned Crackers with Pepper Jelly and Cream Cheese This easy snack dinner features succulent shrimp flavored with a little lemon, herbs, and olive oil. Assemble on a well-seasoned saltine with the cream cheese and pepper jelly mixture. 09 of 34 Chopped Chicken Livers on Toast Peter Frank Edwards; Prop Styling and Floral Design: Sara York Grimshaw Recipe: Chopped Chicken Livers on Toast It might sound fancy, but it's really just chicken salad on toast, but with livers. This recipe comes from Charleston, South Carolina, chef Mike Lata. It's simple and quick to prepare, so you can have dinner ready in a flash. 10 of 34 Strawberry-Banana-Peanut Butter Smoothie Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Strawberry-Banana-Peanut Butter Smoothie This smoothie is a great, refreshing dinner option for the lactose-intolerant, since it uses almond milk instead of regular. 11 of 34 Peanut Butter & Jelly French Toast Skewers Southern Living Recipe: Peanut Butter & Jelly French Toast Skewers With peanut butter, bread, and assorted fruit, you've covered some major food groups with these skewers. Perfect for the kids when you can't muster up much else. 12 of 34 Hot Crab and Shrimp Dip Coastal Living Recipe: Hot Crab and Shrimp Dip Lump crab meat, fresh shrimp, a medley of spices, and five minutes make this mean seafood dip. Honestly, what more do you need for dinner? 13 of 34 Sweet Potato Toast Micah A. Leal Recipe: Sweet Potato Toast Looking for a quick, filling, gluten-free dinner? Sub the bread for slices of sweet potato. Roasted in the oven, they become crisp on the outside but stay tender in the center. Top with eggs, arugula, and some Parmesan and call it breakfast for dinner. 14 of 34 Ranch Snacker Crackers Sheri Castle Recipe: Ranch Snacker Crackers If you're putting together a few snacks for dinner, these ranch-flavored oyster crackers should be on the lineup. We guarantee they'll disappear instantly. 15 of 34 Prosciutto-and-Manchego Cheese Straws Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: Karin Olsen; Food Styling: William Smith Recipe: Prosciutto-and-Manchego Cheese Straws We dressed up the traditional cheese straw with some prosciutto and Manchego twisted around delicate rods of flaky puff pasty. 16 of 34 Fried Pickle Chips Alison Miksch Recipe: Fried Pickle Chips Fry up a batch of pickle chips and you'll find no one who has room for a real dinner afterwards. 17 of 34 Spicy Strawberry-Goat Cheese Crostini Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Christine Keely Recipe: Spicy Strawberry-Goat Cheese Crostini Dinner is served. Toasty baguette slices hold up a pile of strawberries and goat cheese seasoned with mint, lime, and jalapeño chile. 18 of 34 Watermelon Smoothies Photo: Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Cat Steele Recipe: Watermelon Smoothies What says summer more than a smoothie filled with watermelon and strawberries? It's the season at its finest. 19 of 34 Buttery Toasted Pecans Iain Bagwell Recipe: Buttery Toasted Pecans Sometimes, a handful of crunchy, savory nuts just hits the spot, and before we know it, we've eaten the whole bag for dinner. A little butter and red pepper ensures that's exactly what'll happen with these pecans. 20 of 34 Hot Cheesy Crab Dip Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Hot Cheesy Crab Dip With adjectives like hot and cheesy, it's darn impossible not to eat the whole pan as dinner. Serve with toasted bread, chips, pitas, raw veggies…you might even just scoop it with a spoon. 21 of 34 Cheddar Cheese Shortbread Crackers Photo: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Cheddar Cheese Shortbread Crackers Crisp, buttery, and definitely addicting. You can change it up by swapping Cheddar for pimiento cheese, or doing a pecan or bacon rendition. 22 of 34 Peach-Ricotta-Prosciutto Toasts Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Peach-Ricotta-Prosciutto Toasts This is the ultimate summertime dinner snack. Crisp baguette is piled high with ricotta, peaches, and prosciutto before getting a drizzle of olive oil. That's all the dinner we need. 23 of 34 Caramelized Onion Dip Getty Images / 7886565 Recipe: Caramelized Onion Dip Any potato chip is instantly elevated by this creamy dip. And, of course, the caramelized onions are what make it. 24 of 34 Smoked Fish Dip Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke Recipe: Smoked Fish Dip Elegant and a one-bowl operation? Sounds like a plan to us. 25 of 34 Sunshine Smoothie Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Sunshine Smoothie Sometimes, smoothies are the perfect dinner replacement. This one is for the mango lovers. 26 of 34 Creamy Avocado Dip Johnny Autry; Prop and Food Styling: Charlotte L. Autry Recipe: Creamy Avocado Dip We're just saying, this may give the mighty guacamole a run for its money. Smooth, creamy, and packed with peppers, all it needs is some chips and veggie sticks. 27 of 34 Sweet-and-Salty Snack Mix Hector Manuel Sanchez; Styling: Katie Jacobs Recipe: Sweet-and-Salty Snack Mix Cereal, pretzels, peanut-butter candies, and mini marshmallows? Bring back the nostalgia. 28 of 34 Butter-Baked Saltine Crackers Southern Living Recipe: Butter-Baked Saltine Crackers If you know the pleasure of butter smeared on a saltine cracker, then you'll know that these are a must on the dinner table…even if they're the only thing on the table. 29 of 34 Homemade Potato Chips with Fried Herbs Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Christina Daley Recipe: Homemade Potato Chips with Fried Herbs Nothing hits the spot quite like a homemade potato chip. Throw your dinner plans out the window, whip up a batch, and serve with one of our dips. 30 of 34 Ivy Odom's Lacy Cornbread Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Margaret Monroe Dickey; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Ivy Odom's Lacy Cornbread These are best served with other sides, so make a few dips and toppings to go along with them. You won't be able to eat just one. 31 of 34 Jalapeño Cornbread Sticks Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Cindy Barr; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer Recipe: Jalapeño Cornbread Sticks Cornbread with a kick is made extra special when you bake it in corn-shaped pans. 32 of 34 Creamy Spinach-Ricotta Crostini Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Creamy Spinach-Ricotta Crostini A food processor is your shortcut to finely chopped herbs and an ultra-smooth spinach spread. 33 of 34 Basic Deviled Eggs Lee Harrelson; Styling: Jan Gautro, Laura Zapalowski Recipe: Basic Deviled Eggs There's never a bad time for a good deviled egg, and our basic recipe will have you churning out a few in no time at all. Who needs a real dinner? 34 of 34 Barbecued Pork Quesadillas Jennifer Davick; Styling: Mary Beth Wentzel/Zenobia Recipe: Barbecued Pork Quesadillas Quesadillas are the perfect snack that double for pretty much any meal. We gave ours a Southern spin and loaded it with barbecued pork. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit