Gluten-Free Chex Mix is salty, crunchy, and totally addicting. Just like the original, only gluten-free!
“This is our go-to recipe every year. It’s so good! I started buying Trader Joe’s gluten free everything bagels and use a whole bag of 4 to make bagel chips to add to the mix. Delicious!”
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!
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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.
Aren’t Cheerios Gluten Free?
Cheerios are labeled gluten free, though General Mills uses a mechanical sorting method to separate oats from rogue, gluten-containing grains that may have gotten mixed up with the oats in the growing fields or during processing. This method is not 100% accurate and I’ve heard of folks getting sick after eating Cheerios. As a person with Celiac Disease, the risk isn’t worth it and I steer clear.
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’ve eaten Planters lightly salted roasted peanuts for many years without issue.
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!
Ingredients
- 3 cups Rice Chex
- 3 cups Corn Chex
- 3 cups gluten-free O’s cereal
- 1 cup gluten free peanuts, Planters Lightly Salted Roasted Peanuts, recommended
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/4 cup gluten free Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons seasoned salt, recipe below
- 1 cup gluten free mini pretzel twists, Snyder's recommended
For the Homemade Seasoned Salt (NOTE: You will not use all of this!)
- 1-1/2 Tablespoons sea salt
- 3/4 teaspoon paprika
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Combine the ingredients for the Homemade Seasoned Salt in small bowl then set aside.
- To a very large mixing bowl, add the Rice Chex, Corn Chex, O's cereal, and peanuts then set aside.
- To a medium-sized mixing bowl or cup, add the butter then microwave until melted, 60 seconds or so. Add the worcestershire sauce plus 2 teaspoons Homemade Seasoned Salt (again, you WILL NOT USE ALL the seasoned salt!) then stir to combine.
- Pour the butter mixture over the cereal mixture then stir with a spatula to evenly coat. Pour the mixture into a 11×17" or larger baking dish then bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes, or until the cereals are light golden brown. Stir in the pretzels then cool and serve.
Notes
- If you are typically sensitive to salt, cut the seasoned salt amount down to 1-1/2 teaspoons.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
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!