Justine Sterling
One of the joys of being an adult is being able to have the best mixed nuts whenever you want them. You don’t have to ride the Acela to have a nice bowl of warm, deluxe mixed nuts. You can just buy some and zap them in the microwave for 30 seconds. Magic! But what are the best nuts to buy? In two separate taste tests, I tried 13 mixed nuts and seven stood above the rest.
What we looked for in the best mixed nuts:
- Variety: While you’ll see some mixes on here that only contain two types of nut, we celebrated brands that really embraced the variety of nuts out there.
- Good seasoning: Even if the mixed nuts were just salted, we wanted that salt to be balanced and evenly distributed. And if the nuts were seasoned, we wanted that seasoning to be finger-lickin-good.
- Crunch: This is a bit complex, because while we want our mixed nuts crunchy the best nuts won’t break your teeth. We sought out a perfect give and crunch.
There are a lot of just okay nut mixes out there, so I really looked for ones that checked all the boxes. (Also, quick side note, but people really hate peanuts, huh? So many of these nut mixes advertised the fact that they were “less than 50% peanuts!” While I agree that peanuts shouldn’t make up the majority of a nut mix, I can’t help but feel bad for peanuts, just a little bit.)
Here are the best mixed nuts you can buy.
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- Great Value Mixed Nuts Lightly Salted
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Believe these Walmart mixed nuts when they tell you they are lightly salted. They are very lightly salted. The mix of peanuts (less than 50%, of course), almonds, cashews, hazelnuts (I love this addition), and pecans is great for wholesome snacking or mixing into a trail mix, thanks to the light salting. And, like many Great Value products, it’s also cheap—you get a big can for under $6.
Credit: Merc / Walmart
- Kroger Mixed Nuts Salted with Sea Salt
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Kroger offers a mix of peanuts (less than 50%, gosh darn it!); cashews; big, buttery Brazil nuts; pecans, and super crunchy almonds. Seriously, if you are the type to dig for the almonds in a nut mix, then these are the best nuts for you. I also liked the skin-on peanuts. While this one doesn’t advertise as being lightly salted, it’s still fairly light on the salt.
Credit: Merc / Kroger
- Planters Nut Duos Ranch Flavored Almonds & Buffalo Flavored Cashews
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I tried a couple of new Planters Nut Duos flavors for our most recent update of this ranking, and am confident in telling you this is the one to buy. It’s mostly thanks to the ranch almonds. They’re super flavorful and zesty and on the softer end of the almond spectrum (though they still have crunch). They kind of taste like Ranch Pringles but, you know, they’re nuts. The Buffalo cashews aren’t necessarily the most Buffalo-flavored things I’ve ever had. They’re a little sweet and just a touch spicy. But the two nuts together are super tasty. And the coating on both nuts really sticks—it doesn’t immediately transfer to your fingers. While these aren’t your everyday mixed nuts, they’re some of the best nuts to put out on a game day spread or to enjoy with some brewskies.
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Planters Deluxe Pistachio Mix with Almonds & Cashews
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As a pistachio fan, I love this nut mix. The inclusion of pistachios makes every other nut taste like pistachio. Yum! The almonds are just crunchy enough (and infused with pistachio flavor) and the cashews are buttery (and also infused with pistachio flavor). If you wish all nuts tasted like pistachios, buy this can of deluxe mixed nuts ASAP.
Credit: Merc / Walmart
- Trader Joe’s Everything But the Bagel Nut Duo
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These mixed nuts are a blast. Like the Planters Duos, this nut mix pairs almonds with cashews, But both nuts are flavored with the same stuff in this bag. The coating is a mix of black and white sesame seeds, poppy seeds, garlic, onion, and sea salt. It’s not too intense, so you still get the nutty flavors most of all. I really appreciate how the coating sticks to the nuts, too. We love TJ’s Everything But the Bagel seasoning on its own and on smoked salmon, so it only makes sense that we’d like it on nuts. Put it on more stuff, TJ’s!
Credit: Merc
- Private Selection Select Blend Mixed Nuts with Sea Salt
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If less than 50% peanuts is still too many peanuts for you, try this nut mix. It’s an ultra-indulgent mix of cashews, pecans, and macadamia nuts (oooh, so fancy!). The nuts themselves are huge. And the salt level is perfectly balanced. It’s salty—but not, like, chug-a-glass-of-water-after-every-bite salty. Put this out for cocktail hour. Your friends will think you are rich.
Credit: Merc / Kroger
- Trader Joe’s Roasted & Salted Fancy Mixed Nuts
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This bag of mixed nuts doesn’t look like much from the outside, but it is the platonic ideal of mixed nuts (unless you like peanuts—there are no peanuts). It’s a mix of cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, and pecans. That’s so many kinds of nuts! It has just the right amount of salt and all of the nuts are crunchy. Trader Joe’s mixed nuts is the best nut mix to have in your pantry for on-the-go snacking, putting out for guests, or microwaving with a little sprig of rosemary to recreate that fancy Acela snack.
Credit: Merc
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Other nut mixes we tried:
Kroger Deluxe Mixed Nuts Salted with Sea Salt, Planters Mixed Nuts, Aldi Southern Grove Mixed Nuts, Planters Nut Duos Peppercorn Flavored Pistachios & Parmesan Flavored Cashews, Back to Nature Sweet & Salty Nut Mix, Blue Diamond Almonds Honey Roasted Almonds and More
Griffin Parker
Vinz Karl
Sporked Staff
