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Everyone loves trail mix around here! Whether it's Memorial Day, church camp, July 4th, or just because, we all love snacking on this sweet and salty stuff! Try this Patriotic Snack Mix Recipe for your dessert table at your next summer get together!

Patriotic Snack Mix!

The fun thing about making your own snack mixes is that there is something in there for everyone. The salty pretzels and Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers balance out the marshmallows, red white and blue M&M's, and the peanuts and Cheerio's give it a great crunch!

This snack mix will quickly disappear! Kids always gather around any time we open a new bag of Patriotic M&M's at camp or church activities in the summer. If you have a larger gathering planned but need something to have guests snack on while the main food dishes are being prepped, or if everyone is in the pool and busy with games and activities, this is a winner.

What's in Our Patriotic Snack Mix?

Cheerios

This recipe starts with either Original Cheerios in the yellow boox, or Honey Nut Cheerios. I Did the regualr ones so the trail mix wouldn't be too sweet. Plus, this was for our church group when I originally made it and we typically have unsweetened Cheerios for the toddler classes anyway. You can use whichever you prefer. If you are worried about the taste of the Honey Nut along with the chocolate of the M&M's, go with the Original flavor.

You can always add some of each, if you prefer!

Red, White, and Blue M&M's

I think the patriotic colors really make this trail mix festive, but just about any M&M's will work. If you haven't followed Consumer Queen Hot Deals, be sure to get in on all the savings you can find on candy! We see almost weekly deals at Walgreens, CVS, and even online.

This recipe calls for 2/3 cup of Red and Blue M&M's, so these sharing size bags (shown above) are great for this recipe. You will have some extra to snack on, too!

Mini Marshmallows

Use any brand of Mini Marshmallows you have on hand for this. Kraft Jet Puffed Mini Marshmallows are usually what I go for. One 10 oz. bag is enough.

Pretzels

If you're shopping for pretzels in the summer, you may find yourself heading to more than one store! It's never fun if your needed item for a recipe isn't on the store shelves. This has actually happened to us more than once when we wanted to make a recipe for a holiday. If the recipe is popular on TikTok or online, and everyone is making it, chances are the ingredients are hard to find. However, the nice thing about this recipe is that you can use any shape of small, salty pretzels.

Just ensure that your pretzels are not flavored. You can use mini twists, pretzel rods, pretzel squares, or even off brands.

Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Snack Crackers

This ingredient will be a hit with the kids! We used traditional Cheddar Goldfish crackers for this trail mix. You can optionally use another flavor, but the original have a mild flavor and won't overpower the other flavors in the mix. You can find these at just about any store. If the larger bags are sold out, head over to the individually wrapped snack aisle and you can also find them in snac packs.

Peanuts

Again, this is an optional ingredient. My trail mix at home always contains nuts, but if we are making it for a church group we leave it peanut-free out of consideration for food allergies. If you need some crunch without the nuts, you can replace with another cereal or nut-free granola!

Perfect Snacking for Church Groups

We had a great time at my church's Patch the Pirate ministry snacking while we made cards for our food pantry! It was a wonderful way to show kids how to pay it forward. We love Cheerios for church snacks since they are gluten-free. With lots of food allergies and gluten intolerance out there, its nice not to worry about handing out a snack some kiddos may not be able to eat! Since we added GF pretzels and other GF ingredients to this recipe, it was one everyone could enjoy. Keep in mind, if you have peanut allergies to think about, or if this is for a church class that must remain peanut-free, leave those out.

I want to thank all of our Patch the Pirate kids for participating in this activity to promote the food pantry and help brighten someone's day! We had a great time and enjoyed lots of Cheerios along the way. Next time you're purchasing Cheerios, remember your local food pantry and be inspired to make a difference!

Patriotic Snack Mix Recipe:

Now check out this yummy Patriotic Snack Mix we made. It's so versatile, because you can add and take away ingredients and make it totally gluten free!

Print the recipe below, or Pin for later, or even better, make it your own and throw in what you have on hand in the pantry! We always have the little pretzels or pretzel rods, so I added those. Of course cereal is the base on this snack mix, which makes it great for kids and also perfect for on the go. You really can't go wrong with a good summer trail mix!

Yield: 24

Patriotic Snack Mix Recipe with Cheerios

Name: Patriotic Snack Mix Recipe with Cheerios
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 24
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cup plain cheerios; 1 1/2 cup honey nut cheerios; 1 cup peanuts; 1/2 - 1 cup marshmallows; 1/2 cup of your favorite snack crackers; 2/3 cups red and blue candy

Quick & Easy Patriotic Snack.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup plain cheerios
1 1/2 cup honey nut cheerios
1 cup peanuts
1/2 - 1 cup marshmallows
1/2 cup of your favorite snack crackers
2/3 cups red and blue candy

Instructions

Add all of the ingredients together and stir.

Update – This post originally appeared on Consumer Queen on 5/30/2017. All updates were made on and after 5/14/2020. Original AD Disclosure: I have been compensated for this post by Cheerios, however all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.