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A close-up of cheddar Chex mix featuring square crackers, mini round crackers, pretzels, cereal squares, almonds, and peanuts, all coated in a savory orange seasoning.

Cheddar Cheese Chex Mix (BEST Cheesy Chex Mix!)

Lindsey Neumayer
This homemade cheddar cheese chex mix is a bold, ultra cheesy chex mix thats baked low and slow, with cheddar cheese powder blended into a buttery seasoning so every piece gets evenly coated with flavor!
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Cooling Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes
Course Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 24 1/2 cup servings
Calories 298 kcal

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Equipment

  • 1 large mixing bowl 8 quart (32 cup) capacity recommended
  • 2 rimmed sheet pans 1/2 sheet sized
  • parchment paper
  • small mixing bowl for blending marinade
  • whisk or immersion blender
  • kitchen scale

Ingredients
  

  • 100 g rice chex 3 cups
  • 100 g corn chex 3 cups
  • 140 g wheat chex 2 cups
  • 215 g mini cheese sandwich crackers 2 1/2 cups
  • 150 g cheez-Its 2 cups
  • 110 g bagel chips 2 cups, broken up
  • 160 g peanuts 1 cup
  • 165 g almonds 1 cup
  • 170 g melted unsalted butter 3/4 cu or 1-1/2 sticks
  • 45 g worcestershire sauce 3 TBSP
  • 10 g seasoned salt 1 TBSP
  • 4 g mustard powder 2 tsp
  • 6 g garlic powder 1.5 tsp
  • 4 g onion powder 1.5 tsp
  • 90 g cheddar cheese powder 3/4 cup

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven. Preheat the oven to 200ºF.
  • Make the marinade. Combine the melted butter, seasonings, and cheese powder. Blend or whisk until smooth and uniform.
    170 g melted unsalted butter, 45 g worcestershire sauce, 10 g seasoned salt, 4 g mustard powder, 6 g garlic powder, 4 g onion powder, 90 g cheddar cheese powder
  • Mix dry ingredients. Pour all the dry snack mix ingredients into a bowl and toss well to combine.
    100 g rice chex, 100 g corn chex, 140 g wheat chex, 215 g mini cheese sandwich crackers, 150 g cheez-Its, 110 g bagel chips, 160 g peanuts, 165 g almonds
  • Pour marinade in 3 -4 batches. Pour 1/4 - 1/3 of the marinade over the mix and toss very well. Repeat twice more (3-4 total batches) for even coating.
  • Bake + stir. Spread evenly on a sheet pan. Bake 40-45 minutes, stopping every 15–20 minutes to stir and redistribute.
  • Cool. Let cool completely on the sheet pan so it crisps up.
  • Serve + store. Store in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.

Notes

troubleshooting tips

  • uneven flavor - the world might not be fair, but your party mix seasoning distribution should be. 😤 Drizzling the seasoning in batches gives each piece of cereal, each wittle snack cracker, each individual peanut and almond their own personal hug of cheesy seasoning.
  • burned - the orange color of this mix makes it a little tricky to notice when things are toasty vs. torched, and trust me, you do not want to stomach bitter burned chex mix. So do not bake it higher than 200ºF.
  • too salty - if your cheese powder has a lot of salt added, you can skip the seasoning salt. This is why I like to go the extra mile and make my own “seasoning salt” using only spices and skipping the salt!
  • soggy - mushy mix usually happens when you underbake it or go rogue and do something like double the butter.  Also, make sure you stir the batch every 15-20 minutes, so a total of 2 times, at least! This helps with even baking!
  • clumpy - oops, did you skip blending your cheese powder into the butter mix and get clumps? 🫣 The good news is that even if the mix is clumpy, it’ll still taste great. It’s just not the most visually appealing, but passes as #rustic.

⚖️ scaling tips

Fair warning: this recipe makes A LOT of chex mix. Like…25+ cups. I like to cut the recipe in half unless I am expecting guests, because I don’t like who I turn into when I’m surrounded by so much cheesy party mix.

🔆 top tip

Whatever you do, DO NOT DUMP THE SEASONING SAUCE ON IN ONE GO. You MUST slowly disperse it in batches. Three minimum!
Blending the cheese powder into the butter sauce creates a uniform seasoning that evenly coats every piece of this snack mix.

Nutrition

Serving: 60gCalories: 298kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 7gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 19mgSodium: 601mgPotassium: 190mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 452IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 108mgIron: 5mg
Did you make this?! 👀Let everyone know how it was! 💕
Keyword: autumn, cheese, fall, party recipe, spring, summer, The Feels, The Oomph, The Wow, Mom!, winter