Savory BBQ Trail Mix
This delicious Savory BBQ Trail Mix is the ultimate camping, hiking, and after-school snack. It’s made with crunchy plantain chips and wholesome nuts and seeds toasted with sweet and smokey dry BBQ seasoning. It’s perfect for paleo and keto with minor modifications.
If you’re looking for healthy back-to-school snacks, this 6-ingredient savory BBQ trail mix is perfect. A delicious blend of plantain chips, almonds, cashews, and pumpkin seeds gets a flavor boost from sweet, salty, and smokey BBQ spices.
As is, this savory BBQ trail mix is gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, and soy-free, making it the ideal emergency snack for paleo and Whole30 meal plans.
However, the customization options are endless. You can even make this trail mix low carb and keto. Check out this paleo coconut trail mix or Candy Corn Peanut Party Mix if you’re craving something on the sweeter side. Enjoy!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Making homemade trail mix is easy, and you can customize your mix precisely with your preferences.
- This trail mix is actually good for you. The ingredients are gluten-free, sugar-free, and a great source of healthy fats.
- This is the perfect last-minute party appetizer or back-to-school snack. It takes only 20 minutes to make.
- This yields a big batch of trail mix at a fraction of the store-bought cost.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Plantain chips – or Cassava chips! These are great healthy snacks. They’re very easy to make from scratch. If you use a store-bought bag, be sure to double-check the ingredients are nothing more than plantain chips, oil, and salt.
- Pumpkin seeds – AKA pepitas, are rich in vitamins and minerals, like manganese and Vitamin K.
- Raw, unsalted nuts – I like using a mixture of cashews and almonds, but you can use any raw, unroasted nut.
- Avocado oil – To coat the nuts and seeds, which gives the BBQ spices something to stick to. You can also use olive oil here.
- Dried BBQ seasoning – You can use any BBQ dry rub. The New Primal Classic BBQ seasoning is a perfect paleo and Whole30 option.
How To Make BBQ Trail Mix
Prepare for baking. Preheat the oven to 325 °F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set it aside.
Toss with oil and seasoning. Add plantain chips, pumpkin seeds, almonds, and cashews to a large mixing bowl. Drizzle oil on top, add the BBQ seasoning, and toss to coat the ingredients thoroughly in oil and spices.
Bake trail mix. Spread the seasoned mixture in a single layer on the parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake for 10-15 minutes, flipping halfway through. Remove from the oven promptly once the nuts are lightly toasted and not burnt.
Cool & store. Let cool completely before storing in the fridge or freezer.
Recipe Tips
- Be sure to buy raw, unroasted seeds (roasted nuts are already cooked).
- Don’t overcrowd the baking sheet. The ingredients must be spread out evenly to keep the mixture from clumping.
- Keep an eye on the oven. Nuts and seeds tend to go from perfectly toasted to burned in the blink of an eye.
- Let your trail mix cool completely. It will continue to harden and become crunchy as it cools to room temperature.
Variations
Spices & seasonings – Add a pinch of cayenne to your trail mix for a spicy kick. You can also follow this recipe as instructed using other savory spice blends. For example, instead of BBQ seasoning, try Cajun seasoning, taco seasoning, ranch seasoning, or curry seasoning.
Custom trail mix – Feel free to mix and match the ingredients with other tasty ingredients. Check out the list below for modifications:
- Paleo & Whole30 extras – You can add sunflower seeds, walnuts, brazil nuts, pistachios, cacao nibs, and unsweetened shredded coconut.
- Low carb & keto – Omit the plantain chips, and toss in pieces of beef jerky or parmesan crisps with the nuts and seeds once they are toasted.
- Savory extras – If paleo isn’t a concern, add crispy chickpeas, crushed tortilla chips, peanuts, wasabi peas, pretzels, cheese crackers, Chex cereal, or popcorn.
- Sweet extras – Make it sweet & savory. Add chocolate chips, banana chips, raisins, dried cranberries, M&M’s, coconut chips, mango, or pineapple.
Storing & Freezing
Storing: If stored properly, homemade trail mix has an excellent shelf-life. You must let the mixture cool completely to room temperature first. Then store it in a sanitized airtight glass container in the fridge for up to 3 months.
Freezing: Let cool, then freeze in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 6 months. When ready to serve, thaw the trail mix in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.
FAQ
Trail mix can be a healthy snack, and making it from scratch is a great way to ensure it’s made with wholesome, natural food ingredients, including healthy oil, dried fruit, nuts, and seeds.
When entirely made from scratch with nuts, seeds, and dried fruit, trail mix is a perfect snack Whole30 snack.
One serving of trail mix is about a 1/4 cup or a small handful.
More Healthy Snack Recipes
- Coconut Trail Mix
- Air Fryer Crispy Chickpeas
- Crispy Buffalo Chickpeas
- Air Fryer Carrot Chips
- Air Fryer Pumpkin Seeds
Savory BBQ Trail Mix
Equipment
- large mixing bowl
- wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 1 cup plantain chips
- 1 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1 cup almonds
- 1 cup cashews
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 2 tablespoons dried bbq seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set it aside.
- Add plantain chips, pumpkin seeds, almonds, and cashews to a large mixing bowl. Drizzle oil on top, add the BBQ seasoning, and toss to coat the ingredients fully in oil and spices.
- Spread the seasoned mixture out in a single layer on the parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake for 10-15 minutes, flipping halfway through. Remove from the oven promptly once the nuts are lightly toasted and not burnt.
- Let cool completely before storing.
