Cheerios Snack Mix
This caramel Cheerios Snack Mix recipe is a sweet indulgence, perfect for party food. Imagine cereal combined with nuts, pretzels, and other snack foods, topped with a sweet caramel sauce. Once it cools, it turns into an addictive, crunchy finger food.
I was at a party once where someone served what I thought was the tastiest snack I’d ever had. I feel like that with about every new snack I try. This one was a Caramel Snack Mix and I knew within minutes of trying it that I had to make some!
And of course, any time I make something myself, that means I have to embellish the caramel snacks recipe too.
What You Need
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
- Lemon — We’ll use both the zest and the juice of the lemon.
- Oats — I used rolled oats for this recipe, but you can substitute instant oats.
- Chia — We’ll add some ground chia seeds to create a thicker texture. You can use whole chia seeds; I just prefer ground because it creates a smoother finished texture.
- Syrup — I used maple syrup, but you can substitute agave nectar.
- Milk — We’ll use almond milk for the best overnight oats! Substitute your favorite plant-based milk.
- Yogurt — I love adding some plant-based yogurt (plain, unsweetened) for an even more tangy flavor.
- Protein Powder — I add some vanilla protein powder for increased flavor and nutrients. If your protein powder is not sweetened, you may want to add an extra teaspoon or two of sweetener.
- Cornstarch — We’ll use cornstarch to thicken the lemon curd topping.
- Turmeric — A pinch of turmeric makes that lemon curd sunny yellow.
- Vegan butter — Use Earth Balance, Miyokos, or even your own homemade vegan butter.
- Brown sugar — Use light, dark, or your own brown sugar.
- Light corn syrup
- Vanilla
- Baking soda
- Cheerios
- Pretzel pieces
- Peanuts
- Snack food — add your favorite snacks like roasted nuts, raisins, or even some vegan popcorn
- Sprinkles (optional)
How to Make Caramel Snack Mix Recipe
- Lightly grease a cookie sheet with vegetable oil spray and set aside.
- Add the vegan butter to a saucepan and cook on medium low until melted. Add syrup and brown sugar and cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat and add baking soda and vanilla. Add the cheerios, pretzel pieces and nuts and stir to coat evenly.
- Spread the mixture out on a cookie sheet and place in 200 degree oven for 20 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
- Allow the snack mix to cool and then break into pieces by hand.
I used cheerios, but you can use other crispy cereal, such as chex and/or crispix cereal as well.
Marly’s Tips
- Be sure and have a pan prepared ahead of time with parchment paper. I love these tips from the Kitchn on using Parchment Paper.
- Make sure you use a large saucepan because when you add the baking soda, the mixture will “foam up” and expand
- Do not touch the mixture once you’ve combined the caramel sauce over the cereal. Use a spatula to stir it and pour it into the prepared pan (because it’s very hot)
- Allow the coated cereal mix to cool completely before breaking it into pieces.
- Add chex cereal to transform this into a caramel chex mix recipe or use Crispix cereal for a caramel crispix mix!
More Snacks
If you love vegan sweets, be sure to check these out:
That’s it for this Cheerios Snack Mix recipe. Enjoy!
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Caramel Cheerios Snack Mix
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup vegan butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- ½ tablespoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 4 cups Cheerios
- 1 cup pretzel pieces
- 1 cup peanuts
- 1 cup of a favorite snack food like roasted soynuts, raisins, or even popcorn
- sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Lightly grease a cookie sheet with vegetable oil spray and set aside.
- Place stick of vegan butter in a saucepan and cook on medium low until melted. Add syrup and brown sugar and cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat and add baking soda and vanilla. Add the cheerios, pretzel pieces and nuts and stir to coat evenly.
- Spread the mixture out on a cookie sheet and place in 200 degree oven for 20 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
- Allow the snack mix to cool and then break into pieces by hand.
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The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Enjoy!
This post was originally published in 2010 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2020.
The sprinkles are perfect, festive, perfect for the holiday season. I would like a bowl all for myself, please.
Mmm looks great, sounds delicious, and I love the colorful sprinkles. Happy New Year, Marly!
Smile. Ryan and I just started watching In Treatment last month. We are really enjoying it. This snack looks highly ADDICTIVE. I would have a hard time not devouring the entire batch. Thank you so much for sharing with me. I hope you are having a day of love and joy.
Oooh that looks like one tasty snack. I’m glad you felt the need to tweak the recipe–I share that compulsion to never follow a recipe exactly as it’s written–because I’m digging your addition of crunch and color. Thanks for sharing!
Yum. That looks really, really good. And just the perfect treat to replace all of my gluttonous holiday eating with. Not. 🙂 I’m glad you were able to work through some of your issues with this recipe, Marly. Very cathartic of you. 🙂
Mindy
http://www.thesuburbanlife.com
Now, why would anyone want to follow the recipe to a tee? Boring! 😉 I would never have thought to add sprinkles to snack mix but I love the idea. Thanks for the inspiration!
This looks great, but dangerous:)
This was SO FUNNY!
Marly, you made me laugh out loud with that part about caring for what others think in reference to your mother-too funny! Oh, and this mix does look delicious, and I have to say that I also approve of the sprinkles. Zaniness is good:-)
I like it with the sprinkles! If I made it, I would definitely add them.