Name: Caramel Snack Mix
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients: 2 Cups assorted nuts (recommend 1/2 cup each of pecan pieces, slivered almonds, peanuts and walnut pieces); 3-4 Cups Crispix cereal; 1 Cup brown sugar; 1/4 Cup light corn syrup; 1/2 Cup butter; 1/4 teaspoon baking soda; 1 pinch cream of tarter

Absolutely delicious sweet and crunchy caramel snack mix made with an easy recipe using only 7 ingredients! Combine a variety of nuts and a homemade caramel sauce to get a fabulous crispy texture. The recipe is straightforward to get the caramel to a hard crack stage using the stovetop and oven. No candy thermometer needed!

Table of Contents

Move over everyday snacks, this nutty caramel snack mix is moving on up in the world. I remember this delicious recipe from my grandma, and I was super excited to make it. Given the fact that my teenager ate half of the recipe “to try it”. I would say this party mix recipe is a big hit.

If you love this recipe, you’ll also love peanut brittle which I make in the microwave. It’s another nutty snack.

Why You’ll Love This Snack Mix Recipe

Super easy to get the caramel to a hard crack stage using the combination of stovetop and oven. No candy thermometer is needed.
The combination of nuts and cereal give a crunchy texture.
Breaks into snack-size pieces for easy travel.
Can be ready to enjoy in 45 minutes.

ingredients for caramel snack mix together on the countertop in kitchen

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Grab These 7 Ingredients

Brown Sugar: Brown sugar is a combination of cane sugar and molasses. This combination gives the snack it’s rich flavor.
Light Corn Syrup: This is a clear-colored syrup derived from corn starch. It’s a popular ingredient when making candies or a snack like caramel popcorn. It has a hint of vanilla flavor.
Butter: Salted butter gives the caramel the fat needed to make it creamy. It also gives the caramel it’s rich flavor.
Baking Soda: When added to the hot syrup, the butter-sugar combination bubbles and gives the sauce its texture that makes it easy to spread.
Cream of Tarter: Just a pinch. This ingredient is used to stabilize the caramel.
Assorted Nuts: I like to add pecans, almonds, peanuts, and walnuts to this recipe together to give that diverse flavor and texture. However, you could use whatever nuts are your favorite.
Crispix Cereal: This cereal adds a little bit more crunchiness while also adding some lightness to the texture.

vintage recipe card of how to make caramel snack mix

Best Nuts to Use In Snack Mix

The best snack mix has a variety of nuts to give a combination of unique flavors and textures. Use pecan pieces, slivered almonds, peanuts and walnut pieces to get the best variety of flavors and textures.

close up of broken piece of caramel snack mix

Substitutes and Variations:

Use A Variety Of Nuts: You can use any combination of nuts you prefer, you just want to make sure you use 2 cups to keep the ratio of cereal to nuts the same. Try only peanuts, or a combination of just walnuts and pecans. The possibilities are endless!
Cereal: You can use rice crispy cereal or Chex to make this recipe as well. Any cereal will work, the end results will just reflect the flavor of the cereal.
Mix In A Bowl: Before adding to the buttered jelly roll pan, you can mix together the cereal and nuts. Pour the caramel sauce over the mix and stir before adding to the pan to heat for the 15 minutes. The mix is very sticky, but this will give you an even coating and helps to keep the butter intact on the baking pan for easier removal.

More Snack Mix Ideas

Caramel Corn Crunch – a twist on the traditional caramel corn recipe
Candied Pecans – similar process to get that sugary hard shell on pecans
Caramel Chex Mix – delicious snack mix
Homemade Trail Mix (With Brown Sugar Pecans!) – another twist on a familiar snack mix favorite

Created by: Lynette Rice

Caramel Snack Mix

Course Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Cooling Time 20 Minutes

Servings 1/2 cup servings

16 1/2 cup servings

Equipment

1 Large Jelly Roll Pan Or 2 Large Cookie Sheets

Ingredients

▢ 2 Cups assorted nuts recommend 1/2 cup each of pecan pieces, slivered almonds, peanuts and walnut pieces
▢ 3-4 Cups Crispix cereal

Instructions

Prep Instructions

Preheat oven to 300˚ F. Thoroughly butter a jelly pan. Chop up any nuts into bite-size pieces. On the buttered jelly pan, spread the Crispix cereal and nuts.

Make Caramel Sauce

In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, light corn syrup, and butter. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add baking soda and cream of tartar.

Assemble Snack

Pour the hot caramel sauce carefully over the Crispix and nuts in the buttered jelly roll pan. Give it a slight but gentle stir while on the pan to spread out the caramel sauce but without disturbing the buttered pan.
Bake at 300˚ F for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and stir gently to make sure all the nuts and Crispix are covered. Let cool for 20 minutes. Loosen the snack mix from the jelly pan with a metal spatula. Let fully cool before breaking and storing.

Notes

Make Sure Snack Mix Doesn’t Stick to Pan: You need to be very liberal with the butter. I would not recommend using a cooking spray. The butter seems to do the best to ensure the caramel sauce does not stick to the cookie sheet.

How to Remove From Pan: Make sure to thoroughly butter the baking pan. After heating in oven let cool for 20 minutes before using a metal spatula to “pop” up each piece.

Alternative Way To Mix in Nuts and Cereal In Bowl: To thoroughly coat the cereal and nuts, you can coat them in a well greased bowl before adding to the buttered jelly roll pan. I prefer to dirty only one pan, but if you have it in you to clean a bowl too – this can make it easier to thoroughly coat the snack mix.