I first tried trail mix in America, and quickly learned that no two are the same. Almost anything goes, with some containing just nuts and dried fruit, and others leaning more into candy territory with marshmallows and M&M’s. This one falls somewhere in the middle: roast chickpeas, which I’ve sweetened with sugar and spices, are a great way to mix up your snacking, while some sort of chocolate is a must in my book. I’ve opted for chocolate-covered raisins, but dark chocolate chunks or chocolate pretzels would be great, too.
Roast chickpea trail mix
This is very much a loose recipe, so feel free to use whatever you’ve got in your cupboard.
Prep 10 min
Cook 1 hr 30 min
Makes about 1kg
700g jar chickpeas, or tinned chickpeas (500g drained weight)
1½ tbsp olive oil
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
2 tbsp caster sugar
70g dried apricots
70g chocolate-covered raisins
50g yoghurt-covered cranberries
100g roasted cashews
Heat the oven to 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas 5. Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then put them on a clean towel and pat dry (they need to be really dry to get them as crisp as possible).
Scatter the chickpeas evenly in a baking tray, then bake for 10 minutes. Remove, drizzle with the olive oil, cinnamon and ginger, stir well to coat evenly, then return to the oven for 50 minutes, stirring once halfway.
Sprinkle the sugar on top, mix to coat, then return to the oven for another 10 minutes. Take the chickpea tray out of the oven and leave them to cool completely.
Once cool, put the chickpeas in a large bowl, add all the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. The trail mix will now keep in an airtight container for up to five days, but the chickpeas will start to soften the longer they are kept.
