An easy kids trail mix recipe perfect for a hiking and camping snack. Also, find fun ideas for what to put in trail mix and share your own.
Kids Trail Mix Recipe
My kids love making trail mix before we go camping and hiking. We mix some of their favorite snacks together, and they each fill their own container.
This kids trail mix recipe is good for both kids and toddlers. Bring this trail mix for hikes for an energy boost. Also, this trail mix packs well for camping, and can hold up in the heat.
Going camping this summer? Don't miss this fun printable Camping Scavenger Hunt.
What Should I Put In Kids Trail Mix?
Deciding what you want to put into your trail mix is the fun part! For a most basic recipe, I include at least one of each:
- something salty
- something sweet
- something crunchy
- something chewy
In this trail mix recipe, I use the following ingredients:
- peanut butter pretzels (something salty)
- mini marshmallows (something sweet)
- Nature's Path EnviroKidz Rhino Rolls Cereal (something crunchy)
- raisins (something chewy)
Feel free to swap out for snacks you already have in your pantry, or for items that your kids love.
Kids Trail Mix Ideas - What To Add
There are a lot of different ways to make kids trail mix. Here are a few of our favorite things to add when we make a trail mix for kids.
Pretzels
Our favorite trail mix add-in is peanut butter filled pretzels. In addition, the kids enjoy adding mini twists, window panes (snaps), and honey wheat twists into trail mix too.
If possible, it's best to avoid pretzel sticks. Pretzel sticks break easily, especially if the kids are carrying the trail mix around in ziplock bags.
Kids Cereal
There are many kids cereals to chose from. Here are our favorite kids cereals to include in trail mix:
- Nature's Path EnviroKids Rhino Rolls - I buy this cereal because it includes 140mg calcium per serving
- Love Grown Lion Hearts - The kids love this cereal, and it's made from beans with 4g protein per serving
- Kix - This is one of the less sweet cereals for kids with only 4g sugar per serving
- Original Puffins - We stick to the original because it has 6g of fiber per serving
The cereals above all have some nutritional positives, even though I tend to think about cereals as sugary treats.
Most importantly for trail mix though, the cereals above won't crush or break easily and will hold their shape when mix into trail mix. Also, they are easy to eat with fingers while walking, which is crucial for a trail mix ingredient.
Dried Fruit
Most any dried fruit will work in trail mix, including raisins, dried cranberries, dried blueberries, dried cherries (my favorite) and apricots.
Chocolate or yogurt coated raisins are also tasty. However, keep in mind that they might melt in hot weather.
Finger crackers
There are many small kids crackers that would work well in a trail mix recipe. Chose the one your kids like the best.
- Mini Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers
- Annie's Organic Salted Crackers with Hidden Veggies
- Teddy Grahams
- Goldfish Crackers
- Cheez-It
Fruit Snacks
Fruit snacks add a pop of color into the trail mix. Keep in mind that fruit snacks can melt in hot sunny weather though.
Therefore, if you are bringing the trail mix hiking or camping, you might want keep the fruit snack separate.
Candy
Instead of fruit snacks, I sometimes swap it out for candy. Either way, I like to add a little burst of sugar in trail mixes. It makes the trail mix a bit of a treat for the kids, especially since we usually eat it while hiking, camping or doing something challenging and tiring.
Traditionally, trail mix often includes M&Ms. I don't like to use M&Ms because they can melt when they get hot.
For this recipe, I use marshmallows. Marshmallows also can melt in the sun, but they don't look as gross as M&M colors getting everywhere.
Other candies to try are skittles, sour patch kids, jelly beans and Mike & Ike.
Nuts and Seeds
Maybe you noticed that this is a no nuts trail mix recipe. I made this trail mix with ingredients that are safe for little kids and toddlers.
Our kids do eat nuts. However, because nuts are a choking hazard, I prefer my kids to eat nuts while seated and under supervision.
As such, I didn't include any whole nuts in this trail mix recipe. I don't want my kids hiking, walking, chatting and eating the nuts at the same time.
Feel free to add nuts as you seem fit for your own mix.
Kids Trail Mix Recipe - FAQ
Have any other questions about this trail mix recipe? Feel free to ask below.
How long does this this trail mix store?
This trail mix should store for a couple weeks once mixed. We've never had this last more than a few days though, because it's so tasty.
This recipe is also easy to scale up or down, so we simply make as much trail mix as we need.
What's the best way to pack trail mix for hiking with kids?
This trail mix recipe contains ingredients that that won't crumble or break too easily. You can pack this trail mix in either a ziplock bag, reusable snack bag, or tupperware.
Looking for a cool container to use? My kids love this 3 level stackable snack container. This photo only shows the top layer, with the convenient handle.
Is this trail mix good for toddlers?
Yes! This trail mix is good for both kids and toddlers.
If you have a little toddler, you might want to swap out the peanut butter pretzel for pretzel snaps. Those are a little easier for little teeth and fingers.
Also, my kids loved Love Grown Original O's cereal as toddlers, and it is our preferred healthy cereal choice. They still love this cereal, but as they got older they developed more of a sweet tooth for cereals.
Trail Mix for Hiking, Camping and Road Trips
I hope you enjoy this trail mix for all your outdoor activities. We often take it hiking and camping. But it also makes a good travel snack.
If you are traveling with kids on a plane, don't miss this Printable Airplane Bingo with 24 Things To Do On An Airplane.
Or, if you are taking the kids on a road trip, here's a fun Printable Road Trip Scavenger Hunt.
Lastly, this trail mix can pack well for lunches or kids sporting activities too.
What Do You Add in Kids Trail Mix?
What are some of your favorite things to add in trail mix? We're always looking for amazing ideas, so feel free to share below.
Kids Trail Mix
Equipment
- 1 mixing bowl bowl
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups peanut butter pretzels
- 1 cup Nature's Path EnviroKids Rhino Rolls see notes
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
- ¼ cup raisins
Instructions
- Mix everything together in a large bowl. Enjoy!
Notes
Betty says
Fun! The kids loved the marshmallows 🙂