Snacking is an American pastime. And one I fully embrace! So when I went gluten-free, I resigned myself to a life of salty nuts, crunchy potato chips and buttery popcorn.
Wait, that actually sounds good!
But still, this girl had a hard time going without pretzels, Wheat Thins and one of my all-time faves – Chex Mix. Oh Chex Mix, you vixen, with your salty spice blend, and oh, those rye crackers that added their own special crunch! The little individually sized bags that were the perfect snack on a long drive. Yes, I missed Chex Mix.
Eventually it dawned on me that I could make my own, albeit expensive, gluten-free Chex Mix. I tinkered with the original party recipe a bit, swapping out an even mix of Corn Chex Mix and Rice Chex Mix, but ultimately decided on an all Corn Chex Mix recipe. Sourcing out the pretzels and bagel chips (a decent sub for the rye crackers, but not perfect) was a bit more challenging, until the day my local Albertson’s started carrying the simply divine Snyder’s Gluten Free Pretzel Minis and crunchy, crispy Glutino Parmesan and Garlic Bagel Chips
Let me warn you – this snack is ADDICTIVE! Once I finally got the recipe right, I felt I could give up all other foods and live on my gluten-free Chex Mix alone. But being a sensible adult, not to mention one who lives in Southern California, where it’s practically a mandate that we spend 50% of our time in bathing suits, I portioned out a bit and savored every last bite.
My recipe for gluten-free Chex Mix is adapted from the Original Chex Party Mix recipe, halved because I’m not sharing! I also prefer the oven method; check out the original recipe for the microwave method.
- 4 ½ cups Corn Chex cereal
- ½ cup mixed nuts
- ½ cup Snyder’s gluten-free mini pretzels
- ½ cup Glutino’s gluten-free parmesan and garlic bagel chips
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¾ teaspoon gluten-free seasoned salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- Preheat the oven to 250° F.
- Melt the butter in a microwave or on the stove.
- In a large bowl, combine the Worcestershire sauce, seasoned salt, garlic powder and onion powder; stir in the butter.
- Add the Corn Chex cereal, mixed nuts, pretzels and bagel chips to the bowl and combine with the spice mix until coated.
- Spread cereal mix onto a large baking sheet.
- Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15-20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, allow to cool, and serve.
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Yum! Our neighbor makes a spicy chex mix every Christmas. She’s from Texas and calls it “Texas trash.”