The Flavor Ratios To Keep In Mind When Making Your Own Snack Mix

When making your own snack mixes at home, the key is to remember what endears us to snack mixes in the first place. Each new bite feels a little different from the last, and the snack mix bowl feels like an adventure to dig into. Additionally, you should personalize the snack mix to fit your palate and preferences. 

However, it's still good to have some basic flavor ratios to guide you when making your own satisfying snack mix, like our Crispix Arare, a sweet and savory snack mix recipe. For example, if you're planning to make a snack mix with about 5 cups of ingredients and want to emphasize sweet and savory flavors, add 2 ½ cups of crunchy ingredients, like cereal and pretzels for the crispy, crunchy base, 1 cup of dried fruits and berries for chewiness, 1 cup of nuts and seeds for a different texture, and ½ cup of sweets like chocolate or candies for more sweetness and flavor. This combination is a good starting point, and we suggest you adjust the ratios based on your palate.

Let's say you prefer chewy textures. You can increase the amount of fruits and berries to 1 ½ cups, and reduce the amount of crunchy ingredients to 2 cups. If you're a chocolate and sweets lover, reduce the amount of nuts and seeds to increase the amount of candies. Mix and match until you've found your perfect flavor ratios and combinations. 

Once you've gotten your perfect formula down when making your own snack mix at home, it's time to experiment a little. Any seasoning goes, from cheesy and salty to sugar-sweet. Did you know there's no better way to boost homemade Chex mix than with ranch seasoning? If savory snack mixes are your jam, be sure to mix in umami-rich and tangy ranch powder. A good way to do this is to add your snack mix into a large ziplock bag, toss in the ranch powder, seal the bag, and give everything a good shake to coat the mix with the ranch powder. But let's say you want your snack mix to be sweeter. Instead of ranch powder, use confectioners' sugar. 

If you need more inspiration and ideas before making your own snack mix, check out the 13 absolute best-packaged trail mixes and see if you can recreate your own. A good trail or snack mix is packed with different ingredients that balance each other out. Salty almonds sit next to sweetened coconut flakes, and chewy dried cherries rest next to chunks of dark chocolate. Making your snack mix at home allows you to think outside the box. For example, perhaps crumbled bacon is the salty addition your Chex mix is begging for. Or try mixing in duck fat, like our duck-fat Chex mix recipe from Jake Godby. There are no rules, so simply experiment until you find your preferred snack mix ratio.