13 Absolute Best Gas Station Snacks Of All Time

There's nothing like taking a road trip and making a pit stop for snacks at a gas station. Sure, you could opt for an actual meal at a fast food drive-thru (or even remember to pack a sandwich before you leave), but it's not as much fun as stocking up on a stash of snacks to munch on while you drive down the highway. Of course, every gas station's selection varies, but many of the same players pop up at every point in the road: the trail mixes, chips, pretzels, and the not-quite-yet-ripe fruit are all there, waiting for you.

But what are the best gas station snacks of all time? I evaluated a long list of classics and chose these 13 standouts based on availability, portability, and ultimately, deliciousness, to give you a better idea of what you should snag the next time you find yourself at a gas station. We each have our favorites, though, so stick to your tried-and-true classics — but don't be afraid to branch out and try something new. Your next road trip may just be the tastiest one yet.

Admittedly, a lot of the snacks on this list are not what you should eat when you want to feel your best. But the fresh fruit that you'll often find at gas stations is a wonderful reprieve from those more processed alternatives, which is why it's the top food pick I'm happy to see when I walk into a gas station. Sometimes, the fruit isn't exactly ripe (and other times, it may be a bit overripe), but it's always nice when you can get some whole, fresh food at a convenient location without having to make a separate stop at a grocery store.

Bananas are probably the most common type of fresh fruit I've seen at gas stations, but I've noticed oranges and apples on occasion. These are all solid options because they're relatively portable foods that are easy to eat when you're on the go. Other fruits, delicious as they may be, may not be appropriate for a road trip. After all, you're not going to have an easy time cutting up a pomegranate or a watermelon in the car. Of course, I like getting myself some junk food from time to time, but it's nice when I can pair it with something that tastes light and refreshing.

Go to just about any gas station in the United States, and you're going to find a snack-sized bag of Doritos. I'd be shocked if I walked into a gas station and didn't find several Doritos flavors staring back at me. They're not my all-time favorite chips, but their real appeal is the fact that they don't require any dip — you can eat them straight out of the bag, no accompaniment needed. And although there are plenty of Doritos flavors to choose from, my preference is always the Nacho Cheese (although I won't judge if you tell me you're a Cool Ranch person).

The only question you have to ask yourself is whether you want to get a small, personal-sized bag or you want to go all in for a big bag and get enough to share. For me, it just depends on how long I'm going to be in the car. Several more hours? Then the bigger bag is the way to go.

Flamin' Hot Cheetos are arguably the best Cheetos of them all, with their bold, serious spice and signature crunch. There are so, so many "spicy" snacks out there that aren't that spicy at all, and Flamin' Hot Cheetos truly delivers on the heat front. Because of that spiciness, once you take a single bite, you'll immediately want to finish the whole bag. This is just the kind of quality I'm looking for in a road trip snack, which is why Flamin' Hot Cheetos earn a place on this list.

Just keep in mind that for ideal car snacking, you'll get the crunchy variety, not the puffs. The crunchy kind is much more compact, making them better for on-the-go snacking, and they also have a more concentrated, intense flavor than the puffs. If you want your snack to have some extra acidity, opt for the límon version. No matter what flavor you choose, though, you're going to want to have some wet wipes on hand for the mess the Cheetos are bound to make on your fingers.

If you're craving gummy candy while you're on the road, there's no better snack to pick up than Nerds Gummy Clusters. This snack is not one note — it's a combo of flavors and textures that scratches my brain in just the right way. It starts with the gummy interior, sweet, fruity flavored, and perfectly bouncy. The gummy is then smothered with Nerds, those crunchy, sour candies that you used to get in that tiny box. The sourness from the Nerds pairs well with the sweetness of the gummy, creating a harmonious blend. It's the crunch followed by that gummy texture, though, that makes this snack stand out from the rest.

Why not a Nerds Gummy Rope, you ask? It's basically the same thing, although the rope version is arranged into a long strand of candy instead of little pieces. I like the clusters better as a gas station snack because they're easier to eat while you're on the road. Plus, they're better for sharing if you don't want to finish a whole rope's worth of candy all on your own.

When you can't decide which snack you want to pick up from the gas station, Chex Mix is always a safe option. That's because it's many snacks in one, with a variety of different shapes, textures, and even flavors all together in one bag. This creates the kind of variety you want when you've been looking at a never-ending landscape of highway for hours at a time. Plus, it's a salty, carb-heavy food, which is what many of us want when we grab a snack from the gas station.

These days, the possibilities are endless when it comes to Chex Mix flavors to choose from. Tasting Table's favorite flavor is the Cheesy Pizza Remix, but you can't go wrong with the traditional one if you want to keep it simple. And if you prefer a sweet snack, the turtle flavor is a solid option, which contains chocolate and caramel flavors.

Not everyone can handle spice in their snack, but if you prefer a little heat, then hot fries — specifically Chester's Flamin' Hot Fries — are an elite gas station snack. They're not actual "fries," of course, but rather an especially light snack usually made from corn. Honestly, without the seasoning, they probably wouldn't taste like anything at all. There's a slight crunch, but it's not particularly intense, so this stuff isn't even about the texture.

The seasoning in hot fries is, well, hot. These things are pretty spicy, so even if a lot of snacks aren't quite hot enough for you, hot fries may just get the job done. They're easy to eat in the car, and they arguably leave less of a mess on your hands than Cheetos do. And, once again, this is a carb-y, chip-adjacent snack that needs no additional dips or accoutrements to taste its best. The good news is that you're likely to find one brand or another of hot fries at just about any gas station you visit. The bad news is that you're probably going to have to share them with whoever else is in the car with you.

When you walk into a gas station with a sweet tooth, Donettes are likely to draw your eye immediately. I think the size of the tiny donuts is what's so appealing about them, since they don't taste particularly fresh. They have a slightly gummy texture, which I would probably hate if they were fresh from the bakery, but which I excuse since I'm buying them from a gas station shelf. And you can tell yourself you're just going to eat one of them, but before you know it, you're probably going to finish the entire sleeve. At the same time, they are easy to share with anyone else in the car if you have enough self-restraint to keep yourself from eating the whole package.

I don't think I've ever eaten Donettes that didn't come from a gas station, which is why the donuts earned such an important place on this list. Keep in mind that different flavors of Donettes can be more or less messy. The powdered variety is likely to make a mess on your lap, so they may not be ideal if you're the one driving. I generally choose the chocolate-covered flavor if I happen to be in the driver's seat — just don't let them melt on a hot day.

Yes, pretzels are one of the best snacks you can take on a long road trip, but I generally don't want something as basic as a bag of plain pretzels. Rather, I'm craving something a little heavier and more indulgent. That's when peanut butter-filled pretzels have the most appeal. There's the crunch of the pretzel casing itself, followed by the rich creaminess of the peanut butter inside. When those two textures come together, you have an irresistible snack that is even filling enough to replace a meal if you're really in a hurry.

This is an ideal gas station snack because you get all the benefits of a dip — dipping pretzels into peanut butter is delicious, after all — but you don't actually have to do any dipping. This is a super-portable snack that checks the boxes for both fat and carbs. And isn't that what we're often craving when we want a quick snack? Plus, if you have leftovers, you can keep the rest of the bag in the car for whenever you need a pick-me-up while you're on the road.

Like Chex Mix, trail mix can be a solid gas station option because, technically, it's not just one snack. In a good trail mix, you've got various types of nuts, perhaps some dried fruit, and preferably, a bit of chocolate. Hopefully, the nuts are salty, which creates a nice salty-sweet flavor combo with the other ingredients in the mix. All of these flavors in one snack allow you to buy less at the gas station because you won't need separate items to fulfill both your salty and sweet flavor cravings.

Unlike many other gas station snacks, though, trail mix is quite hearty with its inclusion of both nuts and dried fruit. While many gas station snacks will help cure your cravings for an hour or two, most of the more carb-based ones are probably going to leave you hungry again not long after you've finished the bag. Trail mixes, particularly those that feature several different nuts and seeds, have a better chance at filling you up, which is great for those times when you don't want to eat a full meal but still feel pretty hungry. My only advice for picking out a good trail mix is to make sure you opt for one that does, in fact, include chocolate — it's an invaluable part of the mix.

You know when it's super hot out and you're craving something refreshing? At those times, digging into a bag of greasy chips may not seem like a delicious prospect. That's why I love to see a gas station with a well-stocked freezer section. You can usually find a variety of frozen treats in a gas station's open-top freezer, but ice cream sandwiches are arguably the best option. This mostly comes down to logistics. Popsicles can be pretty messy, especially when it's hot out, and you're going to want to avoid accidentally dripping ice cream all over your pants in the car. Sometimes, you can find tiny containers of ice cream at gas stations, but you need a spoon to eat them, which, again, isn't always ideal for eating in a vehicle.

Ice cream sandwiches are handheld, so they're better designed for eating on the go. Plus, you're getting two desserts in one. First of all, there are the cookies, which provide a filling foundation for the most important part of the sandwich: the ice cream itself. That interplay between the soft cookie and the creamy ice cream inside makes for an especially pleasant texture that's exactly the pick-me-up I need on a boiling hot road trip day.

If you're a '90s kid, then chances are that you grew up with Cosmic Brownies. While they don't taste anything like actual homemade brownies, that's not the point. These brownies have a fudgy texture that seems more dense and compact than the homemade version. What gives them their signature flair, though, are the colorful candies dotted on the surface of the brownies. This provides a lovely little crunch, making for a more interesting, dynamic texture, and also makes them immediately visually appealing.

Although you can get boxes of these things from the grocery store, I especially like buying them at gas stations because they're often sold individually there. Since their flavor isn't particularly delicious, I rarely want to invest in several packs all at once. When I can buy just one, though, it takes me back to a simpler, less complicated time in my life. Plus, it's a quick and easy chocolate dessert that won't melt (or won't melt as much as chocolate candy, at least) in the hot car if you have to stop somewhere. The next time you're looking for a baked dessert at a gas station, Cosmic Brownies should be on your list.

Whether you're trying to meet your protein goal or you're just looking for a salty, savory snack that's more substantial than an average bag of chips, jerky has you covered. Depending on the gas station you're at, you'll almost definitely find beef jerky but may even spot chicken or turkey jerky as well, offering a range of different meaty profiles for the more protein-inclined amongst us. Jerky is another gas station favorite for me because it feels like a more filling, slightly more nutritious option than many of the other gas station snacks I'd usually reach for.

Plus, these days, jerky companies are coming out with tons of different flavors. Try a peppered variety if you want your snack to pack some spice, or opt for a teriyaki marinade if you like all that salt to be balanced with a hint of sweetness. Either way, you're in for an undeniably filling treat.

If I'm being totally honest, an actual, freshly baked cinnamon roll and a store-bought honey bun have very little in common beyond both containing a lot of sugar. A honey bun isn't going to deliver any of that soft-baked bread texture or even the dripping, gooey texture of the frosting on top. But a real cinnamon roll isn't a good candidate for a gas station snack anyway, since it's not portable at all and generally requires the use of a fork. A honey bun, on the other hand, comes straight out of its plastic packaging ready to sink your teeth into, mess-free. There's the sickly sweet, somewhat hard frosting that might even make your teeth hurt, and the cold, somewhat soggy texture of the roll itself.

Despite these less-than-delicious-sounding descriptors, there's something about a honey bun that's hard not to love. It's not the kind of snack you'd want to eat all the time, but it hits the spot when you enjoy it alongside a cup of boiling hot, too-bitter gas station coffee. Sometimes when you're on the road, you just need a snack that's going to deliver the sugar rush you so desperately need to keep driving, and a honey bun, like one from Little Debbie, will deliver just that.

I chose the snacks for this list based on availability, first and foremost. I tried to pick snacks that appear at most of the gas stations I've been to in my life, rather than opting for more niche snacks that may or may not appear at your local gas station. Additionally, I selected snacks that are generally easy to eat in the car or on the go, which is particularly relevant when you're shopping at a gas station. And of course, I also took taste and enjoyment into consideration, selecting the gas station snacks that I personally find the most delicious or that have large cult followings.