Bake

Furikake Chex Mix Snack

December 20, 2021
4
29 Ratings
Photo by Bobbi Lin
  • Prep time 10 minutes
  • Cook time 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Serves a crowd
Author Notes

There are good party snacks, and then there are great party snacks. I'm going to tell you right off the bat that this here Furikake Chex Mix is one of the greats. It's a recipe you'll be immediately bookmarking, sharing, and making double batches of; I can guarantee it.

I hope you don't take my confidence the wrong way. I realize this may come off as presumptuous—but I'm just stating what I know. And that is this: In the six years I've been making this, there has not been a single occasion that the bowl doesn't get emptied in record time; any gift bag given out always necessitates a request for the a recipe.

Let me rewind to 2012, in the early days of Instagram, where reverse-chronological order and sepia-toned images reigned supreme (I see you, Kelvin and Valencia). I scrolled through my feed and happened upon a photo from my friend Clara, which depicted a massive Chex mix operation about to go down—but wait! Was that seaweed I saw?

Yes, in fact, it was a glorious Chex mix coated in a sweet glaze and tossed with furikake, my favorite dry seasoning blend that's usually meant to be sprinkled over rice. There are tons of varieties, most of which contain at least nori seaweed and sesame seeds; many include additional flavors like dried fish, dried plum, or dried shiso.

A furikake Chex mix! Oh me, oh my, I needed to know more. Turns out, this was a very popular party mix in Hawaii, where it originated.

"Crara-shi [my term of endearment for her], this is so up my alley! May I please bug you for the recipe? <3" I asked nicely (317 weeks ago, as of this writing). Clara, being the sweet friend that she still is, obliged and sent me the original Foodgeeks recipe from which her brother, Jason, catapulted off with his rendition.

"After trying a popular brand exclusive to Hawaii, I set out to make my own version," Jason tells me. "I optimized the ratio of what pieces I liked best, which is why I increased Honeycomb cereal, and used Crispix instead of Rice Chex and Corn Chex, since it has both rice and corn. I also put on a heavier coating of glaze, and added even more furikake seasoning, along with a liberal addition of kizami nori for maximum umami. Over five iterations of refinement, I came to a final recipe that I standardized to produce a reliable batch each and every time." (If you were to guess that Jason is an engineer, you'd be close.)

All of this is to say, this recipe is one fine starting point—it's delicious as-is, and also amazing amped up with whatever tweaks tickle your fancy. The combo I ended up with is pretty darn close to the original; depending on my mood, I'll throw in saltier or differently flavored components.

Here's what my ultimate version boils down to: a mix of sweet rice and corn Chex cereals; Pepperidge Farm Goldfish (I use the classic cheddar, but any flavor will do); Bugles (original flavor, but ranch is also spectacular!); mini pretzels (I like Snyder's Butter Snaps, the ones that look like window panes); and Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts, lightly salted. This dry mix gets tossed together with a sweet and slightly salty syrup comprising butter, sugar, light corn syrup, vegetable oil, and soy sauce. (Fans of spice can add some hot sauce or cayenne powder here.) A whole bottle of umami-rich furikake gets sprinkled over the lot before the mixture goes in the oven.

"I've been making this Chex mix on a regular basis and sharing it with friends, family, and coworkers," Clara tells me. "I've never met anyone who doesn't love it! It has that perfect combination of sweet, salty, and umami, from the seaweed and soy sauce, with a crunch."

"I approve," my co-worker Rebekah, our resident Hawaiian, tells me, after going in for another handful once a batch emerged from the test kitchen.

To make this recipe, you'll fill two large standard, half-sheet-sized pans with the mixture. You can also get one of those large disposable aluminum trays that you roast turkeys in and cook everything in there. You'll want to allow suitable baking time: It needs to go low and slow (don't rush it!) until everything is crispy and totally dry. Bag up the Chex mix for great gifts, or just fill a huge bowl with it—and watch people go wild. —Hana Asbrink

Test Kitchen Notes

We love to serve this recipe with the Basil Hayden® Cherry Bourbon Smash—this tasty pairing's featured in our video series One Host, Two Ways, brought to you by our friends at Basil Hayden®. —The Editors

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Ingredients
  • Syrup:
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup light corn syrup
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 pinch kosher salt
  • Dry Snack Mix:
  • 1 (16-ounce) jar Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts, Lightly Salted
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) bag Bugles
  • 1/2 (12-ounce) box Rice Chex cereal
  • 1/2 (12-ounce) box Corn Chex cereal
  • 1 (6.6-ounce) bag Pepperidge Farm Goldfish of your choice (I like cheddar)
  • 3 to 4 cups cups mini pretzels (I like Snyder's Butter Snaps, the ones that look like a window pane; 1 bag of pretzel Goldfish is also nice here)
  • 1 (1.7-ounce) bottle Nori Komi Furikake (you can find this online or in Asian markets)
Directions
  1. Heat the oven to 250°F.
  2. Make the syrup: In a medium pot over medium heat, heat the butter, syrup, sugar, oil, soy sauce, and salt, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved. Remove the pot from the heat to cool while you prepare the dry ingredients.
  3. Make the snack mix: In a very large bowl (you might need two), combine the peanuts, Bugles, cereals, Goldfish, and pretzels, mixing bottom to top with your hands.
  4. Carefully add the butter mixture to the bowl. Using gloved hands (optional), give everything a good mix, bottom to top. Once the mixture is sufficiently coated with the sauce, sprinkle half of the furikake over and toss until evenly coated. Sprinkle the remaining furikake over and toss again. Divide the cereal mixture between two half-sheet pans.
  5. Bake, removing the pans every 15 to 20 minutes to toss, for about 1 hour, until the mixture is dry. The cooking time will depend on the humidity as well as how crispy you like your mix. (It has taken me up to 1½ hours on humid days.)
  6. Transfer the pans to wire racks and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container or zip-top bags, or enjoy immediately and watch them disappear!

See what other Food52ers are saying.

Hana is a food writer/editor based in New York.

32 Reviews

cindystarke October 31, 2023
This was so friggen delicious! I leaned into the spicy/umami flavors and added smoked almonds to the mix and gochugaro with the furikake. I also tossed in some slivers of toasted wasabi nori after it was done baking. Amazing. Next time, I’ll try wasabi peas.
trvlnsandy July 31, 2023
Why so much sugar? Regular Chex Mix doesn't have it - and this is high fructose, not just sugar. I might try it using the regular recipe and substituting soy sauce for the Worcestershire
Farah August 1, 2023
Light corn syrup is not the same as high fructose corn syrup, nor is regular sugar. This is a sweet and savory Chex mix, so not at all the same flavor profile as the readymade kind you’d buy (which also doesn’t contain furikake). Having made this numerous times, I’m not sure the taste of Worcestershire sauce would work as well with the furikake as soy sauce but it’s always worth a try! Hope this helps!
trvlnsandy August 1, 2023
You are correct. I should have looked it up before reacting. But does seem to be a lot of sugar for the dish. I was suggesting trying the soy INSTEAD of the Worcestershire, though. Maybe less of one of the sweeteners.
Farah August 1, 2023
Hmm…the recipe here lists soy sauce not Worcestershire sauce..? If reducing one of the sweeteners I’d recommend keeping the light corn syrup as it has the consistency you want to pour over the mix. Also one thing to keep in mind is this makes a HUGE batch. I usually make half this recipe and it fills around 3-4 large mason jars (it stays fresh a while if tightly sealed). So the sugar quantity actually isn’t that bad when you consider how much you’re actually making! ;)
Farah February 17, 2023
This is fantastic and incredibly addictive. Made it exactly as written and the snack combo is excellent, and the ratio of wet to dry ingredients were perfect. Thank you for bringing this into my life! I will be making this regularly!
SATX2022 December 15, 2022
Best Chex mix ever. Gave as holiday presents. Positive feedback from recipients. Note: not all furikake are equal. Bought a different brand from recipe and sifted out most of the fishy flakes and used only half. Was cautious that it would be too umame for guests.
Helen May 29, 2022
So this is a copy cat recipe of Just One Cookbooks Furikake Chex MIx?
Other Hawaiian versions don’t include bugles. No adaptation noted on your recipe though…
Hana A. May 29, 2022
Hi Helen - This is a recipe I created for Food52 several years ago (if you scroll down through the comments, you’ll see people have made it over the years). I’m a huge fan of (and friendly with) Nami-San of JoC, and I can assure you no copying was done here. As noted in the article, I was introduced to this delicious snack many moons ago by my friends. Bugles were included b/c I like them, and friends (Hawaiian or not) have told me to use whatever blend of ingredients best suits your tastes. I hope you’ll give it a try, either way.
Lauren M. December 1, 2021
I'm wondering about the amount of Bugles -- is 14.5oz correct? A bag at my local is 7.5oz, so I bought two, and this (a) takes up way more than two sheet pans, (b) is almost more of a Bugles mix than a Chex mix and (c) seems a little light on the syrup ratio. (It's still very good!)
AlbaLuz E. November 9, 2021
Super fabulous and delicious. I made every year for thanksgiving and Christmas. Everyone loves it and wants the recipe.
Lynn R. June 1, 2021
I made this two years ago, with my grandsons, for Fathers Day. They got to measure, mix, then I sent them home and did the tending. Now cool, they got to put it into enormous containers I bought. I don’t believe it lasted very long.....sweet.
Alicia C. December 29, 2020
Since this is so addictive, I am trying to find out the nutritional info. Do you know how many servings this makes?
Lauren M. December 3, 2020
Is the butter salted or unsalted? Excited to make this!
justwildbeat March 22, 2020
Just finished making this and it was hard to stop myself from eating everything as it was drying out in the oven! Definitely get disposable tins to make clean up easy. Also used different seasons for each pan, one pan had furikake and used everything bagel mix for the other. Both taste great & can't wait to make more for friends (myself really)!
Yvonne S. March 11, 2020
Made as written over the weekend and it's great. I am planning to make again next week (potluck at work) but will make some changes. There is a really high volume of dry ingredients and not everything got coated, IMHO, so I will adjust the ratios up a bit for the syrup. Used about 3/4 of the jar of Furikake but will definitely increase that the next time (I wasn't sure about it so went with the old adage of you can always add more...). My Asian grocer had about 8 different kinds of Furikake so I really spent some time reading the ingredient list of each one to make sure I was getting a flavor profile I'd like.
thomasef53 January 29, 2020
Could you substitute fish sauce and some sesame seeds for the furikake?
Yvonne S. March 11, 2020
why not!? use black and white sesame seeds for fun! You could also pulverize dried roasted seaweed.
The P. January 26, 2020
If you're gonna gorge yourself on carbs and sodium go big! Will try this.
Lori November 2, 2019
This is a huge favorite with friends and family— However I modified the concept to make it “healthier” and a bit more flavorful.

1) Brown the butter and use 5 T rather than 1/2 c
2) Add an equal amount of olive oil to the browned butter and ditch the vegetable oil
3) Add about 2/3 c real maple syrup* plus 2 T sugar in lieu of the sugar into the browned butter/olive oil until sugar is dissolved
4) Add a generous tsp. of vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp salt — use low sodium soy sauce if you have it
5) Use a variety of nuts such as almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts pecans (my favorite- Simply Almonds, Cashews & Cranberries from Trader Joe’s) and increase the amount to 3 cups or more
6) we love nuts so I actually add more including a handful of dried cherries (on top of the cranberries if your using the Trader Joe’s nut medley as described above) AND nix/eliminate the goldfish and bugles. Definitely keep the pretzels in there!
7). Sprinkle about 3 T of Furikake over each tray.. taste and add more if you want a stronger flavor. You can always add more right after it’s removed from the oven as it is still somewhat soft and the seaweed mix will stick to the Chex.
*Trader Joe’s has a Bourbon Maple Syrup which gives it a nice rich flavor. Their Vanilla maple syrup is great too. But plain maple syrup works just as well.

Wafa H. July 26, 2019
Loved this and it was super easy to make! So glad that I tried it. Also, I kept it in sealed container for more than two weeks and it kept fresh! I added pepper to it to give it a "kick" and it was so so delicious. I look forward to making this over and over again!
Michele O. June 13, 2019
Not sure what exactly went wrong her - but this was gross. I was looking forward to giving both my father and husband a nice homemade gift but this is not inedible. This recipe makes an enormous amount of snack mix. It needed a long time in the oven to fully dry out as the recipe calls for but simply ended up tasting like burnt seaweed. It had zero sweet, salty flavor. Just gross
Sarah Y. March 25, 2019
This recipe is amazing! I've made it about 10 times and it's super addicting! I've been getting orders from friends and family asking me when I'm making more :D
Marcia H. January 5, 2019
I wish I had never found this recipe. I don’t want to stop eating it. Such a wonderful balance of flavors.
Hana A. January 7, 2019
So glad you enjoyed it, Marcia! Thank you for the wonderful feedback!
Mark December 31, 2018
Ugh! Simply awful! What a perversion of a fine snack mix. I read this recipe online in two different locations, both talking about this ‘new and exciting’ recipe. First, the cooking of the seaweed has my house reeking! Second, the seaweed simply overpowers every other flavor in this party mix and I used only HALF the amount of furikake recommended. I am SO disappointed with trying this new design for party mix. Abysmal fail! Now for clean, toss out and air out....
Ann A. December 31, 2018
Just about to make for a last minute snack with people coming to my house! Thanks for your info.
Hana A. January 1, 2019
Hi Mark - I'm so sorry this recipe didn't work out for you! I do appreciate you trying it out. Wish I could try to help troubleshoot, but it seems you didn't care for the flavor overall. Here's to more recipes you *do* like in 2019!