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Christmas Trail Mix is the December snack bowl that disappears faster than the cookies, powdered sugar muddy buddies tumbled with red and green candies, white chocolate pretzels, cocoa almonds, and chewy cranberries, and when I set out the first batch the week after Thanksgiving, Maddie and Lizzie treated it like a treasure hunt with assigned favorites. It starts with a batch of our puppy chow and turns it into a party.
Seven ingredients, one big bowl, five minutes, zero oven.
Christmas Trail Mix Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 5 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 0 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 5 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 8 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 530kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Sweet salty crunch with chocolate, white chocolate, and chewy berries
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, the easiest thing on the snack table next to our chocolate covered peanut butter pretzels
Quick Answer
Add 3 cups of muddy buddies, 1 cup each of yogurt covered raisins, holiday candies, cocoa roasted almonds, and mini marshmallows, 2 cups of white chocolate covered pretzels, and half a cup of dried cranberries to a large bowl. Toss until everything is evenly mixed, then pour it into a serving bowl or portion it into treat bags. It stays fresh in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Jump to:
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Every handful hits four notes. Chocolate, white chocolate, salty pretzel, and chewy fruit in each scoop is the formula that keeps hands coming back to the bowl.
- Muddy buddies are the anchor. The powdered sugar coated cereal gives the mix its snowy look and its peanut butter chocolate backbone, three cups grounds everything else.
- Red and green does the decorating. Holiday candies and green yogurt raisins make the bowl look intentionally festive with zero extra effort, the mix IS the centerpiece.
- Contrast keeps it interesting. Crunchy almonds against soft marshmallows against chewy cranberries means no two handfuls eat the same.
- No bake means kids run the show. Every step is measuring and tossing, it is the safest recipe in the house for tiny helpers in December.
- It scales by the scoop. Everything goes in by the cup, so doubling for a crowd or halving for a movie night is zero math.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It takes 5 minutes flat and the oven never enters the conversation.
- The red and green bowl doubles as table decor for the whole holiday season.
- It bags up beautifully for neighbor gifts, right next to a stack of our marshmallow smores cereal treats.
- It has earned a permanent spot in our rotation, right up there with our firecracker chex mix recipe.
- It earns a spot in the rotation right next to our Halloween muddy buddies.
Key Ingredients
Seven store bought players, one wonderland bowl.
- Muddy buddies: Three cups of the powdered sugar classic, homemade or store bought, the snowy base of the mix.
- Holiday candies: Red and green candy coated chocolates are the festive color and the chocolate crunch.
- White chocolate covered pretzels: Two cups of the sweet salty keystone, yogurt pretzels work too.
- Cocoa roasted almonds: The grown up crunch that keeps the mix from being all sugar.
- Mini marshmallows and dried cranberries: The soft chewy pair, snow drifts and holly berries for the wonderland look.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
One formula, a different bowl for every party.
- Add a cup of popped popcorn or Bugles for a salty buttery layer.
- Swap the holiday candies for pastels at Easter or reds and pinks for Valentine treat bags, the formula is year round.
- Drizzle the finished mix with melted white chocolate and let it set in clusters for a candy shop version.
- Stir in crushed candy canes for a peppermint crunch edition.
- Love the cereal treat direction? Our no bake cereal bars press the same flavors into squares.
- Craving a different flavor next time? Our beer batter for fish delivers the same easy comfort with its own twist.
- In the mood for something different? Our brookie oreo bars recipe scratches a similar itch.
How to Make Christmas Trail Mix
- Add the muddy buddies, yogurt covered raisins, holiday candies, cocoa roasted almonds, mini marshmallows, white chocolate covered pretzels, and dried cranberries to a large mixing bowl.
- Toss gently with your hands or a big spoon until everything is evenly distributed, lifting from the bottom so the heavy candies do not sink.
- Pour into a serving bowl for the party, or portion into treat bags or an airtight container. Grab a handful for quality control and enjoy!
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Toss gently, do not stir hard. Aggressive mixing knocks the powdered sugar off the muddy buddies and dusts everything gray.
- Add the marshmallows last. They catch powdered sugar if they go in early, folding them in at the end keeps them bright white.
- Buy holiday colors after Thanksgiving. Red and green candies and green yogurt raisins show up in stores the same week the tree lots open.
- Make it the day of gifting. The mix keeps 2 weeks, but the pretzels are at maximum snap in the first few days.
- Use a truly big bowl. Nine cups of mix needs room to tumble, a too small bowl means candy on the floor.
- Portion with a scoop at parties. A cookie scoop by the bowl keeps little hands moving and the mix sanitary.
- Make it a spread. When you are feeding a crowd, round out the table with our mahi mahi recipe.
- Make it a full spread. Our fudge with nuts rounds out the table.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
Store the mix in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Skip the refrigerator, the humidity softens the pretzels and makes the powdered sugar weep. For gifting, filled bags stay fresh about a week, so bag it close to delivery day.
Christmas Trail Mix FAQs
This bowl combines 3 cups of muddy buddies with a cup each of yogurt covered raisins, red and green holiday candies, cocoa roasted almonds, and mini marshmallows, plus 2 cups of white chocolate covered pretzels and half a cup of dried cranberries. The formula is sweet, salty, crunchy, and chewy in every handful, dressed in Christmas colors.
This is one of the best kid recipes in the entire holiday season. There is no oven, no knife, and no waiting, just measuring cups and a big bowl to toss. Assign each kid an ingredient to pour and let them take turns mixing. The 5 minute total time is shorter than their attention span, which is the whole trick.
In an airtight container at room temperature it keeps up to 2 weeks, which makes it perfect for making ahead of parties and gifting. Keep it away from heat and humidity so the chocolate coatings stay snappy. It does not need refrigeration, and honestly it never survives long enough to test the limit.
Absolutely, it is a classic neighbor gift for a reason. Mix a big batch, portion it into cellophane bags or mason jars, and tie them with ribbon. Bag it within a few days of gifting so the pretzels are at their crunchiest, and keep the filled bags out of direct sunlight so the candy colors stay bright.
Both, on purpose. The muddy buddies, candies, and marshmallows bring the sweet, while the pretzels and cocoa almonds pull it back with salt and roasty crunch. If your crowd leans salty, add a cup of plain pretzel twists or popcorn, if they lean sweet, a drizzle of melted white chocolate over the finished mix seals the deal.
Almost anything, the formula is a ratio, not a rulebook. Swap the almonds for peanuts or cashews, the cranberries for cherries or raisins, the white chocolate pretzels for plain or yogurt covered ones, and the holiday candies for whatever seasonal color is on the shelf. Keep roughly 9 cups total and the mix stays balanced.
Made this Christmas Trail Mix? Leave a comment and a star rating below, and tell me which piece got picked out first at your house!
Still filling out the menu? Readers love pairing this one with our roasted cashews, chocolate covered pretzel rods, bugles ranch snack mix, and mint fudge.
And when you are planning next week’s dinners, our christmas tree pull apart bread and Christmas shortbread cookies keep the same easy comfort going.
Christmas Trail Mix
Ingredients
- 3 cups muddy buddies
- 1 cup yogurt covered raisins
- 1 cup Holiday M&Ms
- 1 cup Cocoa Roasted Almonds
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
- 2 cups white chocolate covered pretzels
- 1/2 Cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Throw all the ingredients in a large bowl3 cups muddy buddies, 1 cup yogurt covered raisins, 1 cup Holiday M&Ms, 1 cup Cocoa Roasted Almonds, 1 cup mini marshmallows, 2 cups white chocolate covered pretzels, 1/2 Cup dried cranberries
- Mix it up until all combined.
- Place in a container or bowl and enjoy!
Notes
- You can use store bought muddy buddies for this OR you could make your own! Check out my easy Muddy Buddy recipe here!
- Any holiday themed candies or nuts or otherwise would make a good addition to this recipe.
- There is no need to store this cooled, it will be fine at room temp, see my tips above.
- This is great to give as gifts, you can absolutely double this recipe and bag it up and give away, we do it every year!
Nutrition
Love This Recipe?
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what is cocoa roasted almonds did you make them or buy never seen them .
Hi there
Just stopped by to let you know that I featured this on my Saturday Spotlight post this week!
Saturday Spotlight
Thanks again for linking up! Hope you have a great weekend!
Jill @ Creating my way to Success
This dish is so pretty. It also looks delicious! Thanks for sharing
Looks yummy! I can’t wait to try some of the recipes. Merry Christmas to you and your family.