The recipe has been around for decades, but it’s never gone out of fashion. One handful usually isn’t enough! It’s no wonder the original Chex mix recipe is a tradition for every special event from family movie night to Super Bowl Sunday and holiday parties (it makes a fun homemade treat for a Christmas gift box, too!).
If you’re looking for the recipe, we have a few versions for you below from the 1960s through the 1990s! (And try some other snack mixes here, too.)
Chex party mix — the nutty mix you fix with Chex (1966)
The Checkerboard Squarecrow presents Chex Party Mix
Mix crisp, bite-size Chex cereal with nuts, seasoning, and pop them into your oven. Suddenly, you’ve got Chex Party Mix — the freshest snack in town because you make it yourself.
Pick up the Chex and whip up a batch of Party Mix. Use the easy recipe below.
Recipe 1. The original Chex mix recipe
The original Chex party mix (1966)
Ingredients
- 2 cups Corn Chex cereal
- 2 cups Rice Chex cereal
- 2 cups Wheat Chex cereal
- 6 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt or savor salt
- 3/4 cup salted nuts
Instructions
- Heat oven to very slow (250 degrees F).
- Melt butter in a shallow pan over low heat.
- Stir in Worcestershire sauce and seasoned salt.
- Add Chex and nuts. mix over low heat until all pieces are coated.
- Heat in oven 45 minutes.
- Stir every 15 minutes.
- Spread out on absorbent paper to cool.
Notes
* Instead of seasoned or savory salt, try 3/8 teaspoon onion powder and 3/8 teaspoon salt OR 3/8 teaspoon garlic powder and 3/8 teaspoon salt.
** If unsalted nuts are used, increase the amount of seasoned salt to 2 teaspoons. Or use 3/4 teaspoon onion powder and 3/4 teaspoon salt OR 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder and 3/4 teaspoon salt.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 168Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 18mgSodium: 458mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 3g
Click Americana offers approximate nutrition information as a general reference only, and we make no warranties regarding its accuracy. Please make any necessary calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe, and consult with a qualified healthcare professional if you have dietary concerns.
Classic Chex party mix – Vintage recipe card
Recipe 2. Classic Chex Mix recipe: The Patio version (1974)
Ingredients
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
2-1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
2 cups Corn Chex
2 cups Rice Chex
2 cups Wheat Chex
1 cup broken pretzel sticks or peanuts
Directions
Melt butter in an electric skillet at 200 F. Stir in seasonings. Blend well. Add Chex and pretzels or peanuts. Mix until all pieces are coated. Cover skillet, leaving lid vents open. Heat at 250° for 15 minutes. Stir midway. Cool on absorbent paper.
NOTE: A large skillet on the range top may be used. After pieces are coated with butter and seasoning, heat and stir for 10 minutes over low heat: then cool.
Chex mix recipe variations: 3 classic recipes for savory cereal snack mix (1972)
From The McHenry Plaindealer (McHenry, Illinois) September 1, 1972
Snacking has become part of the American way of life. We are eating more of our day’s food as snacks than we did just a few years ago. For that reason, snacks should be planned so that they contribute to the day’s nutritional needs.
Cereals are an ideal food for snack time as well as for breakfast. They contribute important vitamins and iron and are relatively low in calories. Cereals are also low in fat, an aspect important in many diets today. Nutritional facts about each cereal are given on the packages.
Cereals’ interesting textures and flavors make them pleasing snacks as they come from the packages. Add more variety by combining several cereals or by adding your favorite Spices and seasonings to a basic cereal snack mixture. Spicy Cereal Snacks, Curried Cereal Snacks and the Milano Snack Mix will soon become a between meal favorite.
BASIC CEREAL SNACK MIX (USED IN THE 3 RECIPES BELOW)
2 cups ready-to-eat cereal
2 cups shredded wheat, bite-size biscuits
2 cups shredded rice, bite-size biscuits
1 cup thin pretzel sticks
Recipe 3. Spicy cereal snack mix
Ingredients
Basic cereal snack mix (ingredients above)
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon onion salt
1 teaspoon celery salt
Salt, if desired
Directions
Combine cereals and pretzels in a large shallow pan. Melt butter or margarine in a small skillet, add spices and mix well. Pour seasoned, melted butter or margarine over cereal-pretzel mix. Mix thoroughly.
Heat in slow oven (300 F) for about 30 minutes stirring every 10 minutes. Serve warm, or cool and store in an air-tight container until served. Yield: About 6 cups.
Recipe 4. Curried cereal snack mix
Ingredients
Basic cereal snack mix (ingredients above)
1 teaspoon salt
1 to 2 teaspoon curry powder (as desired)
Directions
Combine cereal and pretzels in a large shallow pan. Melt butter or margarine in a small skillet). Add curry powder and salt. Mix well. Pour seasoned, melted butter or margarine over cereal-pretzel mix. Mix thoroughly.
Heat in slow oven (300 F) for about 30 minutes stirring every 10 minutes. Serve warm, or cool and store in airtight containers until served. Yield: About 6 cups.
Recipe 5. Milano cereal snack mix
Ingredients
Basic cereal snack mix (ingredients above)
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
Combine cereals and pretzels in large shallow pan. Melt butter or margarine in small skillet, add garlic salt, celery salt and oregano. Mix well. Pour seasoned, melted butter or margarine over cereal-pretzel mix. Mix thoroughly. Heat in slow oven (300 F) for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese, mix well. Return to oven for an additional 15 minutes. Serve warm, or cool and store in an airtight container until served. Yield: About 6 cups.
Recipe 6. Zippy peanut snack mix (1977)
From The Times Herald (Port Huron, Michigan) January 19, 1977
Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 cups cereal
2 cups Spanish peanuts
2 cups pretzel sticks
Directions
Melt butter; add seasonings. Combine remaining ingredients in large bowl; pour on seasoned butter. Toss to coat evenly. Spread in shallow baking pan and heat in preheated 300F, oven 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool. Yield: 8 cups.
Recipe 7. Savory onion Chex mix recipe (1970)
Adapted from a recipe in the Daily World (Opelousas, Louisiana) July 19, 1970
Ingredients
6 cups puffed rice
4 cups Chex cereal
One 3-ounce can Chinese noodles
One cup (8-ounce jar) dry roasted peanuts
3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
One 1-3/8 ounce package onion soup mix
Directions
Place puffed rice, Chex cereal, Chinese noodles and peanuts in large shallow baking pan. Combine butter and onion soup mix. Pour over cereal mixture, tossing until all ingredients are coated. Heat in preheated very slow oven (250 degrees F) about 40 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Makes about 12 cups.
Original Chex mix recipe from 1963
Ingredients
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon seasoned salt or 3/8 teaspoon garlic powder and 3/8 teaspoon salt
6 cups Chex (mix wheat, corn and rice cereal equally, or any way you like!)
3/4 cup salted nuts
Directions
1. Heat oven to 250 F. 2. Slowly melt butter in a shallow pan. Stir in Worcestershire sauce and salt. 3. Add Chex and nuts. Mix until all pieces are coated. 4. Heat in oven 45 minutes. Stir every 15 minutes. Spread on absorbent paper to cool. Yield: 6-3/4 cups.
Invite your friends to munch: Chex party mix (1968)
Traditional Chex party mix recipe from 1985
Chex party mix recipe from 1996
90s Chex Party Mix recipe (1991)
Chex Mix recipe from 1977
ALSO SEE: 70 popular vintage 1970s cereals we loved & we miss
5 Responses
The “original” recipe appeared in Life Magazine in June 1952. It did not include Corn Chex or use seasoned salt.
Add 1/2 c. butter in shallow baking pan. Stir in 1 T. Worcestershire sauce. Add 2 c. Wheat Chex, 2 c. Rice Chex, and 1/2 c. nuts. Sprinkle with 1/4 t. salt and 1/8 t. garlic salt; mix well. Heat 30 mins in 300 degree oven, stirring every 10 minutes. Cool.
I use peanut oil instead of butter or margarine, because I make a huge batch. This is for Christmas. I lost the recipe of my Mother’s that she used. If I start with 4 cups of oil, can you help me with what the ratio would be for the other spices? Thank you.
I wonder where my mother’s recipe came from? Rice Chex, Wheat Chex, pretzel sticks and Cheeri-os, margarine, Worcestershire sauce, Lawrey’s seasoned salt, garlic salt and celery salt, mixed nuts.
My mom’s recipe called for Cheerios too! Hers was from the 80’s; could that be the time frame yours was from as well?
There was another 80s variation which called for four types of Chex (rice, corn, wheat and bran). We doubled the ratio of rice/corn to wheat/bran, and added pretzel sticks. Bran Chex was made well into the 90s but is no longer in production.