Sweet and Spicy Snack Mix
This sweet and spicy snack mix has BIG flavor. It’s filled with rice cereal, pretzels, bagel chips, and nuts is sweetened with maple syrup or honey and has a little hot sauce for a subtle fiery kick. Perfect for munching!
Once I make homemade Chex mix, I can’t stop eating it— it’s just so hard to resist! And that’s why I save it for parties and holidays, so we can share the snack love with family and friends.
This homemade sweet and spicy Chex mix is perfect for game day, holidays, all kinds of parties! I enjoy the contrast of sweet and spicy (though it’s not that spicy) in this recipe, but I know not everyone wants the heat. Check out my maple nut snack mix for a milder— but still delicious!— variation.
“I made this recipe for a huge gathering over Thanksgiving/Football weekend. It was a HIT… My crew has already requested this for Christmas. This recipe makes an ample portion and stores to perfection!!!! Don’t be afraid to make the whole recipe as you will want extras for later.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐” — from Aunt Lolly
“I made this last Christmas using maple syrup and Cholula hot sauce, omitting the garlic. It was a huge hit with my nephews. I’m making it again this year for gifts. Great recipe!⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐” — from Pamala
What’s in this sweet and spicy snack mix?
There are two parts to this recipe— all the tasty snacks, and the flavorful sauce that’s mixed in before baking.
- Rice or corn Chex cereal, or a combination of both
- Mini pretzels
- Bagel chips
- Almonds, peanuts and cashews, or your favorite nut combination
- Butter
- Honey or maple syrup
- Hot sauce, like sriracha
- Worcestershire sauce
- Garlic powder, onion powder and salt
Easy as 1-2-3!
Here’s how to make this sweet and spice chex mix. It’s such a simple recipe, and requires less than 10 minutes of actual “work”. The oven does the rest!
- Combine sauce ingredients on the stove, whisking until melted and smooth.
- Toss the sauce with all of the snacks. You can use a large bowl, or do it right on the sheet pan.
- Bake at 250° for an hour or so until snack mix is golden and crispy.
How to store Chex mix: This sweet and spicy snack mix will keep for a week or two stored in an airtight container, if it lasts that long. Mine never does!
More munch-able snacks
Sweet and Spicy Snack Mix
Ingredients
- 5 cups corn or rice Chex cereal , or a mixture
- 2 cups mini pretzels
- 2 cups bagel chips
- 1 cup unsalted peanuts
- 1 cup unsalted almonds
- 1 cup unsalted cashews
- ½ cup butter
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- ⅓ cup honey or maple syrup
- 2-4 tablespoons hot sauce , per your taste (I like to use Sriracha)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250°F.
- Combine the Chex cereal, pretzels, bagel chips, peanuts, almonds and cashews on a large sheet pan.
- In a small saucepan set over medium heat, add butter, worcestershire sauce, honey or maple syrup, hot sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt.
- Heat until butter is melted and mixture is smooth.
- Pour over the Chex mixture and stir to make sure everything is coated evenly.
- Bake in the oven for about 1 and a half hours until snack mix is golden and crisp, stirring every 20 minutes or so.
- Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to several weeks.
Notes
- Makes 8 cups.
This recipe was originally created for Go Bold With Butter. See the full recipe on their website.
I love this recipe!! I made it as a gift for my dad for Christmas and he absolutely loved it, it was gone within 2 days!
I love to hear that! Thanks for the comment and review, Isla!
😋 delicious!
Thanks Shari!
I made this recipe for a huge gathering over Thanksgiving/Football weekend. It was a HIT. I used honey in my recipe and will try it the next go with maple syrup just to see if there is a difference. My crew has already requested this for Christmas. As with any snack mix…you can bump up the heat or take it down tweaking the addition of the hot sauce ( I kept it neutral using only 2 T). I did add a little Lawry’s season salt at the end….just to bump up the flavor. This recipe makes an ample portion and stores to perfection!!!! Don’t be afraid to make the whole recipe as you will want extra’s for later.
Thanks so much for the feedback, I’m so glad everyone enjoyed this snack mix! Love that you were able to tailor it just the way you want it. 🙂
First time and smells amazing ! I added smoke papperika and sea salt …. exciting great and easy recipe! Thanks
Absolutely delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
I made this last Christmas using maple syrup and Cholula hot sauce, omitting the garlic. It was a huge hit with my nephews. I’m making it again this year for gifts. Great recipe!
Add in some Life cereal- a fun game changer 🙂 Love this snack mix!
Oh I love that suggestion, thanks!!
Quick question – I don’t understand how the recipe makes only 8 cups when there are 12 cups of ingredients. Shrinkage of 33% is a lot!
Hmm that’s a good question! It may be a little more than 8 cups, but definitely not 12 cups. Big things like the pretzels and bagel chips have a lot of empty space in measuring cups when you measure them, and the small stuff like nuts potentially fill in those cracks when measured together. Hopefully that makes sense!
I’ve made this 4-5 times this year. It was a hit at the Super Bowl and it’s been a gathering favorite every time I make it. I prefer honey over syrup, and like Frank’s for the hot sauce. Thanks for sharing!