Smoky Old Bay Chex Mix
Homemade smoky Old Bay Chex mix is so much better than the plain store-bought stuff. It's fresh and crunchy, has a rich, buttery flavor, and you can customize it with your favorite seasonings and snacks!
Ingredients
dry ingredients
- 4 cups corn Chex cereal
- 4 cups wheat Chex cereal
- 4 cups rice Chex cereal
- 2 cups pretzels
- 2 cups mixed nuts I used walnuts, sliced almonds, pecan pieces, and cashews in roughly equal parts
- 1 cup peanuts
- 1 cup rye bagel chips or crackers substitute oyster crackers, cheese crackers, goldfish, more pretzels, or a blend of these
wet ingredients & seasonings
- 6 oz salted butter melted (12 tbsp or 1½ sticks)
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp Louisiana hot sauce Use a mild hot sauce, like Louisiana or Crystal, or substitute 1 Tbsp of lemon juice and 1 Tbsp additional Worcestershire
- 1 tbsp Old Bay seasoning
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ¾ tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250℉ (121℃).
- Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a very large mixing bowl or pot. If you don't have a bowl large enough, you can use a jumbo 1½ gallon zip seal bag or clean paper grocery bag (if you use a paper bag, the butter will soak through, so be careful not to put it down on a surface that can stain).
- Melt the butter carefully on the stove, or in a heat-proof microwave safe container.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and dry seasonings to the melted butter and whisk or mix until well combined and there are no lumps.
- Drizzle half of the seasoned butter mixture over the bowl of cereal, nuts, and pretzels.
- Using a large spoon or clean hands, toss the mixture and gently stir to distribute the butter, adding more as you stir. Fold the mixture carefully, bringing up the cereal and crackers from the bottom of the bowl as you drizzle in more of the mixture until you have incorporated it all. If you used a bag, seal or fold it over and carefully shake until the cereal mix is coated, adding the butter in several additions.
- Split the Chex mix between two half-sheet baking pans or other large shallow baking pans, spread the mix out in an even layer, and place the pans in the preheated oven.
- Bake the snack mix for about one hour total, rotating and stirring the pans at least 4 times (about every 15 minutes). If you have smaller or deeper pans, it may take longer to fully crisp up the snack mix.
- Remove the baked Chex mix from the oven and let it cool on the baking trays. If some of the Chex or crackers are still soft, you can return the trays to the oven for a bit longer, or turn off the oven and let the snack mix cool on the trays in the oven to dry out some more... just keep an eye it to make sure that it doesn't burn!
- Once this snack mix is completely cool and dry, you can store it in airtight zip-seal bags or storage containers. This is best eaten within a week, but may keep longer if you keep it well sealed.
Notes
Note on nutritional information: Information shown is an estimate, and calculated for a full one cup serving made using mixed nuts, bagel chips, and hot sauce. Changing ingredients or serving sizes will change the estimated values, as well as the actual mix components in each serving.
Nutrition
Calories: 537kcalCarbohydrates: 77gProtein: 14gFat: 24gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 809mgPotassium: 439mgFiber: 10gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 1334IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 189mgIron: 22mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
