Spicy Chex Mix

by Beth - Budget Bytes
5 from 3 votes
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Most of us will be sitting at home next weekend passing out candy to little goblins and ghouls, so I thought you might need a little spicy-salty-crunchy snack to keep you company as you wait for that doorbell to ring. This Spicy Chex Mix is the classic snack mix but with a spicy kick! It’s super easy to make and the cost is just so much less to make at home compared to buying it pre-packaged. You might find yourself making a batch every week or so instead of buying your regular chips and pretzels!

Spicy chex mix on a baking sheet with fall ornaments on the sides

Smaller Batch Size

I made a slightly smaller batch size compared to most chex mix recipes you’ll see on the internet because we have a smaller household and I didn’t want to be drowning in the stuff. It’s so easy to make that I’d rather make smaller batches more often and have fresh chex mix, rather than making a ton and trying to eat it before it goes stale. If you’re making this for a party, I would double the recipe.

How to Store Chex Mix

If you don’t end up eating the entire batch in one night (I won’t judge), make sure to store your leftover chex mix in an air-tight container like a ziptop bag or a resealable food container. As long as it stays sealed, it should stay fresh for a few weeks. You can also freeze the chex mix for about 3 months (again, make sure it’s sealed air-tight).

What Kind of Hot Sauce to Use

This recipe is really flexible and you can use just about any vinegar based hot sauce. I’ve used a cayenne flavored hot sauce, like Tabasco, and even a thicker hot sauce like sriracha. The flavors are slightly different, but great none the less!

Other Add-Ins and Substitutions

Chex mix and snack mixes like this are fun because you can get creative with the ingredients. You can choose any pretzel shape you like, you can substitute in a different nut or even a flavored nut. Bagel chips are a pretty common add-in (I couldn’t find any at the store) or you could do little breadsticks or rice crackers. Just make sure that whatever you’re adding is fairly neutral in flavor so it can soak up all of that spicy, buttery goodness!

Three bowls of chex mix next to bowls of candy and pumpkins
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Spicy Chex Mix

5 from 3 votes
Spicy Chex Mix is an easy homemade snack mix with just the right combination of salty, crunchy, and spicy flavors.
spicy chex mix on a baking sheet
Servings 8 1 cup each
Prep 15 minutes
Cook 1 hour
Total 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1.5 cups rice chex ($0.23)
  • 1.5 cups corn chex ($0.23)
  • 1.5 cups wheat chex ($1.05)
  • 1 cup cheese crackers ($0.39)
  • 1 cup pretzels ($0.24)
  • 1/2 cup unsalted peanuts ($0.24)
  • 6 Tbsp butter ($0.66)
  • 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce ($0.04)
  • 1.5 Tbsp hot sauce ($0.14)
  • 3/4 tsp seasoning salt* ($0.08)
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 250ºF. Combine the rice chex, corn chex, wheat chex, cheese crackers, pretzels, and peanuts. Stir the dry ingredients together.
  • Melt the butter in a separate bowl, then stir in the Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, seasoning salt, garlic powder, and smoked paprika.
  • Pour about a third of the seasoned butter over the dry ingredients, then stir well. Repeat two more times until all of the butter has been added. Continue to stir the chex mix until everything is very well coated.
  • Spread the seasoned mix over a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
  • After baking for one hour, the snack mix will be dry, toasty, and delicious. Serve warm or let cool before serving.

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Notes

*Seasoning salt like Lawry’s or a similar generic brand. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupCalories: 388kcalCarbohydrates: 49gProtein: 8gFat: 19gSodium: 908mgFiber: 4g
Read our full nutrition disclaimer here.
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Close up of spicy chex mix on the baking sheet

How to Make Spicy Chex Mix – Step by Step Photos

seasoned butter in a bowl with a spoon

Preheat the oven to 250ºF. Melt 6 Tbsp butter in a bowl, then stir in 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1.5 Tbsp hot sauce, ¾ tsp seasoning salt (like Lawry’s), ½ tsp garlic powder, and ½ tsp smoked paprika.

chex mix dry ingredients in a bowl

In a large bowl, combine 1.5 cups corn chex, 1.5 cups rice chex, 1.5 cups wheat chex, 1 cup cheese crackers, 1 cup pretzels, and ½ cup unsalted peanuts. Stir the ingredients together.

seasoned butter being poured over the snack mix

Pour about ⅓ of the seasoned butter over the snack mix, then give it a good stir. Repeat two more times until all of the butter has been added.

Seasoned snack mix in the bowl, unbaked

Continue stirring the snack mix until it is very evenly covered in seasoned butter.

snack mix on baking sheet not baked

Spread the snack mix out onto a large baking sheet. I covered my baking sheet with parchment for easy cleanup.

Baked snack mix on the baking sheet

Bake the chex mix for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes, or until it is very dry and slightly toasty. Let the mix cool completely, then serve.

Three bowls of spicy chex mix with pumpkins on the sides

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  1. Y’all, this Chex mix is SO GOOD. My husband is a bit of a hot sauce aficionado, and we have multiple different bottles of sauces in the house. I’ve probably made this recipe 8 times now, using a different sauce each time, and it’s been so fun to see how the flavor of the mix changes when we use different sauces. We have this smoked onion hot sauce that is my personal favorite so far. Also, I have Celiac, so I make this gluten free by using just rice and corn chex, and using GF pretzels and cheese crackers. I have no need to look for another Chex mix recipe – this will be my go-to from now on!

    1. OMG, a smoked onion hot sauce sounds absolutely to die for! Now I need to go find that.

  2. Hi Beth, I made this recipe with my grandson Henry in mind who is gluten sensitive. I was able to substantial all ingredients except the cheese crackers but he picked them out. Henry gives your recipe a 5 Star!!! 

  3. Chex mix signals the beginning of the holiday season for us. Parties, unexpected guests, holiday movies, drinks. With Chex mix we’re ready. 

  4. I LOVE this!! Made two spicy batches with sriracha and two regular batches without hot sauce for a long road trip. I’ve never found a seasoned salt I could stand the taste of so used regular instead, this stuff is addictively delicious!!

  5. I’ve been spicing up my Chex mix for years. I don’t use seasoning salt, just a dash of low sodium soy sauce. Also, if I’m just making it “for us” I only just the three types of Chex. No nuts, crackers, etc 3 cups each Rice and Corn Chex + 2 cups Wheat Chex.

  6. Making Chex Mix is a tradition in our family when we are taking a road trip…it’s our favorite snack when driving. I like the idea of a small spicy batch. I usually make Ranch or cheese flavored.

    1. Oooh, Ranch sounds good! How would you modify this recipe to make it Ranch flavored? Use Ranch Seasoning Mix instead of seasoning salt??