This Sweet and Salty Chex Mix is great for game day, parties or giving as a homemade gift. Toss salty snacks and cereal in a buttery sweet sauce and bake until they have an irresistible crunchy coating.
If you are looking for other homemade chex mix recipes try this ranch chex mix, buffalo snack mix or Christmas chex mix with M&Ms.
Quick Look: sweet and Salty Chex Mix
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 👩🍳 Cook Time: 40 minutes
- 🕖 Total Time: 55 minutes
- 🥨 Servings: 16 servings
- ⚡️ Calories: 422 calories per serving (based on nutrition panel)
- 🔥 Cooking Method: Simmer butter and sugar mixture then bake in oven at 250F
- 🛒 Main Ingredients: Chex cereal, Cheez Its, pretzels, peanuts, butter and brown sugar.
- ⭐️ Difficulty: Very easy just be careful when simmering the butter and sugar mixture.
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Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Great for parties – put a bowl of this addicting snack mix out at a party and watch your guests absolutely devour it! Don’t be surprised when they ask you for the recipe!
- Makes a big batch – I like that this makes a large batch so I can serve it for game day or make up individual little bags to give as a simple homemade gift.
- Give as a homemade gift– pour a few servings in a decorative treat bag, tie a ribbon on top and gift to friends, family and neighbors during the holidays. It is also a great thing to drop of when someone you know is sick or has a new baby!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s a quick look at the ingredients you need to make this irresistable sweet and salty chex mix. For a full list of ingredients and amounts please head to the full recipe.
- Chex cereal: I use a combination of both rice chex and wheat chex to enhance the texture of this chex mix. Feel free to use just one type of ceral or replace them with a different type of cereal like crispix.
- Cheez its: cheddar cheez its are key for the unique flavor of this snack. If you don’t want to use cheez its, I recommend replacing them with another cheesy snack like goldfish, but you can also use oyster crackers for a non cheese option.
- Pretzels: salted pretzels add the perfect crunch and salty element to these sweet and salty snack. I like to buy mini twists, but you can use any shape. Small pretzel sticks work great.
- Peanuts: peanuts add crunch, flavor and subtle creaminess to this chex mix. You can replace them with roasted cashews or pecans or leave them out completely to make this recipe nut free.
- Salted butter, brown sugar and worcestershire sauce: these 3 ingredients make up the sweet and salty sauce that goes on top of the dry ingredients. You may be hesitant to add the worcestershire sauce in there, but trust me when I say this ingredient is key for giving the chex mix its signature tang.
If you want to make another sweet and salty treat, try these kitchen sink cookies or brown butter rice krispie treats.
How to make Sweet and Salty Chex Mix
Step 1: Preheat oven to 250F. Mix chex cereal, cheez its, pretzels and peanuts together in a large mixing bowl.
Step 2: Place a stick of salted butter and brown sugar in a sauce pan over low heat. Allow the butter to melt completely, then mix the sugar into the butter.
Step 3: Whisk in worcestershire sauce and increase the heat just a little. Simmer for 3 minutes stirring constantly and then remove from the heat.
Step 4: Pour the warm mixture over the dry ingredients and toss to coat each piece evenly.
Step 5: Pour ingredients onto 2 separate baking sheets OR bake in 2 batches. Smooth into an even layer.
Step 6: Bake at 250F for 40 minutes – tossing once halfway through.
Mad’s Expert Tips for the Best sweet and Salty Chex Mix 🥨
- Do not let the sugar mixture boil over – simmer the butter, sugar and worcestershire sauce at a low temperature and whisk constantly so that it does not boil. It can get too hot very quickly so be sure to watch it the entire time.
- Mix the sauce thoroughly into dry ingredients – pour the butter and sugar mixture onto the dry ingredients while still warm and mix until you are sure that all of the dry ingredients have a thin coating of the liquid.
- Cook in 2 batches – do not bake the entire batch on one sheet tray. You want the chex mix to be spread into an even layer without too many clumps. Large clumps will not allow the sauce to harden adn leave some pieces soggy.
If you’re looking for more sweet and salty recipes, try this sweet and salty strawberry popcorn that is perfect for kids or these kitchen sink cookies with pretzels and potato chips mixed in!
Recipe FAQs
How can I jazz up this chex mix?
Make this sweet and salty chex mix recipe even more exciting with additional mix ins. You can use cheerios or crispix in place of one of the chex cereals. You can also add things like mini M&Ms or even Reese’s Pieces after baking and cooling.
How is this different from standard chex mix?
Usually chex mix is made with all savory ingredients. The addition of brown sugar creates a toffee coating that pairs perfectly with the salty ingredients like pretzels and cheddar cheez its.
Other delicious game day appetizers
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
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Recipe
Sweet and Salty Chex Mix
Ingredients
- 3 cups rice chex cereal
- 3 cups wheat chex cereal
- 3 cups cheddar cheez its
- 2 cups pretzels I used mini pretzels
- 1 cup roasted peanuts
- 1 stick salted butter 8 tbsp
- ¼ cup brown sugar packed
- 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- Flakey sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper
- Pour rice chex, wheat chex, cheez its, pretzels and roasted peanuts into a large mixing bowl and mix them together.
- Place a small sauce pan on the stove over low heat and place the stick of butter and brown sugar in the pan. Allow the butter to melt completely, then mix the sugar into the butter.
- Whisk in the worcestershire sauce and increase the heat just a little to medium-low. The mixture should start to lightly simmer. Allow the mixture to simmer for 3 minutes – mixing constantly. Then, remove from the heat.
- While it is still hot, pour the liquid over the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl and toss to coat thoroughly.
- Pour everything onto the two lined baking sheets and spread the ingredients out to create an even layer.
- Sprinkle flakey sea salt over the top and place in the oven at 250F for 40 minutes, tossing once halfway through.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before serving or storing for later. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Recipe Notes
- If you don’t want to use cheez its, you can replace them with goldfish crackers or oyster crackers.
- Swap the peanuts for roasted cashews or pecans or omit the nuts completely.
- Watch and stir the sugar mixture the entire time that it is cooking. It can very easily bubble up too much and boil over. Keep the heat low enough so that it is just at a light simmer and not a boil.
- Toss the sugar mixture into the dry ingredients thoroughly. For the best taste and texture you want all of the dry ingredients to be evenly coated in the butter and sugar sauce. This requires mixing as evenly as possible while the sauce is still warm.
- Spread the mixture onto 2 baking sheet or bake in 2 batches. If you pour the entire batch onto one baking sheet, you will get large clumps that will be soggy in the middle instead of crispy.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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