Book club is great, but all that spirited debate over character arcs, plot twists, and who's picking next month's read works up a serious appetite. Even the most dedicated bookworms need to eat.
Here's our roundup of book club snacks to keep everyone fueled, happy, and maybe a little impressed with your hosting skills:
What Are the Best Book Club Snacks?
Good book club snacks meet the following criteria:
- Fuss-free preparation: You don’t want to be spending hours in the kitchen when you need to be finishing the book before your gathering! If it’s something you can whip up in minutes and can feed your whole group, go right ahead and make it.
- Easy eating: Pick snacks you can eat with one hand, leaving the other free to hold your book or e-reader.
- Mess-free: There’s nothing worse than staining your book or going to the sink for the nth time to wash your hands.
- Quiet to eat: We’re not saying to skip the crunchy treats, but if you can avoid anything that’s too distracting, that would be best.
- Not too filling: While your fellow readers should feel satisfied, you also don’t want them falling into a food coma mid-discussion.
- Diverse: Have a mix of sweet and savory options to satisfy different cravings. And of course, keep dietary restrictions in mind.
- Theme-friendly: This one is optional, but to make things extra fun, choose snacks that can tie into the book's theme or setting.
Must-Try Book Club Snack Ideas
Now that you know what makes the best book club snacks, it’s time for the exciting part. Here are 9 ideas worth trying:
Stovetop Popcorn
Popcorn at book club just makes sense. It's communal, easy to eat one-handed, and the smell of it popping fills the room in a way that immediately makes people feel at home. But we aren’t talking about just any type of popcorn here.
We mean stovetop popcorn.
Compared to microwave popcorn and air popped popcorn, it’s crunchier and way more flavorful. Plus, the flavor possibilities are as vast as your imagination so you can surprise your reading group with new creations every time it’s your turn to host. How does elote popcorn or s’mores popcorn sound?
Don’t let the stovetop popping process intimidate you. It’s actually a breeze, especially with our Popper. This stainless steel popcorn popper has a multi-clad metal bottom that evenly distributes heat and comes with a patented spinner modeled after the same mechanism movie theaters use to make popcorn. It’s designed for consistently perfect popcorn!
Charcuterie Board
Charcuterie boards make good book club snacks because they’re completely customizable, shareable, don’t require utensils, and take just a few minutes to put together. As a bonus, they add a sophisticated touch to any get-together.
Book-Shaped Finger Sandwiches
Take two slices of white bread, fill them with your choice of flavors, then use a book-shaped cookie cutter to create the most adorable finger sandwiches. Turkey and avocado are a classic favorite, but you can also fill your sandwiches with egg, salmon, or whatever fits the book you’re discussing!
Tea and Scones
Fancy some tea and scones? This very English staple is perfect for a Jane Austen reading group, but you don’t have to reserve it for period pieces. Who says you can’t serve it while discussing a whodunit story?
To make scones, you’ll need flour, milk, butter, baking powder, and a pinch of salt. You’ll have to combine the dry ingredients, cut in the cold butter until your mixture resembles coarse crumbs, then add milk to form a soft dough. Shape the dough into rounds, bake till golden brown, and serve with clotted cream and jam.
Caprese Skewers
Cookies
Whether it’s snickerdoodles, chocolate chip, or peanut butter, you can never go wrong with cookies straight out of the oven! But if you want to go the extra mile, you could decorate them with book quotes or symbols from the book you’re discussing.
Themed Snack Mix
Here’s one of the most creative book club snacks on this list. You’ll want to base it on the book you’re reading. So if this month’s featured book is a sci-fi read, you can combine freeze dried fruits for a space-y trail mix. If you’re reading a romance novel, then a chocolate and cherry popcorn mix would make sense (though this can also be a great horror book snack).
Pretzels
Regular knotted pretzels will do just fine as snacks for book club, but here's an idea worth trying — twist the pretzels into unusual shapes and serve them with various dips for a fun conversation starter. Talk about a plot twist!
Character-Inspired Mocktails
Up for playing bartender? Try creating non-alcoholic drinks that remind you of characters from the book. It's a fun way to spark conversations about character traits!
For a character like Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby, for example, you could serve a sparkling "Green Light" mocktail made with lime juice, mint, and soda water. Or if your book has a strong-willed protagonist, a bold, spicy mocktail with ginger cayenne would fit the bill.
Happy Reading
Pick a few from this list and you'll have a spread that sparks as much conversation as the book itself, which, honestly, is exactly what book club is for.
Want more snacking inspiration? Be sure to check out our other blog posts — we’ve got ideas for everything from movie night snacks to popcorn bars and game night snacks.
