This Christmas Snack Mix is a deliciously fun combination of sweet and salty flavor that we can’t get enough of! It’s perfect for holiday parties, snacking, or gifting. It’s a hit wherever we take it!
Easy, Delicious and Festive Holiday Snacking
I’ve always been a fan of snack mixes. I just love the combination of tastes and textures that they offer. This beautiful Christmas Snack Mix is no exception! It has a delicious blend of sweet and salty flavors, with the fun addition of peppermint and holiday colors. It turned out so pretty that I made an extra large batch and wrapped it up for neighbor gifts. They turned out so cute that I decided to share the recipe with you- along with the adorable printable tag that I created to go along with it.
This holiday snack mix is also a great treat to bring to Christmas parties or to snack on during family movie night. I hope your family enjoys this one as much as mine did!
Easy and Delicious Christmas Gifting
I packaged up this pretty and delicious snack mix in colorful paper loaf pans, wrapped it in clear cellophane bags, and tied it up with a ribbon. Then I created some cute and simple gifting tags to attach to the top. I love how they turned out! I’ve attached a free printable below so you can easily recreate this holiday gift for your own friends and neighbors!
Ingredients we used for this Christmas Snack Mix:
- Crispix Cereal– We coat the cereal in a caramel mixture and bake until sweet and crispy.
- Popcorn– Our popcorn is drizzled with white chocolate and sprinkled with crushed candy canes.
- Cashews– I love cashews and they make the perfect salty addition.
- Pretzels– The yogurt covered pretzels were a big hit- you could make your own, but I opted for store bought.
- M&M’s– We used plain chocolate candies because there is already so much going on here, but you could use whatever you like.
- Candy Cane Hersey’s Kisses– These looked so pretty in our snack mix!
- Sprinkles– Colorful, festive holiday sprinkles are optional, but so fun. I found the Christmas tree sprinkles at Walmart.
How to Make Christmas Snack Mix:
- Make the caramel coated cereal. Boil the butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan for 2 minutes. Drizzle over the cereal in a large bowl and toss until coated. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 16 minutes, stirring halfway through. Set aside and allow to cool.
- Make the white chocolate peppermint popcorn. Spread the popcorn out on a sheet of parchment paper or aluminum foil. Melt the white chocolate chips in a microwave and drizzle the melted chocolate evenly over the popcorn. Immediately sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Allow the chocolate to harden before adding to the snack mix.
- Combine the rest of the ingredients. To a very large mixing bowl, add the cereal, popcorn, cashews, pretzels, M&M’s, and Hershey’s Kisses. Carefully toss to combine. Top with sprinkles, if desired. Serve immediately or divide among containers for holiday gifting!
Tips & Suggestions
You can easily double or triple the batch for parties or gifting.
We halved the cereal mixture because this makes a pretty generously sized snack mix, but if you are wanting to give it away to friends and neighbors, it’s easy to double the cereal mixture! Adjust additional ingredients as necessary.
Make substitutions.
It probably goes without saying that this snack mix is very customizable. Here are some substitution suggestions- or feel free to get creative and try your own unique combinations!
- Cereal: Rice Chex, Corn Chex, Wheat Chex, or Golden Grahams
- Nuts: Roasted peanuts, pecans, salted almonds, or pepitas
- Fruit: dried cherries, dried cranberries, or banana chips
- Switch up the chocolate: dark chocolate, milk chocolate, chocolate covered caramels, peanut M&M’s, or mini peanut butter cups
- Other additions: Mini marshmallows, pretzel twists, or cheerios
Easy Neighbor Christmas Gifts
I’m all about easy gifts I can whip up in a large batch and make for my friends and neighbors and this is perfect for that! I used mini paper loaf pans that I found in the holiday section of my grocery store and then tied them up with ribbon. Then simply download and print our free holiday gift tag and voila! It looks so pretty and it tastes even better. This one was a huge hit!
Christmas Snack Mix
Ingredients
- 6 cups Crispix cereal or Chex
- 1/2 cup salted butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 6 cups popcorn popped
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 2 candy canes crushed
- 1 cup cashews
- 1 cup yogurt-covered pretzels
- 1/2 cup M&M candies
- 9 ounces candy cane Hershey's Kisses
- holiday sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with foil and lightly coat it with nonstick cooking spray. Put the cereal into a large mixing bowl.
- Place the butter and brown sugar in a medium saucepan and place over medium high heat. Bring to a boil. Once it starts to boil, continue cooking for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Immediately pour the mixture over the cereal and toss to coat. Spread onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven, give it a quick stir, and bake for an additional 8 minutes. Set aside and allow it cool.
- Meanwhile, spread the popcorn evenly out onto a large sheet of parchment paper or aluminum foil.
- Place the white chocolate chips and coconut oil in a small microwaveable safe bowl. Heat for 30 seconds, then stir well. Continue cooking in 15 second intervals if necessary until the chocolate chips are melted and smooth.
- Drizzle the melted white chocolate over the popcorn, then immediately sprinkle with the crushed candy canes. Allow the chocolate to harden
- Add the cereal mixture, popcorn, cashews, pretzels, M&M's and Hershey's Kisses to a very large mixing bowl. Toss lightly to combine. Add holiday sprinkles, if desired. Store in an airtight container.
Notes
- 1 cup coconut flakes
- 1 cup pumpkin seed kernels
- 2 cup bran chex cereal
- 1 cup cereal, cheerios
- 1 cup almonds, sliced
- 1 cup cranberries, dried
- 1 cup pistachios, shelled
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 2/3 cup honey
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup coconut flakes
- 1 cup pumpkin seed kernels
- 2 cup bran chex cereal
- 1 cup cereal, cheerios
- 1 cup almonds, sliced
- 1 cup cranberries, dried
- 1 cup pistachios, shelled
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 2/3 cup honey
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon