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This updated Chex mix recipe balances sweet maple and savory miso for a unique twist on the irresistibly crunchy party snack.
I love a good vintage recipe. Remnants from a different era, the nostalgic factor gets me!
Take Chex party mix. It’s a staple snack at parties year-round (including holidays), game days or sporting events, board game nights, movie nights, potlucks, etc. for good reason. It’s budget-friendly; a single batch will feed a crowd, likely with some leftover! And it’s easy to make and customize, stays fresh for a couple weeks, and blows the store-bought mix out of the water.
The funny thing is, when I see Chex mix at a party I think oooh, Chex mix! and grab a handful, but it’s not one of those things that immediately comes to mind when I’m planning snacks or finger foods to make for a party. A lot of those fun, old-fashioned recipes should make a comeback!
I wanted to put a unique sweet and savory spin on the classic recipe. My mind went to the maple and miso combination, which I’ve used in salad dressing recipes for roasted green bean salad and cucumber peanut salad. And I ran with it! I picked seasonings and add-ins based on this pairing. The result is a sweet, salty, umami crunchy snack mix that’s a new favorite at my house.
What Makes This Recipe a Winner
- Unique flavor. This sweet and savory Chex mix is packed with even more flavor than the original recipe! The balanced combination of sweet, smoky maple syrup and salty, umami miso is a little unexpected and completely delicious.
- Easy. It’s as easy to make in the oven as original Chex mix.
- It feeds a crowd and lasts a while! If you’re picking out appetizers and snack foods to plan a party menu for the holidays (or any time of year), this recipe is perfect. It makes a lot (about 15 cups) so you won’t run out, and it stays good for a couple weeks so you can make it ahead of time!
Maple Miso Chex Party Mix Ingredients
Breaking It Down
Ingredients Explained
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas where applicable. For the full recipe (including the ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.
Maple Miso Seasoning Sauce Ingredients
- Salted butter – Or use unsalted butter and add 1/4 teaspoon salt. Butter is a key ingredient in original Chex mix. It adds rich flavor, ensures the mix crisps up beautifully in the oven, and acts as a carrier to coat the mix with seasonings.
- Pure maple syrup – Adds a subtly smoky sweetness that lends depth and helps create a balanced flavor profile. You can use honey or agave nectar here, but maple is my preference because it pairs beautifully with white miso.
- White miso – Miso is a type of Japanese fermented paste made mostly from soybeans and koji (a fermentation starter). It has a rich, salty, umami flavor. White miso is fermented with rice for a shorter period of time than other types of miso, and as a result, it has a milder, sweet/savory, slightly nutty, subtly tangy, creamy flavor. (TIP: Note that it’s called white miso, but it’s actually pale yellow in color.)
- Garlic powder – Adds savory depth of flavor.
- Dried ginger – Warm, earthy, and a little spicy and pungent, dried ginger complements the flavors of maple and miso here.
- White pepper – Earthy, musky, and slightly spicy, white pepper is a beautiful accent to dried ginger.
- Salt – There are a few salty components in this seasoning sauce already (including salted butter, miso, and soy sauce), so we only need a little bit of salt for the perfect balance.
- Cayenne pepper – This small amount of cayenne doesn’t make the mix spicy hot; if you want a spicy kick, add up to 3/4 teaspoon.
- Soy sauce – Or tamari sauce.
Other Ingredients
- Corn, Wheat, and Rice Chex cereals – Here we use all three types of cereal for a range of flavor and texture.
- Sesame sticks – This crunchy little snack is satisfying on its own, but it’s even better in party mix! These little sticks pack a ton of nutty, toasted savory flavor as well as crunch.
- Unsalted rice cakes – Break them up into large bite-sized pieces; we use 2 cups of broken pieces, which is about 2 1/2 rice cakes.
- Cashews – I like to leave the nuts whole here. Or you can use pecans, walnuts, or almonds instead of cashews.
Step-by-Step Instructions: How to Make Chex Snack Mix
To prep, preheat the oven to 250F and measure all ingredients.
- Make the seasoning sauce. Add all ingredients for the maple miso seasoning sauce in a large bowl, and whisk to combine.
- Mix. Add all the other ingredients, and gently toss to coat everything in the sauce.
- Spread. Spread the mixture out evenly onto a half-sheet pan (13 by 18-inches), or 2 regular-sized baking trays (also called quarter sheet pans, they measure about 9.5 by 13-inches).
- Bake. If you’re using 2 baking trays, bake for 1 hour. If you’re using 1 half-sheet pan, bake for 1 hour 30 minutes. Toss the mix every 15 to 20 minutes. (TIP: Don’t over-bake; it will be golden when it’s done and that’s when you should pull it out of the oven. The cereal may be a little soft when you pull it out, but it will continue to crisp as it cools.)
Storage Tips
After cooling to room temperature, store homemade Chex mix in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Variations
- Mix-ins – Instead of sesame sticks and broken rice cakes, feel free to use mini pretzels, pretzel sticks, bagel chips, Goldfish crackers, Cheez-It crackers, etc.
- Cashews – The nice thing about nuts in this recipe is that they’re completely optional. You can use any kind you like (or swap out the nuts for seeds like hulled pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds). Or you can omit the nuts and use bite-sized pretzels or crackers for a more budget-friendly party mix, or if you’re cooking for someone with a nut allergy.
My Best Tips For Homemade Chex Party Mix
- Cook your Chex mix low and slow in the oven. Don’t be tempted to increase the temperature to try to cook it faster. It cooks at a low temperature for a while so that the ingredients absorb the seasonings and get crispy and toasted without burning. This ensures that your homemade Chex mix isn’t soggy!
- A gluten-free version of this snack mix is possible. To keep it gluten free, do the following: 1) Omit the Wheat Chex (and use more Rice Chex and/or Corn Chex). 2) Check the ingredients of your white miso paste; most white miso is made with rice koji, but check the label to make sure (or better yet, if in doubt, reach out the manufacturer). 3) Use tamari sauce instead of soy sauce. 4) Omit the sesame sticks and add 2 cups of gluten-free pretzels or pretzel sticks, and 1/4 cup sesame seeds. 5) Just to be on the safe side, check the label on your rice cakes to make sure it’s certified gluten free and wasn’t exposed to cross-contamination.
Frequently Asked Questions
The original recipe uses Rice and Wheat Chex cereals (it was published before Corn Chex was introduced, so that was added later). This combination adds a variety of flavor, color, and texture. In this twist with maple and miso, we also use all three of these for the same reason. However, feel free to use what you like or what you have on hand.
Another cereal that works well here is Crispix, which contains both corn and rice. Crispix also has a grid-like lattice pattern, but it’s in the shape of hexagons instead of squares.
The original Chex party mix recipe first appeared in Life magazine in 1952. It contained the following ingredients: Wheat Chex, Rice Chex, nuts (the type wasn’t specified), butter, Worcestershire sauce, plain salt, and garlic salt. Later versions added things like seasoned salt, onion powder, pretzels, bagel chips, etc.
Worcestershire sauce is a fermented condiment that lends a complex salty, tangy, savory umami flavor. Here we skip the Worcestershire and opt for different fermented sauces (white miso and soy sauce).
Absolutely! If that’s what you have on hand, go for it. Cheerios add great flavor and crunch here.
I typically use raw (unroasted) nuts to make snack mixes like this, mostly because that’s what I keep in my pantry. Roasted nuts also work well; their flavor will be even deeper, and more intensely nutty and toasted. However, whether you use raw or roasted nuts, make sure they’re unsalted so your final mix isn’t overly salty.
More Party Appetizer Recipes to Feed a Crowd
- Crescent Roll Veggie Pizza
- Cheddar Cheese Ball
- Mini Sausage Rolls with Puff Pastry
- Three Cheese Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms
Let’s Connect
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Maple Miso Party Mix Recipe (Snack Mix)
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Ingredients
Maple Miso Seasoning Sauce:
- 12 tablespoons salted butter melted (or use unsalted butter + 1/4 teaspoon salt)
- 2/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/3 cup white miso paste
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or up to 3/4 teaspoon for a spicy kick)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (or tamari sauce)
Other:
- 3 cups Corn Chex
- 3 cups Wheat Chex
- 3 cups Rice Chex
- 2 cups sesame sticks
- 2 cups broken unsalted rice cakes about 2 1/2 rice cakes
- 2 cups unsalted cashews raw or roasted (or pecans, walnuts, or almonds)
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 250F and measure all ingredients.
- Mix. Add all ingredients for the maple miso seasoning sauce in a large bowl, and whisk to combine. Add all the other ingredients, and gently toss to coat everything in the sauce.
- Bake. Spread the mixture out evenly onto a half-sheet pan (13 by 18-inches), or 2 regular-sized baking trays (also called quarter sheet pans, they measure about 9.5 by 13-inches).If you’re using 2 baking trays, bake for 1 hour. If you’re using 1 half-sheet pan, bake for 1 hour 30 minutes. Toss the mix every 15 to 20 minutes. (TIP: Don't over-bake; it will be golden when it’s done and that's when you should pull it out of the oven. The cereal may be a little soft when you pull it out, but it will continue to crisp as it cools.)
Notes
- Storage: After cooling to room temperature, store homemade Chex mix in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
- Recipe Yield and Serving Size: This recipe makes about 15 cups of snack mix, for a total of 30 (1/2-cup) servings.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
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I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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