Sweet and Salty Chex Mix Recipe
Hello, my name is Kelley and I’m a chex mix-aholic.
It’s been a favorite of mine for as long as I can remember. I love the Original Chex Mix you can buy at every gas station across the country and I know that because I’ve picked it up on just about every road trip I’ve ever been on.
The first time I ever remember eating a homemade version was not that long ago actually. 10 years ago maybe? I was cooking for one of my clients and they had a huge tin of homemade chex mix. Apparently it was tradition and I think that the brother-in-laws mom makes it every year for the holidays and sends it out. (FYI- it must have cost a ton to ship cuz the tin was ginormous.)
Anyhow, I remember the chex mix being good but no where near as flavorful as what I’d had from the gas station. Funny what lack of sodium and MSG will do for a cereal snack. I think the original recipe is pretty good but I always find that I have to double or at least one and a half the seasonings. Just not enough flavor punch for me.
Because I’m a devotee of the salty-sweet combo I decided to give it a whirl on this old time favorite. This version is mostly savory with just a hint of sweet. It’s packed full of roasted nuts, butter pretzels, the requisite chex cereal and my personal favorite, Bugles.
The results?
Well, I can’t stop eating it. I made it for a cookie exchange that I hosted last week. It was such a nice balance to all the sweet treats and it’s the perfect nibble when you’ve got a cold beer or a glass of champagne in your hand.
It was so good I decided to make another batch to give out to friends and neighbors in addition to the platter of cookies I always hand out.
Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to get a little of these…….don’t worry, if you don’t, I still love you.
PrintSweet and Salty Chex Mix Recipe
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 3 cups rice chex cereal
- 3 cups honey corn chex cereal
- 3 cups Bugles
- 1 1/2 cups butter pretzels
- 1 cup roasted, salted mixed nuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 275F degrees.
- Place butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and soy sauce in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat until the butter melts and sugar dissolves. Stir in seasoned salt.
- Pour the rice chex, honey corn chex, Bugles, pretzels and nuts into a large baking pan. Drizzle the syrup a little at a time over the cereal and mix well. Continue adding syrup until all of it has been added and the chex mix is evenly coated.
- Bake for 1 hour, stirring the chex mix every 15 minutes, rotating pan half way through. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container. Chex mix should keep for about 1 week.
26 Comments
Love the sweet and salty combo! This would be dangerous in front of me!
Yum, I love sweet and salty anything! This looks great!
I’ve always loved Chex Mix, and living abroad means I can only get it for a way-too-expensive price. This looks terrific. Oh, and I’m totally with you on the bugels.
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I forgot how much my family loves Chex Mix… I just put this on my shopping list for a sneaky surprise.
I am a salty and sweet lover, and this is pretty much perfection to me!
Our homemade chex mis always had pretzle sticks, cherrios, the three kidns of chex and nuts in it. I loved the pieces that got stuck in the corners of the baking sheet and soaked up all the seasoning-I remember it involved salt, garlic powder, worcheshire sauce and butter and lots of stirring before it was done and we were able to eat it hot out of the oven. to me that has way more flavor than the bagged stuff with 10 times to many pretzels in it!
The sweet salty combo sounds awesome too. thanks for sharing.
I like the cheerio idea. I, too, love the stuff in the corners with spices and get a little crusty, so good!
Sounds yummy, gonna try tonight. I make regular chex mix all the time to satisfy my teenagers snack requirements 🙂 I also like to add way more seasoning then the recipe calls for. My trick is to take pita chips (or bugels) and use a pastry brush to coat them before putting them in the oven, big flavor punch. I also regularly throw in various snack leftovers from around the house; cheerios, other cereals, cheese its, nuts leftover from baking, whatever. butter toffee peanuts are great for the sweet and salty. Anywhay, thanks!
I just made a batch yesterday- I couldn’t stop snacking on it! I’m still not sure if that is a good or bad thing. 🙂
Thanks for the recipe. I”m wondering how worcheshire sauce would be in place of the soy sauce? I might give that a whirl as I prefer that taste over Soy sauce. Thanks again!
I’ve done it before and it’s great!
Kelley,
Can you explain what exactly seasoned salt is? Is this a standard spice I’ve never seen before?! Kind of like the different varieties of Mrs. Dash?
Thank you,
Karen
Glad you found it. I use either the Lawrys brand.
No need for response to question on the seasoned salt – found it at the grocery.
Thank you,
This was a big hit at Xmas this year for my family. My oven must be hotter than yours, because it was just on the verge of burning after 1/2 hour, but that was the only modification I had to make. Thanks for the recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it. Every oven is different- glad it didn’t burn!
Altitude also makes a difference.
Hi, I just made this recipe and it is great! Flavor is unique. The only thing I noticed is that it isn’t as dry as I thought it would be. I mean, it’s crunchy and all, but there is a slight oily residue on your hands when you eat it. Is that normal? Everyone loves it, I just wondered if I did something wrong. Great recipe, thanks for sharing!
It’s been SO long since I’ve made it that I don’t actually remember. I’ll make it this week and let you know! The flavor is amazing though, isn’t it?!
Ok. I took some to work today and it’s almost gone already!
How much does this recipe yield ?
A ton! About 12 cups
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can this be made in the microwave instead of the oven like the original chex mix recipe has that option
I’ve never made Chex Mix in the microwave so can’t recommend it, sorry!
Do you think you could use honey in place of corn syrup?