Happy Hooligans’ Kid-Friendly Trail Mix Recipe

This easy trail mix recipe is my favourite trail mix to make for kids. It’s the perfect blend of sweet and salty, crunchy and chewy, and you can throw it together in under a minute, using ingredients you already have in your cupboards. Don’t be fooled by how kid-friendly it is. Adults love this trail mix too!

Homemade trail mix is one of the hooligans’ favourite snacks, and it’s one of my favourite treats to make for taking on the go – in the car, to the park, to the baseball field etc. I’m not going to lie. I love it as much as the hooligans do.

Honestly, when we make a batch of this stuff, I have a difficult time keeping my hand out of the bowl and I end up eating just as much as the kids do.

It’s. So. Good.

Want to know what I LOVE about this recipe?

You can make this kid-friendly trail mix with whatever you have on hand.  Start with a cereal base and toss in some nuts, dried fruit, chocolate pieces etc.  You can switch the ingredients up every time you make it based on what you have in your cupboards.

Here’s something else that’s great:

You can make the mix as healthy as you want, and add just a small handful of sweets, and your kids will think you’re the best mom ever because you’ve served candy at snack-time.

For home or on the go: 

I first started making this as a snack when my boys were playing baseball.  It was easy to whip up and take along so we had something to nibble on while we sat at the ball park all afternoon.

I also love it for car trips, hotel stays, camping, hiking, cottaging, a day at the beach…

I even serve this if we’re short on snacks when the boys have friends over. Because you don’t a lot of one particular ingredient,  you can make quite a big batch of this stuff with little odds and ends from the pantry.

And the best part?  

You can make it on the spot, in a pinch, in less than 5 minutes.

Wanna know how? 

Open up your cupboards and see what you have.

I like to always include:

Something crunchy, something chewy, something salty and something sweet.

For today’s homemade trail mix, we used:

• Life brand cereal (crunchy)
• Cheerios (crunchy)
• raisins (chewy & sweet)
• cashews (salty)
• m&m’s (sweet)

You’ll be using whatever YOU have on hand, so maybe you throw in:

• Pretzel sticks, shapes or letters
• Peanuts, almonds, pistachios, pecans
• Popcorn, puffed wheat
• Fishy Crackers
• Pumpkin or Sunflower seeds
• Dried fruit – cranberries, apricots or banana chips
• chocolate chips (or butterscotch, peanut butter, white chocolate etc.)
• Smarties, Reece’s pieces, mini marshmallows

You get the idea… raid your pantry, and use whatever you’ve got!

I had help making our trail mix today.  This little hooligan measured out a few handfuls of each ingredient, and she poured them into a big bowl.

Then she gave them a stir to mix everything up. Because we were eating it right away and at home, she scooped it all into a serving bowl.

If you’re taking your trail mix on the road,  put it in a nice, big Tupperware container.  To make serving fun and easy, take along some small paper lunch bags or plastic cups.

Happy Trails!

Now you tell me… what do you love in your trail mix?

More Kid-Friendly Homemade Treats:

1-Ingredient Banana Ice Cream

Healthy Homemade Creamsicles

Homemade Tin Can Ice Cream

More recipes for you to enjoy:

Pumpkin Chip Cookies

White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies

Quick and Easy Pizza Dough

Easy Homemade Guacamole

Crazy Banana Cake

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