My irresistible Ultimate Party Snack Mix consists of a blend of 7 different crunchy snacks baked in a savory butter sauce.
Everyone loves a good party snack mix, especially if it is crunchy and contains a variety of finger-sized snack crackers and cereal. This is why the Chex Party Mix has been a favorite for so many years.
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Perfect for cocktails, game night, or movie night this party snack mix will have you reach for more until the bowl is empty.
The original recipe has been around since the early 1950s because it is super simple to make and oh-so snackable.
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About This Ultimate Party Snack Recipe
The original 1952 snack mix was Chex rice cereal and wheat cereal, pretzels, and nuts drizzled with a little Worcestershire sauce and slowly roasted in the oven. Over the years the recipe has evolved to include butter and aromatic seasonings and every family has had their favorite recipe.
My Ultimate Party Snack Mix has been a favorite with my family and guests for years because it has a little something for everyone. It has rice and corn cereal squares, wheat cereal squares, Bugles horn-shaped corn chips, small buttery pretzels, two kinds of nuts, and crunchy cheese Cheetos.
Plus, there is my take on the buttery, savory sauce you drizzle over the mix before baking. This sauce has just a touch of lemon to lift the flavors and keep you reaching for another handful of snacks.
This recipe is so versatile that over the years, I've loved adding all sorts of different cereals and snack treats. Unfortunately, some of them are no longer made.
But one thing has not changed, and that is the delicious sauce. It is so good that I've used the exact same sauce with no changes for at least 30 years.
Do crunchy, salty, cheesy, savory snacks sound good to you? Great!
So, let's cook!
Ingredient Notes
Here's What You Need for the Snack Mix:
- Crispix® Corn and Rice Cereal - The heart of this party mix is the cereal squares. I prefer to use a corn and rice cereal that absorbs the sauce well and retains a good crunch.
- Wheat Chex™ Cereal - Nothing soaks up flavor like a square wheat cereal. A few of these give great contrast to the party mix.
- Bugles Corn Chips - Bugles have such a fun shape and a delicious corn flavor.
- Mixed Nuts - Use your favorite mixed nuts. I especially like to use a lot of pecans, since I always have them in the pantry. But you can use any nuts you prefer.
- Whole Cashews - My favorite nut for snack mixes are cashews
- Small Butter Pretzels - Any small pretzel works great. Good examples are small twists, tiny twists, or square snaps.
- Crunchy Cheetos - Cheetos really make this party mix "ultimate"! Over the years I've used other cheese snack crackers but Crunchy Cheetos are always available and a good add-in for this combo of snacks.
Here's What You Will Need For the Sauce:
- Salted Butter - Salted butter adds more salt to this snack dish without using more seasoned salt.
- Worcestershire Sauce - I have always used Lea and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce. It is consistently good and the same year in and year out.
- Fresh Lemon Juice - I prefer freshly squeezed lemon juice. But if all you have is bottled lemon juice you can substitute it for fresh.
- Seasoned Salt - Seasoned salt has other spices and flavors added to it like paprika and celery. It is definitely worth having on hand in your pantry.
- Garlic Powder - Garlic powder adds subtle garlic flavor and makes this snack mix very tasty. I do prefer Lawry's brand. It is very flavorful and it also contains a very small amount of parsley that looks attractive.
- Onion Powder - Onion balances the flavors of the garlic powder and the seasoned salt.
Please see the recipe card for the exact quantities.
How to Make This Ultimate Party Snack Mix
Preheat and Make Sauce. Preheat an oven to 250°F/120°C. In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan, add the butter, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, seasoned salt, onion powder, and garlic powder.
Over very low heat, allow the butter to melt and let the mixture come to a bare simmer. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the lemon juice. Set the sauce aside for later.
Combine Snacks. To a large baking or roasting pan, add the Crispix® cereal, Wheat Chex™ cereal, mixed nuts, cashews, and pretzels. Toss the snacks very gently with a large spoon or spatula.
Drizzle with Sauce. Drizzle half of the sauce over the cereal mixture. Gently stir the snack mixture moving the bottom snacks to the top and drizzle the remaining sauce over the cereal.
Bake and Add Cheetos. Bake the snack mix for 1 hour and stir the mixture every 15 minutes as it bakes.
Remove the snack mix from the oven and gently add the Cheetos. Serve and enjoy!
My Top Tips
♡ A plastic squeeze bottle is a great way to drizzle the sauce over the party mix. This method allows more control in applying the sauce to get a more even coating to the snacks. Make sure the sauce has cooled so that you don't melt the bottle.
♡ You can vary the composition of the snacks and substitute for many of them. Just don't exceed 10 cups of snacks that are coated with the sauce.
♡ I like to use two kitchen timers when I make this snack mix. After I put the mix in the oven to bake, I set the first one for 15 minutes and the second one for 1 hour. Each time the first timer sounds I stir the party mix and reset that timer. When the second timer sounds the bake is finished.
Substitutions & Variations
You can make this Ultimate Party Snack Mix with various cereals and bite-sized snacks. Here are some definite winners:
- Bite-Sized Bagel Chips
- Honey Nut Cheerios
- Small Cheez-It® Crackers
- Gold Fish Crackers
- Baked Cheese Crisps (To keep them crisp, do not coat them with sauce).
- Wasabi Green Peas
You can also substitute a cup of any sweet candy-coated candy for one cup of the nuts and add them when you add the Cheetos. Consider the following choices:
- Plain M&M's
- Reese's Pieces
- Peanut M&M's
- Boston Baked Beans Peanuts
- Sixlets
Make-Ahead & Storage
You can make this snack mix ahead of the day you want to serve it or give it as a gift. Store it in air-tight containers, jars, plastic containers, or resealable plastic bags at room temperature for up to 5 days.
♡ Did you love this Ultimate Party Snack Mix? Please leave a star rating and a comment below!
📖 Recipe
Ultimate Party Snack Mix
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Ingredients
For the Sauce:
- 6 Tablespoons Salted Butter
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 ½ Teaspoons Seasoned Salt
- ½ Teaspoon Onion Powder
- ¾ Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
For the Snack Mix:
- 4 Cups Crispix® Corn and Rice Cereal
- 2 Cups Wheat Chex™ Cereal
- 1 Cup Bugles Corn Chips
- 1 Cup Mixed Nuts
- 1 Cup Whole Cashews
- 1 Cup Small Butter Pretzels, Twists or Snaps
- 2 Cup Crunchy Cheetos
Instructions
- Preheat and Make Sauce. Preheat an oven to 250°F/120°C. In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan add the butter, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, seasoned salt, onion powder, and garlic powder. Over very low heat, allow the butter to melt and let the mixture come to a bare simmer. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the lemon juice. Set the sauce aside for later.6 Tablespoons Salted Butter, 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce, 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice, 1 ½ Teaspoons Seasoned Salt, ¾ Teaspoon Garlic Powder, ½ Teaspoon Onion Powder
- Combine Snacks. To a large baking or roasting pan add the Crispix® cereal, Wheat Chex™ cereal, mixed nuts, cashews, and pretzels. Toss the snacks very gently with a large spoon or spatula.4 Cups Crispix® Corn and Rice Cereal, 2 Cups Wheat Chex™ Cereal, 1 Cup Bugles Corn Chips, 1 Cup Mixed Nuts, 1 Cup Whole Cashews, 1 Cup Small Butter Pretzels
- Drizzle with Sauce. Drizzle half of the sauce over the cereal mixture. Gently stir the snack mixture moving the bottom snacks to the top and drizzle the remaining sauce over the cereal.
- Bake and Add Cheetos. Bake the snack mix for 1 hour and stir the mixture every 15 minutes as it bakes.Remove the snack mix from the oven and gently add the Cheetos. Serve and enjoy!2 Cup Crunchy Cheetos
Notes
Nutrition
Per 1 serving. All nutritional information on this site is an estimate. Your results may vary.
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