Long before you could buy Chex Mix mix at the grocery store, there was the Original (and still the best) party mix ever - spicy, smokey, can't-stop-eating-it Nuts & Bolts. This vintage homemade Chex mix recipe has your holiday snacking covered.
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What's the Story Behind this Recipe?
At Christmastime back when I was a child, my mother's best friend Mrs Houston would make a giant batch of Nuts & Bolts and give our family a big bag of it.
The only problem with Mrs. Houston's homemade Chex mix was, no matter how big the bag was she gave us, there was never enough. Spicy, smokey, and perfectly seasoned, I could have crunched through handful after handful for breakfast, lunch, and late night snack and still not have had enough.
Many years ago when I preparing for first Christmas in my own apartment, I decided I needed to make some old-fashioned Chex Mix to welcome the holiday season. So, being young and hopeful, I went to the grocery store and bought one of those little Chex Mix seasoning packets.
All I can say is, the premixed seasoning didn't even compare.
Luckily, Mrs Houston was still living at the time, so I asked her for the recipe. I wrote it down on a little recipe card, and have since then guarded the card like Charlie's golden ticket, taking it out each November to make the annual batch of our favorite old-fashioned party mix.
What Goes into this Recipe
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
★ Nuts: Most people use peanuts in this mixture, but Mr B doesn’t like them, so I use cashews instead.
★ Liquid Smoke: Do not leave the Liquid Smoke out!
Did you know that Liquid smoke really is made from smoke? Yep. Chips or sawdust from hardwoods such as hickory or mesquite are burned at high temperatures, and particles of the smoke are collected in condensers. The resulting liquid is concentrated down for a stronger flavor.
Liquid Smoke lasts forever, so even if you never use it for anything else, you can keep it in the back of your seasoning shelf and pull it out every year just for this.
★ Cereals: The cereal choices in this recipe are the traditional ones used in this 1950s heirloom recipe; however, you can mix it up as much as you want!
★ Pretzels: Thin stick-style pretzels work best.
How to Make Old-fashioned Homemade Chex Mix
Prepare Snack Mix
In a large paper grocery bag, mix cereals, pretzels and nuts together and set aside.
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and oil together, and then blend in Worcestershire Sauce, Liquid Smoke, and hot sauce.
Slowly pour over the butter mixture over the dry mix in the bag, shaking as you do to cover everything. Sprinkle seasoned salt over everything, shut the top of the bag, and shake the heck out of it.
Oven-bake Party Mix
Take out the extra rack in your oven if you have one, and put the remaining rack on the bottom or next to the bottom level. Preheat oven to 225°F | 110°C.
Roaster Pan Method
Pour the mixture into a large (turkey) roaster pan. (It will barely fit.) Place mixture in roaster pan into oven. Bake for 45 minutes.
Using oven mitts, carefully pour mixture into the large paper bag and shake a couple of times. Return mixture to roaster pan and return to oven.
Repeat 4 times, for a total baking time of 3 hours.
Paper Bag Method
Use this method if you don't have a pan big enough.
Roll the top of the bag down and place the whole thing on a large cookie sheet.
Place the bag on the cookie sheet into the preheated oven. Make sure that the top of the bag is at least a few inches away from the top oven element. Bake for three hours, shaking the bag every 30 minutes.
To make things easier when using the paper bag method, we prepare two bags - one full and one empty. Every half hour, we take the hot mixture out of the oven on the cookie sheet, pour it from the full bag to the empty one on the counter, and then put the (new) full one back in the oven. Doing it this way, the mix at the very bottom gets stirred, and we never have a clump of mix that doesn't get stirred.
If you do a half-batch, you can easily make it in a large roasting pan.
This Chex mix recipe makes a boatload and then some, so feel free to pare it down. (However, if you make the whole batch, you'll have plenty to give away as gifts. Maybe.)
FAQs & Expert Tips
Chex mix tastes best after a day, and up to a week after it is made. Stored in an airtight container, it will last up to a month.
Chex mix also freezes well. Stored in a freezer container or resealable bag, it will last 3 months or more.
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Nuts & Bolts • The REAL Original Chex Party Mix
Equipment
- Large Roasting Pan
Ingredients
- 1 - 14 ounce box Wheat Chex
- 1 - 12 ounce box Corn Chex
- 1 - 12 ounce box Rice Chex
- 1 -12 ounce box Cheerios about 12 cups
- 1 bag thin pretzels – the stick kind about a pound
- 2 cups nuts (your choice: peanuts, cashews, etc.)
- 1 ½ cups butter
- ½ cup light olive oil
- ½ cup Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Liquid Smoke
- 2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
Instructions
- Take out the extra rack in your oven if you have one, and put the remaining rack on the bottom or next to the bottom level. Preheat oven to 225°F | 110°C.
- In a large paper grocery bag, mix cereals, pretzels and nuts together and set aside.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and oil together, and then blend in Worcestershire Sauce, Liquid Smoke, and hot sauce. Slowly pour over mixture in the bag, shaking as you do to cover everything. Sprinkle seasoned salt over everything, shut the top of the bag, and shake the heck out of it.
Roaster Pan Method:
- Pour the mixture into a large (turkey) roaster pan. (It will barely fit.)
- Place mixture in roaster pan into oven. Bake for 45 minutes.
- Using oven mitts, carefully pour mixture into the large paper bag and shake a couple of times. Return mixture to roaster pan and return to oven.
- Repeat 4 times, for a total baking time of 3 hours.
Paper Bag Method: (If you don't have a pan big enough.)
- Roll the top of the bag down and place the whole thing on a large cookie sheet.
- Place the bag on the cookie sheet into the preheated oven. Make sure that the top of the bag is at least a few inches away from the top oven element.
- Bake for three hours, shaking the bag every 30 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
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Lydia C. Pierson says
Renee, you are the first person that I have come across using both Liquid Smoke and Tabasco sauce in your recipe. I made it last week and loved it, again. I hadn't made it in several years; but I remember the LS and TS because that's the only time I use it. I'm trying to fix my recipe to a timeline when I first got mine. How old was Mrs. Houston and when did she give the recipe to you. I have used this since before 1991. I am 76 right now. Thank you for your help!
Renée says
I remember Mrs Houston making Nuts & Bolts for us back in the late 1960’s to early ‘70’s She was probably in her mid-forties at the time.
Jeffrey Beck says
I can remember my mom making this recipe 50 years ago when I was 10. She never wrote it down, so finding it here was a blessing. It was always her "gift" to friends in the neighborhood and co-workers of my dad. Thank you.
Renée says
I imagine you will have the same experience I do as it bakes in the oven: just smelling this stuff brings back long-gone memories of holidays past. I'm so happy you found your way here!
Anita says
This looks like the best thing ever. And it's great that it makes a boat load, because this is so good. 🙂 And now that I know about liquid smoke, it seems like I need to use this stuff more often.
Renée ♥ says
I don't use liquid smoke often, but when I do... ?
Andrea Metlika says
I've never heard it called Nuts & Bolts but it is delicious! Can snack on this all the time. Your mouse is adorable!
Renée ♥ says
Thank you - it's pretty addicting! As for our mouse, he's a cutie alright!
Renée ♥ says
Texas Trash maybe? Recipes I've seen for that mix are pretty close, but I love the rich, smoky spiciness Nuts & Bolts has - the flavors are so much deeper.
Valerie Rath says
My mom used to make something similar but she called it "Trash" (I think). That was so long ago.
Noelle says
Love making chex mix for the holiday season! Thanks for the great idea
Renée ♥ says
It's a necessity at our house!
Mandy @ South Your Mouth says
Your little mousie in the pics is THE BEST thing about my week so far!
Renée ♥ says
So glad he made you happy today!