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Game-day snacking is made better with this Everything Ranch Cheese and Pretzel Snack Mix. Kind of like a Chex Mix…but with a whole new flavor. Made with pretzels, cheese crackers (Cheez-Its and Goldfish too) plus a mix of homemade everything bagel spice AND homemade ranch seasoning. This mix is oh so GOOD! Each bite of this mix is perfectly seasoned, buttery, crunchy, and cheesy. It’s seriously better than the original…and I’m warning you now, highly addicting.
Ingredients:
- Salted mini pretzel twists
- Cheez-its and goldfish crackers
- Rice Chex cereal
- Salted butter
- Worcestershire sauce
- Raw sesame seeds
- Poppy seeds
- Dried parsley
- Dried chives
- Dried dill
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Kosher salt and black pepper
First, things first, happy first official day of autumn!! I know I’ve been talking all things fall for at least the past week, but now that’s it official, I’m ready to share all the fall recipes I can think up. Let’s just say the pumpkin recipes are coming soon…
And if you’re looking to satisfy your pumpkin fix now…I’m suggesting this cream cheese swirled pumpkin bread, these pumpkin coffee cake muffins. If you’re looking for something more savory, try these pumpkin and pesto cheese stuffed shells. Yes, I love a good pumpkin recipe…and I LOVE fall. Sorry, I’m beyond cheesy and just way too excited.
Anyway, on to today’s recipe. It’s not pumpkin, but it sure is fun and delicious.
I’m switching it up today and sharing a snack/appetizer/highly addicting crunchy cracker mix that you will not be able to stop eating. That’s overly dramatic, but also 100% the truth. This salty, cheesy mix is good. Oh so good.
OK, taking it back down a notch. In all seriousness, this is such a different kind of recipe for me, but also one of my favorites. It’s not classy, and nowhere near sophisticated. Instead, it’s just fun finger food that everyone will enjoy. I believe I’ve had this snack mix idea on my running list of recipes since early summer. But I knew this recipe needed to be saved for the fall, once both football and school had started back-up.
To me, this mix just screams Sunday game day eats, or happy after school snacking. It’s fun, it’s so easy, and trust me, everyone will be asking for another batch.
The details.
As you might guess this is pretty easy.
Step One
Let’s talk about the crackers. I’m using a mix of pretzels, Cheez-Its, and Goldfish. Now, I will not lie, I don’t tend to use things like store-bought cheese crackers in recipes. But sometimes they have their time and place. My advice…live a little…and then maybe eat a salad with dinner.
I also tossed in some Chex cereal, but not too much since I really wanted the pretzels and crackers to shine.
So that’s the base.
Now, that seasoning…
Which is the heart of the recipe and really what inspired me to create this snack mix.
I love everything bagel spice and I love ranch dressing. The sound of the two together has always been a combination that has intrigued me. But until today I’d never put the two together.
I took homemade everything bagel spice and mixed it together with homemade ranch seasoning. This is KEY. It’s a blend of sesame seeds, poppy seeds, parsley, dill, garlic, onion, and chives. Seems so simple, but I really cannot tell you how good this blend is when mixed with this snack mix.
I tossed the seasonings together with a splash of Worcestershire sauce and melted butter. Added the pretzel/cracker mix. Then baked everything together at a low temp until the mix became warm and toasted. As this bakes the scents coming from the oven will immediately get you excited.
I like to think of this as my favorite Christmas Eve Chex Mix, but with a twist. It’s not that it’s better per se, just completely different…and still so delicious.
It’s made with the best seasoning blend, plus the addition of cheese crackers, and minus all the other “stuff” that’s sometimes added to Chex mix (you know, the stuff you pick around). No picking around here!
Serve this salty, cheesy snack mix up…
On game-day, at gatherings with friends, and even looking ahead at upcoming holiday gatherings. We might be entertaining in smaller groups this year, but we still need all the snacks!
My biggest tip? Make a double batch. This mix gets eaten fast.
Whether it’s game-day snacking (hello Monday/Thursday/Sunday night football) or a holiday party, this is about to become your new go-to. Even my brothers agree…this mix is pretty darn good. And the added bonus? It’s the easiest to throw together. Plus, I usually have all the ingredients stashed away in my pantry.
Perfect for last-minute snacking. Have fun with this one guys, and enjoy!!
Looking for other fun autumn appetizers? Here are a few ideas:
Pastry Wrapped Baked Brie with Maple Butter Roasted Apples
Baked Sweet Potato Parmesan Tater Tots
Garlic Parmesan Herb Butter Polenta Fries with Lemon Aioli
Pumpkin Beer Pretzels with Chipotle Queso
Lastly, if you make these Everything Ranch Baked Cheese and Pretzel Snack Mix, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Everything Ranch Cheese and Pretzel Snack Mix
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 372 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 3 cups salted mini pretzel twists
- 3 cups mixed Cheez-Its and Goldfish crackers
- 2 cups Rice Chex Cereal
- 6 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons raw sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 2 teaspoons dried chives
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon each kosher salt and black pepper
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. 2. In a large bowl, combine the butter, Worcestershire, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, parsley, chives, dill, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Add the pretzels, cheese crackers, and Chex, tossing well for 3-5 minutes or until the mixture is evenly coated. Spread the mix evenly over a rimmed baking sheet.3. Transfer to the oven and bake 30-35 minutes, Toss 1-2 times throughout cooking. Serve, or store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
This post was originally published on September 22, 2020
Can u freeze this
Hey Janine,
Sure, you can freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Could I make this the day before? If so how would you store it?
Hi Caley,
Totally, just keep in an airtight container! I hope you love this recipe! xT
Would it be possible to make this mix in a crock pot? If so, what temp/how long do you recommend?
Hey Jillian,
So sorry, I have never tested this recipe in a crockpot. You could certainly give it a try though! xx
Turned out good. I didn’t use cheese-its as I realized I had purchased cheese goldfish. No problem with the seasonings getting stuck in the pretzel holes that a chopstick couldn’t fix!
Hey Ceejay,
Thanks so much for giving this snack mix a try, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Happy Friday! xT
Love this! Didn’t have Cheeze-Its so used a bag of giant Goldfish, which was about 3 cups. Made it for a snack while watching football. Will definitely add this to my Superbowl menu this this!
Hey Angela,
Wonderful! So glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! Have a great Monday! x
I loved the recipe and w writhing that was in it. But when I baked at 300 degrees and flipped every 10 min with a total bake time of 30 min. They were burnt. I did only 20 min and still burned. I did NOT bake on confection rather.
Any suggestions, I would do only 20 min at 200 degrees maybe.
Hey Maria,
Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it was a winner! Maybe try 250F next time and see if that helps, 200F would work too:) Have a great Thursday! x
I really wanted to love this, but it missed the mark a bit for me. It was a confusing flavor profile with too much going on. The everything spices, ranch spices, and cheese components just fought each other with no clear winner. My oven usually runs low, but the temp of this was still too high, so the first batch was a bit overdone. I lowered it to 250 and baked for 30 minutes, and that worked out far better.
Hi Ellen,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so very sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! xx
What type of Ranch seasoning mix do you add? I do not see any ranch seasoning listed in the ingredients.
Thank you
Hey Eileen,
All of the dried herbs are what makes up the ranch seasoning, you can follow this recipe as written:) xT
Perfect!!! So good!
Thank you so much Cheryl! xT
Per my last question, I mention adding nuts but and was assuming I would roast them before hand (cashews, pecans, and maybe peanuts). With the longer cook time, do you think I would need to leave the nuts raw if I do want to add 2-3 cups of nuts?
Yes, I would recommend adding the nuts in raw! xT
Do you think I could add 2-3 cups of various nuts (after roasting them) and leave the rest of the ingredients the same or do you think I would need more of the butter, Worcestershire sauce etc?
Hi there! I think you would need to add more liquid if you’re wanting to add a few cups of nuts! xT
The seasonings, mainly the sesame and poppy seeds, didn’t seem to stick to the other ingredients. Had a lot of sesame and poppy seeds left on the cookie sheet after baking. Any ideas on what could have went wrong
Hi there! I would maybe add a little bit more butter if you’re wanting them to stick more! 🙂 xT
Win, Win!! This recipe has all the right stuff! Cheez Its, Goldfish ( I actually used pretzel goldfish) and I added cashews. The seasonings are what make this recipe stand out. We didn’t have poppy seeds, so we omitted them.
Thank you so much for tying out this recipe! Merry Christmas! xT
Made this with all gluten-free items. Baked it 20 minutes and it was overcooked, my cheese crackers were burnt along with the rice Chex. wondering what I did wrong. Temperature was at 300. I think it was too high or too long. Bummed …wasn’t very good. Wasted pretzels, gluten free cheese crackers.
Hi Laurie! I am so so sorry about that! Thank you for giving the recipe a try, I appreciate the feedback! xT
Okay, I’m currently baking my second batch of the day because I made a batch for Parish Group tomorrow and my boyfriend, who is NOT a foodie and always turns his nose up at all processed foods, has eaten most of my first batch. He can’t even believe it, and he can’t stop! I hope the folks at church like it this much! Thank you, Tieghan, for another outstanding recipe. Keep them coming. Merry Christmas!
Wow love to hear this! Thank you so so much! xT
I will be making this soon. However, I have some everything seasoning that I’d like to use up. I don’t know which ingredients in your recipe make that up. Also, how much will I need to use of my premade seasoning?