White trash is a sweet snack mix that is great for parties or to have around the house to snack on. It is similar to Chex Mix Muddy Buddies™ but without peanut butter or chocolate. There is another version often made that the same time called puppy chow. For around $10, you can make about 5 pounds of both recipes and hand it out for the holidays as gifts. Bonus: this version is gluten free for my friends with dietary restrictions. Just check those ingredients carefully for gluten as some of the generic cereals do include wheat.

A word of caution: this is a very sweet dessert. Like incredibly so. Too much and you’ll be bouncing off the walls for the day. I’ve adjusted the original recipe given to me by a coworker years ago to 3/4 less sugar and it’s still incredibly sweet. Kids adore it as it’s basically the equivalent of eating super sweet cereal. I don’t know the origins of the name or recipe and google came up with lots of variations of both. So I will share what I’ve been told and then we will dive into this simple recipe.

White trash is named so because it uses a trash bag to mix up large quantities all at once and the bag turns white from the powdered sugar. I’ve seen people make this is in gigantic quantities using this method. Another reason behind the name is it’s the poor man’s version of Chex Mix™ recipes that uses a lot more expensive ingredients. Traditionally, white trash candy utilizes generic or store brands over the name brand. Coming from Appalachia, I suspect there are a lot of half truths to the story behind White Trash Trail Mix. Whatever the origins, let’s make some!

If you want to learn how to make white trash snack mix by watching a video, no problem. It’s so easy you’ll be wondering why you haven’t made it before. Don’t have a microwave? You can melt the almond bark on the stove top! Just follow this link to find out how.

White Trash Snack Mix

White Trash is a mixture of cereals and pretzels coated in almond bark or white chocolate chips and tossed in white sugar. Sometimes other candies are added for additional flavor. This is easy to make and can be put together in a matter of minutes. Fun to make with your family.

Print Recipe

Prep Time5 minutes minutes

Cook Time5 minutes minutes

Servings24

Calories 276.7

Ingredients

• 1 pkg (12oz) almond bark or white candy chips
• 3 cups (120g) Rice Squares (Chex Mix™ generic)
• 3 cups (120g) Corn Squares (Chex Mix™ generic)
• 3 cups (120g) Oat Cereal (Cheerios™ generic)
• 2 cups (84g) pretzels (sticks or mini)
• 2 cups (84g) m&ms™ (or other similar candy)
• 1 cup (125g) powdered sugar

Instructions

• Using microwave, place almond bark or white chips into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir for 10 seconds. Thereafter, microwave 10 – 15 seconds at a time, stirring each time. Do this slowly to avoid burning as white chocolate candies burn easily! This takes anywhere from 1 – 3 minutes depending on your microwave. If using a stove top, heat 1" of water in a pan until just simmering. Place candy in a heat proof bowl that will fit on top of pan and stir continuously until just melted. Remove from heat.
• In a large bowl or bag, combine all dry ingredients.
• Pour melted candy over ingredients and stir or shake until well coated.
• Stir or shake powder sugar on while still warm.
• Spread out onto a large baking sheet to dry before storing in an airtight container up to 1 month.

Notes

This white trash recipe uses rice, corn and oat cereals to keep it gluten free.  You will have to buy gluten free pretzels or leave them out and substitute the amount of pretzels for one of the cereals.

 Traditionally, it was used with the rice, corn and wheat so feel free to use any combination of cereals that equal 9 cups (360g.)  It is recommended to get cereals that aren’t candy or sugar coated as it is already a very sweet concoction.  

The m&ms™ are optional and originally are omitted from the recipe.  I put them in there because I had some leftover.

Makes a little over 2 pounds of snack mix (908g.)

I personally like to sprinkle the entire mixture with sea salt to help balance out the sweetness but since the cereals and pretzels do contain a lot of salt already, the addition may be too much for those with dietary restrictions.  

Nutrition Facts

White Trash Snack Mix

Serving Size

 

1 oz

Amount per Serving

Calories

276.7

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

13

g

20

%

Saturated Fat

 

7.8

g

49

%

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

0.1

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

0.1

g

Sodium

 

132.3

mg

6

%

Carbohydrates

 

34.4

g

11

%

Fiber

 

1

g

4

%

Protein

 

2.7

g

5

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

* Calories provided as a courtesy and not guaranteed.