This tropical trail mix is a family favorite and it always reminds me about the beginnings of Luci’s Morsels…
Back in the early days of Luci’s Morsels, when I was selling some of my baked goods to friends and family (the blog was part of the business plan), I dreamed up the idea of selling trail mix.
I was always creating new combinations and thought others might be interested. The trail mix business never took off, but I did create a few mixes that my family still makes today!
One of the best was what I called a “Beach Bum” mix that my mom absolutely loves. It’s basically a tropical trail mix or ‘island’ trail mix. It’s so tasty, my mom hasn’t been without it since I first gave it to her nearly three years ago!
Tropical Trail Mix
My general guide for creating a trail mix is ⅔ nuts and ⅓ dried fruit. The type of nuts and whether they’re salted, roasted, or raw is up to you. For the purposes of deliciousness, I recommend at least one salted variety and one plain variety.
Dried mango is easy enough to find, but this dried young coconut seems to be a bit more of a challenge. We first discovered it at Costco, but sometime in the last few years they’ve stopped selling it.
I can only ever find dried (desiccated really) coconut, which really doesn’t do it in this recipe. Luckily we found it on Amazon, so we don’t have to live without it!!
With such tasty ingredients, this tropical trail mix is easy to throw together and really quite fulfilling – the perfect summer snack for the whole family!
If you want, you can toast the almonds to make them a little softer – just put them in a pan over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
{Try Trader Joe’s Trail Mix | Trader Joe’s Copycat Recipe}
What Dried Fruit Can you Use in Trail Mix?
Your dried fruit choice is absolutely up to you. To inspire that tropical, island vibe, I used dried mango and coconut. Dried pineapple is another obvious choice, though because of a sensitivity, I omitted it in mine.
In general, any dried fruit option is fine. I find that I care more about the size of the piece of fruit than anything else. If the dried fruit you want is too big, then just cut into the desired size and mix with seeds to remove most of the stickiness!
Is Tropical Trail Mix Good for You?
Deciding something is healthy is such a heated conversation, isn’t it? I’m a firm believer that you need to do what you feel is best, and I’ll just leave it at that.
While I generally very much think trail mix is a healthy snack, it’s important to know what’s in your trail mix (which is why I like making my own).
First of all, a lot of dried fruit also has sugar, coloring, and preservatives added. If any of those aren’t up your alley, then you need to check the ingredients on your fruit.
Additionally, nuts have a lot of fat. Some people find these fat contents to be too high, but I’m pro plant-based fats – again it’s all personal.
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More Trail Mix Recipes
My favorite year round trail mix recipe is the Omega-3 Trek Mix (Trail Mix) – a copycat recipe from Trader Joe’s. I also really like this Halloween Trail Mix – named just because it has orange, green, and “black” in the mix. It’s a great year round mix as well!
TROPICAL TRAIL MIX
When I first started Luci's Morsels, it was actually a baking business and I included homemade trail mixes on my menu! One of them was a "beach bum trail mix," now updated to this Tropical Trail Mix. It's a delicious mix of fresh nuts and all those tropical fruit flavors we can't get enough of.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Dried Mango roughly chopped (sweetened or plain)
- 1 cup Dried Young Coconut not shredded or sweetened, roughly chopped
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 1 cup Salted, roasted pistachios
- 1 cup cashews salted, roasted, or plain
Instructions
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Combine nuts and dried fruit together. Store in airtight container or in freezer until ready to enjoy.
Recipe Notes
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Luci Petlack says
Dried mango is sososo good. This trail mix looks pretty boss – and probably way cheaper than store-bought!
Luci Petlack says
I so agree. Have you had the dried young coconut. It's SOO GOOD!!