Homemade Chex Mix Recipe
It wasn’t until this past holiday season that I realized how big of a thing making your own Chex Mix really is. It was somehow off of my radar until then, when I started seeing everyone and their brother on social media swapping homemade Chex Mix recipes. For some people, it’s even a Christmas Eve family tradition. Up until that point, Chex Mix was simply among my favorite car snacks for road trips; something I would buy, not something I ever thought about making myself.
I don’t need too much of a nudge to dive into a homemade treat, so I started churning out batches in mid-December and settled on this combination of seasonings as “the one”. I love the combination of cereals, pretzels and different nuts, but you could absolutely change things up to suit your tastes. I definitely think the addition of some bagel chips or cheese twists would be fantastic. Go wild with whatever you like!
As I mentioned, I definitely got the impression that homemade Chex Mix was a holiday thing, but so far in our house, it has been a year-round thing. I’ve made countless batches since December, and it always disappears in no time. Perfect for trips, picnics, watching a sporting event, or just putting it out to nibble on when company arrives.
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P.S. Have more of a sweet tooth? Check out this recipe for Muddy Buddies – peanut butter, chocolate and powdered sugar-coated Rice Chex cereal. I can never stop eating them!
Watch How to Make Homemade Chex Mix:
One year ago: Crab Dip
Two years ago: Bacon and Cheese Quiche Tart
Three years ago: Mushroom Barley Risotto
Homemade Chex Mix
Ingredients
- 6 cups (186 g) Corn Chex cereal
- 6 cups (240 g) Crispix cereal
- 4 cups (248 g) Wheat Chex cereal
- 2 cups (42 g) Cheerios cereal
- 2 cups (160 g) pretzel pieces
- 2 cups (292 g) peanuts
- 1 cup (129 g) cashews
- ¾ cup (170.25 g) butter, melted
- 4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon seasoned salt
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. NOTE: Many readers have had issues with their mix burning at 325 degrees. I haven’t had this problem, but I would recommend baking at 250 degrees F to avoid this potential issue.
- In a large roasting pan, stir together the cereals, pretzels and nuts.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, Worcestershire sauce, seasoned salt, garlic powder, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Drizzle evenly over the cereal mixture and, using clean hands, toss to combine, making sure that the mixture is evenly moistened.
- Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Once cool, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
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Back in the day there was only homemade chex mix! The bagged stuff came after when we got too busy/lazy to make it. But the homemade was always the best.
I’m really bummed. It was my first time making this and it burned. I don’t know what kind of oven you have but 325 degrees for an hour burned mine. Then, I searched other recipes and every other recipe I found said bake it at 250 degrees. I just dumped my batch in the trash. Money down the drain. I wish I had searched more first.
I’ve made chex mix before and it turnedout perfect, but I couldn’t remember the oven temp. I should’ve looked at the comments on this recipe beforehand because 325 is way too high! I ended up having to lower it half way through but the mix was ruined. Total waste and super bummed. 250 would probably be perfect as someone else suggested. Trial and error I guess:(
325 is WAY TOO HIGH for this recipe. Mine was burned to a crisp in the first 15 minutes. Huge waste of time and money.
It’s like turkey…why do we only make turkey at Thanksgiving? Why do we only make Chex Mix at Christmas? No idea! But it’s sure good. The secret ingredient that makes it great is 2 T Beau Monde. Hard to find, but makes all the difference.
Both of my grandmother’s made chex mix all the time. It was called “Scramble” on the recipe card. The recipe I make uses oil, so I’ll have to try it using butter! I like that you added cheerios- my other grandmother ALWAYS put it in hers. She grew up in McMurray, PA- so maybe a regional thing? Pretty sure she used butter in her recipe too- I just don’t have a copy of that one. Looking forward to trying yours! Thanks :)
It’s funny, I love Muddy Buddies when I make them, but I picked up a bag at the store and was soooooo disappointed. I can’t wait to try this because I know I’ll love it and be addicted in no time.
Hope I have saved a recipe that a dear friend gave me many years ago. My son will not eat pretzels so have to leave those out. Think this recipe had some hot sauce in it. I do buy store brand Chex. It has always been just as good as the name brand.
Chex mix isn’t a holiday item for me either. My husband and son eat it year ’round. I try to make a batch every few months. You mentioned cheese crackers. I use goldfish.
From Tennessee, we always called it nuts and bolts too. This will freeze well too. It really should be a year round thing. Blows the store brought stuff away. I mix it all in a two gallon plastic bag and use less butter. Every piece gets coated with the good stuff.
I’m so glad you make it in the oven. I hate it made in the microwave. I make it for Christmas every year. I make the original and two special ones for my daughter, one that is wheat chexs only and the pumpkin pie recipe. Yum!!!
Chex Mix is a year round snack at our house. My normal recipe makes 3 batches in order to use up all the boxes of cereal. Each batch fills a gallon bag and the extras go in the freezer if not needed right then. It freezes beautifully and doesn’t even have to be thawed to consume! My recipe uses 2 cups of mixed nuts & 1 cup of cashews. Sesame sticks are a great addition too. I usually make it in the microwave cooking a total of 6 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes. You have to be careful and experiment making it in the microwave as I’ve tried making it in friend’s microwaves and it wants to burn. I have an Amana Radarange (1100 W).
Wow, love it! Chex Mix got me through so many late-night study sessions back in the day! I’ll have to make this for nostalgia’s sake!
This is great idea for homemade chex mix:) Love it!
We call them Nuts & Bolts and we add mixed nuts, Bugles and mini cheese crackers to them! So good! And kids love them too!
Chex mix is a family affair in our home as well! My aunt wins out every time (because she makes hers with bacon grease. shhhhhh. I definitely was better off before I found out THAT piece of info, lol)
BACON GREASE! That’s an amazing switch up! I will try that for sure. Thank you for telling the secret.
The ability to make Chex Mix your own is such a great selling point for making it instead of purchasing. Ours continues to evolve, but it comes out during football season and lasts through the holidays for us. I make it for my dad with only cashews – he calls it the ‘Caddilac of Chex Mix’. :-) I like your Cheetos idea.
I haven’t made my own Chex mix in AGES. My favorite is the little pumpernickel bagel chips, so I’d definitely need to ad some of those :)
Oh my…I love Chex Mix. I remember growing up, my Nana always made it and it was out for everyone from Thanksgiving though Christmas. I have her jar that she used to keep the mix in and still to this day only use it for my Chex Mix, I also use her recipe. I bake mine at 250 degrees for an hour. My daughter and granddaughters get so excited when they come over and see the jar full….
I love chex mix and make it frequently. My favorite blend includes honey roasted peanuts in addition to mixed nuts. I also add the garlic rye chips but no pretzels.
I make this all the time. My Mom always did too. If I make a batch it’s gone in a day. My recipe is 250 degrees for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes and I just put in whatever I have around. I never liked the kind in a bag. I guess I was spoiled from the start!
325 degrees is way too high it will eventually over cook the mix to a burnt taste. 250 degree is what Chex recommends and a lot of other sites.
Ha. Well, that explains what happened. I just made this last night and within the first 15 mins they started to burn all around the edges. Definitely will try this again at 250.
Yeah, I did the same thing. This aspect of this otherwise great recipe should be corrected!! The ingredients are too expensive to have them scorch!
Agreed about not wanting all your ingredients to get scorched! A quick note on price, I noticed at Wal-Mart today (granted I’m in the southern part of the U.S., so their sales might be different elsewhere) that all the Chex cereals commonly used in homemade chex mix, as well as several other popular ingredients (like nuts), are on sale! Do like I did and grab a couple boxes of each while you can!
Anyway, love this recipe and this website (check out the chocolate ice cream recipe… it is TO DIE FOR!!!)! :-)
Just made this and followed the instructions exactly, the whole thing burnt to a dark brown and I had to throw everything away. What a waste of ingredients and money. There is no way she tested this recipe. 1 hour at 325 is way too long. After further research, most sites recommend microwaving for 5-6 minutes or baking at 300 for 10-15 minutes. It’s really irresponsible to post this recipe this way.
250 degrees,stirring every 15 minutes for an hour
I love chex mix, I’ll have to try this soon! It’s always more fun making things at home.
You are right….this should be made much more often than just for Christmas! I have an Aunt that makes it every year…my favorite part…she adds Corn Pops to hers…SO GOOD! They are sweet and spicy, salty at the same time! YUM! Thanks for the reminder that I need to make it!!
Love us some chex mix here on the coast of SC where we have a revolving door of guests we entertain regularly…a batch goes a long way! Your recipe is close to mine with the nuts but ours includes almonds and pecans too. I’ve also made it with Parkay spray (0 calorie and 0 fat they say) as a sub for all the butter, but let’s face it, butter makes it better! Lots of good cereal choices out there for add ins!
I love Chex Mix! I mean, who doesn’t :) It’s a good thing the recipe makes a big batch since I know this stuff is crazy addictive and batches don’t last too long, right :) pinned
This looks like something I’d love! Unfortunately, we dont have chex cereal over here :( could i try this with cornflakes?
Corn flakes probably won’t work. They will soften really easy and I don’t think you’ll get the crispness back. Chex are a square two sided piece of cereal with air in the middle. You would need something similar. Crispex is really close.
Unfortunately, I don’t think that Cornflakes would work, they would not be sturdy enough. If you have any rice or corn-based cereals that are sturdier, try those. You can Google Chex and Crispix and see if you can find anything similar.
Try it with a small batch. We make “party potatoes” for holidays that have cornflakes mixed with melted butter and seasonings on the top and they crisp back up just fine.
I love chex mix for gathering or for those uncalled for hunger pangs! Great looking recipe!
We always buy chex mix and end up picking out only the pieces we like. So, why the heck have we not made our own!! Well, that’s gonna change now, I love this!
I love that you put cashews in there. That’s one thing I wish Chex Mix actually had! Definitely making this for my summer roadtrip!
Nothing quite compares to homemade Chex Mix. It was something I looked forward to, every Christmas! My Grammy would make batch after batch! She’d make a huge tub for me! mmmmmmm……so good! She’d always tell me that I’d eventually have to learn to make it on my own, as she wouldn’t always be here. That time came this past Christmas :-(
My first two batches were a flop! Burned to a crisp. The next were pretty good! None the same as Grammys but it did the job.
I agree that it needs to be a year round treat. I have an aunt that makes a huge batch and stores them in mini mason jars to enjoy all year
Three cheers to Chex Mix!!!