12 Easy Snack Mix Recipes
These snack mix recipes are the ones I keep stocked in my pantry, from a buttery oven baked Chex mix to a buckeye mix loaded with peanut butter cups. You’ll find savory mixes that bake low and slow plus sweet ones packed with chocolate and candy. Many keep for a week or more, so make a batch ahead for a tailgate or a long road trip.
Snack mixes are always in my pantry, because my family is constantly grazing throughout the day. We all like something different, so having a few kinds to choose from is key.
Plus, with tennis, I need something portable. Sweet, salty and easy to eat in between matches.
The savory ones are up first, then the sweet ones, then a few for the holidays. If you want more crunchy stuff to keep in the pantry, a few of my favorite crackers and pecans are right below.
More Crunchy Snacks for the Pantry
- Firecracker Crackers – saltines tossed in steak seasoning, red pepper flakes and garlic
- Ranch Oyster Crackers – buttery oyster crackers in ranch seasoning, and easier than Chex mix
- Toasted Pecans – low and slow in the oven with just butter and salt
- Gingersnap Pecans – candied pecans with cinnamon, cloves, ginger and a little molasses
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. Read my disclosure policy.
How To Make Snack Mix
Bake it low and stir it often. Oven Baked Chex Mix bakes at 300°F for 45 minutes, and Bar Snack Mix and Crack Chex Party Mix bake at 250°F for an hour. All three get stirred every 15 minutes. Watch the pretzels, because they burn first.
One layer only. If it won’t fit on one pan, use two and rotate them while it bakes.
Cool it all the way down. Warm snack mix goes soggy in the container. Anything that doesn’t need baking, like the peanuts and beef sticks in Bar Snack Mix, goes in after it cools.
Use what you have. Bar Snack Mix needs about 14 cups of dry snacks total, so swap in whatever’s open in the pantry. It’s a great way to use up the last of a few bags.
Crock pot tip. Steam collects under the lid and makes the mix soggy. Prop the lid open a crack, or lay a clean towel over the crock under the lid.
Savory Snack Mix Recipes
The buttery, salty ones. They bake low and slow (or in the crock pot) and keep the longest.
Oven Baked Chex Mix
My go to Chex mix, with no weird ingredients. All three kinds of Chex, pretzels, mixed nuts and cashews go in a Worcestershire and seasoned salt butter, then bake at 300°F until the coating is dry.
50 min · Serves 10 · Keeps 4 weeks, freezes 6 months
Bar Snack Mix
Every bar snack in one bowl. Bugles, Funyuns, pork rinds, cheese balls and pretzels bake in a BBQ seasoning butter. The honey roasted peanuts and beef sticks get stirred in after it cools.
1 hr 5 min · Serves 16 · Keeps 1 week (leave the beef sticks out if you’re storing it longer than 3 days)
Spicy Chex Mix
Sriracha and red pepper flakes go right in the butter sauce, with Rice Chex, cheddar crackers, oyster crackers and almonds. My mother in law calls it Texas Trash.
50 min · Serves 12 · Keeps 2 weeks, freezes 3 months
Crock Pot Chex Mix
The classic, with all three Chex, pretzels, Cheez-Its and peanuts, except the crock pot does all the work. Handy during the busy holidays.
3 hrs 5 min · Serves 12 · Keeps 3 weeks
Sweet Snack Mix Recipes
Heavy on the chocolate and peanut butter.
Kids Party Snack Mix
No cooking at all. Popcorn, wheel pretzels, Goldfish, Fruit Loops, M&Ms and frosted animal crackers go in one big bowl. Swap in whatever your kids like.
5 min · Serves 12 · Keeps 3 days
Buckeye Snack Mix
The chocolate and peanut butter of buckeye candy with way less work. Chocolate Chex, mini peanut butter cups and peanuts under a dark chocolate drizzle, broken into clusters.
25 min · Serves 16 · Keeps 2 weeks (don’t freeze it)
Peanut Butter Pretzel Puppy Chow
The secret ingredient is peanut butter stuffed pretzel nuggets instead of the usual Chex. They get coated in chocolate and butterscotch, then shaken in powdered sugar. I like the other name, Muddy Buddies, better.
20 min · Serves 20
Crack Chex Party Mix
Rice and Corn Chex with toasted pecans and cinnamon, baked in a brown sugar caramel at 250°F for an hour. The dark chocolate drizzle is optional.
1 hr 15 min · Serves 12
Christmas and Holiday Snack Mix
One for Christmas, two for Halloween and one for the 4th of July.
Christmas Chex Mix
No bake and done in under 30 minutes. Chex, Honey Nut Cheerios, pretzels, peanuts and holiday M&Ms get coated in white chocolate and sprinkles. It’s an easy edible gift, too.
26 min · Serves 12 · Keeps a few days, or freeze it
Graveyard Grub
Mini pretzels, yogurt covered pretzels, mini Golden Oreos and brownie Goldfish Grahams, plus tombstone, skull and eyeball sprinkles. Five minutes and no cooking.
5 min · Serves 20 · Keeps 1 week
Mummy Munch
My scary movie snack. Pretzel nugget “mummies” with a white chocolate drizzle and candy eyes, tossed with popcorn, marshmallows and toasted coconut.
20 min · Serves 10 · Keeps 3 days
Patriotic Snack Mix
Pretzels, Corn Chex, M&Ms, marshmallows and Twizzlers get drizzled in red, white and blue candy melts for the 4th of July or Memorial Day.
30 min · Serves 20 · Keeps 1 week (don’t refrigerate it)
Snack Mix for Every Occasion
Game Day: Bar Snack Mix, Spicy Chex Mix and Oven Baked Chex Mix.
Kids Party: Kids Party Snack Mix and Buckeye Snack Mix. Add Graveyard Grub if it’s a Halloween class party.
Holiday Gift Tins: Oven Baked Chex Mix, Crock Pot Chex Mix, Crack Chex Party Mix and Christmas Chex Mix.
Tennis Bag: Buckeye Snack Mix and Spicy Chex Mix. One sweet, one salty, both portable.
For more insider tips, tricks, and a behind the scenes look, follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, & X.
How Long Does Homemade Snack Mix Last
The baked savory mixes last the longest. Oven Baked Chex Mix keeps 4 weeks, Crock Pot Chex Mix 3 weeks, Spicy Chex Mix 2 weeks and Bar Snack Mix 1 week, all in an airtight container at room temperature.
The chocolate mixes stay out of the fridge. Buckeye Snack Mix keeps 2 weeks and Patriotic Snack Mix 1 week. Don’t refrigerate or freeze either one, because the chocolate can turn ashy and the moisture makes the mix soggy.
Anything with popcorn or marshmallows goes fast. Kids Party Snack Mix and Mummy Munch keep about 3 days. Christmas Chex Mix lasts a few days on the counter, or longer in the freezer.
Add the soft stuff last. Beef sticks, chewy candy and anything else soft goes in right before serving, so the rest stays crunchy.
To gift it, pack it in mason jars or pretty tins with a tag. For a Halloween party, use cupcake liners or a zip top bag with a sticker.
Frequently Asked Questions
My Oven Baked Chex Mix, hands down. It’s the classic with no weird ingredients, and I make a big batch because I can’t stop eating it. It keeps for 4 weeks, which helps.
Most of the snack mixes here are pantry staples tossed in a seasoned butter and baked. Kids Party Snack Mix and Graveyard Grub take 5 minutes with no cooking at all. For homemade crackers, Firecracker Crackers and Ranch Oyster Crackers are in my list near the top.
Snack mix is kind of the opposite of 3 ingredients, so none of these qualify. Toasted pecans come closest. They’re just pecans, butter and salt, toasted low and slow in the oven.
Buckeye Snack Mix uses chocolate Chex with peanut butter cups. Crack Chex Party Mix bakes the cereal in a brown sugar caramel with pecans. Spicy Chex Mix puts Sriracha in the butter sauce, and Christmas Chex Mix gets coated in white chocolate.
Tips & Tricks
- Portion it into zip top bags as soon as it cools. Every time the container gets opened, the mix gets a little less crunchy, and the bags are ready for lunchboxes, the car or a tennis bag.
- Kids Party Snack Mix, Graveyard Grub and Patriotic Snack Mix don’t call for nuts. Most of the others do. Read your labels if you’re feeding someone with an allergy.
- To double a baked mix, use two sheet pans and rotate them halfway through.
More for the Party Table
- Party Dips – 25 hot and cold dips I make for every party
- Charcuterie Board – how I build a cheese board for a holiday party
- Easy Cheese Ball – the classic cream cheese ball for the cracker crowd
- Easiest Crudités Platter – a vegetable platter that doubles as a dipper station
If you love this recipe as much as I do, please leave us a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ five-star review in the comment section below. Thanks!
©TakeTwoTapas.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
