This is one of the base recipes as seen in our Whole Life Meal Plan. This trail mix base recipe is one of our go-to recommendations for an easy, delicious, and energizing healthy snack. It’s easy to pack for a day on the trails, at the office, on the run, or even to just enjoy at home! This base recipe will teach you how to build a healthy trail mix that is versatile and customizable to YOUR taste!
Learn How to Make the Base Recipe
Three Cooking Skills To Save You Time
Watch these videos to speed things up and cook like a chef! Learn how to:
Culinary Tips for Making this Easy Trail Mix Recipe
Trail mix doesn’t need a lot of ingredients and requires just one simple step, so it’s a great recipe to practice customizing to your taste!
Feel free to leave your measuring tools in the cabinet for this recipe! There is no need for precise measurements. Our ingredient quantities are just suggestions based on purchased bag weights.
Trail mix is a great recipe for kids to help make. They love stirring, mixing, and shaking the ingredients together!
Ingredient Substitutions
- Nuts: use any nut or combination of nuts. For best flavor, buy lightly-salted roasted nuts or toast nuts yourself. Almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia, peanuts, pecans, pistachios, and walnuts are all good options.
- Dried Fruit: use any dried fruit or combination of dried fruits. Look for unsulfured and sugar-free varieties. Some sour or bitter fruits such as cherries and cranberries have added sugar, and that’s okay. Avoid artificially-sweetened varieties often advertised as being lower in sugar. That may be true, but we recommend avoiding these non-nutritive sweeteners. Apples, apricots, blueberries, cherries, cranberries, dates, figs, mangoes, prunes, and raisins are all good options.
- Seeds: use pumpkin (pepitas) or sunflower seeds.
Trail Mix Base Recipe Variations
Remember that this is a base recipe, so the goal is for you to customize it to your taste!
Want to make trail mix without nuts? Replace the nuts with the same volume of other add-ins, such as granola, seeds, or popcorn.
Want some trail mix recipe inspiration?
Use these recipe variations for inspiration, then have fun exploring other flavors, ingredients, and textures!
Equipment Recommendations
You just need a few pieces of kitchen equipment to make this recipe come together!
Check out our essential equipment guide to stock your kitchen with ALL the tools you need to prepare anything and everything!
Is Trail Mix Healthy?
A lot of store-bought trail mixes aren’t super healthy, but building your own trail mix at home allows you to choose the ingredients you use, which certainly means that it can be a healthy snack! The featured ingredients in this healthy homemade trail mix recipe are nuts, seeds, and dried fruit.
Nuts & Seeds
Nuts and seeds of all varieties contain plant-based protein, fiber, and healthy fats. These nutrients help you feel satisfied until your next meal. Making this trail mix recipe with walnuts adds a boost of plant-based omega-3 fatty acids that promote brain and heart health.
Dried Fruit
Dried fruit contains fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that all promote health. For optimal nutrition, choose no added sugar varieties such as raisins, dates, or figs.
For more information about the best ingredients to use, check out our ingredient guide!
What can you do with trail mix?
Eat trail mix on its own, use it to top yogurt for a balanced breakfast, or sprinkle over homemade pancakes. Depending on the ingredients you use, trail mix could even be a tasty addition to a green salad or grain-based salad.
Learn how to build a healthy balanced meal with our Whole Life Plate, meal plan, and book!
What is a serving of trail mix?
One serving of trail mix is about ¼ cup or 2 ounces. If you need help with portion control, divide the trail mix into small, reusable containers in 2-ounce portions.
Trail Mix Base Recipe Storage Suggestions
Store trail mix in an airtight container or reusable zip top bag in the pantry.
How long does homemade trail mix last? We recommend storing trail mix for about one month. Nuts might start to go rancid after that point. You don’t know how long they have sat in the grocery store!
Want more healthy snack ideas?
Check out our other favorite snack recipes:
Apple Cinnamon Granola Clusters
Baked Oatmeal Cups Base Recipe
Trail Mix Base Recipe
Ingredients
Base Recipe
- 1 ½ pounds (~5 cups) roasted, lightly-salted nuts
- 1 pound (~3 cups) dried fruit
Mix-ins to YOUR taste
- 12 ounces (~2 cups) dark chocolate chips
- 4 – 8 ounces (~½ – 1 ½ cups) toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds
- 2 ounces (~1 cup) unsweetened coconut flakes or smiles
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a large bag or container and stir or shake to mix. Enjoy!
This Post Has 4 Comments
I like to make this with peanuts, cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds, dried cherries, golden berries, and pistachios. Yummy!
Sounds delicious!
I make mine with cherries, pistachios, peanuts, almonds, cashews, and sunflower seeds. Then I use a wooden salad bowl and tongs for good mixing!
Good method to ensure everything is mixed well!