Sweet Holiday Chex Mix

Published November 20, 2018. Updated December 28, 2018

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Sweet Holiday Chex Mix is a staple recipe every Christmas season at my house! Sometimes I make it for gifts and sometimes I’ll make a batch for a party, then other times I just get the craving for it so I’ll whip up a batch on the weekend.

It’s perfectly crunchy and covered with an ooey gooey sweet coating. Just be careful because this stuff is addictive!

Sweet and sticky chex mix in a glass mixing bowl set over a marble surface. It includes corn and rice chex cereal, golden grahams, nuts, coconut and a butter sugar topping.

Chex Mix – the Sweet Version

If there’s one treat you must make this season this is it! Okay there are a lot of treats that definitely deserve to be made this holiday season but this one should be near the top of your list.

It’s incredibly easy and so fast (we are talking 15 minutes or less), it tastes like candy with a crunch, it’s nutty, it’s sticky, it’s crave-ably sweet and it’s the perfect gift for friends, neighbors, or coworkers.

Simply said this stuff is highly addictive so share the wealth or you will want to eat it all.

Sweet Chex Mix in front of a Christmas tree in a glass bowl.

Ingredients You’ll Need for This Recipe

  • Rice Chex cereal
  • Corn Chex cereal
  • Golden Grahams cereal
  • Mixed unsalted or lightly salted nuts
  • Shredded sweetened coconut
  • Granulated sugar
  • Light corn syrup
  • Salted butter
  • Vanilla (optional)

Ingredients needed for chex mix shown here.

How to Make Sweet Chex Mix

  • In a large mixing bowl, toss together Rice Chex, Corn Chex, Golden Grahams, mixed nuts and coconut, set aside.

Showing how to make sweet chex mix.

  • In a medium saucepan combine sugar light-corn syrup and butter.

Showing how to make sweet chex mix.

  • Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
  • Allow mixture to boil for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Showing how to make sweet chex mix.

  • Remove from heat and carefully pour sugar mixture over cereal mixture and toss to evenly coat.
  • Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Showing how to make sweet chex mix.

Tips for this Recipe

  • Don’t just simmer the mixture for 2 minutes let it come to a boil then start counting down the two minutes.
  • Don’t skip the coconut even if you aren’t normally a fan. It’s not overpowering here, it blends in with the flavors nicely.
  • You can use one type of nut, but if you have multiple on hand go for a blend. Peanuts, sliced/slivered almonds, cashews, pecans or walnuts are all great choices.
  • You can use unsalted butter if that’s what you’ve got on hand. Then just add a heaping 1/4 tsp salt to the sugar mixture before cooking.

Sweet Holiday Chex Mix

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5 from 12 votes

Sweet Holiday Chex Mix

This sweet Chex mix is a staple recipe at my house every Christmas season! It's perfect for gifts and parties, but be warned it's highly addictive! It's loaded with crunchy cereal, dotted with mixed nuts, and swirled with coconut. Then it's covered with an ooey gooey sweet and sticky coating. The best part - it couldn't be faster or easier to make.
Servings: 18
Prep10 minutes
Cook5 minutes
Ready in: 15 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl, toss together Rice Chex, Corn Chex, Golden Grahams, mixed nuts and coconut, set aside. 
  • In a medium saucepan combine sugar light-corn syrup and butter. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. 
  • Allow mixture to boil for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
  • Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and carefully pour sugar mixture over cereal mixture and toss to evenly coat. 
  • Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes

*If you don't want the mix as gooey and sticky you can add an extra 1 cup of each cereal (totaling 3 extra cups), for a lighter coating.
**I like to use a blend of unsalted nuts such as 1/2 cup sliced almonds, 1/2 cup peanuts and 1/2 cup cashews.

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47 Comments

  • Christina

    To help with the sticky situation you can cook to just between soft and hard ball on a candy thermometer. That’s what I do and it gives it some goo still without being to sticky and runny. Hope that helps other readers. Made this a TON of times. We call it Christmas crack in the winter time and just plain crack the rest of the year because no one wants it just once a year around our family. ????????????????????

  • Tiffany

    A coworker of mine makes this and we call it Christmas Crack. Warning, you cannot stop eating this stuff! It’s delicious.

  • Elizabeth

    I made these for my office Christmas potluck and they were a big hit, but I’m wondering if you have any tips for preventing it from being so gooey? I always seem to have issues when I make something with Karo syrup, am I cooking it too long? The taste was delicious, just trying to get it to solidify a little more!

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      If you do want it to solidify more you would want to cook the syrup longer giving it a texture similar to caramel and so forth, another thing I’ve seen done with this kind of recipe is you toss the cereal in the prepared coating then bake it at a low temp stirring every 15 mins or so until they are as crisp as you’d like them. I hope that helps, glad it was enjoyed =)!

  • Anonymous

    Do you break this delicious mix up into pieces or do you cut it into squares? It sticks together too much to be able to easily scoop it, although a scoop is what I’m planning on using when I take it to a party later. I hope you can give me a suggestion, or reassure me that I’m on the right track.

    • Jaclyn

      We always just pull it apart into pieces with clean hands but any of the above should work great, just whatever you think is easiest =). For a party I would recommend using the spoon or just dividing it into individual portions (just so everyone isn’t touching it) and you probably could even shape it into balls or something. I hope everyone enjoys it!

    • Jaclyn

      That’s sad, me and my sister both read through and edited the recipe and missed that =). Sorry but thank you for your comment!

    • Dayna Beal

      Make them both together. Start with this recipe but swap their nuts for recipe you posted. Also add add the vanilla, brown sugar.

  • Kristy {Sweet Treats and More}

    My grandmother used to make something like this too! Yum!