Description
This homemade Gardetto’s snack mix recipe recreates the irresistible, crunchy snack blend featuring Chex cereals, pretzels, breadsticks, and rye chips coated in a savory, buttery ranch and Worcestershire seasoning. Perfect for parties or snacking, this oven-baked mix delivers a flavorful, crispy treat in under an hour.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Mix
- 6 cups Chex cereal (rice and corn mix)
- 3 ounces Grissini Torinesi thin breadsticks, broken into 2-inch pieces (1 package)
- 2 cups itty bitty minis pretzels
- 2 cups Gardetto’s Special Request Rye Chips
Seasoning Sauce
- ½ cup butter (1 stick)
- 1 ounce ranch seasoning (store-bought or homemade)
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- ½ teaspoon seasoning salt
- 1½ tablespoons garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Arrange two oven racks, one at the upper middle and one at the lower middle position, as you will be using two baking sheets simultaneously.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, mix together the Chex cereal, broken breadsticks, and mini pretzels until evenly combined.
- Prepare Seasoning Sauce: In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, ranch seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, seasoning salt, garlic powder, and black pepper. Whisk continuously until the butter is fully melted and the mixture is well blended. Remove from heat.
- Coat Snack Mix: Pour the warm seasoning sauce over the cereal mixture. Stir thoroughly to ensure every piece is evenly coated with the buttery, flavorful sauce.
- Distribute Mix on Baking Sheets: Divide the coated mixture evenly between two baking sheets, spreading it out in a single even layer on each tray.
- Bake and Incorporate Rye Chips: Place both baking sheets on the oven racks and bake for 15 minutes. Then, evenly distribute half of the Gardetto’s Rye Chips onto each baking sheet and stir gently to incorporate.
- Rotate and Continue Baking: Rotate the baking sheets by switching their rack positions (top to bottom and front to back) and bake for another 15 minutes. Check the crispiness of the mix; if needed, bake for an additional 5-15 minutes until the desired crunch is achieved.
- Cool and Store: Once baked to perfection, pour the snack mix onto a clean dishcloth to cool completely. After cooling, store the mix in an airtight container to maintain freshness and crunch.
Notes
- Gardetto’s Rye Chips are key to authentic flavor; substitute with another rye snack if unavailable, but the taste will vary.
- Adjust hot sauce quantity to your preferred spice level.
- Store the mix in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks to maintain freshness.
- Using two baking sheets and oven racks helps ensure even baking and crispness.
- Feel free to add other snack mix ingredients like nuts or cheese crackers for variation.
