This yummy fall snack mix combines fall flavors, fall colors, and pumpkins in a delicious snack the entire family will enjoy! The sweet and salty ingredients create the perfect combination for the ultimate fall snack!
If you hadn’t guessed already from my homemade chex mix and my trail mix cookies, I’m a big fan of snack mixes. Especially when those snack mixes include a little sweet and a little salty like this fall snack mix does! This one is kind of like a fall harvest Chex Mix if you want to give it a name other than fall snack mix!
There’s just something about grabbing a handful of a snack and getting all sorts of different tastes and textures in one handful.
And this snack mix is perfect for fall because not only does it have fall ingredients like candy corn and pumpkins, but it also looks just like fall with its brown, orange, and yellow color!
I love to make up a big batch for my family to eat and then give half of it away with some of these Thanksgiving gift tags as a little thank you gift to neighbors and friends!
Plus, it’s a super easy recipe so you can make it last minute if people are coming over for one of these fall parties or even a Halloween party (though it’s more fall than Halloween themed). If you want a Halloween themed snack mix, try these dirt worms muddy buddies instead!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Just mix – it’s not really a recipe at all other than a list of ingredients, it’s really as simple as mixing all of the items together to get the perfect sweet and salty snack mix!
- Fall color – I mentioned it already but this is just a pretty snack mix to look at if you’re a fan of fall parties! The colors look just like I would imagine a fall picture looking like! It actually matches one of my favorite fall color palettes!
- Keeps well – this fall snack mix keeps really well as long as you keep it out of the heat (includes chocolate!). All of the ingredients in it will store for a while, making it a great snack to make once and eat for a while! Just make a big batch then pull some out any time yu need a fun snack or fall treat!
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
Since this recipe is really all about the ingredients and not the instructions, here are some more details about my recommendations for what to use in this snack mix!
Chex Mix – while I like to use Chex Mix in this recipe, you could also just use a combination of a variety of different Chex cereal since you’re already doing chocolate covered pretzels as well. And there really is such thing as too many pretzels, unless they’re these homemade pretzel bites!
Also, I used original Chex Mix, but I’ve tried this with the cheesy Chex Mix as well and that works too, plus the cheese flavor works well with the caramel corn! I’ve also use a combo of Rice Chex and Corn Chex – also a good option!
Candy corn and pumpkins – you can either grab the fall mix that comes with regular candy corn, chocolate candy corn, and candy pumpkins or just buy your favorite of the three and add them in. I like the combo of all three but know some people don’t love the chocolate candy corn that normally comes in Harvest snack mix.
Or if you don’t like candy corn or know someone who isn’t a candy corn fan, you can always omit the candy corn mix all together but it really does give this easy snack mix a fall vibe!
Caramel popcorn – I used just regular boxed Crunch & Munch caramel popcorn in this, but you could totally use any sort of caramel popcorn or even Kettle corn you want! Or if you don’t want sweet and would prefer a little more salty, you could go with cheddar popcorn instead!
Peanut butter cups – this is best with the mini Reese’s peanut butter cups that are already unwrapped (those are also really good in this peanut butter pie) because they’re smaller than normal cups! And small things are best in a snack mix!
But if you can’t find those, you can always just cut up peanut butter cups or omit the Reese’s peanut butter cups and increase the amount of Reese’s Pieces instead.
Chocolate chips – I used white in my mix but you could easily use white, milk, and/or dark chocolate chips. I just like the white for the pop of color! Another good option if you don’t want to do more chocolate but still want the white color would be mini marshmallows!
Chocolate covered pretzels – same as the chocolate chips, you can use any combination of white, milk, and dark chocolate pretzels in this. I like using at least white plus one other for a good variety of colors!
Reese’s Pieces – these are the perfect choice for this fall snack mix simply because they’re naturally colored like fall! You could also substitute or add fall colored M&Ms, Sixlets, or any other colored chocolate candies as well.
Other Fall Snack Mix Ingredients
You could also try any of these yummy snack items in this mix! They’re the right color, right size, and right flavor – sweet and salty!
- Bugles
- Mini Ritz crackers
- Regular popcorn or cheddar popcorn
- Crispix
- Honey Nut Cheerios
- Mini Rolos
- Mini marshmallows
- Cheez-Itz or Cheese Nips (my personal favorite)
- Nuts
- Goldfish
- Butterscotch chips
How to make a fall snack mix
The best thing about this snack mix is that there’s no cooking, no seasoning, no real anything to it.
All you have to do is mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl until they’re well combined. Since the Chex Mix is the main salty component of this festive treat, I tend to add more Chex Mix than the other ingredients to maintain the balance of salty and sweet.
Using the ratios included in the recipe card at the bottom of this post, determine how much you’ll need depending on if you’re filling a large jar, a small bowl, or individual bags.
I made this snack mix for one of our fall movie nights and to fill a medium bowl I used:
- 3 cups original Chex Mix
- 1 cup caramel corn
- 1. cup chocolate covered pretzels
- 1/2 cup Reese’s Pieces
- 1/2 cup mini Reese’s Peanut Butter cups (like the really little ones, not just miniatures)
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup candy corn mixture (my kids favorite part of course)
You can make it how I did or mix and match with different snacks and ratios. It’s totally up to you.
Everything in my recipe tastes good together so it doesn’t really matter if you have too much or too little of anything. It’s an autumn snack mix full of fall snacks – so if you stick with that, you’ll be golden!
Or you could do a tray and make it more like a Halloween dessert board where people can pick and choose their favorites to make their own fall mix – your choice!
Or just put it all on a tray and mix it up on the tray and let people scoop out their own. Doing the tray compared to a bowl lets them see where all of their favorites are before scooping!
People are a little particular about their snack mixes.
Using a tray also means all those little candies won’t just sink right to the bottom, although everyone knows the best part of a snack mix is the bottom!
Expert Tips & Storage Info
Balance the salty with the sweet. For every sweet ingredient you add, add a salty (or at least neutral) one as well so the snack mix doesn’t get too sweet or too salty.
Serve individual cups of the snack mix rather than in a large bowl if you’re having a large party and worried about germs.
Pack snack mix up in mason jars, snack boxes, or other treat containers and add a bow and a tag to send this home as party favor or to gift to friends and family! Individual bags of this sweet and salty gift make a great gift for the fall, maybe one of the best hostess gifts if you know that person likes salty snacks!
Store the snack mix in an airtight container for up to two weeks, snacking on it whenever you want, and just making sure to seal the airtight container again.
Snack Mix FAQs
How do I store the leftovers?
Store the leftovers in an airtight container like zipper top bag, a large jar, or a large bowl with a lid. This will keep all of the ingredients fresh and crisp just like you want in the best snack mixes!
Can I mix and match other ingredients?
The best part about this fall snack mix is that you can add and subtract any ingredients you want as long as they are in the same sweet and salty profile. I also recommend sticking with ingredients that are dry ingredients so nothing moist, liquidy, or otherwise that will change the texture and storage of this fall snack mix.
Can you freeze the leftovers?
I’ve never had this fall snack mix stick around long enough to freeze, so I’ve never actually tried it. If for some reason you have a lot of leftovers, by all means try and freeze it. Let me know how it turns out!
More Easy Fall Treats
If you like this fall snack mix, you’ll love these other yummy sweet and salty fall recipes!
- Cream cheese pumpkin dip – this sweet and creamy dip is perfect paired with salty pretzels, gingersnaps, and fruit!
- Pumpkin crunch cake – pumpkin layered with cake and salty nuts give this pumpkin crunch cake a delicious sweet and salty flavor!
- Bacon brie bites – a little bit of salty bacon combined with creamy brie and a honey topping make these a sweet appetizer for any fall occasion!
- Pecan pie bars – pecan pie but in bar form, all on top of a delicious shortbread crust! These are heavenly!
- Pumpkin cheesecake bars – creamy pumpkin layer on top of a gingerbread graham crust makes these the ultimate Thanksgiving dessert!
Fall Snack Mix
Ingredients
- 3 cups Original Chex Mix
- ½ cup Reese’s Mini Unwrapped not the miniature cups
- ½ cup Brach’s Autumn Mix candy
- ½ cup Reese’s Pieces
- 1 cup chocolate covered pretzels white, milk, or dark
- ½ cup chocolate chips white, milk, or dark
- 1 cup Crunch & Munch caramel popcorn or cheddar popcorn
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and serve.3 cups Original Chex Mix, 1/2 cup Reese’s Mini Unwrapped, 1/2 cup Brach’s Autumn Mix candy, 1/2 cup Reese’s Pieces, 1 cup chocolate covered pretzels, 1/2 cup chocolate chips, 1 cup Crunch & Munch caramel popcorn
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