Kid’s Trail Mix Recipe – Super simple to make and perfect for on-the-go snacks! Ready in 5 minutes and easily customizable with all your favorite mix-in’s!
Homemade trail mix is one of the easiest recipes for kids to make. My kids have so much fun choosing their favorite ingredients and mixing them together. They also love to help make ants on a log, PB&J skewers and animal face toast. So fun and simple!
Homemade trail mix
With back to school season just around the corner, I’ve been on the hunt for after school snacks and lunch ideas. I thoughts I’d share one of our favorite snacks with you today, so you can make it for your kids.
I love this trail mix recipe for kids because it is so easy even the kids can make it. We made it for our last big road trip and plan to make more for after school snacks. It also makes a great snack for camping, movie night and everything in between! Kids and adults all love this homemade trail mix.
The best thing about this easy trail mix is how customizable it is! You can make it healthy, sweet and salty or even turn it into a dessert like my trail mix muddy buddies recipe. So many ways to make it your own!
Reasons to love it:
- Inexpensive. Makes a big batch with 14 servings! Way more cost effective than premade.
- Quick. Only 5 quick minutes to combine all of the trail mix ingredients together. SO easy.
- Perfect for kids. Such an easy recipe for kids to make with you. My kids LOVE trail mix!
- Customizable. Add your favorite mix-in’s and create your own personal trail mix recipe.
- On-the-go. The perfect grab and go snack for lunch boxes, after school, road trips and more.
Trail mix ingredients
I like to add something crunchy, sweet and salty to my trail mix, but we usually just add whatever is in our cupboards. These are definitely our favorite ingredients to add though.
- pretzels
- nuts (cashews are my kid’s favorite)
- cheerios
- raisins
- marshmallows
- M&M’s or chocolate chips
Some other fun trail mix ingredients we’ve tried:
- gold fish or teddy grahams
- chex or golden grahams
- sunflower seeds
- granola
- popcorn
- dried fruit
- candied nuts or pecans
- chocolate or yogurt covered raisins
- apple chips
How to make trail mix for kids
Here’s the best part about this kids trail mix: you can make it as healthy as you want! Feel free to leave out the marshmallows and M&M’s. I usually don’t add the chocolate every time, but it’s fun to add it in on special occasions. When I do, my kids think I’m the best mom ever! You can also add more nuts if your kids will eat them.
For homemade trail mix:
- Measure out all trail mix ingredients.
- Place in a large bowl.
- Toss trail mix until mixed together.
Snack bags for school
This trail mix recipe is PERFECT for making snack bags! Simply measure out 1/2 cup portions and place in snack size zip lock bags (photo above). It should make around 14 servings.
My kids loved packaging up the homemade trail mix in snack bags and even made a little snack bag for their teacher (photo below). All we did was cut a lunch bag in half with some wavy scissors and then I drew a mini ruler on the side and wrote “Back to school snack mix!” on the front. Super easy and a fun way to say thank you!
More easy snacks for kids:
- Homemade Granola Bars
- Peanut Butter & Jelly Muffins
- Crockpot Applesauce
- Cereal Bars
- Frozen Berry Yogurt Bites
- No-Bake Breakfast Cookies
Trail Mix Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups pretzels
- 1 cup cashew halves , or nut of choice
- 1 cup cheerios
- 1 cup raisins or dried cranberries
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
- 1/2 cup M&M’s or chocolate chips
Instructions
- Measure out your trail mix ingredients and then place in a large bowl. Toss until mixed together. Place a 1/2 cup portion in snack bags for easy snacks on-the-go.
Video
Notes
- gold fish or teddy grahams
- chex or golden grahams
- sunflower seeds
- granola
- popcorn
- dried fruit
- candied nuts or pecans
- chocolate or yogurt covered raisins
- apple chips
Nutrition
My girls would love this for school lunch snack or take this for a hike. Thank you for sharing!
Of course! Thanks for stopping by! :)
Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Perfect snack! I will definitely be making this!
Loving the little bag you did for the teacher! How thoughtful of your kids to think of their teacher. Looks like a yummy combo!
~Emily from So Sunny Day
Every teacher needs a little pick me up the first week of school!
I love a good trail mix!
My kid would go crazy for this treat! Looks fantastic!