Also known as "reindeer crack," "white trash," or "Christmas crack," this sweet and salty snack mix recipe is delicious and we guarantee you won't be able to stop eating it once you start. Our favorite flavor combination is anything sweet and salty. The two just go so well together and we can't get enough. Pair that with a super simple and addicting snack, and you have a winner.
Any treat that can be festive is our jam. This sweet and salty snack mix can be made for any theme by switching up the M&Ms or melting chocolate you use. In our recipe, we used a combination of peanut, caramel, and peanut butter M&Ms, which we definitely recommend doing. We also used white melting chocolate but there are so many colored melting chocolates available that you can use depending on what you're making this sweet and salty snack mix recipe for!
In addition to switching up the color scheme in this recipe, we love this recipe because you can tweak the ingredients as well, and without messing anything up. You may even create a whole new recipe that's amazing! Side note: if you do, please let us know so we can try it!
Instead of M&Ms, you could do mini Cadburry eggs for Easter, mini chocolate chips or M&Ms, or any sort of flavored chocolate chips to change it up (like pumpkin spice chips for fall #basic). This is a super fun recipe to make because you can get creative!
You can use a variety of cereals in lieu of the ingredients we have, such as Golden Grahams, Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Corn Flakes, Frosted Flakes, the list goes on. Instead of peanuts, you could use almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts, mixed nuts, etc. Just be sure to buy them salted so you have that sweet and salty flavor!
Getting create with sweet & salty snack mixes
Long story short, it's a fun "garbage disposal" recipe. What we mean by that is, you can look in pantry and see what you have on hand and may or may not need to use up (yay for year-round spring cleaning!). As long as you stick to 8.5(ish) cups of dry ingredients plus 1-2.5 cups nuts/M&Ms and have 10oz of melting chocolate, the possibilities are endless. We are huge proponents of finding innovative ways to use ingredients we have at home to limit food waste and save money. This recipe is definitely one that checks those boxes!
Fun flavor combos
- Pumpkin spice: swap peanuts for chopped walnuts, pumpkin spice chips as the melting chocolate, and pumpkin spice Cheerios instead of popcorn
- Christmas: use red and green M&Ms
- Baby or wedding shower: use singular colored M&Ms to fit the theme
- S'mores: use Golden Grahams instead of popcorn and toss in some marshmallows in lieu of nuts
- Nutella: use hazelnut M&Ms and milk or dark melting chocolate
- Easter: use mini Cadbury eggs instead of M&Ms and a light yellow melting chocolate
- Peanut butter lovers: use a mix of peanut butter M&Ms and peanut butter chips instead of all original M&Ms
Like we said, the possibilities are endless. We would love for you to get creative with this recipe and show us what you come up with!
Sweet & Salty Snack Mix Recipe
Sweet + salty + festive + easy to make + DELICIOUS = the most addicting snack ever. Throw this simple recipe together for your next party or potluck and we promise it will be a hit!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 cups 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 3 cups pretzels
- 2 cups Bugles
- 2 ½ cups popcorn (salted)
- 1 cup Chex Mix (original)
- 1 cup peanuts (dry roasted & salted)
- 1 ½ cup M&Ms
- 10 oz Ghiradelli melting chocolate (white)
Instructions
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix first 6 ingredients in a large bowl.
- Melt chocolate in a double broiler over the stove or in microwave. If using the microwave, heat for 1 minute and stir for ~30 seconds. If not fully melted, heat in 15-second increments until melted, stirring after each increment.
*Be careful to not burn the chocolate! Watch closely and stir frequently to notice when it's melted. - Drizzle melted chocolate over snack mixture and mix evenly to coat.
- Pour onto prepared baking sheet and spread evenly.
- Once cool, break into pieces & enjoy!
Notes
- Store in an air-tight container for up to 2 weeks (if it can last that long).
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 373
- Sugar: 11
- Sodium: 557
- Fat: 20
- Saturated Fat: 7
- Unsaturated Fat: 6
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 42
- Fiber: 3
- Protein: 7
- Cholesterol: 1
Keywords: Christmas crack, dessert ideas, dessert recipes, easy recipes, festive dessert ideas, reindeer crack, sweet and salty, sweet and salty recipes, white trash
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