This homemade snack mix is buttery, full of great Italian herb flavor, and sure to be a hit at any party, or a fun afternoon snack!
Don’t buy a bag of snack mix from the store, this easy homemade version uses just a handful of everyday ingredients and takes only 5 minutes of prep time!
Are you a snacker? For some people when they feel that snacking urge, they go for something sweet… maybe some Halloween candy stashed away (totally guilty of this!). Others feel the need for something salty. My husband is the salty snacker, where as I am the switch hitter… my mood determining my snacking tastes.
When I was testing this recipe, I thought it tasted good, as did our daughter, but I knew he was the one who’s opinion I valued the most here. This is the guy who loves his salty snacks, and would have the most discernible palate.
Sure enough, he tried it, and loved it!! He said it tastes a little bit like Gardetto’s mix, which I didn’t notice, but I’ll leave that up to you 🙂
You know when you go to a bar and sometimes they have a bowl of snack mix, popcorn, or peanut out on the bar for you to eat? This snack mix would be a perfect homemade version of something like that… perfect for a party!!
This snack mix would also be a fabulous after school snack, or road trip snack! I’ve learned there are two types of people; those who go on a road trip without snacks, or with a very small amount, and those who stock up like they’re going on a one month excursion. I’m in the latter camp. My whole family is actually lol. A road trip of even two hours warrants a shopping trip to stock up on things like beef jerky, snack mix, beverages, and generally some sort of candy.
One of the reasons I love this recipe so much is that it makes a LOT, so if you don’t think you’ll be snacking all that much, you can easily halve the recipe. It keeps safely in an airtight container for about a week or so though, so you don’t have to eat it all at once.
Feel free to switch up some of the ingredients here… different flavored cheese crackers for example, or maybe rice and wheat chex too. It’s pretty savory, so I don’t think this would be a good mix to add m&m’s or other sweet ingredients to, but if you’re feeling adventurous, you could try it.
The next time you’re having a party, or feel tired of eating the same bagged snacks over and over, give this homemade version a try. Once you try homemade, you won’t want the stuff from the store again!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 6 cups baked cheese crackers (like Cheezit brand)
- 4 1/2 cups mini pretzel twists
- 12 oz can cocktail peanuts
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , melted
- 1 1/2 Tbsp dried Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 F degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet (like this one), with aluminum foil. Set aside.
- In a very large mixing bowl, combine cheese crackers, pretzels, peanuts, Italian herb seasoning, garlic powder and black pepper. Pour melted butter over top and stir to thoroughly combine.
- Spread onto prepared baking sheet in an even layer. Bake 45 minutes, stirring every 15-20 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, then serve or store in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 weeks.
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Chef Tips
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Karen truelove says
I made this snack mix .
I sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on it also . So delicious .
Irene A Lyter says
What brand seasoning? I haven’t found Italian Herb. Thanks
The Chunky Chef says
It’s just your favorite brand of dried Italian seasoning 🙂
Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert says
I need to try this immediately, it looks so good!
Jamielyn says
Perfect for game day! My family would eat this up!
Katerina @ diethood .com says
YUM!! I could snack on this all day!!
Chrissie Baker says
Yum Yum Yum! Looks so vibrant and lovely! I can’t WAIT to try this!
Dan Zehr says
Mmm, this sounds so good! I can’t WAIT to try this! Thank you
Amy says
I could snack on this all day long! My boys would love it too!
Meghan says
I don’t think I would be able to stop eating this tasty snack mix!