The ultimate crowd-pleasing party food! With just 4 simple ingredients — pecans, Crispix cereal, butter, and brown sugar — you can whip up this crunchy, sweet and salty snack mix in a matter of minutes.
Table of Contents
Looking for even more party appetizers? Try this shrimp dip, a crab dip recipe, Bisquick sausage balls, or this 5-minute corn dip, too!
This is dangerous! So easy and so delicious! I’ll be making this often.
– Kathy
My friend Kaci shared this cereal snack mix recipe with me over 10 years ago, and I instantly knew that it would be a hit. It’s fast, easy, requires just a few ingredients, and it tastes amazing. So amazing, in fact, that it’s hard to stop eating. Hence the name!
This sweet and salty snack mix would go perfectly paired alongside other potluck munchies like my 4-ingredient spinach dip, million dollar dip, make-ahead ham and cheese sliders, pepperoni rolls, and soft pretzels with beer cheese dip. Packaged in a cute container, it’s also a great holiday snack mix for gift-giving.
A Few Notes Before You Get Started
- Line the baking sheets with foil or parchment paper for easy cleanup. Otherwise it can be difficult to get the hardened caramel sauce off of the pans.
- Use salted butter for this party mix recipe, which gives the dish a great sweet and salty flavor.
- As the mix starts to cool, use a wooden spoon or spatula to break up some of the larger clumps.
- For a smaller batch, cut all of the ingredients in half. The cooking instructions remain the same.
Directions
This sweet and salty snack mix recipe comes together quickly and easily! You’ll find step by step instructions in the recipe card below, but here’s the overview:
- Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
- Spread the cereal and the pecans in an even layer on the baking sheet; set aside.
- Combine the butter and the brown sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Boil the mixture for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until a thick, creamy caramel sauce forms.
- Pour that sweet, buttery sauce over the cereal and nuts.
- Use a spatula or wooden spoon to toss until the sauce coats the Crispix and pecans.
- Bake the snack mix for 16 minutes. Stir the mix halfway through the cooking time. This will help the ingredients toast evenly and will prevent individual pieces from burning. The end result is this sweet and salty party mix that has a perfect balance flavors and textures!
Storage Tips
Cool completely, then package the party mix in airtight containers or large Ziploc bags. The mixture will keep at room temperature for 2-3 weeks.
Looks and tastes amazing! Came out awesome! I swapped pecans for cashews, that’s what I had on hand! Can’t wait to try it with other nuts and maybe pretzels!
– Anna Lee
More Snack Mix Recipes to Try
Homemade Chex Mix
55 minutes mins
Ranch Pretzels
25 minutes mins
Puppy Chow {Muddy Buddies}
45 minutes mins
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
“Crack Snack” Sweet and Salty Snack Mix
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 (12 ounce) box Crispix cereal (about 12 cups)
- 1 ½ cups chopped pecans (6 ounces)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line an extra large baking sheet (or two smaller baking sheets) with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Spread cereal and pecans on prepared baking sheets. Set aside.
- Mix butter and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Boil for two minutes, stirring constantly.
- Pour caramel sauce over cereal and nuts.
- Toss to coat all of the ingredients in the caramel sauce. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven, stir, and bake for an additional 8 minutes.
- Allow to cool, breaking apart any large clumps with a wooden spoon or spatula.
Notes
- Line the baking sheets with foil or parchment paper for easy cleanup. Otherwise it can be difficult to get the hardened caramel sauce off of the pans.
- For a smaller batch, cut all of the ingredients in half. The cooking instructions remain the same.
- Add a little bit of cayenne pepper to the butter mixture if you want a sweet and spicy snack mix!
Nutrition
Snack Mix Recipe Variations
- Use Chex cereal instead of Crispix cereal. If you’re using Chex, I recommend a combination of different Chex cereals (such as a few cups rice chex, a few cups wheat chex, and a few cups corn chex). That way you get the same flavor variety that you taste in Crispix, since Crispix includes both rice and corn. You’ll need 12 cups total.
- I you prefer a more savory snack mix that includes a couple tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, a teaspoon onion powder, and garlic powder, try this homemade Chex mix recipe.
- If you’re using unsalted butter, you’ll need to add some salt (about ½ teaspoon, or more to taste) to the caramel sauce to balance the sweetness of the brown sugar. You want that combination of sweet-and-salty in this crunchy snack mix.
- Use peanuts, almonds, pistachios, walnuts, or mixed nuts instead of the pecans.
- Add other ingredients to your snack mix. For instance, swap out some of the cereal or nuts and replace them with Cheez Its, Goldfish cheese crackers, oyster crackers, pretzels, bagel chips, Bugles, or sesame sticks.
- Make it spicy by adding cayenne to the butter mixture for some heat.
This recipe was originally published in January, 2014. It was updated in September, 2024.
Oh my this looks so good, I would eat the whole bowl 🙂 I pinned this and am checking it out from I should be mopping the floor link party!
Hi Cathy! Thanks for stopping by!
Hi!!! I want to take this with me on a vacation flying as a gift in a gift bag. Does this stay fresh very long? Also can it be frozen?
Hi, Christy! I’ve never tried freezing it, but I think it would work fine! And yes — it keeps well in an airtight container for at least a couple of weeks (maybe longer…it’s just always consumed faster than that)!
Easy, delicious and makes quite a lot. Family is coming for Thanksgiving so this will be great for snacking until the rest of the food is done. Yes from 2020, but thankful to have this recipe.
Thank you, Dee!
Looks and tastes amazing! Came out awesome! I swapped pecans for cashews, that’s what I had on hand! Can’t wait to try it with other nuts and maybe pretzels!
Yum! We’re so glad it turned out well for you, Anna!
I used peanut butter chez and half a box of chocolate chez. I used cashews instead of pecans. I added pretzels and I 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar, as well as, 1 1/4 cup of butter to compensate for the extra cereal.
Sounds like a delicious combination!
Yum!! I love chex mix!! Especially the sweet kind!
Me too, Elizabeth! 🙂
Yum…I changed mine up, less chex. Added pretzel sticks, raisins, peanuts and M&ms
Sounds awesome, Constance!!
Thank you for this mix, some friends used to make this for me and college, and since losing touch with them, have yet to find the right recipe, but I think this is going to be perfect! Adding M&Ms, Reese’s pieces, peanuts, and pretzels to this. Thank you for this 🙂
Awesome! Your additions sound delicious!!
Thank you so very much!!
What is your opinion of adding crispy bacon? My family loves candy bacon, and thought this recipe would be a bonus addition!!
That’s such a creative idea, Caroline! I’m sure the bacon would be a delicious salty addition to the sweet-and-salty mix!
This is dangerous! So easy and so delicious! I’ll be making this often.
Thanks, Kathy! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it! I agree — it’s dangerous. 🙂
does boiling the brown sugar and butter and corn syrup too long make the mix too stiff and overcooked? mine got too clumpy
Hi, Louis! Yes, I would think that it probably does. It will also get stiff as it cools, so the other possibility is that it cooled too much before you had a chance to spread it?
This was was yummy! The idea of using brown sugar instead of white sugar made me think of Cracker Jack so I switched out the cereal for freshly popped plain popcorn, used peanuts and added one cup of itty-bitty pretzel twists. I also added one-half teaspoon vanilla to the sugar mixture after boiling.
Sounds delicious, Ann! Thanks for sharing your changes!
Could you use margarine or vegan butter in place of real butter?
Hi, Kenna! I think that margarine would work fine. I’m not familiar with vegan butter, so I have no idea if that would work or not. 🙂
Just made this for a ski weekend with the family. It is simple and very tasty. I recommend adding a good pinch of salt to the caramel to balance the sweetness. Thanks for posting this recipe, crack snack indeed!
Thank you! That extra pinch of salt is a great suggestion! 🙂
Most recipes for this type of mix call for baking soda which makes the sugar mixture foam to a light and fluffy consistency. Is that not necessary for this one? Thanks
Hi, Trina! I have never used baking soda, so I don’t think it’s necessary for this recipe. You can certainly give it a try and let me know if you think it works well. 🙂
Do you think I could substitute blueberry cheerios?
Hi, Lorilee! No, I think the fruity flavor would be odd with the caramel/toffee flavor of the brown sugar-butter mixture. Plain cheerios might work fine, but I would avoid the blueberry. Hope that helps!
This is amazing. I omitted the nuts due to family allergies and added half a box of Golden Graham’s. Absolutely wonderful! Thanks for sharing.
Wonderful! So glad that you were able to make it work with your family’s dietary needs. Thanks for your note, Nancy!
Just made this! OMG sooooo good and easy. The only thing I added was sliced almonds as I had them on hand. I know I will be making this again and again.
That’s so great to hear, Sarah! I’m sure the almonds were a delicious addition!
Hi! I have a batch in the oven and after ready through the comments, noticed one person mentioning the corn syrup in the recipe yet the recipe I see does not call for corn syrup. Am I missing something? Hope my batch turns out! Thanks!
I made as is and just added almonds as I had them.
Hi, Richele! Nope, I don’t use any corn syrup in this recipe. Not sure why the other individual did! 🙂
First, thank you for this recipe. Simple is best!
Second, thank you for adding Chex-mix to your list of tips because I can’t find Crispix to save my life right now! Even on Amazon it says it doesn’t know when it will be back in stock (if ever).
Have a great holiday season!
Oh, that’s crazy! I didn’t realize that Crispix is so hard to find at the moment. Glad there’s another option! 🙂
I was kind of amused making this, because it felt like I was basically creating children’s cereal, but with nuts, for adults. Added two good doses of salt and pepper to the whole thing (because that’s how we roll)…and …my family literally could not stop eating it. I had to make more before the weekend was over.
Yay! Adult cereal for the win, Evelyn! 🙂
I’m not sure what I did wrong but when I took it out of the oven, there were some burnt pieces due to the sugar and butter. Is this normal?
Hi, Deysha! I think a few burned or extra crispy pieces is normal (that always happens to me with Chex Mix too — even without the sugar), but it shouldn’t be a big deal and I doubt you did anything “wrong” if the rest of the mix came out well. Hope you enjoyed it!
Here’s a silly question—if you add something like M&Ms, do you stir them in to the finished product? Or do you actually bake them with the cereal and nuts?!
Hi, Clare! If you’re adding M&M’s, wait to stir them in at the end once the mixture has cooled. Otherwise I worry that they’ll melt or make a mess.