Today we’re feasting on Gluten-Free Chex Mix – YEEHAW!!! You guys, I’m dying. I don’t break out the caps all that often (HAHAHA YES I DO) but this time it’s for a good reason. The holidays have been saved thanks to Gluten-Free Chex Mix!
Ben and I both have fond memories of non-stop Chex Mix batches baking in our respective Mom’s ovens over the holidays. Is this a Midwest thing? Ben’s Mom has always traded Chex cereal for Crispix and added Cheerios, while my Mom version called for enough Worcestershire sauce to send an elephant into cardiac arrest.
Literally, on the hand written copy of the recipe she’s had in a plastic page protector for 15+ years it says, “shake Worcestershire sauce on every 15 minutes while turning for Krissi.” Busted. What can I say, Chex Mix drenched in flavor completes me, and having to go gluten-free isn’t going to stop me from eating it!
Ok, truthfully this recipe kind of feels like cheating. Homemade Chex Mix is like, 75% gluten-free already and it’s so easy adapt the other 25% that I feel ba- wait no I don’t, you need this recipe in your life – Ben and I can’t get enough of it! And by “it” I mean the three batches I’ve made in the last two weeks. Forget the fragrance of cinnamon and cloves – seasoned salt, butter, and Worcestershire sauce signals holiday time to us.
By the way, in an effort to give gifts that people can use/eat/drink this year, I’m giving away big mason jars of Gluten-Free Chex Mix for Christmas. Because come on – fuzzy socks, or jars of homemade Gluten-Free Chex Mix? No contest!
Star 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. We loved this Nature’s Path brand – it gets way more crunchy in the oven compared to regular O’s!
Add the cereals to the largest bowl you own, along with gluten-free peanuts. Peanuts can be difficult to find gluten-free (all nuts are naturally gluten-free but they can get cross contaminated when processed on lines shared with gluten-containing products.) That said, I like buying from Nuts.com or Planters unsalted roasted peanuts.
Next, in a microwave-safe bowl, combine melted butter or Earth Balance Vegan Butter with gluten free Worcestershire sauce (I like Lea & Perrins,) plus homemade seasoned salt which includes garlic powder, onion powder, salt, paprika, and a pinch of sugar. Drizzle the mixture over the cereals then stir with a spatula until the cereals are evenly coated.
Spread the mixture into a large baking dish like an 11×17, then bake for about an hour at 250 degrees, stirring every 15 minutes, or until the cereals are light golden brown. Last step is to stir in gluten free pretzels.
Normally pretzels are baked right in with the cereal but GF pretzels don’t hold up well in the oven, which is why they’re stirred in at the end.
Scoop the Chex Mix into an airtight container then keep within arm’s reach on the kitchen counter for 3-4 days, or pour into a bowl and let your family go to town!
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Gluten-Free Chex Mix
Description
Gluten-Free Chex Mix is salty, crunchy, and totally addicting. Just like the original, only gluten-free (easily made dairy-free, too!)
Ingredients
- 3 cups Rice Chex
- 3 cups Corn Chex
- 3 cups gluten-free O’s cereal
- 1 cup gluten free peanuts
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter or vegan butter
- 1/4 cup gluten-free Worcestershire sauce (I like Lea & Perrin's)
- 2 teaspoons seasoned salt (recipe below)
- 1 cup bite-sized gluten-free pretzels
- For the Homemade Seasoned Salt (NOTE: You will not use all of this!)
- 1-1/2 Tablespoons salt
- 3/4 teaspoon paprika
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
Directions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Combine ingredients for Homemade Seasoned Salt in small bowl then set aside.
- Add Rice Chex, Corn Chex, O's cereal, and peanuts to a very large mixing bowl then set aside.
- Add butter to a medium sized bowl then microwave until melted, 50-60 seconds. Add worcestershire sauce plus 2 teaspoons Homemade Seasoned Salt then stir to combine. Pour butter mixture over cereal mixture then stir with a spatula to coat. Pour into an 11x17" or larger baking dish then bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes, or until cereal is golden brown. Stir in pretzels then cool and serve.
Notes
- If you are sensitive to salt, cut the seasoned salt amount down to 1-1/2 teaspoons.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
[…] Gluten-Free Chex Mix. Get the recipe here. […]
I made this, baked for one hour and cooled for several hours. It tasted good, but it didn’t totally crisp up, a lot of the Chex pieces are chewy. Any idea what I did wrong? It’s also more tangy tasting than spicy. Thanks!
Hey Tom! I would say you probably just need to bake it longer as oven temperatures can vary. I usually remove a few pieces then let them cool for a couple minutes before eating to gauge the crunchiness before removing the whole batch from the oven.
Love your recipe! I’ve added 1 C Milton GF cheese crackers, broken up, to the dry mix, and 1 tsp of lemon juice to the sauce. Try it… you’ll like the additions! Thanks for a great, zesty recipe!
Ooo, love the idea of lemon juice – we will definitely give that a try!
Whaaaa you don’t have to bake on a cookie sheet? This makes me so happy, no more dreading the burnt fall out pieces in the bottom of the oven. I always just assumed you HAD to make them on a cookie sheet for maximum crispness or some silly chemistry heat ratio surface area thing. Thank you so much.
[…] Gluten-free Chex Mix from iowagirleats.com […]
You don’t indicate if your garlic powder is gluten free.
So im making this as i type this message its in mo oven realized that the seasoned salt that i made i was only suppose to use 2 teaspoons of it yeahhhhhh i accadently read it wrong and poored the whole cup in it so this should be interesting.
I made the GF snack mix twice within the week. It is so delicious. This recipe of yours is a keeper. Thanks so much for sharing it Iowa Girl.
Wohoo! That’s awesome – thanks for the feedback, Gail!
I’m planning on making this mix this weekend to give as gifts (if I don’t eat it all myself!). I’m not doing gluten free so I’m going to use the bagel chips as well. Do you think they go into the oven with everything else (is that what your mom did!?)?
Hi Amanda! Yep, you would add the bagel chips to the bowl with the cereal and coat with the butter mixture!
Is worchestershire sauce gluten free?
You’ll want to double check the bottle of whatever brand you buy, but Lea & Perrins is gluten-free!
GO HUSKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love it. we make a batch every weekend, great for guests.
I would go through bags of Chex Mix a week, then took a closer look at the ingredient list – yikes! This looks like a healthier, less processed, alternative. Thanks!
I am ridiculous and always pick out just the corn/rice chex to eat (I always feel like a terrible guest when I do this at parties). So last week I made an entire batch of this with just corn chex- 13 cups worth….and then I devoured it in under 3 days. I wish I felt guilty, but I can’t- it was amazing and I’ll probably do it again leading up to Christmas!
HA! I love it – might as well make and eat what you like!
I LOVE Chex Mix, but always regret overindulging (it’s SO hard not to!) because the high sodium content makes my hands and legs swell. It’s like I’m an old lady at 37 – wah! Think I could reduce the amount of salt when making my own Season salt??
For sure – that’s the beauty of making your own. Totally customizable! I’d also maybe cut back on the Worcestershire sauce since it’s very salty too. :)
I have Low Sodium L & P Worchestershire sauce which is very tasty.
Thinking this is a Midwest thing :) Planning to keep the tradition alive this year and use all of the boxes of ingredients in my roasting pan used to cook our turkey. We freeze ours and eat them out of cups (to keep our hands clean and makes for easy inhaling :) Happy Turkey Day!
Hi Kristin! Love the new website :) Just a quick question about Worcestershire sauce cause I am a bit confused as I thought all Worcestershire sauce had gluten in it? I just read the a brand Heniz is gluten free but then L&P contains gluten. Can you help me understand?
Not all Worcestershire sauce has gluten in it. I’m not sure about Heinz’s, but Lea & Perrin’s is advertised on their website as being GF (http://www.leaperrins.com/Products/The%20Original%20Worcestershire%20Sauce,) and the bottle I have here at my house says gluten-free. Always a good idea to check whatever you are buying or already have before using though!
Awesome…confusion gone :) Thanks so much for getting back to me…Happy Holiday to you and your family!!
Of course!! Happy holidays to you too!
I’m an Ohioan, and my mom also makes a TON of this stuff for the holidays. She also uses Crispix and way more seasoning than most recipes call for, and she finds the little Christmas shaped pretzels! It’s the most addictive stuff on the planet and everybody we know goes crazy for it. :)
I love these as inexpensive holiday gifts! Great idea and sure to be a crowd pleaser.
This looks like a great holiday treat! Question…do you use salted nuts or unsalted?
Happy Thanksgiving!
I use salted but you could use whatever you have on hand!