Fall Harvest Chex Mix Recipe
This Fall Harvest Chex Mix is a version of Chex mix that has a bit of sweetness and a bit of spiciness to make your fall complete!
Chex mix recipes are a beautiful thing! This recipe was found while looking through my collection of culinary magazines. I’m not kidding when I say that making this snack will make your home smell like fall. I would bottle the scent of this recipe and then release it whenever I want an autumn fix!
I think it’s the combination of seasoned salt, Worcestershire, hot pepper sauce, and a few other ingredients that make this recipe delectable and on the smokey side!
It makes quite a bit so it’s perfect to make for your next seasonal get together. It would even be great to make as a snack for your guests on Thanksgiving Day.
Ingredients & Tips
- Chex Cereal: We use both wheat and rice. It’s the perfect mix of hearty and smooth.
- Mini Cheese Crackers: You can use Cheez-Its or Gold Fish for this ingredient. Either one will work well.
- Pumpkin Seeds: If you aren’t a fan, you can omit these.
- Butter: We use unsalted butter due to the salt content in the rest of the ingredients.
- Garlic Powder and Seasoned Salt: Do not skip this. This is what gives the mix it’s flavor.
- Worcestershire Sauce: Just like the seasoned salt, you don’t want to skip this one. When it is combined with the salt, it takes the mix to a whole other flavor level.
- Hot Pepper Sauce: To add a little zing to it, this is also a must. We like to use Louisiana hot sauce for this. However, if you aren’t a pepper fan, you can leave this out.
- M&M’s: You can use either milk chocolate or candy corn. These are also a must to include because it adds sweetness to the mix.
Questions About This Recipe
I do not enjoy hot sauce. Can I substitute it with something else or leave it out?
Even though the hot sauce in this recipe gives it a zing, it is perfectly fine to omit it. You can also replace it with a little bit of crushed red pepper if you only want to experience minimal spiciness.
Other Chex Mix recipes require mixing every 15 minutes in the oven. Do we have to do it for this one?
Absolutely not. I imagine the reason why they do this is to make sure the seasonings are thoroughly baked into the ingredients. However, we have never done this and everything turned out fine. Just make sure to mix thoroughly after the baking is finished.
Can I substitute the M&M’s with something else?
Yes you can! Suggestions can be semi sweet chocolate chips, raisins, or Craisins. Mini pretzels and peanuts can also be added to the mix.
MORE OF Our Favorite
Fall Snacks
Ingredients
- 3 cups Wheat Chex
- 3 cups Rice Chex
- 3 cups miniature cheese crackers (we used Cheez-Its, goldfish can be used as well)
- 1 cup fresh pumpkin seeds (washed and dried)
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 2 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspon hot pepper sauce (we used Louisiana Hot Sauce)
- 1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (we used Louisiana Hot Sauce)
- 2 cups milk chocolate M & M’s or candy corn M & M’s
Equipment You’ll Need
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
- Place the melted butter inside a small bowl stir in the seasoned salt, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and 1/4 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce.
- Drizzle butter mixture over cereal mixture and toss to coat.
- Bake for 1 hour and transfer to a large bowl. Let the mixture cool for 15 minutes and then add in the M & M’s. Stir until well combined.
- Store in airtight containers or in a gallon sized ziplock bag.
OOOOO – I love this recipe. Printing & pinning! Thanks for sharing!
I love chex mix. I am pinning this for later
When do you add the M&M’s?
You can add them after the mixture is baked and in a large bowl. I corrected the directions and added this step 😉
What if you don’the have “fresh” pumpkin seeds??
You can use packaged pumpkin seeds, however, if the pumpkin seeds are mixed with salt and other seasonings, you may need to decrease the amount of season salt, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic powder in the recipe. If it is not decreased, the mix will turn out super salty. I made that mistake once.
Don’t be afraid – I hate heights and hate take-offs but end up traveling all the time for work ( actually almost top tier of the frequent-flier club ) that aside, skip the m&ns, use extra fresh pumpkin seeds (from carving), do scrabble Jr. Cheese crackers and my 4 yr old will give a big thumbs up!!!! 🙂
You can definitely omit the M&M’s and substitute for fresh pumpkin seeds 😉
So I made this first time tonight. It is absolutely great! Didn’t have pumpkins seeds but was stil fantastic. I will look for pumpkins seeds for next batch. I’m bringing half of this batch to work tomorrow. Have to share this w/ coworkers, it’s too good to keep to ourselves!
Thank you for letting us know how it turned out 🙂 I am glad to hear that you enjoyed it 😉
I made this recipe exactly as is and it was perfect! Definitely a hit the my family and co workers! I LOVE the Cheese-its in it! Thanks for the great recipe!
Very welcome Shannon. I’m so glad it was a hit 🙂 Thank you for letting us know how it turned out 🙂
I think you needs some honey roasted peanuts added
That would be a great addition 😉 Thanks for sharing! 😉
So you don’t stir it every 15 minutes? ?
You can most certainly stir it every 15 minutes but it’s not necessary 🙂
This turned out well, but it is much too salty. And, no, the pumpkin seeds weren’t salted. Next time I’ll simply reduce the amount of season salt.
I’m sorry to hear this Connie 🙁 Simply decreasing the amount of season salt will help with it though 🙂 Thank you for letting us know your thoughts 🙂
Our family loves this recipe! It’s a great thing to snack on while making all of that yummy Thanksgiving food!
Do I need to let the mixture cool a bout 10 or 15 mins. after the mixture comes out of the oven before I add the m&ms I am afraid they r going to start melting immediately as soon as I start adding them and stirring them into the hot mixture of cereal, crackers, etc. that just came out of the oven.
Thanks!
Of course you can! We’ve never had problems with melting, however, if you feel that it may happen, you can cool the mixture down for around 15 minutes and then add the M&M’s. Hope this helps 🙂
You have a really good camera, but you need a microphone…I could barely hear you in the video. Love the recipe!
Thank you for your suggestion Cassandra. Hubby and I are currently working to find a better solution for our sound quality issue. Hopefully we will find one soon!
How long does the mix keep for in sealed containers?
Hi Wendy! I would say no longer then 3 days….maybe 4.
Is it hot tasting with all the hot sauce? Thanks
No. It’s not spicy at all. If you aren’t a fan of the hot sauce, you can always leave it out of the recipe.
Thanks, sound good. I am gonna to try it.
This looks good, however What can I use in place of the hot sauces? Please let me know by e-mailing me at
heatherandmidnight06@gmail.com
Has anyone tried this with Reese’s pieces?