Homemade Chex Mix is perfect to keep on hand for snacks and makes a great addition to any party! In this recipe, we’re showing you how to make the classic mix three ways – original, spicy, and honey nut.
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Growing up, my mom was always known as the hostess in our neighborhood. My parents threw parties regularly and every time my mom cooked up a ton of food. One of those party staples was homemade Chex Mix. She would set it out in bowls all over the house, and while it was never the centerpiece of the meal, people kept snacking on it all night long and could never get enough of it.
These days, the Chex Mix always makes an appearance at Christmas, and I love making it for the Superbowl every year. However, you don’t need a special occasion to make it! It is great to have around for snacking, and your kids will love it packed into their lunches, too.
Homemade Chex Mix Flavors
We’ve made this Chex mix with 3 different flavors to suit any taste:
- Original Chex Mix. This one is the classic flavor of Chex mix. It is savory, a bit garlicky, and a little smoky from the added paprika. This will please just about anyone!
- Spicy Chex Mix. This one is similar to the original flavor, but gets just a bit of spice thanks to the addition of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce. It’s just hot enough and would be perfect for your next Football party as it tastes just a bit like buffalo wings.
- Honey Nut Chex Mix. This one is for the sweet and salty fans! The mix of Chex, pretzels, and pecans gets coated in a delicious honey butter mixture for an addictive treat.
Homemade Chex Mix Ingredients
We wanted to make this Chex mix gluten-free so that everyone can enjoy it, without sacrificing the flavor. Here are the key ingredients:
- Corn and Rice Chex – Of course, it couldn’t be Chex Mix without Chex! Using two types of Chex cereal in the snack mix helps provide a fun contrast of textures.
- Pretzels – These gluten-free pretzels from Glutino are my personal favorite, they’re super crunchy and don’t go stale easily like other gluten-free brands!
- Crackers – We chose to use these crackers from Simple Mills. They were the perfect size for the mix and took on the flavors well!
- Mixed Nuts – You’ll want plain, unsalted mixed nuts – or you can use a few of your favorite nuts instead.
- Butter – Butter is the base of the sauce that seasons the Chex mix and makes it so yummy. However, if you are dairy-free, you can easily replace this with ghee or avocado oil and still get great results!
- Tamari – Traditionally, Chex mix uses Worcestershire sauce to get its classic savory flavor. Since Worcestershire sauce often contains gluten, artificial flavors and colors, and added sugar, we wanted to find an alternative. We found that tamari made for a great substitute. If you need to be soy-free, you can also use coconut aminos.
- Seasonings – The savory mixes both have a blend of salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and parsley that help lend the perfect flavoring. The spicy mix gets a boost from hot pepper sauce and the honey nut snack mix is just a simple mix of honey and sea salt.
How to Make Chex Mix in the Oven
We love making this homemade Chex mix in the oven because it is quick and ensures that everything is crisp and toasted. Here’s how we do it:
- Add all of the dry ingredients to a large bowl. First, you’ll want to grab a big bowl to put the Chex, pretzels, crackers, and nuts in. Then, you’ll toss it all to combine.
- Make the seasoning mix. In a small bowl, whisk the melted butter, tamari, and seasonings until fully combined.
- Toss it all together. Slowly drizzle the butter mixture over the Chex mix while stirring it. You’ll want to take your time doing this so that the mixture is evenly distributed. If it pools on the bottom, the Chex will get too soggy and won’t cook properly.
- Spread onto a sheet pan and bake. Once all of your ingredients are combined, you’ll spread the mixture onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake at 300 F for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, give it a stir, then return to the oven and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes, until crisp.
- Let cool. The final step is to let the mix cool! Once it is completely cooled, you can store it in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks – which means it is great to make ahead of time for a party.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! While we prefer the oven method, you can also make this homemade Chex mix in the microwave or slow cooker if you don’t have oven space. For the slow cooker – add all of the ingredients to the slow cooker then toss to combine, and cook on low for 3 hours, making sure to stir every 45 minutes or so so that the mixture doesn’t burn. For the microwave, microwave the mix on high for 4-5 minutes, stirring every minute, until crisp.
Good question! Once your mix is cooked and cooled (completely!), you can store it in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
We think so! Though each individual ingredient may be pricier than a single bag of store-bought Chex mix, you’ll have WAY more mix than a single store-bought bag includes, and you’ll likely have leftovers of each ingredient to make another round of mix later on!
More Favorite Snack Recipes
Homemade Chex Mix 3 Ways
Ingredients
Honey Nut Chex Mix
- 3 cups corn Chex
- 3 cups rice Chex
- 2 cups pretzels we used these for gluten-free
- 2 cups pecan halves
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Original Chex Mix
- 3 cups rice Chex
- 3 cups corn Chex
- 2 cups pretzels we used these for gluten-free
- 2 cups crackers we used these for gluten-free
- 2 cups unsalted mixed nuts
- 1 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 2 tablespoons tamari*
Spicy Chex Mix
- 3 cups rice Chex
- 3 cups corn Chex
- 2 cups pretzels we used these for gluten-free
- 2 cups crackers we used these for gluten-free
- 2 cups unsalted mixed nuts
- 1 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 1/4 cup hot pepper sauce such as Texas Pete’s
- 2 tablespoons tamari*
Instructions
Honey Nut
- Preheat the oven to 300 F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the chex, pretzels, pecans, and salt large bowl, then toss to combine.
- Whisk together the butter and honey, then pour it over the chex mix, stirring constantly, until evenly coated.
- Spread out on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake at 300 F for 20 minutes, then stir and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, until browned and crisp.
- Let cool then store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Original
- Preheat the oven to 300 F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the chex, pretzels, crackers, nuts, and seasonings in a large bowl, then toss to combine.
- Whisk together the tamari and butter, then pour it over the chex mix, stirring constantly, until evenly coated.
- Spread out on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake at 300 F for 15 minutes, then stir and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, until browned and crisp.
- Let cool then store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Spicy
- Preheat the oven to 300 F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the chex, pretzels, crackers, nuts, and seasonings in a large bowl, then toss to combine.
- Whisk together the tamari, hot pepper sauce, and butter, then pour it over the chex mix, stirring constantly, until evenly coated.
- Spread out on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake at 300 F for 15 minutes, then stir and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, until browned and crisp.
- Let cool then store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Recipe Notes
- You can substitute soy sauce or coconut aminos for the tamari, if desired
- Nutrition is for Honey Nut variation.
Nutrition
These sound wonderful. I am just wondering why your recipe baking time is so much shorter than the original recipes which are 1 hour. I want to try these for Thanksgiving this year, so hope you can answer ASAP. Thank you.
My favorite holiday snack! Smells like Christmas to me! Can’t wait to try the other flavors!
Yay! So glad you love it, Amanda!
You should know that ghee is made from butter and is NOT dairy free.
Thank you!