Savory Party Mix Recipes
Linda explores food facts, folklore, and fabulous recipes, one ingredient at a time.
Let's Be Honest, We Need This
Super Bowl Sunday is just a few weeks away. At this point, all of us have already given up on the gym membership (the one that we resolved to faithfully use).
It's time for Chex party mix!
Do You Know What That Is?
Party mix is a snack that can be eaten like (and is just as addictive as) popcorn—a combination of Chex cereals, mixed nuts, and pretzels seasoned with salt and spices and baked in the oven at low heat until all of the pieces are golden and savory.
Or, at least that is how the original Chex Party Mix was made. Today, there are dozens of variations—some of them are salty, some are salty-sweet, and some are totally sweet and/or chocolaty.
A Very Brief History Lesson
According to Wikipedia:
"Chex cereal was introduced in 1937 by Ralston Purina. By 1952, recipes for "Chex party mix" appeared on boxes of Chex cereal. However, it was not until 1985 that pre-packaged products were introduced commercially by Ralston Purina and the trademarks registered to it. Chex party mix became popular as a holiday treat when purportedly in 1955, the wife of a Ralston executive in St. Louis served the snack at a holiday function. However, Chex party mix was not a unique idea: it was one of many popular "TV mixes"—snacks which could be consumed without interrupting television watching—which appeared in the 1950s with the introduction of television."
The original recipe was first published in the June 16, 1952, issue of Life magazine. The text is too small to read, so I'll give you the recipe below.
Original Chex Party Mix Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter or margarine
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 cups Wheat Chex
- 2 cups Rice Chex
- 1/2 cup nuts
- 1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
- Melt butter in a shallow pan. Stir in Worcestershire sauce. Add Chex cereals and nuts. Sprinkle with salts. Toss to coat. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
Updated Original Chex Party Mix Recipe
Over the years, the ingredients, proportions, and baking instructions have changed. Here is the current version.
Ingredients
Read More From Delishably
- 3 cups Corn Chex cereal
- 3 cups Rice Chex cereal
- 3 cups Wheat Chex cereal
- 1 cup mixed nuts
- 1 cup bite-size pretzels
- 1 cup garlic-flavor bite-size bagel chips or regular-size bagel chips, broken into 1-inch pieces
- 6 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Directions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
- In an ungreased large roasting pan, melt butter in the oven. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, seasoned salt, garlic powder, and onion powder. Stir in chex cereals, mixed nuts, pretzels, and bagel chips until coated. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
- Spread on paper towels until cooled. Store in an airtight container.
The original recipe is easy and addictively tasty... and so very traditional. But why not explore some other flavor profiles? Here are a few ideas.
Buffalo Wing-Flavor Party Mix
Ingredients
- 4 cups Rice Chex cereal
- 3 cups Wheat Chex cereal
- 3 cups Pepper-Jack flavored Cheez-Its
- 2 cups tiny pretzel twists
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons hot wing sauce
- 1 packet spicy ranch dressing mix (Hidden Valley)
- 1 teaspoon celery seed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
- In large bowl, mix cereals, crackers and pretzels; set aside. In a small bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. Stir in the hot sauce, ranch dressing mix, and celery seed until smooth. Pour over cereal mixture; stir until evenly coated.
- Pour mixture onto a large baking sheet. Bake for 60 minutes stirring every 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven to a wire rack. Allow to cool. Store in an airtight container.
Asian Party Mix
Ingredients
- 4 cups Rice Chex cereal
- 3 cups sesame stick snacks
- 3 cups chow mein noodles
- 2 cups cashews
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 4 teaspoons sugar
- 4 teaspoons soy sauce
- 4 teaspoons hoisin
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional--omit if you don't like heat)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
- In a large bowl, mix cereals, snack crackers, and nuts; set aside. In a small bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Pour over cereal mixture; stir until evenly coated.
- Pour mixture onto a large baking sheet or roasting pan. Bake for 60 minutes stirring every 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven to a wire rack. Allow to cool. Store in an airtight container.
Loaded Baked Potato Party Mix
Ingredients
- 5 cups Rice Chex cereal
- 3 cups Corn Chex cereal
- 4 cups shoestring potatoes
- 2 cups bite-size cheese crackers
- 1/4 cups bacon flavor bits or chips
- 1/4 cup butter or margarine
- 1 package (1 oz.) ranch dressing and seasoning mix
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, mix cereals, potato sticks, snack crackers, and bacon bits; set aside. In a small bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Pour over cereal mixture; stir until evenly coated.
- Pour mixture onto a large baking sheet or roasting pan. Bake for 60 minutes stirring every 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven to a wire rack. Allow to cool. Store in an airtight container.
Taco-Flavored Party Mix
Ingredients
- 1 (7.5oz) bag regular Bugles
- 1 (7.5oz) bag Cheddar Bugles
- 1 (8oz) bag Pretzel Goldfish crackers
- 1 (16oz) box Cheez-It crackers
- 1 (16oz) can peanuts
- 1 (1oz) package taco seasoning
- 3/4 cup canola oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
- Combine all ingredients in an ungreased large roasting pan.
- Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
- Spread on paper towels until cooled. Store in an airtight container.
More Suggestions
Here are some of the ingredients that could be combined to create a savory or sweet/savory party mix. Just remember that the total cereal/crackers/chips/nuts, etc., should equal 12 cups.
- Rice Chex
- Corn Chex
- Wheat Chex
- Cheerios
- dry roasted peanuts
- walnuts
- pecans
- cashews
- pistachios
- pumpkin seeds
- sunflower seeds
- oyster crackers
- goldfish crackers
- Cheetos
- Cheez-It crackers
- bagel crisps
- pretzels
- Bugles
- Fritos
- pita crisps
- potato sticks
- Triscuit mini crackers
- popped popcorn
- chow mein noodles
- dried apples
- raisins
- dried cranberries
- white raisins (dried currants)
- bacon bits
I must confess that I am not thrilled about the Super Bowl this year (my team didn't make it to the final 4), but I'll be front and center to watch the advertisements, and then, of course, there is always the Puppy Bowl!
I hope you enjoy these recipes. And, if you create your own winning party mix combination, I would love to hear from you.
© 2016 Linda Lum