Homemade Chex Mix Recipe
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Take it old-school with homemade Chex mix! This irresistibly savory, buttery, and crunchy snack, also known as nuts n’ bolts, is the perfect nibble to have on hand when you’ve got a full house.
Chex mix, also known as nuts n’ bolts, is a classic American snack that’s a staple during football games and holiday gatherings. It’s a savory mix of Chex cereal, nuts, and other bite-sized treats, all seasoned and baked to crispy perfection. My go-to Chex mix recipe comes from Barb Gyles, a longtime family friend who was like a second mom to me growing up. Barb was famous in the neighborhood for her Chex mix—she always kept a huge bin of it in her kitchen, ready to feed all the neighborhood kids (and parents!), no matter the occasion.
Curious about her recipe, I once asked if it was the same as the one on the cereal box. Barb’s candid response was, “No way. That stuff’s for amateurs.” Her recipe calls for extra butter, more spices, and, in her words, “more salt, if your heart works.” It’s easy to make and totally customizable—swap out the nuts or other ingredients to fit your taste—making it perfect for feeding a crowd.
Table of Contents
“Every year I’ve been making the recipe on the Chex box and it was always so disappointing. I knew it wasn’t the same as the recipe I grew up on (in the 50s and 60s) but I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. The answer? Lots more butter! And lots more spices! Last Christmas I was making this two times a week…it’s sooo good!”
What You’ll Need To Make Homemade Chex Mix
- Corn Chex, Wheat Chex, Rice Chex: The crunchy backbone of the mix. You can use all three for variety or stick with just one or two, depending on what you have on hand.
- Cheerios: Adds a toasty, familiar crunch. If you want something heartier, swap them out for bagel chips—or even use a combo of both.
- Skinny bite-sized pretzels: For that salty, crispy contrast. Mini twists or sticks work just as well.
- Salted nuts: Adds richness and crunch. Feel free to mix things up—peanuts, almonds, cashews, or even pecans all work nicely. Or, skip them entirely if nuts aren’t your thing.
- Unsalted butter: Helps the seasoning stick and gives that irresistible buttery flavor.
- Worcestershire sauce: For a savory, umami boost that ties everything together.
- Seasoned salt: Gives the mix that classic flavor kick.
- Garlic powder and onion powder: These pantry staples are key to building that bold, savory flavor.
- Dried thyme: Adds a subtle herbal note that rounds out the seasoning.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Ingredients
Combine all of the snack mix ingredients in a large disposable aluminum pan or roasting pan.
Next, make the butter seasoning: in a medium bowl, combine the melted butter with the Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, seasoned salt, and thyme.
Whisk to combine.
Slowly pour the butter mixture over the cereal mixture, being careful to spread it evenly around.
Stir until all of the ingredients are evenly coated.
Bake in a 250°F oven, stirring occasionally, for about 1½ hours. Let cool, then store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. If you’d like to extend its shelf life, you can also freeze it for up to 3 months.
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Homemade Chex Mix
Take it old-school with homemade Chex mix! This irresistibly savory, buttery, and crunchy snack, also known as nuts n’ bolts, is the perfect nibble to have on hand when you’ve got a full house.
Ingredients
For the Snack Mix
- 4 cups Corn Chex
- 4 cups Wheat Chex
- 3 cups Rice Chex
- 2 cups Cheerios
- 3 cups skinny bite-sized pretzels
- 1½ cups salted nuts
For the Butter Seasoning
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (or vegetable oil)
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 heaping teaspoons seasoned salt
- 1¼ teaspoons garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon onion powder
- ¾ teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250°F and set an oven rack in the middle position.
- Combine the Corn Chex, Wheat Chex, Rice Chex, Cheerios, pretzels, and nuts in a large disposable aluminum pan or roasting pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter, Worcestershire sauce, seasoned salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and thyme. Pour slowly over the snack mix, stirring as you go, to coat evenly. Continue stirring until snack mix is well coated with the seasoning. Bake for 1½ hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Let cool, then serve or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
- Note: You can omit any of the snack mix ingredients as long as you substitute something else. The idea is to keep the ratio of snack mix to butter seasoning the same.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The snack mix can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Cool completely before freezing.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (18 servings)
- Serving size: 1 cup
- Calories: 395
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 60 g
- Sugar: 4 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 9 g
- Sodium: 721 mg
- Cholesterol: 18 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Can this recipe be halved? I read through the comments and didn’t see this question.
Thanks
Sure!
This is a delicious recipe. I followed the recipe but added 2 more Tbsp of melted butter and 1/2 tsp Sriracha to kick up the spice. Used 2 cups of Ritz Cheese Bits in my mix and decreased the cereal accordingly. The thyme is a nice savoury addition to the seasoning as others have remarked.
Donna
Thanks for this. This is very close to my moms recipe! I’ve been looking for it.
The only difference is my moms uses onion salt, garlic salt and omits the thyme and seasoned salt.
I’m going to make yours and then adjust to try and recreate that flavour.
Excellent! The addition of Thyme is wonderful!
My family devoured this!
My mom and I made this all my growing-up time using the recipe on the Chex cereal boxes.
Your recipe is much more flavorful! Thanks for improving a family favorite.
I’m now making another batch for my Mah Jongg group who will be here playing on Monday.
This recipe brought back Christmas memories for me as well, and is a popular snack in my house full of boys. In my area of Canada, we call them bits and bites. Same recipe although we usually substitute Shreddies for Chex.
The pictures were adorable. I love the one of you roller skating in a maxi dress, so cute and so much of its time.
🙂
Glad you like it!
My mom always made this for Christmas, but after she passed away my sister took over the role. Being from Louisiana, we always add in some Tabasco sauce to taste, and probably more Worcestershire. Wouldn’t be the holidays without this! Y.U.M.!!!
In Canada we add some Sriracha or Shumka Dust. Shumka dust is from Thunder Bay and can be mail ordered.
Thanks for sharing. This is our families original Nuts and Bolts recipe, as I remember. The Chex mix recipe is similar, but they keep adding different ingredients each year. They call it the original Chex Party mix recipe, but they have stuff in the recipe that wasn’t even on grocers shelves back in the fifties, to no way should the call theirs the “original Chex Mix” recipe.
Also for the original Nuts and Bolts, the pretzels (bolts) did always fit into the cherrios. Those pretzels were Nabisco Veri Thin pretzel sticks. Has anyone seen those Veri Thin pretzels anywhere these days. I also add whole cashews and no other nuts. Always drives me crazy when people sit and pick out the cashews and the pretzels and never touch the cereal.
For quite a while we could also buy Chex Bran cereal. Probably for five or six years I have not seen Chex Bran cereal. Anyone seen it anywhere. Newer flavors now available just aren’t the same ad the original stuff. I made 44 cups of Nuts and Bolts last week. My granddaughter called last week and asked grandma if grandpa had made the nuts and bolts yet. Inquiries like that make me glad that I have kept the family tradition 46 years since I left my parents home.
Thank you for sharing this — this is exactly as it was when I was a kid, too, and I’d lost my aunt’s recipe.