Growing up as a kid my family called Chex Mix “Texas Trash”. With every passing year the ingredients became more and more bizarre as baking it became another opportunity to clean out the pantry. No, Chex Mix does not have Kix cereal in it.
With this recipe I’ve returned to simpler times, when Chex Mix was devoid of croutons and Cheerios. I give you, the ultimate Chex Mix, full of everything I like and nothing I don’t.
I like: corn Chex, rice Chex, wheat Chex, cashews, almonds, pecans, walnuts.
I don’t like: everything else. For the curious this includes pretzels, peanuts, pistachios, Gardetto’s, Cheez-its, Goldfish (neither the cracker nor the fish), oyster crackers, those insipid sesame snack sticks, and so on.
So, let’s get on to the Ultimate Chex Mix recipe.
- 1 stick (4 ounces) butter
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons Lawry’s seasoned salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne powder
- 4 cups corn Chex
- 4 cups rice Chex
- 4 cups wheat Chex
- 2 cups of deluxe mixed nuts
- 1 cup walnuts
For some unholy reason Planter’s decided to adulterate their deluxe mixed nuts with pistachios (wholly endorsed by the Pistachio Growers Association of America I’m sure), so I go with their Select Cashews, Almonds & Pecans. To be fair, hazelnuts, macadamias, and Brazil nuts are fine, just no pistachios.
In a large roasting pan (suitable for roasting an entire turkey) melt the stick of butter in an oven heating to 350 degrees. We’re going to turn that back down, but 350 is a good temperature to melt the butter and brown it a bit while we’re assembling the rest.
In a large bowl combine all of the Chex, nuts, and seasonings except the Worcestershire. Once the butter is melted stir in the Worcestershire, and then dump everything else in and mix until everything is coated well. If you used a roasting pan that’s too small you’re going to pay the price here as you fling Chex mix into the unreachable corners of the kitchen.
Lower the temperature to 250 and bake your Ultimate Chex Mix for an hour.
A lot of recipes will have you stirring this every 15 minutes, but my extensive field testing suggests 20 minutes is okay. That is, every 20 minutes, open the oven, take out mix, stir it thoroughly to ensure everything is baked evenly.
And that’s it! The best Chex Mix that isn’t defiled with nonsense ingredients.
