Back to school snack options were made easy with this Dill Pickle Ranch Chex Mix! It wasn’t just for back to school, we’ve all been frequently digging into the bag for a handful of deliciousness.
My daughter, McKenna, started off to grade 8 this year. At the beginning of summer, she decided to become a vegetarian. I was sure it wasn’t going to last, but here we are nearly four months later, and she’s still going strong.
Since she was living with her mom for the past three years, I was a little nervous about lunch time school prep. You know, since she is now a vegetarian, a simple ham and cheese sandwich is not going to work! And, I’d be too embarrassed to send her to school with a hummus and cheese sandwich! (By the way, that was her invention, not mine!)
I had the fruit thing done – a banana, some strawberries, kiwi slices, an apple, etc. She loves hummus with cucumbers and carrots. And, she’s a huge fan of granola bars of almost any type. That would cover snacks nicely, but what about an actual lunch?
I tried the sandwich thing; she ate less than half. Apparently, a whole banana was too much for her to consume. Cheese strings come back home every single day, and they no longer look like a string, but more like a cheese roll-up. Ew! I sent about 8 cucumber slices with some carrot sticks and hummus, and about 6 of those cucumber slices came back; I don’t think she touched the carrot sticks at all!
But, Dear Reader, this Dill Pickle Ranch Chex Mix seems to have been a hit with her! I simple toss some into a small snack-sized container, and it comes back almost empty. It’s a miracle; a hit!
So, if your fussy, know-it-all, vegetarian teen is much like mine, this too, might be a possible solution for school snacks! #youarewelcome! #phew!
By the way, you can find my recipe for homemade ranch seasoning here!
Dill Pickle Ranch Chex Mix
Pin Recipe Save Recipe Print RecipeIngredients
- 4 cups Chex cereal
- 4 cups Shreddies cereal
- 4 cups Cheerios cereal
- 2 cups pretzel pieces, whole or otherwise
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons dried dill weed
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons ranch seasoning
- 1 tablespoon dried chives
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a very large mixing bowl, toss together the cereals and pretzels. Set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the oil, dill, garlic, and ranch.
- Pour the oil mixture over the cereal mixture and toss to coat. Be sure to continually toss the mixture together so that each and every piece is coated with the oil.
- Spread evenly on a baking sheet (I used two baking sheets; it depends on how large your baking sheets are; a single layer is what you should strive for.)
- Bake for 20 minutes, tossing at the 10 minute mark.
- Transfer back into the large mixing bowl, which has been wiped clean, to cool.
- Store in an airtight container.
Michelle says
Great recipe, cute article, but way too many exclamation marks.
Megan Marlowe says
This sounds delicious. I envision myself sitting on my couch,binge watching Netflix all day and polishing off a bowl of this, all by myself. YUM!
byronethomas@gmail.com says
I think you and I are two peas in a pod. 🙂
Patty says
Same for me and add in some Prime Video’s too LOL
Billy says
This sounds so amazing! I am obsessed with chex mix but i’ve never added my own custom flavorings and made my own. I am absolutely going to give this one a try. Thank you a ton for sharing!
Vanessa says
I really wish this turned out better. We tried it and the temp was way too high. After 20 mins at 350 most pieces seemed almost burnt. Definitely took the taste away. Very unfortunate. May just try another recipe…
byronethomas@gmail.com says
That’s so unfortunate, Vanessa. The temperatures of ovens do vary, so it could be that.
Patty says
Vanessa … Drop your oven temp to 300* for gas/propane or 325* for electric and drop timing to 15 minutes I am sure you will have better results
Patti L. says
Five stars even before I assemble the recipe. Your ideas are always great. I won’t edit your stories! ! !
Exclamation marks show your entusiasm and your anecdotal stories are fun! ! ! ! Thanks!
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Patti. 🙂