Most trail mix you find in a store has two main ingredients: nuts and M&Ms. Meant to deliver the perfect “salty & sweet” combo, some would even consider those ingredients the definition of trail mix. But what about those with nut allergies? Dairy allergies? Vegan? Or perhaps you are neither and just need a safe, friendly dish to bring to an event. Such is the predicament I found myself in, being a vegan family, attending a nut-free event full of young kids. I spent a long while going up and down the grocery store snack and health aisles to compile a dairy-free, nut-free trail mix, that still maintained the right combination of “salty and sweet”. It turned out to be a great success!

In this mix:

For Salty:

• Pretzels: I opted for mini-twists, but there are so many options of shapes, sizes, and saltyness to pick from.
• Crunchy Sea Salt Chickpeas: These are roasted chick peas usually found in the health aisle. You can also make them yourself, though I haven’t tried it yet. I used The Good Bean brand found at our local Martin’s Grocery store.
• Kettle corn: Fits under sweet too, but also salty. I used the Boom Chick Pop brand which is both organic and vegan.

For Sweet:

• Teddy Grahams: Chocolate and Chocolate chip. Nabisco Teddy Grams are in fact vegan. Knock-off brands (like the one Aldi’s Grocery store sells) are not always, so check the ingredients.
• Crispy Crunchy Sweet Cinnamon Chickpeas. I used The Good Bean brand found at our local Martin’s Grocery store.
• Kelloggs Mini Wheats-Maple Brown Sugar flavor. I purposely picked this flavor for the added taste to the mix.
• Dairy-free vegan chocolate chunks like Enjoy Life’s Mega Chunks.

Neutral:

• Chex mix cereal: I chose the local grocery store knock off brand.

Ratios?

Honestly I just did a lot of ‘dump and stir’ and thought about what flavors I wanted stronger than others. Since I had more sweet items than salty, I added more of the salty and neutral items to the mix to help balance things out.

Extra Ideas:

• The Good Bean brand has other roasted chickpea flavors like BBQ and Thai Coconut. They also have roasted Fava and Pea bags in flavors like Balsamic Herb and Habanero Citrus.

• Roasted coconut flakes, sweetened or not.
• Freeze-dried fruits like strawberries, apples, etc

• Other cereals like bran flakes, O’s, Chex Chocolate, Mom’s Best cereals, Annie’s cereals, Barbara’s Puffin cereals, are also all a good bet. The last 3 companies are typically found in health aisles.
• Banana chips, sweetened or not.
• Dried fruits like raisins, craisins, pineapple, apricot, etc

• Plain popcorn. (I used Boom Chicka Pop-Kettle corn but they also have just a non-dairy Sea Salt one).
• Hippeas: Organic vegan chickpea puffs. They come in several flavors like vegan white cheddar, herb, and sriracha.
• Mini oreas. Maybe a bit overkill on the sweet side, but Nabisco Mini Oreos are vegan.

What did I miss that you love to add to your trail mix?? Comment below!

Prevailing Parent

Hi there! I’m Kaley, prevailing parent and wife, but also just me; stubborn lover of DIY everything, outdoors, and chocolate. Read more about myself and my family under the “Parenting” > “About My Family” tabs.