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You only need 5 different ingredients to make this delicious chocolate cherry trail mix recipe. If you are looking for a sweet and salty trail mix, this is a very tasty option to consider. The combination of crunchy roasted almonds, delicious cashews, sweet dried cherries, pistachios, and dark chocolate chips is truly a very tasty blend and you are going to love how well the sweet and salty flavors pair up in this.

Three bowls of a homemade chocolate cherry trail mix on a light surface.

This chocolate cherry trail mix recipe takes minutes to make and tastes so delicious with its rich and fruity flavors in every mouthful. It’s easy to make and oh so satisfying!

More snack possibilities that are easy to make include nut brittle, tropical trail mix, or a jerky trail mix. These are all easy to bring with you if you’re camping, hiking, or know you’ll just want something to snack on later.

Assorted nuts, dried fruits, and chocolate chips in various bowls on a light surface, with a teal napkin on the side.

Why You’ll Love This

Easy: How easy can trail mix be? Well, it’s as easy as measuring out your ingredients and combining them!
Delicious: The sweet and salty flavors in this easy trail mix recipe are so good together.
Customizable: One of the great things about making your own homemade trail mix is you can add whatever you want in there and leave out anything you don’t really like.

Top view of a tray filled with a trail mix with dried cherries, pistachios, almonds and cashews on a light pink surface.

Chocolate Cherry Trail Mix Ingredients

A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below

Roasted nuts: Roasted almonds, roasted cashews, and roast pistachios feature in this crunchy trail mix. Choose from salted or unsalted, as you prefer.
Dried cherries: These add a pop of sweet flavor and also introduce a chewy texture that contrasts nicely with the crunchy nuts.
Dark chocolate chips: Another sweet ingredient. Feel free to use a different kind of chocolate if dark chocolate isn’t a favorite.

Various bowls containing dried cherries, pistachios, almonds, chocolate chips and cashews, arranged on a light surface.

How to Make Chocolate Cherry Trail Mix

For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card

Prepare the ingredients: Measure out your ingredients.
Combine everything: Mix the ingredients together and then enjoy. That’s all!

A bowl of chocolate cherry trail mix on a light surface, with scattered nuts, dried fruit, and a spoonful of chocolate chips. Additional bowls of snacks visible in the background.

Substitutions and Variations

Different nuts: Try walnuts, pecans, Brasil nuts or any other kind in place of the ones listed.
Different chocolate: Not a dark chocolate fan? Feel free to sub milk chocolate or white chocolate chips.
Another fruit: Dried cherries are good with the chocolate but you can use another kind of dried fruit if you prefer, such as chopped dried apricots or apples, dried pineapple, or use plantain or banana chips instead.

Two hands holding an open bag and a handful of chocolate cherry trail mix, with a natural ground backdrop.

Serving Suggestions

Snacks: If you’re taking trail mix on a hiking trip, you might also like to bring along more portable snacks such as gingerbread oatmeal bars or carrot blueberry muffins.
Main dishes:
At the end of your hike, set up camp and get ready to enjoy campfire French dip sandwiches or campfire shrimp scampi foil packets!

Two hands holding a glass bowl filled with chocolate cherry trail mix, with a blurred background of similar contents.

How to Store Chocolate Cherry Trail Mix

Store:  As this trail mix contains dried fruit, it’s best enjoyed within 2 or 3 weeks. Keep it in a plastic airtight container, reusable silicone bag or mason jar somewhere dark and cool. You can refrigerate it but you don’t have to.
Freeze:  This doesn’t freeze well, so only make as much as you will need. If you do freeze it, you’ll find the nuts soften and the dried cherries go mushy when thawed.

A glass jar filled with chocolate cherry trail mix on a wooden surface with a blurred green background.

Cherry Chocolate Trail Mix FAQs

Will this keep for longer if you don’t add dried fruit?

Yes, if you’re only using nuts and chocolate chips, it will keep for a couple of months. If this recipe is one of your favorites, perhaps make the basic mix (without the dried cherries) and then you can add fruit later, when you’re ready to portion it out.

What else can you add to this trail mix recipe?

Candies, seeds, pretzels, popcorn, roasted fava beans or chick peas, coconut chips or coconut flakes are just some options for you to consider. If you’re using unsalted nuts, you might also want to add a pinch of salt.

A tray filled with a mix of dried cherries, pistachios, almonds, chocolate chips and cashews on a marble countertop with a green towel on the side.

Chocolate Cherry Trail Mix Recipe

5 from 15 votes

Chocolate Cherry Trail Mix

This chocolate cherry trail mix recipe takes minutes to make and tastes so delicious with its rich and fruity flavors in every mouthful. It's easy to make and oh so satisfying!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 10

Ingredients 

  • 1 1/2 Cups almonds, roasted, salted or unsalted
  • 1/2 Cup cashews, roasted, salted or unsalted
  • 1/2 Cup pistachios, shelled, roasted, salted or unsalted
  • 1 Cup dried cherries
  • 3/4 Cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions 

  • Pour all ingredients into a bowl and stir together to mix.
  • Store in a Ziploc bag, silicone bag, or mason jar.

Notes

Finetune the salt content: Roasted nuts come in both salted and unsalted varieties. I like to use unsalted and then add a pinch of salt later so I can get the right amount. Using all salted nuts might mean the finished trail mix is too salty.
Portion it out: Divide the finished trail mix into portions. I like to use stasher bags (my fave here) to divide it up in to handy snack-sized amounts.
Try cacao nibs: These offer a tasty alternative to the dark chocolate chips. You can also opt for white chocolate chips or semisweet chocolate.

Nutrition

Calories: 306kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.004g | Cholesterol: 0.1mg | Sodium: 17mg | Potassium: 348mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 457IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 118mg | Iron: 2mg
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!

Making your own chocolate cherry trail mix means you have a delicious snack that’s suitable for everything from post-workout hunger pangs to hiking and camping or simply a snack to munch while watching your favorite TV show. The combination of crunchy nuts, soft and chewy dried cherries, and rich-tasting chocolate chips makes this DIY trail mix especially delicious!

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Bella Bucchiotti

Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.

 

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5 from 15 votes (14 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




1 Comment

  1. 5 stars
    This recipe is the bomb! So flavorful and easy to prepare! Absolutely my new fave. 👌