Skip to Content

Caramel Apple Pie Snack Mix (Finger Friendly Favorite)

Caramel Apple Pie Snack Mix combines toasted pecans and pretzels with buttery caramel. Dried apples complete this finger-friendly sweet and salty snack mix recipe.

Top view of two bowls filled with a snack mix of pretzels, pecans, caramel chips, and dried apples on a blue striped napkin

Caramel Apple Pie Snack Mix has become a Fall Snack Mix favorite in my house. We love to tailgate and get together with friends when cheering on our favorite teams. This party mix recipe makes the perfect game-time munchie!

I was visiting with a friend of mine recently and quizzed her on what she would like to see more of on my blog.

In her household, her husband is the chef du jour and she’s the sous but when it comes to parties, she’s in charge. She said she wanted more easy to make-and-take appetizers and snacks. I totally agreed with her!

When I entertain, I want something for everyone when it comes to food. I’ve found when people are talking or watching the big game, that they either take a little bit of everything all at once or nibble consistently.

Pin this amazing Caramel Apple Pie Snack Mix!

Close up view of pretzels, pecans, caramel chips and dried apples mix in a bowl on a blue striped napkin

Me, I take a little bit of everything because once the game starts, I want to watch it. Not so with everyone. Some of my friends would rather chat and catch up. They’re typically the nibblers.

My entertaining goals are:

  • People must be able to serve themselves.
  • Food must be able to sit out or easily kept cold or hot.
  • Set finger-food around in multiple places so everyone has access to it.
  • Keep it simple by choosing make-ahead choices.
  • Keep items that must be prepared to a minimum.
Ingredients of Apple Pie Snack mix including pretzels, pecans, dried apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, butter and caramel chips

Ingredients for the Caramel Apple Pie Snack Mix:

  • Pecans – I used halves in this mix. The pieces variety would fall to the bottom of the bowl.
  • Pretzels – Small twists worked great and did a great job holding the caramel mix.
  • Dried apples – Apple rings are great. For this recipe, I actually used freeze-dried apples which stayed crisp. I chopped them up so they were the size of the other ingredients and dispersed evenly.
  • Caramel chips – These chips are delicious so include plenty! I used a salted caramel version that was great in this sweet and salty snack mix recipe.
  • Caramel Mix – Butter, brown sugar, sugar
  • Cinnamon and salt

Easy Homemade Party Mix

Variations to make your own Party Mix:

  • Add mini chocolate chips or other chocolate candy morsels to the mix.
  • Exchange the pecans for your favorite nut. Walnuts, cashews or almonds would make great substitutes.
  • Add dried cranberries.
  • Include yogurt-covered raisins
  • Drizzle the mixture with white or chocolate almond bark.
  • Make it a holiday favorite by adding candy eyeballs at Halloween or Christmas themed candies or pretzels.

Before you give me too much credit, there was a method to my madness making this amazing apple pie sweet snack mix. That’s because it’s our Freaky Friday Fall edition and the timing was perfect!

Top photo of a pumpkin, apples, and walnuts announcing the Freaky Friday Blog Hop

What’s Freaky Friday?

The Freaky Friday blog hop, organized by Michaela who runs An Affair From the Heart, is a group of bloggers that are secretly assigned each others’ blogs from which we choose a recipe appropriate for the theme. It’s so much fun and there are so many quality recipes.

For this Fall edition, I was secretly assigned Kathy’s blog, Lemon Blossoms!

Kathy has serious foodie chops! She’s a professionally trained Chef and has worked with Wolf Gang Puck and Bobby Flay. She’s been a private chef for the celebrities and now this California transplant is a southern girl with her husband and two boys.

This extremely talented girl inspires us to make easy, delicious, restaurant-quality meals at home. I had a heck of a time choosing just one recipe.

With tailgating on my mind, I was drawn to her Queso Fundido Dip. That is until I saw her Salted Caramel Apple Pie Bars and One Pot Chili Mac & Cheese. The list goes on but I finally settled on her Caramel Apple Pie Party Mix.

Make sure you head on over to Kathy’s blog, Lemon Blossoms and check out all of her amazing recipes for yourself.

Top angle view of two bowls of a snack mix of pretzels, pecans, caramel chips, and dried apple sitting on a wooden board and a blue towel. Spilled mix lies next to the bowl.

I served this amazing party mix recipe at a casual BBQ dinner we had the night before we were to leave on vacation. I bagged up the leftovers and took it as a snack on the airplane. It was a heck of a lot better than the cookie everyone else got.

Take a look at all of our Fall 2019 Freaky Friday Recipes:

  1. An Affair from the Heart – Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup
  2. A Grande Life – Easy Beer Cheddar Dip
  3. Aunt Bee’s Recipes –  Three Cheese Roast Beef Sliders
  4. Bowl Me Over –  Crock Pot Pumpkin Butter Recipe
  5. Healing Tomato –  Stuffed Acorn Squash
  6. Hostess at Heart – Caramel Apple Pie Snack Mix
  7. House of Nash Eats – Slow Cooker Applesauce Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
  8. Lemon Blossoms – Maple Oven Roasted Carrots
  9. Life, Love & Good Food – Pasta Fagioli Soup Recipe
  10. Mildly Meandering – Saffron Rice
  11. Soulfully Made – Salted Dark Chocolate Orange Cookies
  12. Take Two Tapas – Margarita Pizza Pull Apart Bread
  13. The Speckled Palate – Halloween Peanut Butter Chocolate White Chocolate Chip Cookies
  14. West Via Midwest – Easy Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings
  15. Who Needs a Cape? –  Roasted Red Pepper and Artichoke Tapenade

Here are a few items you may need to make this Sweet and Salty Snack Mix Recipe:

Hostess At Heart participates in affiliate programs. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Please refer to my disclosure page for more information.

  • Baking Sheets – These sheet pans are durable and I have four of them so I can get everything baked in a jiffy!
  • Parchment Paper – This is my favorite parchment paper. It’s important to know that there is an oven temperature rating on parchment paper. If you exceed it your parchment paper can catch fire in your oven. This one is rated to 450°F, high enough for my bread recipes too.
  • Mixing Bowls – I use this set of bowls for mixing, serving, and storing, and transporting food. The pretty lids guarantee no spilling too!
Side view of a snack mix of pretzels, pecans, caramel chips and dried apples in a metal bowl.
Close up view of pretzels, pecans, caramel chips and dried apples mix in a bowl on a blue striped napkin

Caramel Apple Pie Snack Mix – Finger Friendly

Author: Julie Menghini
Finger food favorite Caramel Apple Pie Snack Mix is a great make-ahead snack. This sweet and salty snack mix is perfect for tailgating or your next party.
5 from 14 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword: Apple Pie Snack Mix, Sweet and Salty Snack Mix
Servings: 10

Ingredients
 
 

  • 3 cups pecan halves
  • 4 cups small pretzel twists
  • 1/4 cup butter unsalted, melted
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar I use dark but the light is fine
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 1/2 cup dried apple slices chopped
  • 3/4 cup caramel morsels

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a medium-sized bowl, mix the melted butter, brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt together.
  • Add the pecans and stir until coated. Then add the pretzels and continue stirring until coated.
  • Spread the pecan-pretzel mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring twice during baking. Remove the mix from the oven and allow it to cool completely.
  • When cool, stir in the dried apple pieces and caramel morsels.
  • Store the mixture in an air-tight container for up to a week.

Notes

I used freeze-dried apples.  They stayed crisp without being gummy.

Nutrition

Calories: 442kcalCarbohydrates: 39gProtein: 5gFat: 32gSaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 270mgPotassium: 287mgFiber: 6gSugar: 19gVitamin A: 165IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 43mgIron: 3mg

Nutritional Disclaimer

This recipe was calculated using the exact brands and measurements I used to make this recipe. If you are following a strict diet please note changing anything will cause the nutritional info to change. My calculations are intended as a guide only.

Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

Be sure to check out these game day snacks too!

Caramel Crispix Snack Mix Recipe
This Addictive Caramel Crispix Snack Mix is so good! One batch of this caramel glazed snack mix will feed a crowd that no one can resist!
Check out this recipe
Close up of Crispix snack mix loaded with m&ms and peanuts sitting on a green napkin dotted with spilled snack mix
Spicy Pretzels with Nacho Cheese Seasoning
Spicy Pretzels are buttery, salty, crunchy, and spicy. They're the perfect make-ahead finger food snack and impossible to pass without grabbing a handful.
Check out this recipe
Top-down view of a wooden bowl filled with spicy pretzels on a wooden background. Pretzels are scattered around the bowl.
Spicy Sriracha Snack Chex Mix
Spicy Sriracha Snack Chex Mix is one of those recipes that’s a snap to make and quick to disappear.  It’s perfect for when a whole lot of munching is going on.
Check out this recipe
Side angle of two wooden bowls filled with Siracha Snack Mix sitting over a blue napkin.

Are you a nibbler or are you piling up a plate and going into a big game coma? What is your favorite party food recipe? Please share. You are my inspiration!

5 from 14 votes
Recipe Rating




Nikki Lee

Monday 30th of September 2019

Had some friends stop by before after heading out to dinner and this was a hit with coffee afterwards.

Julie Menghini

Tuesday 1st of October 2019

Thank you, Nikki!

Stephanie

Monday 30th of September 2019

All of my favorite fall flavors in one bowl! This is going to become a staple in my house.

Julie Menghini

Tuesday 1st of October 2019

Thanks, Stephanie!

Jennifer A Stewart

Sunday 29th of September 2019

I am already on my third batch this weekend! Thank goodness I had just purchased a bunch of pecans because I can see me making a few more batches this week.

Julie Menghini

Tuesday 1st of October 2019

Thanks, Jen! The toasted pecans in this are so yummy!

Erin Parker

Sunday 29th of September 2019

I'm all about the quick and easy dish to please a crowd, much like your friend, and you'd better believe this snack mix is now on my list of things to make! It sounds incredible, and I love the addition of the caramel chips, too. YUM!

Julie Menghini

Tuesday 1st of October 2019

Thank you, Erin! It's a crowd-pleaser!

Healing Tomato

Sunday 29th of September 2019

I can't wait to try it because I am a huge fan of everything caramel. It looks like the perfect fall snack.

Julie Menghini

Tuesday 1st of October 2019

Thank you! I'm with you!

As Seen On