Building Your Own Trail Mix: A Simple UK Guide to Ratios and Pairings
Pre-bagged trail mix is convenient, but it's often padded out with more of the cheapest ingredient and less of what you actually want. Making your own at home takes a few minutes, works out cheaper by weight, and means every handful is built the way you like it. Here's a straightforward approach to putting one together.
Start with a base ratio
A trail mix has three jobs: crunch, chew, and a bit of variety so you don't get bored halfway through the bag. A reliable starting point is roughly 2 parts nuts, 1 part dried fruit, and 1 part "extras" such as seeds or a few flavoured pieces for contrast. From there, adjust to taste — more fruit if you prefer a sweeter mix, more nuts if you want something heartier for a long walk or a working snack drawer.
Choosing your nuts
Texture matters as much as flavour here. Flaked almonds bring a light, crisp bite and are easy to portion by the handful, while whole Brazil nuts add size and a firmer, denser chew that anchors the mix. Using two nuts with different textures — one flaked or sliced, one whole — gives the mix more character than a single type on its own. If you want a shortcut, our Nuts and Seeds collection has the full range to mix and match by weight.
Adding dried fruit
Dried fruit is where the sweetness and chew come from. Dried mango slices are soft and chewy with a tropical flavour that pairs well against the drier crunch of almonds — just break or cut the slices into smaller pieces so they're in scale with the nuts rather than dominating each handful. Raisins or sultanas are a more traditional option if you'd rather keep the flavour simple and familiar.
Extras: seeds and a little flavour
This is the category to have fun with. A spoonful of seeds adds a smaller, snappier bite between the nuts and fruit. If you like a bit of savoury or spiced contrast, a small handful of flavoured cashews — cheese, chilli or black pepper — mixed in sparingly can lift the whole batch without overpowering it. Keep these as the smallest portion of the mix; they're there to season, not to lead.
A simple starting recipe
For roughly 500g of mix:
- 150g flaked almonds
- 100g Brazil nuts, roughly chopped
- 100g dried mango slices, cut into smaller pieces
- 100g raisins or sultanas
- 50g seeds or a small handful of flavoured cashews
Tip everything into a bowl, mix by hand so the pieces distribute evenly, then portion into small bags or an airtight container. It'll keep well for a few weeks stored somewhere cool and dry, away from direct sunlight.
Batch it for the week
If you're making trail mix regularly — for lunchboxes, the office drawer, or hiking kit — it's worth buying nuts and dried fruit in the larger pack sizes rather than small snack bags. The cost per 100g drops noticeably at 1kg and above, and a bigger batch means less time spent portioning each week. Store the bulk mix in one large airtight container and split it into smaller portions as you need them, rather than leaving the whole batch exposed to air each time you dip in.
Once you've got the base ratio down, swapping in different nuts, fruit or a flavoured extra is an easy way to keep the mix interesting without changing the method.