“When I worked at Martha Stewart, our test kitchen lead, Thomas Joseph, developed a recipe for a buttery Chex mix with herbs, and it blew my mind,” writes culinary creator Kat Ashmore in her cookbook, Big Bites: Time to Eat!. “Somehow, this childhood grocery-store favorite now felt sophisticated, deluxe, and special.”
Inspired, Ashmore developed her own take on the classic party snack and quickly discovered that it was a crowd favorite: “I brought this mix to a holiday party a couple of years ago, and it became the talk of the party for a solid 20 minutes.” If you have your own holiday parties lined up, you can expect Ashmore’s buttery, herby, party Chex mix to similarly steal the show: Ashmore’s genius decision to add a generous glug of Worcestershire sauce adds plenty of zing, while fresh thyme and rosemary ensure fresh flavors.
Homemade Chex Mix Recipe
Makes 12-14 cups
Cook time: 51 minutes
Ingredients
- 4 cups Corn Chex cereal
- 4 cups Rice Chex cereal
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 2 cups mini pretzels (I like the square ones)
- 2 cups bagel chips, broken by hand into 2-inch pieces
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- Leaves from 5 fresh thyme sprigs
- Leaves from 3 fresh rosemary sprigs, chopped
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 275°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the cereals, almonds, pretzels, and bagel chips. Mix well and set aside.
- To a small saucepan, add the butter and place over medium-low heat. Allow the butter to melt, then simmer for 4 to 6 minutes, or until a deep golden brown with a nutty smell. Remove the saucepan from the heat and immediately add the Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, thyme and rosemary leaves, and 1 tablespoon of the salt. Whisk to combine.
- Pour the butter mixture over the cereal mixture in the bowl and toss well to coat. Spread the cereal mixture evenly on the 2 prepared baking sheets and sprinkle each with half of the remaining teaspoon salt.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, tossing the cereal mixture every 15 minutes or so to toast and crisp evenly. Allow to cool completely, then store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Excerpted from BIG BITES: TIME TO EAT!: Nourishing Family Recipes That Cook in an Hour or Less by Kat Ashmore. Copyright © 2026 by Kat Ashmore. Photographs by Christine Han. Used by permission of Rodale Books, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
