Trail Mix Cups (paleo, vegan, nut free)

Your favorite trail mix but stuffed in chocolate cup form! A luscious dark chocolate shell filled with your favorite nut or seed butter and trail mix additions. A fun and super easy chocolatey treat inspired by the classic on-the-go snack, they are chewy, crunchy, creamy, and oh so delicious! These secretly healthy cups might be the best thing to ever happen to trail mix! This recipe is paleo-friendly (gluten/grain/dairy free), vegan, and easily made nut free!

What Do These Trail Mix Cups Taste Like?

These Healthy Trail Mix Cups are the perfect snack because they pretty much check all the boxes! Chocolatey – yep, crunchy – oh yeah, creamy – you know it, a little bit salty – mmhmm. These easy homemade chocolate cups are all the best snack qualities in a single (and adorable) handheld treat.

Here’s why you’ll absolutely LOVE these Trail Mix Cups:

• The perfect sweet and salty snack in fun cup form.
• Super easy and quick to make!
• Secretly healthy! (Sweetened with maple syrup and filled with superfoods.)
• A great way to use odds and ends from your kitchen! (Those almost empty bags of hemp hulls, nut crumbs, granola dust, and the hard paste at bottom of those nut/seed butter jars.)
• Infinitely adaptable to suit your desires or diets!
• A great anytime treat – snack, dessert, post-workout, afternoon craving crusher, whenever!

Yep, pretty sure you NEED to make these ASAP!

What Ingredients Are Used to Make These Healthy Trail Mix Cups?

These Healthy Trail Mix Cups are made better-for-you as they contain no dairy and have no refined sugars or oils. They are paleo-friendly meaning they are gluten free, grain free, and dairy free. They are also vegan and easily made nut-free!

Here’s a look at the ingredients and some possible substitutions/variations!

• Chocolate – Use your favorite chocolate chips or bar chopped into chunks. To keep this refined sugar free use your favorite coconut or maple sugar sweetened bars. Some good options are Hu Simple Dark or Eating Evolved.
• Coconut Oil – Just a bit to melt with the chocolate and make it easier to pour. Use refined coconut oil for a no-coconut taste.
• Nut/Seed Butter – Use any nut or seed butter you like. This is a great time to use the clumpy parts at the bottom of the jar! I made two different versions, one with peanut butter and one with Sunbutter.
• Maple Syrup – To just slightly sweeten the trail mix filling. Feel free to sub with honey, agave, or coconut syrup.
• Trail Mix – Make your own mix with your favorite nuts, seeds, dried fruit, coconut shreds, or superfoods like hemp hulls or chia that you like (or just have lying around). I made two versions, one I call “Classic Trail Mix” and the other is a nut-free “Super Seedy Mix”, details listed in the recipe. But really, this is the perfect time to flex your flavor creativity!

How Do You Make Paleo & Vegan Trail Mix Cups?

These cups are so so so easy to make. You really only need a few ingredients, which you probably already have in your pantry, and made in about 20 minutes including the chilling! Here’s a look at the steps:

1. Melt the chocolate. Either in the microwave or a double boiler.
2. Make the bottom of the cup. Pour a tablespoon of chocolate in the bottom of the cup and use a small spoon to coat the sides of the muffin liners making a cup shape. Put in the freezer to set.
3. Make the filling. Just mix all the ingredients together.
4. Fill the cups with the trail mix.
5. Pour chocolate over trail mix filling to create the cup top. Put back in the freezer to set for 2-3 minutes.
6. That’s it! Enjoy!!!

These will keep, stored in an airtight container, in the freezer for a few months! But I’m highly suspect they’ll last that long.

Trail Mix got a major glow up with these secretly healthy Trail Mix Cups. They are pretty much the perfect healthier snack! They are incredibly easy to make, infinitely adaptable, and so fun to eat! You can fill them with anything your heart desires, or use up odds and ends in your pantry. Plus, they are the perfect way to sneak in more superfoods (in the form of a cute chocolatey treat) into your and your loved ones diets! I can’t wait to hear what flavors you all come up with!

paleo friendly (gluten/grain/dairy free), vegan, nut-free option, naturally sweetened

More Chocolate Cup Recipes!

• PB&J Cups  (vegan, paleo, sugar-free option)
• Blueberry Coconut Cups (keto, sugar free, paleo, dairy free, vegan)
• Thin Mint Cookie Cups (paleo & vegan)

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If you make this recipe, please spread the love by leaving a review or rating down below. And I’d LOVE to see and share your creation! Take a picture and tag me on Instagram @freshlydafna in your feed or stories and I will share on my account!

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Trail Mix Cups

Your favorite trail mix but stuffed in chocolate cup form! A luscious dark chocolate shell filled with your favorite nut or seed butter and trail mix additions. It’s a fun chocolatey treat inspired by the classic on-the-go snack, they are chewy, crunchy, creamy, and oh so delicious! 

vegan, paleo, nut-free option

Prep Time 20 minutes

Servings 7 mini cups

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (80 grams) chocolate chips or chopped chocolate bar
• 1/4 tsp coconut oil
• 2 tbsp nut or seed butter of choice with only 1 ingredient (no added sugars or oil)
• 1 1/2 - 2 tbsp maple syrup agave, honey, or coconut syrup
• 1/4 cup mix of nuts, seeds, or superfoods of choice* larger ingredients like nuts/dried fruit/large seeds should be chopped. (See notes for ideas.)

Instructions

1. Prepare mini muffin tin by placing muffin liners in the cavities.

   

2. Melt the chocolate and coconut oil in a medium bowl over a double boiler or by microwaving in short 5 second bursts until the chocolate is completely melted. Once melted stir until the chocolate is shiny and smooth.

   

3. Make the cup base. Pour about 1 tbsp of melted chocolate into each muffin liner and, using a small spoon, spread the chocolate up the sides of the liners. Then tilt the muffin pan gently, side-to-side to create an even base. Place the muffin tin in the fridge or freezer to set the chocolate. Meanwhile, make the filling.

   

4. Make the filling by mixing together the nut/seed butter and 1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup together in a small bowl. Then add your trail mix combination and stir until everything is well incorporated. Taste and add additional maple syrup per your preference.

   

5. Fill the cups. Distribute the trail mix filling into the cups and spread out, using a spoon or silicone spatula, so the filling creates an even layer.

   

6. Make the top layer. Distribute remaining chocolate on top of the trail mix filling to create the cup top and spread it out to the edges of the liner. Shake the pan gently, side-to-side, to create an even surface. Place back in the freezer for a few more minutes to set.

   

7. Enjoy once chocolate is firm.

   

Recipe Notes

Helpful Kitchen Tools (affiliate links): mini muffin tin, compostable muffin liners, silicone spatula, kitchen scale

Storage: These will keep, stored in an airtight container, in the freezer for a few months! But I’m highly suspect they’ll last that long.

Trail Mix Options – Make your own mix with your favorite chopped nuts, seeds, dried fruit, coconut shreds, or superfoods like hemp hulls or chia that you like (or just have lying around). This is the perfect time to get creative or use up those random ingredients. I made two versions:

“Classic Trail Mix” - Peanut butter with 1/4 cup mix of dried cherries, cashews, almond, pecans (all roughly chopped).
“Super Seedy Mix” - Sunbutter with 1/4 cup mix of dried figs, pumpkin seeds, cacao nibs, and hemp hulls (figs and pumpkin seeds roughly chopped).

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