Sweet and Salty Snack Mix is easy to take on hikes or enjoy throughout the day. Made with Chex cereal, pretzels, peanuts, M&Ms, and more.
This easy, flavorful Snack mix is like Chex Party Mix meets Classic Trail Mix, with some crunchy pretzels added and baked in a sweet syrup. It’s salty, sweet, and so addicting you’ll want to keep everything on hand to make it all the time.
Sweet and Salty Snack Mix is made with simple ingredients like Chex Cereal, pretzels, nuts, M&Ms, and raisins. The combination of classic snack ingredients makes it the perfect treat for game day munching. The blend of salty and sweet ingredients plus a buttery sugary sauce gives this addictive snack mix amazing flavor throughout and it’s sure to be a new favorite recipe for parties or anytime you’re craving some crunch!
While you can make a crunchy snack mix by just tossing your favorite crackers, cereal, nuts, dried fruit, and candy together, this recipe is made so much better by adding a sweet syrup coating. It’s a buttery, sugary, caramel mixture that brings everything together. It gets baked onto the mixture so you get a cross between a gooey cereal bar, Chex mix, and crunchy Peanut Brittle. It’s the kind of delicious snack that will have everyone begging for the recipe!
Snack Mix is a delicious, flavorful treat that definitely feeds a crowd! It’s made with 8 cups crispy cereal plus another 6 cups of mix-ins. It makes a big bowl to bring to any party plus you’ll have leftovers to prep for grab-and-go snack bags for later. A package of this amazing Sweet and Salty Snack Mix is perfect for a road trip, camping, or after school snack along with other favorite treats like Granola Bars and Trail Mix.
What is the difference between Chex Mix and Sweet and Salty Mix?
Besides the Chex cereal, peanuts, and pretzels, these family favorites are quite different. Classic Chex Party Mix is a savory, salty chex mix made with pretzels, pecans, peanuts, other mixed nuts, and often bagel chips. It has a lot of bold flavor thanks to garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. On the other hand, Sweet n’ Salty Chex Mix has a sweet sauce, usually made with honey, light corn syrup, plus sweet mix-ins like candy and raisins added.
How to Make Sweet and Salty Snack Mix
- Prep time: Preheat the oven. Prepare three baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray. Make sure that each cookie sheet is coated in the cooking spray, otherwise, the sugary snack mix coating will get stuck while baking.
- Chex Mix: Add the 4 cups wheat Chex cereal, 4 cups rice Chex cereal, and 3 cups pretzels, and 2 cups peanuts to a large mixing bowl.
- Sauce: Add the butter, corn syrup, and brown sugar to a saucepan, and set the stovetop to medium heat. Stir the brown sugar mix together as it melts together. Once the creamy sauce comes to a boil, let the sauce continue to cook for 1 minute. Pour the butter sauce over cereal mixture in the mixing bowl. Toss well until everything is completely coated.
- Cooking Time: Divide the snack mix mixture evenly over each prepared baking sheet. Then put the dish in the preheated oven for an hour, opening the oven to stir with a spatula every 15 minutes during the cooking time.
- Finish: Take the Sweet and Salty Snack Mix from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes. Use a fork to separate any large clumps into bite-sized pieces. Let cool completely, then add the Chex mixture to a large bowl and toss in the raisins and M&Ms to finish.
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FAQs for Make Sweet and Salty Snack Mix
This is the perfect snack to freeze! Just spread it in a single layer on a baking sheet to cool, then freeze for an hour. This prevents it sticking together or getting freezer burn. Then just break it into pieces and freeze in an airtight container for up to 4 months.
Made as is, this Sweet and Salty Chex Mix recipe is not gluten free because both pretzels and Wheat Chex cereal have gluten. However, you can swap out the Wheat Chex for Corn Chex and use gluten free pretzels and then it will be a gluten free, deliciously crunchy snack mix.
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Key Ingredients
- Cereal Mix: The base of this simple snack recipe is made with a combination of wheat and rice Chex cereal. You could just use one variety of Chex cereal if you don’t want to buy both, or you can swap out Corn Chex for either one for a slightly different but equally delicious flavor.
- Peanuts: A few cups pretzels and peanuts add delicious saltiness for a more flavorful snack mix recipe and delightful crunch. For a bold flavor, swap in some spicy peanuts or other nuts like pecans. The pretzels and peanuts also keep their texture with the sweet caramel mixture so this addictive snack always has plenty of crunch.
- Syrup: Cooking the unsalted butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup together creates a caramel mixture that hardens over the cereal squares and crunchy, salty, and sweet mix-ins. The butter makes it a rich, creamy sauce and the dark corn syrup gives it a depth of flavor versus just regular sugary light corn syrup or marshmallow coating.
- Sweet mix-ins: There is already a pretty sugary syrup mixture over cereal mixture, so crunchy M&M chocolate candies and chewy raisins add just a bit more sweetness without making this addictive snack mix overly sweet.
Can I make this Sweet and Salty Snack Mix ahead of time?
You can definitely make Sweet and Salty Snack Mix ahead of time and it lasts for a really long time! It lasts at room temperature for about a month and in the freezer for about 3-4 months. You want to cool it completely uncovered at room temperature before storing so that any excess moisture doesn’t get trapped. This will keep your crunchy snack mix fresher for a longer time.
Variations
- Salty: For more crunchy, salty mix-ins to cook along with the Chex mix, you can use pecan halves, chopped almonds, or walnuts. You can also add corn chips, Goldfish crackers, or cheese crackers. Candied Pecans during the holidays would add both sweet and salty flavor, plus crunch!
- Sweet: There are also plenty of sweet add-ins you could try. Honey nut cheerios would make a great addition to the recipe before cooking. Then you can add other sweet ingredients like Caramel Popcorn, Reese’s pieces, candy corn, marshmallows, chocolate-covered raisins, or candy bar pieces after you’ve given the mix time to cool.
- Chocolate: As you let the Sweet and Salty Snack Mix cool, you can also add a little extra flavor with toppings. Try melting some white chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips in the microwave until smooth. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the delicious snack mix.
- Caramel: You could also drizzle melted caramel over the top. You want to use Caramel Fondue (like for apples) because that kind of caramel mixture will harden as it sets, instead of staying liquid like a caramel sauce. Sprinkle some flaky sea salt over top for even more salty, sweet delicious flavor.
- Cereal Squares: Make these into gooey, salty and sweet cereal treats for a chewy bar on the go! Chop up the pretzels into bits so they mix better, then prepare a Rice Krispy Treat coating with melted butter, marshmallows, and light corn syrup. Spread the cereal mixture into a large rimmed baking sheet in an even layer. Let it cool completely then cut into squares.
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How to Store
- Serve: Make sure to let the Sweet and Salty Snack Mix cool before breaking it into more manageable pieces and adding in the final mix-ins to serve.
- Store: Once the Chex Mix is completely cooled, you can transfer it to a plastic bag or airtight container to keep it at room temperature for up to 4 weeks.
- Freeze: You could also freeze this Sweet and Salty Chex Mix for up to 4 months. Freeze it on a baking sheet with parchment paper in a single layer for an hour or two. Once it’s frozen, break it up and store it in a freezer-safe bag or airtight container.
Ingredients
- 4 cups Wheat Chex cereal
- 4 cups Rice Chex cereal
- 3 cups mini pretzels
- 2 cups salted peanuts
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup dark corn syrup
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar , packed
- 1/2 cup m&m candies
- 1/2 cup raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees and spray three large baking sheets with vegetable oil spray.
- In a large mixing bowl add the wheat chex cereal, rice chex cereal, mini pretzels and peanuts.
- In a saucepan on medium heat add the butter, corn syrup and brown sugar, stirring well.
- Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the butter mixture to the mixing bowl and toss well until completely coated.
- Add the mixture to the baking sheets and spread evenly.
- Cook for 1 hour, mixing with a spatula every 15 minutes.
- Let cool for 5 minutes then gently separate any clumps with forks.
- Let cool completely then add to a large bowl and toss with raisins and m&m candies.
Nutrition
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