Gluten-Free Chex Mix

My husband and I are both from the Midwest, and have fond memories of our respective mothers baking Chex Mix nonstop during the holidays growing up.

My husband’s Mom trades Chex for Crispix, and adds Cheerios, while my Mom uses traditional ingredients but her personal twist is adding extra dashes of Worcestershire sauce each time she stirs the mixture in the oven.

The mere thought of a butter and worcestershire sauce-soaked square of corn chex is enough to send me running into the kitchen right now, ha!

All that said, Chex mix is a deeply personal concoction, which became even more personal after being diagnosed with Celiac Disease. The holidays, especially, became a time of worry and sadness about having to say goodbye to cherished dishes and traditions – including having the scent of baking Chex Mix embed itself into the walls during the months of November and December.

Or so I thought. My crispy, crunchy, super-savory Gluten Free Chex Mix recipe is just as easy as the original, but made gluten free!

Ingredients Needed

Truthfully, homemade Chex Mix is already 75% gluten free – there’s just a few easy tweaks that need to be made to get it fully there. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Rice Chex: already gluten free.
• Corn Chex: already gluten free.
• Gluten Free O’s Cereal: I like O’s cereal in my Chex Mix because they get super crunchy in the butter and worcestershire sauce. Be sure the brand you buy is both gluten free AND unsweetened (or naturally/lightly sweetened, in a pinch).
• Peanuts: I like Planter’s Lightly Salted Roasted Peanuts which only contain “peanuts” and “sea salt”. Other varieties, including their regular salted flavor, contain extras.
• Butter: for that signature, golden-brown crunch.
• Worcestershire sauce: adds lots of savory, umami flavor. In the United States, at the time of this writing, 11/25, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce IS gluten free.
• Mini Pretzel Twists: I’ve tried countless GF pretzel brands, and Snyder’s Gluten Free products taste identical to regular hard pretzels.
• Homemade Seasoned Salt: salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and a wee pinch of sugar add salty, savory flavor to the Gluten Free Chex Mix.

Make It Your Own

Like I said, Chex Mix is highly personal – it seems no two families make it the exact same way. That said, here are ways to customize your Chex Mix:

• Go cheesy: add Cheetos (which ARE gluten free!) or gluten free cheese squares. I love Simple Mills Cheese Pop Mmms.
• Bagel chips: to my knowledge, GF bagel chips don’t exist, though reader Brooke commented she makes her own from GF Bagels to stir in at the end. Brilliant!
• Add crunch: corn nut-style snacks make a great, mega-crunchy addition.
• Go nuts: swap or cut the peanuts with cashews, pistachios, almonds, etc.
• Add flavor: since the pretzels aren’t coated in the butter mixture, they’re unflavored. That said, feel free to swap for flavored gluten free pretzels, like honey-mustard, or spicy buffalo.

Sure, sugar and spice scream “holidays” – but so does the combination of seasoned-salt, butter, and worcestershire sauce. Let’s get you some Gluten Free Chex Mix to start snacking on!

Try Christmas Crunch

How to Make Gluten Free Chex Mix

Step 1: Combine the dry ingredients, EXCEPT…

Start with your cereal. Wheat Chex is NOT gluten-free so we’re ditching it and sticking with gluten free Rice and Corn Chex, plus gluten free O’s cereal. Add the cereals to an extremely large mixing bowl then add gluten free peanuts.

Notice that we are NOT adding gluten free pretzels at this time, as we’d typically do when making traditional chex mix. Gluten free pretzels are almost always made with rice flour, which takes on an almost stale texture when coated in the butter and seasonings, and then baked. That said, we stir them in at the end.

Step 2: Combine the wet ingredients.

To a medium-sized mixing bowl or cup add butter then microwave until melted, 60 seconds. Add gluten free Worcestershire sauce and homemade seasoned salt then stir to combine.

Drizzle the butter mixture over the cereal mixture then stir with a large spatula until everything is evenly coated.

Step 3: Bake the Chex Mix.

Pour the mixture into a large baking dish, like an 11×17″, then bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes, or until the cereals are light golden brown.

Step 4: Add the pretzels.

While the Chex Mix is still warm, stir in the gluten free pretzels. Again, these don’t hold up well to being baked which is why we add them now.

Cool then scoop the Chex Mix into an airtight container and keep within arm’s reach on the kitchen counter for 3-4 days, or pour into a bowl and dig in.

Whether you serve this irresistible snack mix for the holidays, or any occasion in between, I hope you love every crunchy, savory bite – enjoy!

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