Chunky Monkey Trail Mix

Chunky Monkey Trail Mix combines tropical dried fruit with cashews, chocolate covered peanuts, and yogurt covered cranberries for the perfect sweet and salty snack. 

My son got a game for his birthday called The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel, or as he calls it, “The Neaky, Nacky, Skee-Uhl.” (Side note: I will seriously miss this stage of mispronunciations and made up words. Toddler is the cutest language in the world).

The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel has become a household name, used to inform momma of a rumbling tummy or describe a mid-afternoon rustling in the pantry. I, for one, have taken on my own board-game inspired nickname–The Sneaky Snacky Pregnant Lady.

Somewhere around 3 PM, she emerges from her treetop office, stomach grumbling and hungry for nuts. Making sure not to disturb the sleeping toddler, she tiptoes to the pantry, digs through the cereal boxes and cans of salsa, makes a note to herself to organize the pantry ASAP, then finally finds what she’s after: a jar of Chunky Monkey Trail Mix.

It’s the perfect antidote for the Sneaky Snack Pregnant Lady, chock full of dried fruits and nuts, with just the right amount of sweet, salty, and chocolate treats to satisfy.

I shared my basic Healthy Trail Mix recipe several years ago. It’s a trusty formula for a protein packed trail mix that’s perfect for curbing a craving for something sweet.

This version sticks pretty close to the original formula, but is a tad more indulgent. It gets its “chunky monkey” name from the dried banana chips, chewy coconut, and pineapple chunks that make up its base. From there, we add some nuts, just the right amount of chocolate and yogurt covered cranberries. The resulting mix is sweet, crunchy, salty, and strongly reminiscent of a banana split!

Here’s Everything You’ll Need to Make This Chunky Monkey Trail Mix:

• Dried Banana Chips
• Dried Coconut- I prefer unsweetened coconut strips. You’ll have plenty of sweet from the other ingredients, and the strips have such a nice chewy texture!
• Dried Pineapple Chunks- I like mine in smaller pieces, so if they come in larger chunks, I’ll sometimes chop them up.
• Roasted Cashews- I prefer mine salted, but feel free to use unsalted if you prefer.
• Chocolate Covered Peanuts- I prefer dark chocolate, but my husband prefers milk chocolate. Chocolate covered almonds would be wonderful as well!
• Yogurt Covered Cranberries- These are my husband’s favorite addition, and the key to giving this mix that banana split creaminess!

Like every trail mix, this one can easily be adapted to fit your tastes and preferences. Feel free to adjust the ratios and experiment with different nuts or dried fruits to create your own Chunk Monkey Trail Mix. My husband likes extra chocolate in his, so sometimes I throw in a handful of semi-chocolate chips. I’ve also added dried cherries or roasted almonds when I have them on hand.

The trail mix should stay nice and crunchy for several weeks stored in an airtight container at room temperature. I like to portion it out into smaller containers for our desks, the little’s lunch box, and one big one in the pantry for Netflix watching and munching.

If you need more inspiration for satisfying the sneaky snacky toddlers (and adults) in your house, try my Honey Peanut Butter Banana Splits and Apple Cinnamon Muffins. For more trail mix recipe ideas, check out this Chocolate Covered Strawberry Trail Mix from The Healthy Maven or this Toddler Friendly Nut-Free Trail Mix from The Lean Green Bean!