The Cozy Cookbook is here! 
This Spicy Chex Mix recipe has bold flavors and a spicy kick that’s perfect for holiday snacking. It also makes a great gift for Christmas!
Spicy Chex Mix
It really starts to feel like the holidays when I’m sitting down with an entire trough of my mom’s Spicy Chex Mix. This recipe makes 18 cups and yeah. I could easily eat all 18 of them myself. It’s just the way it is.
Although, Chex Mix does make an excellent homemade gift, (see bottom of this post for festive tins that you can put this in)!
My favorite part of this recipe is that it’s an easy make-ahead recipe that you can make weeks ahead of time if you want! Scroll down for all the info!
Ingredients
See bottom of post for the recipe card with ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Snack Mix
- Cheese Crackers: Any variety of cheese crackers are good in this recipes. I love using Cheez Its and/or Goldfish.
- Chex: I always use a combination of rice and corn chex, but you can stick to just one variety. I use 9 cups in this recipe, 1 (18 oz.) box is enough for that amount.
- Nuts: I add a lot of whole cashews to the mix as well as a container of mixed nuts.
- Pretzels: Thin pretzel sticks are a perfect addition to this recipe.
Spicy Sauce
- Butter- Since crackers and nuts are already salty, you may want to stick with unsalted butter.
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Chili Powder
- Tabasco Sauce
- Garlic Powder
Make-Ahead Method
- Chex Mix is a great recipe to make ahead of time because it keeps well when stored in an airtight container.
- You can prepare the entire recipe up to two weeks ahead of time.
- Store in an airtight container prior to serving.
Tools for this Recipe
(Amazon Affiliate)
- Large Measuring Cup with a Spout– Makes it easy to to add the sauce to the Chex mix.
- Large Baking Sheets
- Decorative Tins, perfect for gift-giving.
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Spicy Chex Mix
Ingredients
Mix:
- 9 cups Chex, I use Half rice Chex, half corn Chex
- 4 cups Cheddar Crackers, Cheez-its, Goldfish, etc.
- 2 cups Pretzels
- 3 cups Mixed Nuts
Sauce:
- 2 sticks Butter, melted
- 2 Tablespoons Chili powder
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Tobasco sauce
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300° F.
- Combine the sauce ingredients in a measuring cup with a spout.
- Combine the Chex mix ingredients in 1-2 very large bowls.
- Add half of the sauce mixture and toss to coat. Add the remaining sauce mixture, toss to coat well again. Do this thoroughly (and gently) for best results.
- Evenly distribute the mix on two large roasting pans.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Remove and toss, then bake for 15 more minutes.
- Let cool completely, then transfer to an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
My husband loves spicy, too. I doubled everything except butter and sprinkled with ground red pepper. Baking now. Will know the outcome when he gets home.
I hope you enjoy it 🙂
What kind of pretzels and cheese crackers are gluten free?
Hi Tammy, it depends on the store that you visit but gluten-free is labeled and easy to find, Walmart has a few varieties for example!
Thank you so much for sharing this Great Chex Mix….I made this for Thanksgiving snacking, and it was gone…I have 4 sons, and they loved it!! I did add a Tbs. of garlic, and an extra Tbs. of worchestershire sauce…I am making it for Christmas right now, but I doubled the recipe, hopefully there may be some left over for me to snack on…lol
Hey Debbie! I’m SO happy that the Chex Mix was a hit! (I literally just got done snacking on some! haha!!)- I really appreciate your review too, you’re the best!! -Stephanie
This may be a silly question but the sauce ingredients, are those amounts for each pan or in all?
Hi Michelle, not a silly question at all! It’s for the whole thing, not per pan! 🙂
Super easy for my granddaughters to make! Not as spicy as I wanted for my heat loving husband! Might increase Tobasco and chili powder the next time I make it!
I made this for my daughter when she went away to college and her roommate had celiac. now I make it every time finals are coming up for a good study snack. I have to make multiple batches because she shares and they all love it and beg for more. thank you so much
Hi Tina! Oh my gosh this made my day… MY mom makes it for me every year and mails it to me at Christmas!! It’s my FAVORITE, and tastes even better coming from mom. I know your daughter feels the same way! Thank you for the comment! ❤️ Your daughters friends are lucky that she shares, lol.
Thanks for the recipe! I had a craving for Chex Mix and had to find a way to make it GF, since I hadn’t eaten some in years. I did find myself needing more sauce than the recipe called for, though, as I like it very flavorful. I found that you really can’t add too much Worcestershire sauce in this one 😉
Hi Melanie! I have to agree with you, I love extra Worcestershire sauce in this recipe… the more the better for me too! I’m so glad that you enjoyed this, is’a a family tradition to have this every holiday in my family 🙂 And perfect for my gluten-free mom and sister! Have a great week.
Be careful some Worcestershire sauce contains gluten. I believe Frenches has a gluten free one.
Ahhh- thank you Dani!! I’ll notate this in the recipe instructions, I appreciate it!
I LOVE Chex Mix! Love that it’s gluten free too! Yum Yum Yum 🙂
Thank you so much Sarah!!!! I eat wayyyyy (wayyyy…) too much of this Chex Mix, hahaha! I hope you get to try it sometime!
Ohhhh I think between you and I, we could put away the whole batch of this chex mix! I LOVE to snack… way too much, and homemade chex mix is just incredible. Can’t wait to try this one out, it has everything I love! Great photos girl!!!