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This ranch chex mix is the snack mix of your dreams! Made with cereal, cheesy crackers, pretzels, and plenty of ranch seasoning, this easy recipe is perfect for holidays, game days, birthday parties, and more.
Does anyone else have snacks that they only ever buy when they’re on a road trip?
Bags of chex mix tend to fall into that category. It’s the kind of thing that we grab from the gas station during a bathroom break, but I kind of forget about it between road trips.
But making this homemade ranch chex mix reminded me of not just how much I love snack mixes, but how much better homemade chex mix is than the pre-made stuff.
This ranch snack mix recipe makes a huge batch, is easy to customize with your favorite ingredients, and gives you that savory, herby ranch flavor in every single bite.
With it being football season, it’s something you can make for game day nibbles, or throw it together for an upcoming holiday party. Honestly, there’s no bad time to make this one!
Love ranch? Try bacon ranch cheese ball, fiesta ranch dip, chicken bacon ranch sliders, and bacon ranch pasta salad.
My favorite ranch chex mix ingredients
One of the best things about making homemade chex mix is being able to completely customize the ingredients you use.
A classic homemade chex mix usually includes a few types of Chex cereal, pretzels, and sometimes nuts.
For this ranch chex mix, I like to include a bunch of different snacky mix-ins. My favorite combination is:
- 6 cups rice or corn Chex cereal
- 2 cups cheddar crackers (Cheez-Its or Goldfish crackers)
- 2 cups Bugles (original or nacho)
- 2 cups mini pretzel twists
- 2 cups mini cheese sandwich crackers (Ritz Bits) or oyster crackers
- 1 ½ cups peanuts or cashews (optional)
Remember that ALL of these are customizable.
As long as you have 14-15 cups of crunchy snacks and they are all savory, you’re good to go.
Now for the seasoning, which brings all of these ingredients together and adds the ranch flavor we all love.
You’ll need:
- 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 (1-ounce) packet dry ranch seasoning OR 2 tablespoons homemade ranch seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar
My homemade ranch seasoning is perfect in this recipe, but you can use a store-bought packet if that’s easiest for you.
The granulated sugar does not make this mix sweet; it just helps round out the flavors. Trust me, it makes a difference!
How to make ranch chex mix
Making ranch chex mix is really easy, and it’s a fun thing to do with kids. My kids love any recipe where they get to stir things, so this is always one they want to help with!
You’ll need a BIG mixing bowl for this recipe. I like using an 8-quart bowl so that there’s lots of room to add all of the ingredients and stir them together without making a mess.
Add all of the mix-ins to the bowl and stir them together so they’re evenly mixed.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, Worcestershire sauce, ranch seasoning, dill, and sugar.
Drizzle half of this mixture over the cereal mixture and stir to coat. Once combined, drizzle in the rest of the butter mixture and stir until the seasoning is evenly combined throughout the mix.
Adding the seasoning mix in two intervals helps make sure all of the mix gets evenly covered. Otherwise, you end up with a lot of seasoning on some pieces and other pieces with no seasoning at all!
Now divide the mix between two parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets and spread into an even layer. Bake at 250°F for 30 minutes, stirring the mix at the halfway point.
The goal here is isn’t really to “bake” the mix, but more to dry it out, which is why we use such a low oven temperature.
Let the ranch chex mix cool completely, then store it in airtight containers at room temperature for up to 2 weeks (if you can make it last that long!).
Substitutions
- If you can’t use Worcestershire sauce, try swapping it for soy sauce or coconut aminos.
- Make this mix gluten-free by using your favorite savory gluten-free mix-ins and gluten-free Worcestershire sauce. If you make your own ranch dressing mix or use the Hidden Valley ranch seasoning packets, those are already gluten free, but be sure to check the labels of other brands before using them.
- Don’t like the mix-ins I use? That’s fine! Other mix-in ideas include rye bagel chips, sesame sticks, popcorn, almonds, Cheerios, and snap pea crisps. Just make sure you have a base of Chex cereal and 8-9 cups of other mix-ins.
More easy snack recipes
Snacks like this ranch chex mix are great for holidays, tailgates, game-day parties, birthday parties, bridal and baby showers, host gifts, and about a million other occasions.
A few of my other favorite snack mix recipes include harvest chex mix, buffalo chex mix, and s’mores snack mix.
You also definitely can’t go wrong with homemade bar nuts, candied spiced nuts, and ranch crackers!
Ranch Chex Mix
Ingredients
- 6 cups rice or corn Chex cereal
- 2 cups cheddar crackers Cheez-Its or Goldfish crackers
- 2 cups Bugles original or nacho flavor
- 2 cups mini pretzel twists
- 2 cups mini cheese sandwich crackers (Ritz Bits) or oyster crackers
- 1 ½ cups peanuts or cashews optional
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 packet dry ranch seasoning 1 ounce (or 2 tablespoons homemade ranch seasoning)
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250°F. Line 2 rimmed baking pans with parchment paper.
- In a very large bowl, mix together Chex cereal, Cheez-Its, Bugles, pretzels, sandwich crackers, and nuts.6 cups rice or corn Chex cereal, 2 cups cheddar crackers, 2 cups Bugles, 2 cups mini pretzel twists, 2 cups mini cheese sandwich crackers, 1 ½ cups peanuts or cashews
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, Worcestershire sauce, dry ranch seasoning, dill and sugar. Drizzle half of this mixture over the snack mix and gently stir to coat, add the rest of the butter mixture and continue to stir until the seasoned butter is thoroughly combined throughout.1/2 cup unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 packet dry ranch seasoning, 1 teaspoon dried dill, 1 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar
- Divide the ranch chex mix between the prepared pans and bake for 30 minutes; stirring the snack mix halfway through the baking time. Allow the ranch chex mix to cool completely before storing in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
