Sweet and Salty Chex Mix
Sweet and Salty Chex Mix is an easy snack mix to make at home to bring as a special treat on the go. Crispy sweet cereal is mixed with salty nuts and other tasty tidbits for a treat the whole family will love.
What kind of road trip snacks do you like to bring on the go with your family? For us, it is essential that we have a mix of both salty and sweet munchies for the trip.
When I don't want the kids to overdose on gas station candy, I prep a batch of sweet Chex mix with just the right combo of protein-packed nuts and sweet surprises like peanut M&Ms.
My friend Renee's Grandma has a family-favorite Chex Mix recipe they love to make. She was sweet enough to share it with me right before one of our first big road trips with my tiny girls.
Before then, the only Chex Mix I had ever tried was the classic salty Chex Mix recipe that comes on the box.
Since then, we've experimented with tons of Chex Mix recipes, but this classic remains a top favorite.
Why This is the Best Recipe
There are dozens and dozens of Chex mix recipes available out there but I think this is the very best sweet and salty Chex mix recipe because:
- Unique Mix-Ins: I love the texture the unique mix-ins give this snack mix.
- Sweet AND Salty: The seasoning base is quite sweet but the salty comes in with the salted nuts and pretzels. You can adjust the balance by adding more or less of the mixins as you wish.
- Travel-Friendly: This hearty snack mix is perfect for bringing on the go with your family. We enjoyed it for a week at the cabin during a family reunion.
Ingredients
This unique sweet and salty Chex Mix has an amazing combination of ingredients:
- Honey Nut Chex
- Cinnamon Chex
- Teddy Grahams: We used chocolate chip flavor but any flavor you love will work.
- Cinnamon Pita Chips OR Cinnamon Raisin Bagel Chips: These add a very hearty crunch
- Honey Roasted Nuts: I used cashews but honey roasted almonds or peanuts would both be delicious.
- Salty Pretzels: If you can find the "Itty Bitty Mini" pretzels, they are the perfect size for Chex Mix.
- M&M Candies: You could use plain or peanut M&Ms. Peanut butter M&Ms would add more of the salty flavor.
- Butter
- Honey
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
Want to Save This for Later?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Baking Instructions
Preheat the oven to 250°F.
Melt the butter in the microwave and stir in the honey, cinnamon, and nutmeg until smooth.
Add all the honey nut Chex and the cinnamon Chex, the Teddy Grahams, pita chips, honey roasted nuts, and pretzels together in a very large baking pan or roasting pan.
Pour the melted butter over the cereal mix and stir gently until all the butter is coating the snack mix and very little is pooling on the bottom of the roasting pan.
Bake the cereal mix for 2 hours making sure to stir it every 30 minutes or so.
Assemble the Chex Mix
Cool the Chex mix completely in single layers on cookie sheets so it doesn't steam.
Once the cereal has cooled, stir in the M&M candies and store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Serving Suggestions
Sweet and salty Chex mix makes an excellent after school snack or movie night treat instead of popcorn.
You can pack it in smaller bags for adding to lunches as a special treat but I recommend omitting the nuts and using plain M&Ms if you plan to send this to school.
If you use festive colored M&Ms, this would make an excellent holiday candy dish treat to leave for guests.
More Easy Chex Mix Recipes
Baking with cereal is such an easy and affordable way to make a special treat for your family.
Don't miss these easy sweet AND salty Chex Mix recipes for some baking fun:
📖 Recipe
Sweet and Salty Chex Mix
Ingredients
- 1 (12 oz) box Honey Nut Chex
- 1 (12 oz) box Cinnamon Chex
- 1 (10 oz) box of Teddy Grahams your flavor of choice, I used chocolate chip
- Broken cinnamon sugar pita chips or cinnamon raisin bagel chips optional
- 1 (10 oz) bag of oney roasted nuts mixed nuts or pick your favorite, I used cashews
- 2 cups salted pretzels Itty Bitty Mini's are the perfect size
- 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- Generous sprinkle of nutmeg
- 1 (10 oz) bag of M&M candies plain, peanut, peanut butter, or pretzel flavored
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250º.
- Mix both Chex cereals, the Teddy Grahams, pita chips, honey roasted nuts and salted pretzels in a large roasting pan.
- Melt the butter in the microwave and stir in the honey, cinnamon, sugar and nutmeg. Pour the melted butter mixture over the cereal mix. Stir gently until well combined.
- Bake the Chex mix for 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.
- Cool the cereal completely in single layers on cookie sheets so the cereal doesn't steam.
- Once the mix is completely cooled, stir in the M&M candies. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Save This Recipe to Your Recipe Box
Find this delicious recipe next time you visit by saving it to your very own recipe box on my site. All your favorites stored in one easy place!
Editor's Note: This was one of the very first recipes I ever shared to this site. I've updated it for clarity and added fresh images. I'm keeping this original photo you may have spotted for reference:
This snack sound delicious, a creative way. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I think the snack could not last long with my children 🙂
I'm glad you liked it so much! I definitely prefer the original stuff, but lots of people have raved over this one... I think because it's different and unexpected. Of course, this outpouring of love over it has John believing he's a genius for suggesting I create a sweet version that he would like 🙂