9 Midnight Snacks Worth Staying Up For

It always starts the same way: It’s late and there’s nothing on but cooking shows, making you crazy hungry. Of course you want to eat something satisfying, without waking up the whole house by clattering pans in the kitchen. Solution: Make one of these 9 easy midnight snack recipes:

1. PIZZA POPCORN

Why wait for delivery when you can make your own pizza-flavored popcorn? Parmesan, oregano, and sun-dried tomatoes create this healthy pizza alternative, a recipe from Chef Cat Cora.
Photo/Recipe: Oprah.com

2. MAPLE CINNAMON TOAST

The cinnamon toast you loved as a kid, only all grown up. Mix melted butter with maple syrup, ground cinnamon, and a touch of salt for this updated classic by Merrill Stubbs of Food52.
Photo/Recipe: Food52

3. MICROWAVE CHIPS

Custom-flavored potato chips? Cooked crispy in the microwave in 5 minutes? Yes, please! Check out CHOW’s method.
Photo: CHOW.com

4. ONE-INGREDIENT ICE CREAM

If you’ve got a frozen banana and a food processor you can make your own ice cream faster than heading to the store for a pint of Ben & Jerry’s—The Kitchn has all the details. Add chocolate or your favorite fruit to make it even tastier!
Photo/Recipe: The Kitchn

5. BROWNIE-IN-A-MUG

Get your late-night chocolate fix with this lightning-fast single-serving brownie that you nuke in a mug, courtesy of CHOW community member adirao.
Photo: CHOW.com

6. DOUGH-BOY DONUTS

Make Chef Roy Choi’s favorite munchie by frying up Pillsbury biscuit dough and tossing it in cinnamon sugar. Dip in strawberry or raspberry jam for an even tastier treat.
Photo/Recipe: Cosmopolitan

7. MICROWAVE EGGS

Midnight is technically morning, right? Get out the egg carton and follow one of these CHOW microwave egg tips for scrambling, frying, and poaching.
Photo: CHOW.com

8. SALAMI CHIPS

So this Cynthia Nims recipe from Epicurious requires you to preheat your oven, but in less than 20 minutes, you will have your own chips … made of cured meat! Not a bad trade-off.
Photo/Recipe: Epicurious

9. GREEN BEANS

This CHOW recipe from Chef Kim Alter for green beans sautéed with preserved lemon, garlic, and red pepper flakes is for those who want a healthy snack with tons of flavor.
Photo: Chris Rochelle / CHOW.com

Top image: Midnight snack fridge / Frankie Foto

Leena Trivedi-Grenier is a Bay Area food writer and cooking teacher with an undying love for pot stickers. She earned her master's in gastronomy from Le Cordon Bleu. Her writing appears on her blog Leena Eats and in various food-based encyclopedias.