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When I first learned about this homemade Chex mix variation from my podcast co-host Lisa, I couldn't wait to try mixing up a batch myself. This flavor-packed cereal mix makes a big batch that's perfect for snacking on at holiday parties, potlucks, and game day gatherings.

Scooping up a helping of cereal snack mix.

Snack mixes are so much fun. There's something for everyone in there. I've made homemade puppy chow before, but never my own Chex Mix. I've certainly enjoyed store-bought Chex Mix in the past, and do love when my friends make it for parties.

While recording a family recipe podcast episode, my ears perked up when my co-host, Lisa, mentioned her family's "Canasta Mix". Not only do I love the card game canasta, but I learned that it was a term they used for their homemade party mix that was a bit like a variation of Chex mix.

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🧡 Why we love this recipe
📝 Ingredients
🧂 Tip: homemade seasoned salts
✅ How to make this recipe
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📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

🧡 Why we love this recipe

The recipe makes a makes a BIG batch!
It has a great combination of textures and flavors.
The ingredients can be customized to your liking. You can add more or less of the mix-ins, or add and omit ingredients that you like or dislike.

Lisa sent over a photo of a handwritten family recipe, and I got to work analyzing it, asking questions about quantities so I could figure out how to make it at home.

You can check out episode 12 of our podcast if you'd like to hear more about the history behind this snack mix recipe.

📝 Ingredients

Here's everything you need to make this homemade cereal mix (see recipe card below for ingredient amounts and full directions):

Unsalted butter
Worcestershire sauce
Fine-grain salt
Garlic powder
Onion powder
1 teaspoon dried celery seeds
Wheat Chex
Rice Chex
Cheerios (I found some cute ones that had heart shapes mixed in with the regular "o" shapes)
Pretzel sticks
Cheez-It crackers (original flavor)
Lightly salted mixed nuts
Pecan halves

🧂 Tip: homemade seasoned salts

The original recipe called for garlic salt, onion salt, and celery salt which can all be found in the baking aisle of your grocery store.

I typically have garlic powder, onion powder, and celery seeds in my pantry, but not the "salt" versions of each. I didn't want to buy more spices, so I decided to make my own.

➡️ An easy way to make garlic or onion salt is to use 3 parts fine-grain salt to 1 part of garlic powder or onion powder.

So, for example, 3 teaspoons of salt + 1 teaspoon garlic powder will make 4 teaspoons of garlic salt.

➡️ An easy way to make celery salt is to use 2 parts celery seeds + 1 part fine-grain salt.

So, for example, 2 teaspoons of salt + 1 teaspoon celery seeds will make 3 teaspoons of celery salt.

Be sure you're using a fine-grain salt and not a coarser kosher or flake salt, as the size of the grains will throw the balance off.

Use these ratios to make your own homemade garlic salt, onion salt, or celery salt in whatever quantities you need or want to keep on hand without buying an additional bottle of seasoning.

✅ How to make this recipe

Pouring Worcestershire sauce into a saucepan with butter. — Combine butter and Worcestershire sauce.

Adding celery seeds to a saucepan with butter and seasonings. — Add salt and seasonings to the mixture.

Melting butter and seasonings together in a saucepan. — Heat until melted, stirring to combine.

A quick note - you'll want to grab 2 really large baking dishes or roasting pans. Lisa didn't have any notes on the size of dish that her mom used, other than that it was a really large roasting pan.

When I went to make this at home, I found that my roasting pan wasn't large enough, so I used it as well as a large casserole dish.

Adding Cheerios cereal to a large roasting pan.

Adding Cheez-It crackers to a large roasting pan.

Adding pecan halves to a large roasting pan full of cereal.

The actual cooking process is really easy:

Preheat the oven.
Divide all of the cereal, pretzels, crackers, and nuts between those pans.
Melt the butter and seasonings together in a saucepan. Pour evenly over the cereals and toss to coat.
Bake for 2 hours, stirring after each 30 minutes.
Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

See recipe card below for full instructions.

Pouring seasoned melted butter over a tray of cereal mix.

Stirring melted butter and seasonings into a tray of cereal mix.

This recipe makes a ton, and it smells incredible while it's baking. It's great for the holiday season because it keeps well for several weeks as long as it's stored in well-sealed containers.

I'm sure this snack mix could be scaled down, but for my first time making it I wanted to do it based off of the recipe that was handed down through Lisa's family.

I also didn't want to have a bunch of partial boxes of items hanging out in my house. I ended up bringing a few containers of this to a party at a friend's house, and kept some at home for my family to enjoy.

I'll absolutely make this again. It'd be a great thing to bring to a potluck or outdoor gathering, or divvy up in little snack bags as party favors.

It could even be fun to make this and also a big batch of muddy buddies to have both sweet AND salty party mix options.

Two trays full of cereal mix ready to be baked.

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📖 Recipe

Canasta Mix (Homemade Cereal Mix)

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Author: Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen - Ashley Covelli (Adapted from Lisa Lisson)
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 2 Hours
Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Yield: About 44 Cups 1x
Category: Appetizer
Method: Stovetop, Oven
Cuisine: American

Print Recipe

Description

This flavor-packed cereal snack mix makes a big batch that's perfect for holiday parties, potlucks, and game day gatherings.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 250°F.
To two large roasting pans or casserole dishes, add the Wheat Chex, Rice Chex, Cheerios, pretzel sticks, Cheez-It crackers, mixed nuts, and pecan halves. Stir to combine.
To a medium saucepan, add butter, Worcestershire sauce, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and celery seeds. Place over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until melted.
Give the seasoned butter mixture a good stir, then pour it over the cereal mix. Toss or stir the cereal with the butter mixture to coat it as evenly as you can.
Transfer the baking dishes to the preheated oven and bake for 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.
Let this cereal mix cool completely before covering in airtight containers to store.