There is nothing better than starting off a party with a salty and crunchy mix, especially one with an Italian herb flavor. While we have enjoyed the regular chex mix recipe for years, this one is a little more adult-like and perfect for cocktail hour or the big-game.
By making it yourself you can choose what kinds of nuts you like as well as pretzels. The fresh herbs also flavor this nicely along with the Parmesan cheese.
Since this can be prepped ahead you will have time to take care of other things. Enjoy it! We did.
Preheat oven to 250o F. Mix cereal, pretzels and nuts for the party mix in a large bowl; set aside.
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add oil, vinegar, Worcestershire, Italian seasoning, pepper flakes, garlic salt, garlic powder and onion powder; stir to combine.
Off heat pour butter-spice mixture over party mix and keep tossing until it is fully coated.
Transfer party mix to a baking sheet. Bake mix 1-1-1/4 hours (I did mine for 1 hour only), stirring every 15 minutes.
Combine Parmesan, basil and rosemary in a bowl, sprinkle over party mix and toss together while mix is still warm. Cool mix on a baking sheet and store in an airtight container up to 1 week.
Did I tell you it pairs nicely with our Pinot Noir?
Italian-Herb Party Mix
For the party mix-
2 cups each: Chex Corn, Chex Rice and Chex Wheat cereal squares
2 cups mini pretzels*
1 cup nuts**
For the Butter-Spice Mixture-
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon each: red pepper flakes, garlic salt, garlic powder and onion powder
For the Cheese-Herb Mixture-
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil***
1-1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
Preheat oven to 250o F. Mix cereal, pretzels and nuts for the party mix in a large bowl; set aside.
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add oil, vinegar, Worcestershire, Italian seasoning, pepper flakes, garlic salt, garlic powder and onion powder; stir to combine.
Off heat pour butter-spice mixture over party mix and keep tossing until it is fully coated.
Transfer party mix to a baking sheet. Bake mix 1-1-1/4 hours (I did mine for 1 hour only), stirring every 15 minutes.
Combine Parmesan, basil and rosemary in a bowl, sprinkle over party mix and toss together while mix is still warm. Cool mix on a baking sheet and store in an airtight container up to 1 week.
*For the pretzels you can use any shape, just make sure they are small.
**The recipe suggested using slivered almonds, I used cashews, but any nuts will do.
***I used freeze-dried basil (which is different than dried) which worked well.
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The Italian Dish says
Now that’s a great idea! I love it the Italian twist.
tami says
I just swooned so hard I almost fell off the bench at our dining room table. I NEED! 🙂
The Teacher Cooks says
Love Party Mix!
La Bella Cook says
Great idea with the parm mix. This really kicks up that old party mix recipe.
Lisa says
Oh I am ready to have that with some Pinot…yum!!!
Stephanie says
I noticed that this year there are no pictures of your Halloween decorations. Have you been too busy with the vineyard (a Noble cause, so to say) to post pictures? Or, gasp, too busy to decorate?
Susan says
Let the holiday celebrations begin! The party mix is made! Now, about shipping Noble Pig cross country …
Miss Meat and Potatoes says
Wow. I BET this is great with Pinot Noir! All those zippy flavors. Thanks for sharing!
Lauren at KeepItSweet says
i love the idea of making your own party mix – seems so easy but makes it a little more fancy for entertaining
Rachel the SdOC says
I find that even the cheap, pre-made bags of Chex Mix to be highly addictive. If you made this and I was around, it would disappear before you had a chance to serve it to anyone else. And if there was Pinot Noir invovled – forget it!
Blond Duck says
Sounds delicious to me!
Chi Chi says
This is gonna be on our Thanksgiving list along with the Pinot Noir…thank you!
Stephanie says
perfect!! I have a party to go to this weekend and I’ve been thinking about bringing a snack mix instead of chips.
Natasha Saved By The Egg Timer says
I love a good party mix, this looks wonderful, so does the glass of pinot noir!
Party Food Ideas says
Wow that food looks tasty! Great party.