Popcorn Trail Mix Recipe (2024)

This caramel popcorn trail mix recipe takes your popcorn snacking up a notch. It makes snuggling in for the night with a movie and some popcorn even better! You’ll love the salty and sweet mixture of flavors, combined with nuts and spices.

If you have other snack foods in mind, be sure to check out my Vegan Cheesy Popcorn or my Vegan and Gluten-Free Chex Mix.

We really enjoy watching movies. And I confess, with our big screen TV and surround sound, we end up watching most movies at home. In addition to the comforts of home, we can make our own popcorn and, you know, not have to deal with someone texting or talking on their phone. [insert eye roll here].

What I really love about movies at home is I get to make things like these popcorn snack mixes rather than just plain popcorn. Nothing wrong with plain every now and then, but it’s fun to mix things up.

What You Need

You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe, including substitution ideas:

• Popped popcorn — You can use storebought popcorn, microwave popcorn or this vegan popcorn as the base.
• Nuts — I like adding roasted cashews, almond slivers, and shelled pistachios, but you can mix it up and add your favorite nuts. You can make your popcorn trail mix without nuts by leaving these out and substituting Air Fryer Chickpeas to add salty crunch.
• Hemp seeds — These are optional, but I love the flavor and nutrition they add. Feel free to substitute pumpkin seeds.
• Maple syrup — You’ll need a syrup sweetener, such as maple syrup oragave nectar.
• Coconut oil — Use refined coconut oil for a more minimal coconut flavor.
• Spices — We’ll be using both ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg. You can substitute pumpkin pie spice.
• Dried cranberries — We’ll add some dried cranberries for color or you can substitute raisins.

How to Make Popcorn Trail Mix

It’s easy to make this guilt-free popcorn trail mix from scratch.

1. Stir together the popped popcorn, cashews, hemp seeds, almond slivers, and pistachios in a large bowl.
   
2. Heat the syrup and coconut oil in a microwave for 20 to 30 seconds. Stir in the spices.
3. Pour the cinnamon oil mixture over the popcorn/nut mixture. Stir until all the ingredients are well coated.
4. Pour coated popcorn mixture on a prepared pan, spreading it across the entire pan.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring once, about half-way through.
6. Remove it from the oven and stir in the dried cranberries. Set aside to cool slightly.
7. Break into pieces and serve warm.

Popcorn Mix-Ins

There’s no limit to the favorite mix-ins you can add to this recipe, either before or after it’s cooked. Here are some favorites:

• Chopped up Vegan Peanut Butter Cups (add after the mix cools)
• Edible Peanut Butter Cookie Dough (roll it into little balls and add after the mix cools)
• Vegan M&Ms (for more on the vegan version of this candy, check out this recipe)
• Vegan Candies — There are a variety of vegan candies these days, such as Skittles, Twizzlers, Swedish Fish, and more.
• Vegan Kit Kats — Make your own kit kat bars, cut them into smaller pieces, and add them after the mix cools.
• Roasted Chickpeas — Make it a sweet and salty popcorn mix by adding savory with salty roasted chickpeas. Salty and sweet is always a great flavor combination.

Serving Suggestions

You can serve popcorn snacks family-style, in one large bowl, or in individual dishes.Also, you can serve this popcorn treat for movie nights, but it also goes great on your holiday dessert table or in treat bags for friends and family.

More Snacks

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This post was originally published in 2016 and was updated to include new text, and an updated recipe in 2021.

This was a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. See our full disclosure for more information.