21 Best Low Histamine Snacks

Histamine is an important chemical in the body. It helps with digestion, carries messages between the brain and the nervous system, and forms part of our immune response. 

Sometimes, though, histamine levels in the body can become too high – a condition known as histamine intolerance. There are various reasons for this, including exposure to too much histamine through food. High histamine levels can cause a variety of symptoms, from nasal congestion and sinus issues to headaches and fatigue.

One way of addressing histamine intolerance is to adopt a low histamine diet. Avoiding foods generally known to have high histamine levels can help reduce the symptoms of histamine intolerance. 

Learn more about getting started on a low histamine diet.

Rice is a low-histamine food, which means that rice-based snacks are ideal! In addition to being very low in calories, rice cakes also come in whole-grain versions made from brown rice.

For a quick and easy snack, you can eat them just as they are. There are so many varieties of flavored rice cakes available these days that it’s easy to find a brand that will appeal to you. 

For a more substantial snack, try spreading them with cream cheese or hummus. You may prefer to make your own hummus in order to avoid any ingredients – like lemon juice – that may act as a trigger for your symptoms.

Fortunately, there are plenty of delicious fruits that you can enjoy on a low-histamine diet. 

These include:

• Apples
• Apricots (fresh)
• Blackberries
• Blueberries
• Cherries
• Coconut
• Cranberries
• Dates (fresh)
• Figs (fresh)
• Grapes
• Kiwifruit
• Lingonberries
• Lychees
• Mangoes
• Melons
• Nectarines
• Passion Fruit
• Peaches
• Persimmons
• Pomegranates

If you want to make your fruit snacks more interesting, try freezing some of them – frozen grapes, for example, are amazing!

Alternatively, make a simple fruit salad and add some fresh mint. You may also like this Ambrosia Salad that can be made histamine-friendly.

Popcorn is not restricted on a  low-histamine diet, although it may trigger symptoms in some people. For that reason, it’s best to start with a little and see how you do!

The safest option is to make your own popcorn at home, as then you will know exactly what it contains. Try popping kernels in coconut oil (which is also low in histamine) and then sprinkling them with sea salt for a tasty, whole-grain treat. Other topping ideas include a little honey or low-histamine spices like cinnamon and turmeric.

If you do choose the store-bought variety, look for a brand with as few additional ingredients as possible. 

Corn is a low-histamine food so tortilla chips are a snack you should be able to enjoy without any problems.

Try pairing them with homemade hummus, a histamine-friendly veggie puree, or salsa made without tomatoes. 

For a healthier option, why not try making your own baked tortilla chips? 

Simply cut a corn tortilla into wedges and place them on a baking tray. Cook at 350°F for 5 minutes, turn, sprinkle with salt, and bake for between 6 to 8 minutes more. Remove them from the oven as soon as they look pale gold in color.

Or, try this recipe for Air Fryer Tortilla Chips.

Low in both histamines and calories – plus high in nutrients – zucchini makes a great snack. 

Unless you’re a real vegetable lover, though, you might find a plate of cooked zucchini a little uninspiring! 

So why not try turning it into chips instead? Zucchini chips are easy to make and help satisfy that craving for something crisp and savory!

To prepare them, slice your zucchini as thinly as possible (preferably with a mandoline). Blot off as much liquid as you can with paper towel, then pop the slices onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush with a little oil and sprinkle with salt, then bake at 225ºF for around 2 hours until dry and crisp.

Or, try this recipe for Air Fryer Zucchini Chips.

This Indian drink is made from a blend of milk, turmeric, and other spices like ginger. Rich in antioxidants, it offers lots of health benefits, potentially reducing inflammation, lowering blood sugar levels, improving brain function, and even reducing the symptoms of depression.

Fresh, pasteurized milk is usually well-tolerated on a low-histamine diet, or you could try making golden milk with rice or coconut milk instead. Both of these have some natural sweetness that works really well! 

To prepare golden milk, simply warm 2 cups of milk in a pan with a teaspoon of fresh ginger, a teaspoon of fresh turmeric, and a pinch of ground ginger (ground cinnamon is customary, but it’s often recommended to avoid cinnamon when on a low-histamine diet). Once it has turned a deep yellow color, strain it into your cup and enjoy.

Alternatively, you can purchase prepared golden milk and golden milk powder mixes online. But they can be expensive and don’t offer the same benefits as the homemade variety!

Chia seeds are low in histamine and packed with nutrients, including fiber, protein, and omega-3 fatty acids. They are also gluten-free and make an ideal candidate for snacking.

A fun way to enjoy them is in a chia pudding. The seeds are able to absorb up to 12 times their weight in liquid when soaked. They also develop a mucilaginous coating that gives them a quality similar to a gel. 

There are lots of different recipes you can try to create a chia pudding. One of the most simple is to mix 2 tablespoons of the seeds with ½ cup of milk in a jar. You can use cow’s milk (if you tolerate it well) or plant-based milk. You may also like to add a sweetener, such as honey or agave syrup. Leave the seeds to soak for a minimum of 2 hours (or even overnight). 

Try this recipe for Whole30 Vanilla Pudding.

You can serve your pudding topped with slices of low-histamine fruit or shredded coconut. Delicious!

Hard pretzels make a convenient snack for a low-histamine diet. They are one of the healthier snack options out there as they are baked rather than fried. 

That being said, store-bought pretzels can be very high in salt. Look for low-sodium or unsalted brands, which you can enjoy alone or serve with a low-histamine dip. 

You can also find plenty of recipes online to make your own. If you’re worried that you don’t have the skills to create that classic pretzel shape, you can easily bake pretzel rods instead!

Carrot sticks make a crunchy and refreshing low histamine snack. They are also a great source of nutrients and particularly rich in carotenoids, which help support eye health. 

But you can do more with carrots than just cut them into sticks! You can use them to make carrot chips, roast them with a honey glaze, or grate them and mix them with eggs and flour to create tasty carrot fritters. 

See some of my favorite carrot recipes here: Air Fryer Baby Carrots, Instant Pot Carrots, Carrot Juice.

You can get plenty of healthy fruits into your diet by making a smoothie, even on the busiest days. Better still, you won’t have to worry about aggravating your symptoms if you combine any of the low-histamine fruits mentioned above.

Smoothies made with coconut milk are a good dairy-free alternative if cow’s milk is problematic for you. Other great options include rice milk or oat milk. Throw in some chia gel for an extra boost of nutrients and a thicker texture.

I have a ton of smoothie recipes on my site, including ones with low-histamine fruits such as my Honeydew Smoothie! Avoid the smoothie recipes with high-histamine fruits such as strawberries.

Once you’ve discovered how delicious roasted chickpeas are, they will become a snack you’ll turn to often! Packed with protein and low in histamine, they are wonderfully crunchy and lend themselves well to all sorts of flavorings.

For convenience, you can buy roasted chickpeas at the grocery store. But it is much cheaper to make your own – and then you have full control over the ingredients too!

To prepare them, you’ll need a batch of canned or cooked chickpeas. If you choose the canned variety, drain and rinse them first. Heat your oven to 425°F, then spread your chickpeas out on a kitchen towel. Dry them thoroughly- they won’t go crispy if they are moist.

Toss with a little olive oil and salt (or other flavorings you enjoy), then spread evenly on a baking sheet. Roast for around 20 to 30 minutes, until crispy.

Try these recipes for Air Fryer Chickpeas.

Nuts are the perfect snack, packed with protein and helping you stay energized throughout the day.

Some nuts – particularly peanuts, cashews, and walnuts – can be high in histamine. That still leaves you with plenty of options, though. Almonds, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, and pistachios all being relatively low histamine sources.

Try to avoid salted, dry-roasted, or honey-roasted nuts, as these are often loaded with unhealthy extras. If you find plain nuts a bit boring, try roasting them in the oven to enrich their flavor. You could also add your favorite sweet or savory spices.

As well as being a satisfying, convenient, and healthy snack, hard-boiled eggs are also low in histamine! 

Plus, they keep for up to 7 days in the refrigerator, so you can make a batch and keep it on hand throughout the week.

They are easy to prepare, but you need to avoid overcooking them. This can make them rubbery and leave a grey ring around the yolk. 

The best way to make them is to place the eggs in a pot and cover them completely with water. Put on the lid, bring them to a boil, then remove from the heat and allow to stand until done. This takes around 10 minutes for large eggs, so reduce the time if yours are smaller.

They are pretty delicious just as they are, but if you like your snacks to have a little crunch, try slicing them and sprinkling them with seeds. 

See my recipes for Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs or Crockpot Hard Boiled Eggs.

A tasty twist on standard hard-boiled eggs, deviled eggs are versatile and can be made with all sorts of ingredients! 

Simply make your boiled eggs as usual, then peel them and cut them in half. Remove the yolks, place them into a bowl, and mix them with mayonnaise until creamy. If mayonnaise is problematic for you, try pureeing cottage cheese and adding that instead. It gives just the right texture.

See my favorite recipe for Keto Deviled Eggs.

You then have the basic mixture to fill your eggs, to which you can add your favorite low-histamine ingredients. These could include salsa (made without tomatoes), garlic powder, paprika, hummus, or chopped chives.

Trail mix is a tasty and satisfying snack, made of a combination of nuts, seeds, granola, and dried fruit. The problem with store-bought trail mix is that it will usually contain peanuts and other nuts high in histamine. 

The solution is to make your own!

To prepare a low histamine trail mix, use any of the low histamine nuts listed above and combine them with shredded coconut and your choice of chia, flax, hemp, pumpkin, sesame, or sunflower seeds. Leave out the dried fruit as this tends to trigger the symptoms of histamine intolerance. 

Toss together with melted coconut oil and honey, plus a little salt and vanilla. Finally, bake at 325°F until dry (around 30 minutes), mixing well from time to time.

See my recipe for Keto Trail Mix.

A flavorful combination of chickpeas, tahini, lemon, and spices, hummus is a popular and versatile snack. The basic recipe, however, can cause problems if you suffer from histamine intolerance, as the lemon can trigger symptoms. 

So for that reason, it’s a good idea to make your hummus at home and simply leave the lemon juice out, or replace it with apple cider vinegar.

In the rare event that you find it difficult to tolerate even the chickpeas in hummus, you can try replacing some (or all) of them with roasted, blended carrots, beets, or cauliflower.

You can also try making a legume-free version with this Cashew Hummus recipe (as long as you tolerate cashews).

One of the world’s most nutrient-dense foods, kale can help lower cholesterol and protect against cancer. Fortunately, it is also relatively low in histamine.

Not everyone enjoys eating kale as part of a meal – but one thing many people agree on is that kale chips are utterly delicious! It is possible to buy them at the grocery store, but they can be quite expensive. So you might prefer to make them at home – they only take around 30 minutes from start to finish!

First, preheat your oven to 300 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Take a bunch of kale and remove the leaves from the stems, then tear them into smaller pieces. Wash and then dry thoroughly (a salad spinner is useful for this).  Toss with olive oil and salt, then bake until the edges start to turn brown and the leaves are crispy.

For actual recipes, try my Oven Baked Kale Chips or my Air Fryer Kale Chips.

This beautiful tropical fruit certainly packs a punch in terms of nutrition, being high in vitamin C and one of the few fruits to contain iron. Dragon fruit also makes a wonderful low-histamine snack when combined with other fruits in a smoothie!

Because dragon fruit is only slightly sweet in taste, I find it works best when mixed with other sweet fruits. Try combining it with blueberries, mangoes, or watermelon, and adding some chia seeds to introduce some healthy fats. Blend with your favorite type of milk, or even with coconut water.

Try this recipe for Dragon Fruit Smoothie. You might also want to learn more about Yellow Dragon Fruit.

Cucumber is refreshing, hydrating, and can be enjoyed in lots of different ways! 

You can simply sprinkle the slices with your favorite herbs or spices (dill is amazing) or top them with cottage cheese and a sprinkle of sunflower seeds. They also taste great with hummus or topped with cream cheese. 

One of the best foods for low histamine snacking, cottage cheese is high in calcium and protein. 

People tend to love it or hate it, but it’s really worth experimenting with to see if you can find a way to use it that suits you. If you don’t like the lumpy texture, then blend it until smooth.

It pairs well with either sweet or savory ingredients – a bowl of cottage cheese with sliced peaches, for example, tastes wonderful, especially when topped with a small handful of low histamine nuts or seeds for texture. Watermelon is another good choice.

If you prefer a more savory flavor, serve it on rice cakes, cucumber slices, or with tortilla chips.

Cottage is not dairy-free so it’s not appropriate for dairy-free or vegan diets.

Energy balls tend to be made with a base of 2 main ingredients – nut butter and oats. The oats work as a binder, soaking up any oils in the recipe and holding the balls together. Designed to provide you with energy throughout the day, energy balls contain plenty of carbohydrates and protein, so they are a great snack to have on hand.

Whilst oats are perfect for a low histamine snack, not all nut butters are suitable. Avoid peanut butter and opt for almond butter instead. You can then add other healthy ingredients to taste, including coconut oil, chia seeds, and a little honey for sweetness. 

Recipes are flexible – your overall aim is to create a dough that will hold together when you squeeze it in your hands. You can roll this into balls that you can keep in your refrigerator for up to 7 days. You can even freeze energy balls, so it’s easy to prepare a big batch ahead of time.