Caramel Apple Trail Mix
Sweet, salty, crunchy and chewy, this caramel apple trail mix checks ALL the snack boxes! It’s loaded with roasted nuts, apple chips, pretzels, popcorn and plenty of caramel-y goodness. This is the perfect treat to serve at a Halloween party, while watching a football game or as an after-school snack. It would also be a thoughtful gift as part of a care package for college kids or a newly postpartum mama.
I have a new favorite fall snack.
My girls started preschool a few weeks ago, and their new school provides all the meals and snacks (which is INCREDIBLE because no packing lunches for me!). They even have their own private chef who makes everything from scratch. When I saw the menu had things like “lentil and sausage stew”, “chicken pesto skillet” and “baked mac and cheese”, I thought, whoa I want to eat here! Buuuuut I was also slightly worried my picky 4-year-old might starve.
Turns out both my girls are so excited about lunch and eat it all up every day! Of course, they’ll eat it if someone other than mom makes it… 😒🙃
The point of the story is… I figured they’d both be hangry after school and wanted to have a fun snack waiting for them at pick-up. And that’s how this caramel apple trail mix was born! I wanted a sweet snack mix with fall vibes, but not pumpkin, so the next best thing is a caramel apple, right?
Why I love this caramel apple trail mix:
- It’s nourishing from the variety of heart-healthy nuts and fiber-full popcorn but feels like a treat from the caramel, chocolate and apples!
- Super easy to throw together and you can find all of the simple ingredients needed at your local grocery store.
- It hits all the textural vibes from crunchy to chewy to soft to buttery.
- Convenient, satisfying, filling and oh so TASTY! Gourmet apple in trail mix form 😋
What You’ll Need to Make Caramel Apple Trail Mix:
- Nuts: I use roasted almonds, roasted salted peanuts and candied pecans, but feel free to switch up the mixture of nuts. I prefer the Santé or Trader Joe’s candied pecans because both are subtly sweet and not overly candied. You could also use regular roasted or honey roasted pecans.
- Apple chips: I like using the Bare Snacks dehydrated apple slices rather than soft dried apples so you get that crisp apple crunch.
- Caramel goodies: Caramel morsels/baking chips and caramel M&Ms bring the caramel apple situation together. Butterscotch chips are an easy swap if you can’t find caramel chips. A follower on Instagram mentioned that Trader Joe’s has ‘caramel sea salt baking chips’ which sound amazing!
- Pretzels: If you can find them, Dot’s cinnamon sugar pretzel twists are SO GOOD in this mix. If not, you can use any variety of pretzel you enjoy.
- Popcorn: I recommend a sweet variety of popcorn like kettle corn or caramel corn to reinforce the caramel-y vibes, but a mild-flavored plain popcorn will work as well.
How to Make Caramel Apple Trail Mix:
Pour nuts, caramel bits, pretzels, apples, popcorn and M&Ms into a large bowl. Toss gently to combine.
Variation Ideas:
- Add white chocolate chips, regular chocolate chips or peanut butter chips.
- Try other tree nuts like walnuts, cashews, macadamia nuts or seeds like pepitas or sunflower seeds.
- For even more buttery caramel flavor, use caramel popcorn OR actual caramel cubes.
- If you roast your own nuts, add a mixture of brown sugar or maple syrup and apple pie spices for more fall flavor.
- Add Chex cereal to make caramel apple Chex mix.
Just one more handful. And then maybe another.
FAQs
Either omit the pretzels or use your favorite gluten-free pretzels.
Store at room temperature in a sealed gallon Ziploc bag or airtight container to avoid it getting stale. It stays fresh for 2 weeks. You can also keep it in the freezer for up to 4 months and take out a little at a time for snacking!
If you try and like this recipe, please don’t forget to leave a comment and star rating down below! For more lifestyle, behind-the-scenes and ‘eating in real life’ type of content, come find me over on Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Facebook, or Youtube – I love connecting with you all there!
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Caramel Apple Trail Mix
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: N/A
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 8 cups
- Category: Snack
- Method: Mix
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Sweet, salty, crunchy, chewy and loaded with caramel apple goodness! This easy 5-minute trail mix is perfect for after-school snacking, Halloween parties or grabbing a handful whenever the craving hits.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup roasted almonds
- ¾ cup candied pecans
- ½ cup roasted peanuts
- 1 cup apple chips
- â…” cup caramel chips/morsels
- 1 cup cinnamon sugar pretzel twists
- 2 cups popcorn or kettle corn
- â…” cup caramel M&Ms
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a large bowl and toss gently to combine. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks- if it lasts that long!!
Notes
Refer to the above blog post for ingredient information, variation ideas, and answers to frequently-asked-questions.
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: scant 1/2 cup
- Calories: 185
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 49.7 mg
- Fat: 11.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 19.2 g
- Fiber: 2.9 g
- Protein: 4.2 g
- Cholesterol: 0.7 mg
Trail mix is my FAVORITE snack!!! It ticks all the boxes: salty/sweet, crunchy/chewy- and can be as healthy or unhealthy as you want it. This trail mix is AMAZING!!! It’s unique from usual mix, and delicious!!