Homemade Chex Mix is a staple in our home for every occasion. We love to snack on it – and it makes a great gift too!
Homemade Chex Mix Recipe
This homemade Chex Mix recipe is a classic fool proof snack. It makes a HUGE batch, too. Perfect for your family to munch on as a snack. It's also great for making for the Holidays or giving away as gifts.
Every year, one of our Holiday traditions is for my hubby to make up a big batch of Chex Mix. It's so yummy I just had to share this homemade Chex Mix recipe with you!
If you're looking for a sweet Chex mix recipe – head over here to check out how to make Chex Mix Muddy Buddies!)
My husband and son schedule a night each year to make this recipe, and believe me, it takes both of them to do the work! It's not difficult, just a little time consuming, and you need a L-A-R-G-E bowl to mix all the ingredients in.
If you love making Chex Mix in your home too, the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is the best time to stock up on most of your ingredients.
The Chex cereals are always on sale then (but get the wheat Chex early because the stores tend to run low on that one). Maybe it's because the wheat Chex soaks up the butter mixture the best!
This recipe makes a lot. It's a great snack to have around during the holidays if you have family and friends coming to visit, or just to add to your snack pantry! Here's what you'll need . . .
How to Make Chex Party Mix at Home
Homemade Chex Mix Ingredients:
- cheerios
- wheat chex
- corn chex
- rice chex
- pretzels
- mixed nuts
- peanuts
- margarine
- garlic powder
- cayenne or red pepper
- celery salt
- Worcestershire sauce
- tabasco sauce
If you're a big fan of nuts then thrown in an extra can of mixed nuts. We've added extra cashews and pecans before and it makes the Chex mix seem a bit fancier. 🙂
Cheese crackers, goldfish and bagel chips are fun additions as well! You could even change out the celery salt for seasoning salt for a bit of a different flavor. You can really customize these snack mixes to make it your very own flavors.
I know a lot of families that make homemade Chex mix a tradition each year but it has surprised me recently the folks I know that don't. So, if you fall into that category you'll want to start a new tradition this year. Trust me, after you've made this recipe once you'll be like our family and your people will want it every year!
Chex Mix Oven Instructions
Directions
- In a large bowl, mix together first seven ingredients.
- Next, melt margarine over low heat and stir in Worcestershire, tabasco, garlic powder, cayenne and the celery salt.
- Drizzle your margarine or melted butter and Worcestershire sauce mixture over the dry ingredients. Then transfer the mixture to a couple of large baking dishes, baking sheets, or aluminum pans.
- Bake at 200-225°F for 2 hours, lifting and stirring every 20 minutes.
Homemade Chex mix is a great frugal gift (if you know the recipient doesn't have a nut allergy) to give neighbors, postal workers, delivery drivers and more! But you'll want to be sure and put back your own private stash for those snacking emergencies. 🙂
Can you make this recipe in the slow cooker?
You can absolutely make Chex Mix in the Slow Cooker. Our results with this, however, were a bit mixed, and I DEFINITELY preferred the oven mix to the Chex Mix we made in the crockpot.
If you have any tips on how to make this Chex Mix in the slow cooker, let us know in the comments!
Homemade Chex Mix Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 box Cheerios cereal
- 1 box wheat Chex cereal
- 1 box corn Chex cereal
- 1 box rice Chex cereal
- 2 bags thin pretzels
- 1 can mixed nuts
- 1 jar regular peanuts
- 1 lb margarine
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or red pepper
- 1 tsp celery salt
- 1 tsp Worcestershire
- 1/2 tsp tabasco sauce
Instructions
- In a really large bowl, mix together first seven ingredients.
- Melt margarine over low heat. Add Worcestershire, tabasco sauce, garlic powder, cayenne pepper and celery salt.
- Slowly drizzle margarine mixture over dry ingredients.
- Pour mixture into 1-2 large baking dishes.
- Bake at 200-225°F for 2 hours, lifting and stirring every 20 minutes.
You can make Chex Mix a lot faster in the microwave. Put on appropriate tray or pan and do three or four 2 minute cycles on high power, stirring after each cycle. I used the oven for years as I may make up to 20 or more batches of this at Christmastime. I found the microwave method just as good, and so much quicker! Sesame sticks are also a good addition. My ratio is 10 cups of mix to a sauce that includes 3 T. worcestershire sauce, one stick of butter/margerine, and a few healthy sprinkles of hot sauce along with 1 T of seasoned salt and 1 tsp. each of onion and garlic powder. You can adapt the different amounts to your taste.
We make this every year at Christmas also. After everything is mixed and baked throw some M&M’s in at the end! So yummy for a hint of sweet with the salty.
Great idea Emily ~ love that! 🙂
I lost my mother’s recipe for what she called “nuts and bolts”, aka cheerios and stick pretzels. I have been searching for one that was as close to hers as possible, and yours fit the bill. Thanks..I have fretted over this for way too long. My question is, what size boxes/bags of the cereals and pretzels do you use. She also put Cheez-Its in hers which I love so I will add those. Thanks in advance, and a Happy and Safe Holiday Season to you and your family. Esther Thurman [email protected]
I was wondering about the sizes too of the bags and boxes of cereal and pretzels.
Hi Mary ~ the cereal should be around 12-14oz per box, and the pretzels around 16 oz per bag! 🙂 Hope that helps!
Can you also let us know how long this will keep and how to store. Thank you
Hi Dee! Once completely cooled, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks (or I’ve read some folks freeze it for up to 3 months)! Hope that helps!
Very similar to one I make but a little bit different with the spices. I have two teenage boys and a husband who like hot/spicy food…they will love this!