An easy recipe for homemade trail mix, made with assorted nuts and dried fruit, toasted in coconut oil and spiced with cinnamon and cloves. This addictive and delicious nutty mix is perfect for snacking or gifting!
Looking for more recipes like this? You’ll love these nutty white chocolate butterscotch chip cookies, chocolate hazelnut cake, and butter pecan pound cake with bourbon icing.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Quick and Easy. All you need to make this homemade trail mix is 5 minutes to prep and 10 minutes to bake! The hardest part is waiting for it to cool, so you can add the chocolate chips.
Completely Customizable. Be sure to look at the recipe variations section below for ideas on various nuts, seeds, candy, dried fruit and spices you can add to your trail mix. Make it sweet, or do a savory spicy mix, whichever you like.
Perfect for Gifts and Cookie Boxes. Homemade trail mix is perfect for gifting, and it looks so pretty tied up in little gift bags, boxes or jars. And since the holidays are when there’s a wider assortment of nuts in the shell available at the grocery store, I also love adding a handful of nuts to a Christmas cookie box.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Assorted Nuts. Use any assortment that you like, preferably raw and unsalted nuts.
- Coconut. Be sure to look for “natural” unsweetened flaked coconut like this, not sweetened or shredded coconut.
- Raisins or Dried Cranberries.
- Spices. I used cinnamon and cloves to add an aromatic and warm flavor to the nuts.
- Coconut Oil. Coats the mix so the salt and spices stick to the nuts, otherwise they’d just fall off.
- Salt. Nuts need salt to bring out their flavor. I recommend a combination of fine table salt and flaky salt.
- Chocolate Chips.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 F.
- On a large rimmed baking sheet, spread out the nuts, coconut and raisins. Sprinkle with the cinnamon and cloves.
- Drizzle with the coconut oil (if it’s melted), or just place a dollop of solid coconut oil in the middle of the nuts.
- Bake for 5 minutes. Stir to coat everything in the melted coconut oil, and bake for 5 more minutes.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with salt.
- Cool completely before stirring in the chocolate chips.
- Store in a glass jar or airtight container.
TIP: Be sure the trail mix is completely cooled before you add chocolate chips, or they will melt and make a mess.
Recipe Variations
- Nuts & Seeds: pecans, macadamia nuts, almonds, hazelnuts (filberts), cashews, peanuts, walnuts, chia seeds, sunflower seeds
- Dried Fruit: raisins, dried cranberries, apricots, mango, pineapple
- Chocolate & Candy: dark/semi-sweet/milk/white/butterscotch chocolate chips, dried flaked coconut (unsweetened), M&Ms, chocolate-covered sunflower seeds
- Salt: table salt (for a fine, all-over saltiness), coarse Kosher salt (for larger grains), and flaky finishing salt (for large, visible flecks of salt)
- Spices: cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, allspice, pumpkin pie spice (or savory spices like garlic powder, onion powder and cayenne pepper for a spicy, savory mix)
Frequently Asked Questions
What does toasting the nuts in the oven do?
Toasting nuts brings out their oils, deepening the flavor of the nuts.
Do the nuts have to be raw and unsalted?
I like to start with raw unsalted nuts so I can flavor and toast them as I like. It’s not essential, though, just be sure not to over-salt the mix if the nuts are already salted.
Can I use another oil instead of coconut oil?
I’ve only tried it with coconut oil, so I can’t say for sure. If you do make this with a different oil, please let me know in the comments!
Is this an expensive recipe to make?
It’s no secret that nuts can be pricey! But there’s no need to buy a large bag of 4-6 types of nuts, unless you’re going to be making a larger batch of trail mix. Check the bulk bins at your grocery store or local farmers market, and save money by buying small quantities of just the amount of nuts that you need.
How should homemade trail mix be stored?
Unless you’re going to eat it within a few weeks, you should keep your trail mix in an airtight container, stored in the refrigerator or freezer for 4-6 months. Why? Because the oils in nuts can go rancid, and you’ll keep them fresher and more flavorful by keeping them cold, as opposed to storing them in the pantry. I always stash bags of almonds and pecans at the back of my refrigerator, even if I haven’t opened them yet.
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Homemade Toasted Trail Mix
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet.
Ingredients
- 3 cups assorted nuts, preferably raw and unsalted
- ½ cup natural coconut flakes
- ½ cup raisins or dried cranberries
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- ¼ – ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount, or just add salt to taste)
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 F.
- On a large rimmed baking sheet, spread out the nuts, coconut and raisins. Sprinkle with the cinnamon and cloves.
- Drizzle with the coconut oil (if it's melted), or just place a dollop of solid coconut oil in the middle of the nuts.
- Bake for 5 minutes. Stir to coat everything in the melted coconut oil, and bake for 5 more minutes.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with salt.
- Cool completely before stirring in the chocolate chips.
- Store in a glass jar or airtight container.
Notes
- 1 cup pecans
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 3/4 cup hazelnuts/filberts
- 3/4 cup macadamia nuts
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