This Fall Party Mix is a sweet and salty snack inspired by the spooky season. It combines the colors and flavors of fall into a quick and easy snack that everyone loves.
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Salty and Sweet Fall Snack Mix
This sweet and salty Fall Snack Mix combines crunchy party mix favorites with seasonal Halloween candies for a treat that can’t be beat. Rather than just tossing everything into large bowls, we go one step further and cook up a yummy cinnamon caramel syrup that we use to coat the popcorn, pretzels, corn chips, and peanuts before baking. The result is crispy, crunchy, sweet, and totally delicious.
Once cooled completely, add your favorite fall candies such as orange M&Ms, candy corns, or mini pumpkins candies. This sweet party mix is perfect for parties, after school snacks, or even little gifts during spooky season and even into Thanksgiving. Keep reading for more flavor variations and recipe tips.
Fall Snack Mix Ingredients
- Popcorn - our favorite popcorn to use is plain freshly popped popcorn. You could also use microwave popcorn, or popcorn in a bag, although they typically have added salt and other flavors.
- Pretzels - you can use mini twists, sticks, or any of your other favorite pretzels.
- Bugles - you can find Bugles in the cracker or snacks aisle. If you prefer, substitute any kind of corn chips.
- Peanuts - I like to use dry roasted peanuts. You can use salted or unsalted, depending on what you prefer. Even honey roasted would taste great.
- M&Ms - for a fall theme, I like to use Halloween or fall colors, such as orange, brown, and yellow.
- Candy Corn - this candy makes your sweet party mix super festive. Feel free to use candy pumpkins, or another kind of Halloween candy.
Syrup for Sweet Party Mix
- Sugar - you’ll need white granulated sugar for the syrup.
- Corn Syrup - Karo syrup or corn syrup helps to prevent the syrup from crystallizing while it cooks.
- Water - you’ll just need a bit of regular tap water.
- Butter - unsalted butter works great.
- Cinnamon and Ginger - you could also substitute pumpkin pie spice.
- Vanilla Extract - pure vanilla extract has the best flavor.
- Baking Soda - baking soda helps to keep the syrup slightly soft.
More Flavor Variations to Try
- Any color or flavor of M&M's or even Reese’s Pieces
- Any fall candy, mini pumpkins, or mini candy bars
- Kettle corn
- Pecans, walnuts, or cashews
- Chex cereal
- Fritos, or any other corn chips
How to Make This Fall Snack Mix Recipe
- Combine the salty snacks for party mix in a bowl. In a large mixing bowl, add the popcorn, Bugles, pretzels, and peanuts. Set aside.
- Cook the syrup. To make the syrup, add the sugar, corn syrup, water, butter, ground cinnamon, and ginger into a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat stirring frequently and bring to a rapid boil. Continue to cook until the syrup reaches 235 degrees F.
- Add the syrup to the salty snacks. Remove from heat, pour over the popcorn mixture, and stir gently to coat. Transfer the party mix onto a large baking sheet covered with parchment paper or sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
- Bake. Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 20 minutes, stirring every 7-8 minutes.
- Cool and add the sweet snacks. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely at room temperature. Once cooled, break the mix apart into smaller pieces, add back into a large bowl, and mix in the M&M's and candy corn.
- Serve. Serve in a large serving bowl, or individual serving cups. This party mix recipe can be stored in an airtight container in a cool place for 3-5 days. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
The best way to store any kind of snack mix or cereal mixture like this is in an airtight container in a cool place for 3-5 days. We don’t recommend storing in the fridge because it adds humidity which can cause the mixture to lose its crunch.
We don’t recommend freezing your sweet party mix. Just like the fridge, the freezer introduces moisture. Once the snack mix thaws, it causes it to become rather soggy.
This recipe calls for baking your Fall Party Mix for about 20 minutes at 325 degrees F. What you really want is for the syrup mixture to loosen and coat the entire mixture, and for any remaining water to evaporate. This way, once the snack mix cools completely, it will stay super crispy and delicious.
If you’ve made your syrup, baked your snack mix, let it cool and it’s still soggy, the most likely reason is that you didn’t cook the syrup to a high enough temperature. If you don’t cook the syrup to 235 degrees F, there will still be too much water content and the sugar will not reach the correct soft-ball stage. Make sure to use a candy thermometer to check the temperature as the syrup cooks.
Fall Snack Mix Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 cups Popcorn popped
- 3 cups Pretzels
- 3 cups Bugles
- 1 cup Dry Roasted Peanuts
- 1 cup M&M's fall or halloween colors
- 1 cup Candy Corn
Syrup for Sweet Party Mix
- 2 cups Sugar
- ½ cup Corn Syrup
- ½ cup Water
- ¼ cup Butter
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Ground Ginger
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the popcorn, Bugles, pretzels, and peanuts. Set aside.
- To make the syrup, add the sugar, corn syrup, water, butter, , baking soda, ground cinnamon, and ginger into a medium saucepan. Heat over medium, stirring frequently, and bring to a rapid boil. Continue to cook until the syrup reaches 235 degrees F.
- Remove from heat, pour over the popcorn mixture, and stir gently to coat. Transfer the party mix onto a large baking sheet covered with parchment paper or sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
- Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 20 minutes, stirring every 7-8 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely at room temperature. Once cooled, break the mix apart into smaller pieces, add back into a large bowl, and mix in the M&M's and candy corn.
- Serve in a large serving bowl, or individual serving cups. This party mix recipe can be stored in an airtight container in a cool place for 3-5 days. Enjoy!
Nutrition
More Of Our Favorite Snack Recipes
- Apple Nachos
- Pumpkin Fluff Dip
- Zucchini Chips
- Corn Salsa
- Pretzel Toffee
- Candied Pecans
- Pizza Pinwheels
- Mini Veggie Cups
- More Fall Recipes
- More Easy Appetizers
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This Fall Party Mix recipe is full of crunchy snack mix favorites and inspired by the spooky season. It's a quick and easy snack that's perfect for any size group, and both kids and adults love it.
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