Ranch Chex Mix is an easy-to-make, perfectly seasoned party mix with Chex Cereal, pretzels, crackers, peanuts, and more, that tastes even better than the boldly spiced classic.
This simple recipe makes an easy appetizer or a hearty snack for feeding a crowd in minutes and is filled with tangy, herby buttermilk Ranch dressing flavors, all baked into a batch of crunchy bites with a touch of tang!
Best Baked Ranch Chex Mix
This Ranch Chex Mix recipe is a quick and easy cheesy Chex snack mix with a tangy ranch twist that takes the original seasoned snack mix and makes it Chex mix max’d!
Simply add your favorite salty, savory, crunchy cereal, crackers, and nuts to a bag, coat each piece in a buttery Worcestershire combination, and toss it over the cereal mixture with a packet of zesty ranch dressing and parmesan cheese, and bake it in the oven until crisp.
The best part of this homemade Ranch Chex Mix recipe is how adaptable it is – have a package of crumbled pretzel or cracker crumbs? Add it! A box half full of Bugles or bagel chips? Toss them in!
You can also use Ranch seasoning to make my Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad (or other pasta salad recipes), Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole, and Bacon Cheddar Ranch Cheese Ball.
Why We Love This Ranch Chex Mix Recipe
- Quick and easy to prepare in 10 minutes.
- Uses simple ingredients that you can customize to include your favorite odds and ends.
- Every piece of party mix is coated in a deliciously tangy, herby seasoning.
- Cheesy Ranch Chex Cereal mix recipe that tastes subtly more savory than the original Chex mix.
- Perfect for parties, school lunches, game-day get-togethers, holiday snacking, and edible gifts.
Ingredients
- Wheat Chex
- Rice Chex
- Mini pretzel twists
- Pretzel snaps
- Cheddar cheese crackers
- White cheddar cheese crackers
- Oyster crackers
- Dry roasted peanuts
- Salted sweet cream butter
- Worcestershire sauce
- Dry ranch dressing mix packets
- Grated parmesan cheese
- Dried parsley
SEE FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD BELOW
Substitutions and Additions
- Choose Your Chex: You can substitute corn Chex for the rice Chex. Or you can even use 3 cups each of the wheat, rice and corn Chex instead of the 4 ½ cups of just the wheat and rice Chex.
- Mix-Ins For Your Mix: As long as you use roughly the same amount of ingredients, you can really use almost anything in this Chex mix. Try adding bagel chips, melba toast, wheat thins, sesame sticks, broken tortilla chips, popcorn, goldfish crackers, sourdough pretzels, Cheez-Its, Fritos, or any of your other favorites.
- Replace The Roasted Peanuts: Feel free to replace the peanuts with pecans, walnuts, sliced almonds, cashews, or macadamia nuts.
Recommended Tools
- Baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- 2 ½ gallon ziploc bag or extra large mixing bowl
- Whisk
How to Make Ranch Chex Mix
This super simple Ranch Chex Mix recipe can be made in minutes and is easy to customize with all of your favorite salty snack foods! It’s a delicious party mix perfectly tossed in ranch seasoning and melted butter then baked in the oven until crunchy and golden brown.
- Mix The Liquids: Whisk together the melted butter and Worcestershire sauce.
- Coat The Cereal Mixture: Add all of your cereal, pretzel, nut, and cracker ingredients to a ziploc bag. Pour the butter mixture over cereal mixture and shake to completely coat the contents. Sprinkle in the ranch mix and the parmesan and shake again.
Pro Tip: If using the extra large mixing bowl, stir so that it’s evenly coated. - Bake: Spread the Chex mix onto baking sheets, sprinkle with dried parsley, and bake at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. Stir and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
- Serve: Allow the Chex mix to cool before serving. Enjoy!
Tips
- If you are not able to find the 2 ½ gallon ziploc bag, you can use 2 gallon ziploc bags instead.
- You can use mixed party nuts instead of the dry roasted peanuts.
Storage Tips
- To Store: Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
- To Freeze: You can freeze the cooled chex mix for up to 2 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, Ranch Chex Mix should not be refrigerated or it will get soggy!
Although this recipe is made with whole-grain Chex cereal and nutrient-dense nuts, Chex mix is a snack food that contains high amounts of salt and fat, and therefore should be consumed sparingly.
When eaten in moderation as part of a balanced diet, Chex Mix can be part of a healthy lifestyle.
Snack mix needs a good deal of surface area to cook and dry out properly or it will get soggy. When baking your snack mix in the oven make sure to spread the mix out onto as many baking sheets as possible, be it for baking or cooling.
Other Easy Snack Recipes
- Sour Patch Grapes
- Homemade Granola
- DIY Uncrustable Sandwiches
- Easy Monster Cookie Energy Balls
- Peanut Butter & Jelly Energy Balls
- Fall Harvest Muddy Buddies
- Churro Chex Mix
Ranch Chex Mix
Ingredients
- 4½ cups wheat Chex
- 4½ cups rice Chex
- 2 cups mini pretzel twists
- 2 cups pretzel snaps
- 2 cups cheddar cheese crackers
- 2 cups white cheddar cheese crackers
- 1½ cups oyster crackers
- 1 cup dry roasted peanuts
- ⅔ cup salted sweet cream butter melted
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 ounces (2 1-ounce packets) dry ranch dressing mix
- ⅔ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300*. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set them aside.
- Add the chex cereals, pretzels, cheese crackers, oyster crackers and peanuts to a 2 ½ gallon ziploc bag, or an extra large mixing bowl.
- Add the melted butter and Worcestershire sauce to a small mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Pour the butter mixture over the cereal mixture.
- If using the ziploc bag, zip the bag and shake to completely coat the cereal mixture. If using the extra large mixing bowl, stir to completely coat.
- Open the ziploc and sprinkle in the ranch mix and the parmesan. Zip the bag close and shake to completely coat. If using the bowl, sprinkle the ranch mix and parmesan. Stir to completely coat.
- Divide the Chex mix evenly between the 2 prepared baking sheets.
- Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of dried parsley over each pan of chex mix.
- Bake for 15 minutes, stir and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Allow the Chex mix to cool before serving.
Jenn’s Notes
- To Store: Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
- To Freeze: You can freeze the cooled chex mix for up to 2 months.
- If you are not able to find the 2 ½ gallon ziploc bag, you can use 2 gallon ziploc bags instead.
- You can substitute corn chex for the rice chex. Or you can even use 3 cups each of the wheat, rice and corn chex instead of the 4 ½ cups of just the wheat and rice chex.
- You can use mixed party nuts instead of the dry roasted peanuts.
My two boys (both in their 50’s) polished this off in 2 days!! I have to make more!!