My Grandma’s Snack Mix Is a Retro Classic You Need To Make

A few years ago, I was lucky enough to receive two huge boxes stuffed to the brim with my Grandma Jean’s handwritten recipe cards. There are recipes for everything from grasshopper pie to crab puffs to chili sauce and everything in between. Long before the days of online recipe rating, she’d label the ones she loved as ‘goo—ood” and the ones that were just so-so as “fine.” Whenever I want to feel connected to her, I rifle through those recipes for inspiration. 

Recently, I’ve been dreaming of her version of the classic holiday snack mix filled with Chex cereal, nuts, and pretzels, so I decided to see if I could pull up the original recipe card. No luck! I called my mom and asked her to do a search, but she came up empty-handed as well. Luckily, I have three sisters; surely one of them would have the secret to the family’s favorite snack mix.

Wrong, I struck out again. But once we all had the snack mix on the brain, a semblance of a recipe started to take shape. As the youngest member of my immediate family, my strongest memory of the mix was the Cheerios, not something you find in your standard snack mix. My eldest sister Katie was fond of the Brazil nuts. My mom remembered the pretzels needed to be a specific shape. 

After some trial and error and experimentation, I reverse-engineered the snack mix we collectively loved. Funny enough, about two weeks after completing this recipe, I found a recipe card in my grandmother’s handwriting for snack mix tucked into her copy of Toll House Tried and True Recipes, but it didn’t have any of the flair we all came to love. Turns out, she must have riffed a little each time she assembled it, making it even more special! 

How To Make My Grandma Jean’s Snack Mix

For a hefty 20 cups, or about 20 servings, you’ll need:

• 8 cups (12 to 13 ounces) Rice Chex Cereal
• 4 cups (8 ounces) Wheat Chex Cereal
• 3 cups (3 ounces) Cheerios
• 2 cups (4 ounces) thin pretzel sticks, broken in half if needed
• 2 (10.3-ounce) cans lightly salted mixed nuts (about 4 cups)
• 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons Lawry’s Seasoning Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 3 to 4 dashes hot sauce (I use Frank’s Red Hot)

Preheat the oven to 200°F. Line 2 large-rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a very large bowl, combine the Chex cereals, Cheerios, pretzels, and mixed nuts. Gently toss the mixture to evenly distribute the ingredients, taking care not to crush the cereal. If you have gloves, wear them.

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Remove from the heat and add Worcestershire, seasoning salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and hot sauce. Whisk to combine, then let cool slightly. Pour the butter mixture all over the snack mix and use your hands to gently mix until all of the cereal is evenly coated. 

Evenly distribute the snack mix between the prepared baking sheets and smooth it into an even layer. Bake the snack mix for 2 hours, rotating the pans between the two racks and stirring halfway through. It will be toasty and fragrant. Let cool completely on the sheet pans.

Once cool and crisp, the snack mix can be stored in an airtight container for 1 week at room temperature. For longer storage, transfer to an airtight freezer-safe bag and store for up to 1 month. 

Tweak This Recipe

Use this recipe as a guide. It makes a lot of snack mix, but it’ll get gobbled up in no time. If you’d like to make a smaller batch, just halve the recipe and use one sheet pan.

Feel free to stick to all Rice Chex or mix it up with the addition of Cheerios and Wheat Chex. For the mix-ins, I prefer pretzel sticks since that’s what my grandmother always used, but any shape will do. Got kiddos? Throw in some of their favorite snack crackers. Whatever you do, don’t skimp on the butter or seasoning salt!