Spicy Smoked Chex Mix
Smoked Chex Mix is the ultimate party snack! Fire up your smoker, grab some ingredients, and get ready to wow everyone with this totally snackable and oh-so-tasty smoked party mix!
This post may contain affiliate link(s). As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See Disclosure.
Mmm, pass the Smoked Chex Mix, please! How good is this? Coated with a spicy buttery and oh-so-good topping and smoked until toasty and delicious, this smoked party mix will get everyone talking! Forget the rest of the meal, just pass around bowlfuls of this smoky goodness!
Fire It Up: 33 Recipes for Your Smoker
Bold, Texas-style BBQ favorites — tested and ready for your smoker. This digital recipe eBook features recipes like:
These are digital products. You'll receive instant download link/s after purchase.
NEW!
* Smoked Leg of Lamb
* Smoked Peach-Chipotle Wings
* Smoked New York Strip Roast
BUNDLE AND SAVE
The bundle includes 50+ Smoker Recipes and (New) Fire It Up! 33 Recipes for Your Smoker digital recipe eBooks.
Unbelievably easy to make and totally customizable, you can make this Spicy Smoked Chex Mix as spicy as you like. With a heat that builds slowly, there’s smoke in every bite of this totally snackable party mix. And you can make it ahead of time so you can spend time with your guests.
I love taking this spicy Chex Mix to parties, gatherings, potlucks, and family events. Everyone talks about it, and I can get it ready a day or two ahead of time, so all I need to do is grab it and go!
What you’ll love about Smoked Chex Mix
- There’s spicy and smoky flavor in every bite!
- Customize this party mix just how you like it!
- It makes enough for a crowd!
Ingredients
- Rice Chex Cereal – Stick with plain Rice Chex; flavored varieties can throw off the seasoning balance.
- Corn Chex Cereal – Corn Chex adds a little sweetness and holds up well during smoking.
- Life Cereal – Regular Life cereal works best; its slight sweetness balances the spicy seasoning.
- Shreddies Cereal – If you can’t find Shreddies, add a bit more Chex cereal instead.
- Pretzels – Use small pretzels so every handful gets a good mix of flavors.
- Goldfish crackers – I like the original flavor, but cheddar works if you want an extra cheesy snack mix.
- Pita crackers – Or another small cracker shape.
- Peanuts – I prefer roasted, lightly salted peanuts. Unsalted peanuts work too, but you may want to adjust the seasoning.
For the sauce:
- Butter – Salted butter. If you use salted butter, you don’t need to add any extra salt.
- Worcestershire sauce – A little goes a long way; it adds plenty of savory flavor.
- Garlic powder – Use garlic powder, not garlic salt, so the mix doesn’t end up overly salty.
- Chipotle powder – Start with less if you’re sensitive to heat; you can always add more next time.
- Onion powder – Use onion powder, not onion salt, to keep the seasoning balanced.
- Smoked paprika – Fresh smoked paprika gives the best flavor; old paprika tends to lose its smokiness.
You’ll Also Need
- Traeger smoker – Or another smoker capable of holding a consistent temperature
- Pellets or wood chips – Any hardwood smoke is fine.
- Large foil container – The jumbo ones, or use 2 of the smaller pans.
How To Make The Best Smoked Chex Mix
For a full list of ingredients and instructions, please scroll down to the recipe near the bottom of this page.
Preheat your smoker to 180°F. A Traeger pellet grill works great for this recipe, but any smoker will work.
Measure all of the dry ingredients and add them to a large foil pan or disposable aluminum roasting pan. Using a large pan makes it easier to mix everything thoroughly without spilling.
In a separate bowl, melt the butter and stir in the Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, chipotle powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika until well combined.
Drizzle the butter and seasoning mixture evenly over the cereal, pretzels, nuts, and crackers. Toss everything together until the dry ingredients are evenly coated with the seasoned butter mixture.
Place the pan in the smoker and smoke at 180°F for 30 minutes to build smoky flavor.
Increase the smoker temperature to 225°F and continue smoking the snack mix for 60 to 90 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes or so to ensure even cooking and seasoning distribution.
Remove the smoked Chex mix from the smoker and let it cool slightly before serving.
Enjoy!
How Do you Know It’s Done?
You don’t really have to cook anything, so how do you know when your Smoked Chex Mix is done? Taste it! Starting at about the hour mark, test some of the mix with the sauce on it – it should be crunchy. If it’s still a bit soggy from the sauce, give the batch a stir and keep on smoking!
Chef Jenn’s Tips
- If you have super smoke, set it to super smoke and skip the first 30 minutes at 180-F.
- Use a jumbo foil pan or a large sheet pan – you want the party mix in a thin layer for the best smoke flavor.
- This mix has a mild spice level – double the chipotle pepper or add 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne to the mix if you want it spicier.
- Serve this amazing party mix recipe with all your favorite appetizers!
Variations
You can mix and match with the goodies in this recipe as long as you’ve got around 14 cups of cereal, crackers, nuts, pretzels, and so on. Plus, depending on where you live, Chex, in all its varieties, can be hard to find. Here are some of my favorite add-ins, or get creative!
- Quaker Corn Squares – Instead of Corn Chex
- Cheerios
- Wheat Chex instead of Shreddies
- Any kind of Goldfish cracker – But stick with the original flavor.
- Pretzel rods or bites – Instead of twists.
- Mixed nuts – In place of peanuts.
- Cayenne powder – No chipotle powder? Swap in cayenne instead.
- Regular paprika – Swap regular paprika for smoked paprika, but smoked paprika adds such a lovely smoky flavor.
Smoked Chex Mix
Equipment
- 1 Traeger pellet smoker or another smoker
- 1 Large foil pan
Ingredients
- 2 cups Rice Chex
- 2 cups Corn Chex
- 2 cups Life Cereal
- 2 cups Shreddies Cereal
- 2 cups pretzels
- 2 cups Goldfish crackers
- 2 cups pita crackers small crackers
- 1 cup roasted peanuts
For the sauce
- 1/2 cup butter salted
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chipotle powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Instructions
- Preheat your smoker to 180-F. I use a Traeger pellet grill/smoker for this Smoked Chex Mix recipe, but any smoker will do nicely.
- Measure all the dry ingredients and add them to a large foil pan.
- Melt the butter and mix it with the Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, chipotle powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika.
- Drizzle the butter and spice mixture over the cereal, pretzels, nuts, and crackers. Then, mix well to distribute the sauce.
- Smoke the mixture at 180-F for 30 minutes to get a good bit of smoke flavor, then turn the temperature up to 225-F.
- Smoke the party mix for 60-90 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes or so.
- Cool and serve!
Notes
Chef Jenn’s Tips
- If you have super smoke, set it to super smoke and skip the first 30 minutes at 180-F.
- Use a jumbo foil pan or a large sheet pan – you want the party mix in a thin layer for the best smoke flavor.
- This mix has a mild spice level – double the chipotle pepper or add 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne to the mix if you want it spicier.
Nutrition
A Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for this recipe is provided as a courtesy and is calculated based on available online ingredient information. It is only an approximate value. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site cannot be guaranteed.
This was so delicious. I love any reason to smoke food.
If you love Chex Mix but are looking for something with a little more flavor, you’ll love this Spicy Smoked Chex Mix recipe! The mix of spices in this recipe gives the traditional Chex Mix a delicious twist. I especially enjoy the smoky flavor. This is the perfect snack for parties or just for munching on at home.
Chex Mix is a guilty pleasure of mine and this smoked version did not disappoint. So flavorful!
I love Chex Mix, and this spicy smoked version is so good!
The smoke on this Chex mix is irresistible!! So tasty.
I want to make this for a camping trip. Can I make it and keep it in the freezer for a couple weeks?
Hi! I think it’d be fine in the freezer but I’d use a vacuum sealer – any moisture in there will make the Chex Mix soggy. Getting all the air and moisture out will be key. I have kept it on the counter for up to a week and it has been fine. Good luck and happy camping! ~Jenn
Thank you for responding – much appreciated! Maybe it will be fine to just leave it in a container on the counter for a few days. Might not last, but that’s a different story! 🤣
I just saw that there are no measurements for the sauce. Do you have them?
Well, that’s an embarrassing oops! Thank you for catching that, and I’ve updated the recipe card near the bottom of the page with all the sauce ingredients. *blush* ~Jenn
No worries. Thank you! I ended up guessing based on the pictures and I wasn’t too far off with the exception of the butter. I used way too much but it tastes fine! Thanks again for the recipe! 😊