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Make the best bold Chex Mix at home with three kinds of Chex, pretzels, nuts and extra seasoning. An easy oven-baked snack for parties and holidays.

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Homemade Chex Mix has been one of our family’s favorite snacks for years, especially once football season and the holidays roll around.

My mother-in-law originally introduced me to oven-baked Chex Mix, but over the years I’ve adjusted the seasoning amounts to make it exactly how we like it: extra flavorful with plenty of Worcestershire sauce and seasoned salt in every batch.

If you’ve ever opened a bag of Bold Chex Mix and immediately searched for the pieces with the most seasoning, this recipe is for you.

It takes about 10 minutes to prep, then the oven does most of the work. And because homemade Chex Mix freezes so well, I almost never make just one batch.

 It’s also one of my favorite make-ahead options when I’m putting together football party food, because I can make it before game day and simply set out a big bowl when everyone is ready to snack.

 

How to Make Bold Chex Mix

Each batch takes an hour to bake. Usually, I start baking after lunch, while the kids are napping. To make it worth my time, I make at least three batches. Sure, it’s three hours near the kitchen home, but we’ll be home regardless if college football is on. 😉 #gobucks

1. Mix the dry ingredients.
Combine all three varieties of Chex, nuts and pretzels in a large mixing bowl.

2. Make the bold seasoning.
Melt the margarine, then stir in the seasoned salt and Worcestershire sauce until well combined.

3. Coat the Chex Mix.
Pour the seasoning mixture over the cereal and gently toss until everything is evenly coated.

4. Bake low and slow.
Spread the mixture onto a large baking sheet and bake at 250°F for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

5. Cool completely.
Spread the Chex Mix out to cool before transferring it to an airtight container.

How to Get Extra Bold Chex Mix Flavor

The secret isn’t adding a huge number of seasonings. It’s making sure the simple seasoning mixture actually gets distributed throughout the entire batch.

Use all three kinds of Chex. I find that Wheat Chex absorbs more of the seasoning, which creates those especially flavorful bites.

Scrape all the seasoning onto the pan. Don’t leave the good stuff behind in the mixing bowl.

Stir every 15 minutes. This redistributes the Worcestershire mixture as the Chex Mix bakes.

Let it cool completely. The mix gets crispier as it cools, so don’t judge the final texture straight from the oven.

 

 

Bold Chex Mix Recipe FAQs

Over the years, these questions have popped up…

Does using brand name ingredients make a difference?

For this recipe, be sure to use name brand Worcestershire Sauce. Anytime a generic is sneaked in, my husband can immediately tell. Seriously… it’s that fantastic. 🙂 When I’m doing 3 batches, I can count on using one box each of the corn, wheat, and rice chex. I usually pick them up on sale and make my first batches as soon as the calendar turns mid-September! 🙂

For the Seasoned Salt & Worcestershire sauce, I usually buy them up in bulk at Sam’s Club. It makes baking these relatively inexpensive and you won’t mind making up several more batches as sweet gifts for the holidays (chex mix freezes really well).

Can I make multiple batches at a time?

Yes! Keep your chex mix in an assembly-line style rotation. Once your batch goes in for its 4th and final bake, start melting your margarine on the stovetop for the next batch.

When I make multiple batches I will set out a large swath of paper towels to cool the chex after baking. I’ll lay each batch out in a long straight line, a’la flipping the pan over and scraping off all the crumbs and liquids. As I do this I’ll sneak a taste of the batch to see if I need to add more seasoning to the butter mixture for the next batch.

Sometimes the wheat Chex soak up more flavor and are a little burst of seasoning. If you don’t use the wheat kind, I’ve found that the taste is pretty mellow throughout each batch.

 

How Should I Store My Chex Mix?

Once dried, store your Chex Mix in an airtight container.

Can I freeze my bold Chex Mix?

Yes. This is one of my favorite things about this recipe. Let the Chex Mix cool completely, transfer it to freezer bags or airtight containers and freeze the extra batches.

Can I substitute butter in place of Margarine?

Yes! You can sub out one stick of margarine for one stick of butter. 

Can I add other ingredients?

Yes. Rye chips, pumpernickel pretzel sticks, mini breadsticks and extra nuts all work well. Just be careful about adding so much that there isn’t enough seasoning mixture to coat everything.

 

 

 

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