Recipes Perfect For A Midnight Snack

It's midnight. Maybe you've been binging your favorite Netflix show. Maybe you've been having drinks with friends. Or maybe you've been up late working on an important project. Whatever the reason for your wakefulness, now you've got the munchies and you're jonesing for something particular — a midnight snack, if you will.

Any midnight snack connoisseur knows that food just hits differently once the clock strikes twelve, and not just any ol' snack will do. Forget the diet-friendly veggies or fruit-heavy smoothies; if it's after dark, we say it's time for something delightfully sinful. Whether you go salty, sweet, or savory, if it's a midnight snack you're after, there's a good chance the snack you want is oh-so-decadent and oh-so-delicious.

But there's one problem that comes with midnight snacks: You want something amazing, but you don't necessarily want to spend an hour or so cooking that something amazing. And that's why, all too often, those in search of a midnight snack often turn to whatever delivery option is still open at that hour. But before you open that food ordering app, check out our favorite 23 recipes perfect for a midnight snack. These snacks and dishes check all the boxes — delicious, sinfully decadent, and extremely easy to whip up in a flash.

Yes, ordering takeout is easy — but it's also pricey. Ditch the takeout next time you're craving some drunken noodles at midnight, and make our drunken noodles recipe instead. While the ingredients list is long, the actual prep and cooking time combined is only 30 minutes. Grab a friend or family member to help with the veggie prep (there is, admittedly, a lot of slicing and dicing involved in making this midnight meal) to make things easier, and you'll find yourself mere minutes away from an Asian dish that's likely far healthier than what you'd get from your local takeout joint.

If you jumped on the mug cake trend a few years ago, you may have realized something — making a mug cake is easier said than done. While it seems super-simple, you still have to work within the scientific bounds of baking in order to get a delicious cake from the microwave. But there's no need to worry: We've broken down all the science and pulled together this mug cake recipe that combines your textbook cake ingredients with cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and other chocolatey goodness. The end result is a moist and delicious cake after just a minute of microwaving.

We can guess what you're thinking: Kale chips? For a midnight snack? Why don't I just eat a salad? 

But hold on a second. If you want a midnight snack that won't totally ruin your healthy lifestyle or your digestive health the next morning, you might just want to opt for these tasty kale chips. They're super-easy to make, require only four ingredients, and come together in less than half an hour. You can eat just about as many of them as you like, too, because our kale chips recipe makes four servings, and each serving is only around 100 calories.

Nachos make a stellar midnight snack and our recipe makes cooking up a whole sheet pan of nachos incredibly easy. Make 'em for a gaggle of friends or just yourself, and eat them over the sink if you want to. We wouldn't blame you, because they're just that good. Follow our recipe to the letter — for a combo of peppers, tomatoes, olives, cheeses, ground beef, and spices that's guaranteed to be delicious — or swap out a few ingredients to make it all your own.

If you've never tried cowboy cookies before, you're missing out. Here, a chocolate chip cookie base gets a kick of extra flavor and texture thanks to the addition of oats, walnuts, and coconut flakes. These cowboy cookies come together in under half an hour, including baking time, so you're only one episode of your favorite sitcom away from a tasty and sweet midnight treat. Plus, the recipe makes 24 cookies, so you have more than enough for tomorrow night, too.

Everyone loves Girl Scout cookies; what they don't love, however, is how Girl Scout cookies are only available for a limited time during the year. Thankfully, if your Girl Scout guilty pleasure is Do-Si-Dos, you can make them at home. While this recipe is a little more involved, and you may not want to make the cookies at midnight, this is a good one to make ahead of time for when your cravings hit. Prep them on a lazy weekend afternoon, and then, you can have them on hand once you're ready to chow down.

There are a lot of places that lay claim to the origination of whoopie pies — Maine, the Amish communities of central Pennsylvania, the South — but since this writer hails from the South, we're going with the South. Regardless of where they originated, though, there's no denying whoopie pies are delicious. Near-painfully sweet, fluffy, and filled with a marshmallow-y center, whoopie pies make a delicious sweet nighttime snack. Using our recipe, make them ahead of time for easier snacking, or just make them on the spot if you have 40 minutes to spare.

Okay, so gas station food isn't exactly the culinary cream of the crop, but there's no denying the fact that gas station taquitos just hit the spot every once in a while, especially around midnight. However, those gas station taquitos can seem a little sus. How long have they been sitting on that roller? What are they even made of? Well, you can know for sure where your taquitos have been when you make your own at home. And our taquitos recipe only takes 20 minutes.

Chunky or smooth, super-spicy or a lil' sweet, filled with jalapenos or dotted with peaches — however you like your salsa, you can make sure you love every single bite when you make your own salsa, created specifically to your preferences, at home. Start with our easy salsa recipe if you've never made salsa before; we'll guide you through the quick process and then, from there, you can add and adjust to create a more personalized recipe.

When it's already midnight, some home cooks couldn't care less about the nutritional value of their snacks, and they'd rather go straight for the good stuff. On that note, if you're looking for a hot wings recipe that'll cure your midnight cravings, try our hot wings. But don't go making them at midnight, or you may just find yourself breaking a sweat. They take nearly three hours to cook, so this is a recipe you'll want to make ahead of time.

If you're craving Costco's fan-favorite tacos, but the retailer is closed, you can still get your late-night taco fix with our five-ingredient copycat recipe. All you'll need is a ten minutes, pineapple, rotisserie chicken, tortillas, habanero sauce, and avocados. It takes barely any work to put these yummy tacos together, and they make a delicious and satisfying midnight snack. Our recipe makes four servings, with two tacos for each serving.