Furikake Chex Mix Recipe - Delicious Not Gorgeous (2024)

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How to Make Furikake Chex Mix

To start this Hawaiian snack, you heat butter, corn syrup, soy sauce, sugar and oil together in a pot. Once the butter is melted and everything looks hom*ogenous, you pour it over your cereal and mix until each piece is glossy and coated with the sauce. You then sprinkle a bottle of furikake into the bowl, and stir again. The mix gets spread onto baking sheets and it dries out in the oven for an hour before you can devour!

What are the components of Chex mix?

For any Chex mix, there’s two parts: the mix-ins (cereal, pretzels, chips, breadsticks, crackers, nuts, basically anything hard and crunchy) and the seasoning mix.

For the mix-ins, I usually stick to Chex cereal and call it a day, but you can add anything. I typically see honeycomb cereal, pretzels and popcorn used in furikake Chex mix.

Obviously the flavor of furikake Chex mix is a little different than storebought Chex mix, so the seasoning sauce is a little different. This one has soy sauce; however, I add soy sauce to almost everything, regardless if the dish is Asian or not, so I would make a case for adding a dash of soy sauce to any Chex mix.

I also sprinkle the furikake onto the Chex mix as I stir it in, since it’s hard to evenly distribute it otherwise in the mix if you add it earlier.

If you’re not familiar with furikake, it’s a Japanese seasoning typically used for topping rice. It’s made with roasted seaweed and sesame seeds, though there are variations with everything from bonito flakes (made from salted fish, it’s delicious I promise) to umeboshi (salted plum) to wasabi and chiles. I like using it on carby things (think baked sushi, Spam musubi with egg, furikake fries, etc etc) for a little extra crunch.

How do you fix a Chex mix that is too salty?

Before you bake the Chex mix, I would recommend tasting a piece. If it’s too salty for you, you can add more cereal to help dilute the level of seasoning.

It’s best to adjust the amount of mix-ins before you bake it so that the new mix-ins get some flavor, and whoever eats those bits isn’t stuck with a plain piece of cereal. It also lets all the cereal crisp up in the oven, which helps the snack taste fresher if you’re using older or slightly stale cereal.

How do you make Chex mix not soggy?

Once you mix everything together, you have to bake the Chex mix to dry it out. There’s a lot of moisture from the corn syrup, butter and soy sauce, so baking it makes sure that it doesn’t get soggy as it sits (because there’s no way you can polish off a whole batch right after mixing it, no matter how much you try to shovel into your mouth).

It also helps preserve the Chex mix longer, since it’s less likely to go bad or get moldy if it’s less moist.

How do you know when Chex mix is done?

When it’s done, it’ll clump together, and you won’t be able to break it into bite-sized pieces without hearing a snapping sound. It’ll be really brittle and crispy to the touch, and it shouldn’t bend before breaking.

If it doesn’t seem crispy or dry enough, return the Chex mix to the oven and check every 5-10 minutes until it’s done.

How long is homemade Chex mix good for?

The seasoning sauce helps preserve the Chex mix for about a week. If you can’t eat the whole batch within that time frame, I’d recommend sharing with your friends and family, or halving or quartering the recipe.

Why is Chex mix so good?

Cliché, but it’s a good mix of salty and sweet. The savory, sesame-y furikake balances outthat sticky, caramelly brew used to force the furikake to cling to the cereal.

I love crunchy snacks too, and the sound and texture of this one is so satisfying. Definitely more of a snack meant for a loud Japanese American basketball tournament, rather than trying to sneak a handful when you’re not supposed to in a meeting or a lecture.

4.67 from 3 votes

Furikake Chex Mix Recipe - Delicious Not Gorgeous (2)

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Furikake Chex Mix

Cook Time

1 hr 5 mins

Total Time

1 hr 10 mins

Furikake chex mix is an Asian American twist on the usual chex mix, and features the Japanese rice condiment furikake, made of roasted seaweed and sesame seed.

Course:Snack

Cuisine:American, Hawaiian, Japanese

Keyword:butter, cereal, chex, chex mix, corn syrup, egg-free, furikake, nut-free, seaweed, soy sauce, sugar, vegetarian

Servings: 48 people

Calories: 124 kcal

Ingredients

Syrup

  • 1stickunsalted butter
  • ½cuplight corn syrup
  • ¾cupgranulated sugar
  • 2tablespoonssoy sauce
  • ½cupcanola oil

Assembly

  • 2boxeschex cereal24 ounces total
  • 1bottlefurikake

Instructions

Syrup

  1. Heat all syrup ingredients in a pot over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the butter melts.

Assembly

  1. Put the cereal in a large (wide and shallow is better than deep and skinny if you can find it) bowl. Recruit an extra set of hands, or prepare to pick up and put down different things a bunch of times. While continuously tossing with a heat-proof rubber spatula, drizzle the syrup all over the cereal, pausing occasionally to sprinkle on some furikake. Even coverage is the key here.

  2. Spread the mix on a foil or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 250F for 1 hour, then cool before breaking into bite-sized pieces. It will crisp as it cools. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Furikake Chex Mix Recipe - Delicious Not Gorgeous (2024)

FAQs

Why is my homemade Chex Mix soggy? ›

Using too much liquid. Don't go over the recipe's suggested liquid amounts; that is a sure way to get soggy mix (which, again, nobody wants). Follow this tip: If you need to make a change in liquid ingredients, just keep the amount the same.

What is the Chex Mix seasoning made of? ›

The official Chex Mix recipe calls for 1½ tablespoons seasoned salt, ¾ teaspoons garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon onion powder.

How long does homemade Chex Mix stay good? ›

Make Ahead Instructions: Chex mix tastes freshest when served within 2-3 days of making it, but it will last stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Freezing Instructions: Chex mix freezes great! Store in freezer-safe container or bag for up to 3 months.

What are the brown things in Chex Mix? ›

What Is This Brown Thing In My Chex Mix??? The question of the day is: what are these round, brown disks in my Chex Mix? Answer: Melba toasts. And they are clearly the best part of the whole thing.

How do you crisp soggy chex mix? ›

You can bring them back to an edible state by heating them in the oven. This works wonderfully for snacks like crackers, Chex mix, tortilla chips, pretzels and even whole loaves of bread.

Why is my chex mix not crispy? ›

The trick to getting the Chex mix perfectly crisp and golden is to gently toast it at a low temperature. Our recipe calls for baking it at 250°F, which for some ovens is the lowest temperature it will go.

Why did my chex mix burn? ›

Why did my Chex Mix burn? Over-cooking and forgetting to stir the mixture throughout may cause your chex mix to burn. For best results, stir the mixture every 15 minutes while cooking. This ensures the mixture is evenly coated and that no parts of it get burned.

Is Chex Mix healthy or not? ›

Who doesn't love traditional Chex Mix? It's salty, crunchy, and everyone has a favorite item– the perfect party snack! But sadly, what makes it taste so good also makes Chex Mix not the healthiest option. It's full of refined grains, sugar, and tons of sodium.

Why isn't Chex Mix sold in Canada? ›

Chex has really not caught on as a brand in Canada. Although many other products of General Mills, like Cheerios, are very popular, Chex is seen as a “niche” product.

Is it cheaper to buy Chex Mix or make your own? ›

Homemade Chex Mix Is Cheaper AND More Delicious Than The Store-Bought Stuff. Chex Mix offers variety: the crisp cereal, toasty pretzels, the unique crunch of the bagel chips. This homemade recipe puts the store-bought to shame.

What preservatives are in Chex Mix? ›

FRESHNESS PRESERVED BY SODIUM METABISULFITE AND BHT.

Does Chex go bad? ›

Chex will remain at peak freshness for about a year if stored in a cool, dry area of the pantry. This shelf life is due to the cereal's low moisture content and the use of preservatives like Vitamin E to maintain freshness.

What is the least favorite Chex Mix piece? ›

Other than the rye chip, nothing brought more people together than pretzels — combined, 38% marked the circle and square pretzels as the worst pieces.

What is the best thing in Chex Mix? ›

Corn Chex

Corn Chex are indisputably the best part of a bag of Chex Mix. If you've ever tasted Corn Chex on their own, you know they don't need to be doused in seasoning to be enjoyable—you could easily eat them plain.

Why is Chex called Chex? ›

The name "Chex" reflects the square checkerboard logo of Ralston Purina.

What can you do if your Chex Mix is too salty? ›

Add a squeeze of 🍋 or lime. The sharp bite will help mask and offset the salt. 2️⃣ Sugar! Sweet can balance salty.

How to fix soggy puppy chow? ›

Why does my Puppy Chow get soggy? If you do not cool the Muddy Buddies or Puppy Chow completely after you pour the chocolate on, the fats from the chocolate can break down the cereal and make it soggy. Make sure to spread the entire mixture out in a single layer and cool completely.

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