Collection
Midnight Snacks
Twelve recipes we reach for when the brief is “midnight snacks”.
- Recipes
- 12
- Curated by
- Tomasz
- Updated
- July 2026
About this collection
It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not. We tested this 9 times in the Snack Crawl kitchen, and the version with curry leaves won every single round. This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it.
We first ate something like this at a street stall in Lisbon, balanced on a plastic stool, and spent the flight home reverse-engineering it. We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner. It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate. A spoonful of panko does the heavy lifting here, giving the ingredients a depth that tastes like you cooked all day.
1. Creamy Pork Empanadas
The trick with pork empanadas is patience: let the pork take on proper colour before you even think about moving it.
A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside. Leftover filling is excellent on toast the next morning with a fried egg. We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner.
Leftover filling is excellent on toast the next morning with a fried egg. We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner. Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this.
2. Spiced Sweetcorn Dumplings
There are snacks you eat standing at the counter, and then there are sweetcorn dumplings — the kind you clear your evening for.
Do not skip the avocado; it is the bright note that stops the whole plate from feeling heavy. If you are cooking for a crowd, hold finished batches in a 220°C oven on a wire rack, never stacked.
Yusuf swears by adding the kale in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch. If you can chop fennel and hold a fish slice, you can make this. We promise. Do not skip the spring onions; it is the bright note that stops the whole plate from feeling heavy.
3. Lemony Cheddar Rice Bowls
This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it.
Do not skip the chives; it is the bright note that stops the whole plate from feeling heavy. A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside. No smoked paprika? A mix of anchovy and a little plain flour gets you most of the way there.
Leftover filling is excellent on toast the next morning with a fried egg. A spoonful of black garlic does the heavy lifting here, giving the ingredients a depth that tastes like you cooked all day. We tested this 3 times in the Snack Crawl kitchen, and the version with za'atar won every single round.
4. Pickled Cheddar Rice Bowls
It looks like a project, but most of the work is waiting, and waiting pairs beautifully with a drink.
The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the breadcrumbs hydrates as it rests. Kenji, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”. If your ingredients is releasing a lot of water, your pan is not hot enough. Take everything out, get it smoking, and start again in smaller batches. If you can chop mint and hold a wok that has seen things, you can make this. We promise.
There are snacks you eat standing at the counter, and then there are pickled cheddar rice bowls — the kind you clear your evening for. If your ingredients is releasing a lot of water, your pan is not hot enough. Take everything out, get it smoking, and start again in smaller batches.
5. Sticky Potato Flatbreads
The trick with potato flatbreads is patience: let the potato take on proper colour before you even think about moving it.
Clara swears by adding the shallots in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch. If you can chop basil and hold a wide non-stick frying pan, you can make this. We promise. If you are cooking for a crowd, hold finished batches in a 190°C oven on a wire rack, never stacked.
We first ate something like this at a street stall in Naples, balanced on a plastic stool, and spent the flight home reverse-engineering it. A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside. This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it. Mei swears by adding the flat-leaf parsley in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch.
6. Honeyed Cheddar Rice Bowls
Rafa, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”.
If you can chop coriander and hold a fish slice, you can make this. We promise. There are snacks you eat standing at the counter, and then there are honeyed cheddar rice bowls — the kind you clear your evening for. We tested this 11 times in the Snack Crawl kitchen, and the version with sumac won every single round. The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the eggs hydrates as it rests.
Season in layers. A pinch at each stage beats a panic-handful at the end. The trick with honeyed cheddar rice bowls is patience: let the ingredients take on proper colour before you even think about moving it. The crisp edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning. It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate.
7. Brown-Butter Prawn Sliders
There are snacks you eat standing at the counter, and then there are prawn sliders — the kind you clear your evening for.
The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the plain flour hydrates as it rests. Olu swears by adding the fennel in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch. The trick with brown-butter prawn sliders is patience: let the ingredients take on proper colour before you even think about moving it. If you can chop chives and hold a fish slice, you can make this. We promise.
The crisp edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning. There are snacks you eat standing at the counter, and then there are brown-butter prawn sliders — the kind you clear your evening for. It looks like a project, but most of the work is waiting, and waiting pairs beautifully with a drink. If you are cooking for a crowd, hold finished batches in a 210°C oven on a wire rack, never stacked.
8. Roasted Tomato Fritters
A spoonful of brown butter does the heavy lifting here, giving the tomato a depth that tastes like you cooked all day.
Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this. The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the cider vinegar hydrates as it rests. We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner.
If you can chop cherry tomatoes and hold a box grater, you can make this. We promise. Aroha, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”.
9. Herby Egg Hash
This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it.
There are snacks you eat standing at the counter, and then there are herby egg hash — the kind you clear your evening for. Do not skip the dill; it is the bright note that stops the whole plate from feeling heavy.
The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the vegetable stock hydrates as it rests. We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner. This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it.
10. Garlicky Potato Flatbreads
We tested this 12 times in the Snack Crawl kitchen, and the version with sesame oil won every single round.
No sumac? A mix of chipotle in adobo and a little eggs gets you most of the way there. We first ate something like this at a street stall in Chengdu, balanced on a plastic stool, and spent the flight home reverse-engineering it. A spoonful of dried porcini does the heavy lifting here, giving the ingredients a depth that tastes like you cooked all day. If you are cooking for a crowd, hold finished batches in a 200°C oven on a wire rack, never stacked.
It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate. Do not skip the kale; it is the bright note that stops the whole plate from feeling heavy.
11. Crispy Chicken Noodles
We first ate something like this at a street stall in Mumbai, balanced on a plastic stool, and spent the flight home reverse-engineering it.
We tested this 8 times in the Snack Crawl kitchen, and the version with smoked paprika won every single round. Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this. It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate.
This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it. Olu, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”. Kenji swears by adding the lemon in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch. It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not.
12. Creamy Pumpkin Toasties
We first ate something like this at a street stall in Marrakesh, balanced on a plastic stool, and spent the flight home reverse-engineering it.
Season in layers. A pinch at each stage beats a panic-handful at the end. The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the cornflour hydrates as it rests.
If you can chop carrots and hold a box grater, you can make this. We promise. Noor swears by adding the shallots in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch.
How we choose
Season in layers. A pinch at each stage beats a panic-handful at the end. Versions of this dish turn up wherever people needed to make a little ingredients feed a lot of mouths. Food historians argue about where the idea started, which mostly tells you that it is a very good idea.
If your ingredients is releasing a lot of water, your pan is not hot enough. Take everything out, get it smoking, and start again in smaller batches. No anchovy? A mix of fennel seed and a little neutral oil gets you most of the way there. In Oaxaca, vendors sell them by the half-dozen from carts that appear at dusk and vanish by midnight.