Gluten-Free Sweet Chex Mix

This gluten-free sweet Chex mix recipe can be made two ways: 1) Gooey & sticky or 2) crispy & crunchy. Both are delicious & perfect for sharing with friends, neighbors, or party guests!

If you haven’t guessed by now, I’m a sucker for a good Chex Mix recipe! From savory Gluten-Free Chex Mix, to fun Christmas Chex Mix and every holiday in-between, we’ve got a Chex Mix for that! But in all our Chex Mix posts so far, I haven’t shared my take on my mom’s sweet Chex Mix recipe!

If there’s one thing I could ALWAYS count on getting to enjoy at Christmas, it was a batch of my mom’s sticky chex mix. We moved around a lot growing up, but in basically every neighborhood we lived in my mom’s Chex mix was LEGENDARY.

It’s a delicious combination of flavors and textures: crispy cereal, shredded coconut and crunchy almonds all tied together with a sticky coating. Her version wasn’t gluten-free, so these days I make a gluten-free sweet chex mix recipe that channels the flavors I loved in my mom’s version, simply made without the gluten.

So how do you make this coconut chex mix recipe gluten-free? You only need a few simple ingredients to get started…

Simple Ingredients For Gluten-Free Sweet Chex Mix

• Corn Chex & Rice Chex. Instead of a mix of Golden Grahams (not gluten-free!) and Chex cereal, I’m using ALL Chex cereal to keep this sweet Chex gluten-free. Corn Chex & Rice Chex provide a great neutral background to let the other flavors shine through.
• Shredded Coconut. Next up is shredded coconut. You can use sweetened shredded coconut or unsweetened coconut flakes. My mom loves the big shaved coconut flakes for a bigger impact. Choose your favorite!
• Sliced Almonds. I love their satisfying crunch, but you can also use salted cashews, macadamia nuts, or a mix!
• Butter. Then, the sticky syrup part of this gooey Chex mix starts with good ol’ butter. Feel free to use dairy-free butter, if needed!
• Sugar. Regular granulated sugar (white sugar) helps create a sticky syrup to hold the Chex mix together.
• Corn Syrup. Another key ingredient. This helps prevent crystallization!
• Almond Extract. One secret ingredient that always set my mom’s gooey Chex mix recipe apart was the addition of almond extract.
• A Pinch Of Salt. Another little trick I like to balance the flavors. It won’t taste salty, but it will taste balanced!

How To Make Coconut Chex Mix, Step By Step

1. Prep Your Space. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Combine Dry Ingredients. In your largest mixing bowl (or two large bowls, if that works better for you), combine Rice Chex, Corn Chex, coconut, and almonds. Mix to combine well. If using two bowls, try to divide everything evenly between them.
3. Boil Sticky Syrup Mixture. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar and corn syrup and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat and boil 2 minutes. Watch closely!
4. Finish Syrup. Remove the syrup mixture from the heat and stir in almond extract and salt until well combined.
5. Coat The Cereal. Pour syrup mixture over the cereal mixture and stir to combine. Keep stirring until the dry ingredients are evenly coated.
6. Cool. Spread the sticky Chex Mix out on your baking sheet lined with parchment paper to cool. It will be sticky and gooey! If you’d like to package this Chex Mix to give away, allow it to dry 8-12 hours before packing into treat bags. (It’ll still be sticky, but it’ll be easier to handle.)

Variation: Try It Crispy!

If you don’t want the sticky texture, you can make this crispy sweet Chex mix by drying it out in the oven the same way we do for our caramel popcorn. Mix it up following the directions above, then:

1. Spread sweet Chex mix out onto 1-2 baking sheets
2. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. (If you crowd it onto one baking sheet, you may need an extra 15-30 minutes.)
3. Cool. When it’s done, spread it out onto parchment and let it cool completely.

FAQ + Tips And Tricks For The BEst Gooey Chex Mix

Are Golden Grahams Gluten-Free? Sadly, no. Golden Grahams contain wheat flour and are NOT gluten-free or safe for Celiac disease. To keep this sweet Chex mix gluten-free, you’ll need to stick with gluten-free cereals, like Corn Chex and Rice Chex.

Can You Make Sweet Chex Mix Dairy-Free? Yes! We’ve made it many times with vegan butter (use vegan buttery sticks like Earth Balance). It works like a charm! The rest of the ingredients are naturally dairy-free.

Gifting Tips!

Since it easily makes a lot, this gluten-free sweet Chex mix recipe is perfect for gifting to friends and neighbors. But how do you package sticky Chex Mix? The big trick is to let it dry out for 8-12 hours before trying to pack it. It’ll still be sticky, just much easier to handle!

Once it’s dried out a bit, you can break off sections to scoop into cellophane treat bags. Tie them up with a bit of ribbon, and you’re good to go!

Try A Twist!

• Swap out the almonds for salty cashews or macadamia nuts. Both are delicious!
• Add Sprinkles. Play up the colors of the holiday with jimmies sprinkles on top of this gooey chex mix.
• Add M&Ms. Or, add color with M&Ms candies! (Find out which m&ms are gluten-free here)
• Add Pretzels! Go for a sweet and salty vibe by mixing in some gluten-free pretzels.

🌟 Leave a star review below when you try our Gluten-Free Sweet Chex Mix recipe! We can’t wait to hear what you think!

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