Zesty Party Snack Mix Recipes

SMOKY AND SPICY PARTY MIX

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
• Gently mix corn, rice, and wheat squares, oat rings, mixed nuts, mini pretzels, goldfish crackers, and sesame snacks in two 13x24-inch aluminum roasting pans, taking care not to break cereal.
• Stir bacon drippings, unsalted butter, Worcestershire sauce, MSG, liquid smoke, cayenne pepper, seasoned salt, chili powder, garlic powder, and hot pepper sauce together in a microwave-safe bowl. Cook on high in microwave for 3 or 4 30-second intervals, stirring each time, until mixture is warm, liquid, and fully combined.
• Stir seasoning sauce continuously as you pour half over the cereal mixture in each pan. Gently stir the snack mix and seasonings with a slotted spoon until thoroughly coated; do not crush cereal.
• Bake in the preheated oven until sauce is completely absorbed and the snack mix is crisp, about 2 hours; stir gently every 15 minutes. Cool completely and store in airtight containers. The snack mix stores well in freezer in airtight freezer bags, if it makes it that long.

HOMEMADE CHEX® PARTY MIX

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
• Melt butter, Worcestershire, garlic salt, and celery salt over low heat in a medium saucepan until butter has dissolved, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Combine rice cereal, wheat cereal, corn cereal, oat cereal, mixed nuts, and pretzel sticks in a large mixing bowl. Pour butter mixture over and gently stir to coat all of the pieces. Transfer mixture to a large roasting pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden, about 2 hours, stirring gently every 15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let cool completely, about 1 hour. Store in airtight containers.

SPICY-SWEET MAPLE SNACK MIX

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Combine maple syrup, butter, vinegar, thyme, cayenne, and 1 teaspoon salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring, until butter has melted and mixture is combined. Remove from heat. Stir together remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle maple mixture over cereal mixture, stirring to evenly coat. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Bake, stirring a few times, until crisp and golden, about 1 hour. Let cool completely before serving. Mix can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

HEALTHY PARTY SNACK MIX

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the cereals, peanuts and pretzels. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; pour over cereal mixture and toss to coat., Transfer to two 15x10x1-in. baking pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 250° for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool completely in pans on wire racks. Store in an airtight container.

CAJUN PARTY MIX SNACK

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250°. Place first five ingredients in a large bowl. Mix remaining ingredients; toss with cereal mixture. Spread into an ungreased 15x10x1-in. pan., Bake 40-60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Store in airtight containers.

SPICY PARTY MIX

Steps:

• Arrange racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and heat to 250 degrees. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
• Combine cereal, nuts, pretzels and add-ins in a very large bowl. In a medium, microwave-safe bowl, melt butter in the microwave in 20-second increments, about 1 minute. (You can also do this in a small saucepan over low heat on the stovetop.) Add Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Stir until well mixed.
• Add half of the melted butter mixture to the cereal mixture. Gently and thoroughly fold to combine. Add the rest of the melted butter mixture and stir until evenly coated. Taste and adjust seasonings.
• Divide the mixture evenly across the prepared pans. Bake, stirring and switching racks every 15 minutes, until crisp and slightly darkened in color, about 1 hour. Cool completely on the pans on wire racks before serving (if you can wait that long). Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.