My Favorite Recipe For Sweet Chex Mix
Updated Apr 23, 2025
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You’ll love this delicious homemade Recipe for Sweet Chex Mix that combines crunchy cereal, coconut, and pecans coated in a glossy sweet syrup. Perfect for parties, gifts, or anytime snacking!
🍽️ The addictive combination of sweet, salty, and crunchy elements creates a snack that everyone will love making this a perfect popular party food!
My 2 Best Tips For This Recipe For Sweet Chex Mix
- Perfect Boiling: The 3-minute boiling time is crucial for reaching the right consistency. Look for uniform bubbling across the entire surface and a slight thickening of the syrup. If you have a candy thermometer, the ideal temperature is around 235°F (113°C), just below soft-ball stage. The syrup should coat the back of a spoon but still pour easily.
- Easy Mixing: Use the largest mixing bowl you have, even if it seems oversized. This gives you room to gently fold and toss the ingredients without crushing the cereal or spilling. Use a large silicone spatula or wooden spoon for folding, and employ a gentle lifting-and-turning motion rather than stirring, which can break the cereal.
🩷 Melissa
This sweet, crunchy mix combines the satisfying crunch of three different Chex cereals with the tropical chew of coconut and the rich bite of pecans, all wrapped in a sweet, glossy coating that hits all the right notes.
Unlike many snacks that need to be served immediately, this snack mix actually improves with a little time and stores beautifully in an airtight container, making it perfect for advance preparation for parties or homemade gifts.
The addictive combination of sweet, salty, and crunchy elements creates a snack that everyone will keep reaching for “just one more handful” of until the batch disappears!
My Favorite Sweet Chex Mix
Ingredients
For the Dry Mix:
- 4 cups corn Chex
- 4 cups rice Chex
- 4 cups wheat Chex
- 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
- 2 cups pecan halves
For the Syrup:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, 2 sticks
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In an extra large mixing bowl, combine corn Chex, rice Chex, wheat Chex, coconut, and pecan halves. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium low heat.
- When the butter is melted, add the corn syrup, granulated sugar, brown sugar and salt to the saucepan. Stir to combine.
- Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Once bubbles are forming across the entire surface of the sauce, boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat and add vanilla extract. Stir to combine.
- Pour the syrup over the dry mix.
- Toss gently to evenly coat.
- Spread the mix out on parchment paper and allow to cool.
- After cooling, break into bite-sized pieces. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
- If you prefer to divide the dry mix between 2 large bowls, and split the syrup between the 2 bowls, so that it’s easier to mix, that would be fine.
- I have also added the syrup to the mix in one bowl, and then, as it gets coated, add more dry mix a little at a time until it’s all incorporated.
- The syrup is pretty forgiving. It’s not like a popcorn ball syrup or a rice krispie treat marshmallow mix where you have to work fast before it all starts setting up. It remains soft, even after cooling.
- The boiling of the syrup is important. Boiling for 3 minutes heats the syrup to just under the temperature for soft ball stage. This allows the syrup coating to remain soft, but not runny and too sticky; it also gives the mix a pretty shine.
- Any nuts or even a mix, can be used. Pecan halves are nice because of their size. Other good choices would be cashews, almonds or peanuts.
- Don’t like nuts or making it for someone with a nut allergy? Pretzels are a great substitution for the pecans. And they will achieve that sweet and salty mix. The coconut can be omitted, even though the flavor isn’t overpowering in this recipe.
- While the coconut adds a unique flavor and texture, it’s not essential. If you’re not a fan or are catering to specific tastes, you can omit it without compromising the overall deliciousness of the mix.
- Salted butter can be used. Omit the additional kosher salt.
- Store in an airtight bag or a container with a lid. Store at room temperature and it will stay good for about a week but I doubt it will last that long.
- As the mixture sits, it tends to stick together, even after being separated. This is normal and it can easily be separated again for easy snacking.
Nutrition
Recipe FAQs
While corn syrup provides the signature glossy texture and prevents crystallization, you can substitute it with honey or golden syrup. Be aware that this will change the flavor profile somewhat and may make the coating slightly less stable. If using honey, reduce the amount slightly (about ¾ cup) as it’s sweeter than corn syrup.
Absolutely! This sweet Chex mix actually benefits from being made 1-2 days in advance. The flavors meld beautifully, and it gives the coating time to set properly. Just be sure to store it in an airtight container until ready to serve.
When stored properly in an airtight container at room temperature, this sweet Chex mix will stay fresh for up to 2 weeks. The texture may change slightly over time as the syrup fully sets, but the flavor remains delicious. For maximum freshness, avoid storing in humid environments.
More Party Food Recipes To Consider
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Watergate Salad Recipe
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Chili Dogs Recipe
Holiday Recipes
Slow Cooker Apple Cider
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So true! best sweet mix ever!!