This sweet and salty Christmas Chex mix is sure to delight! Christmas Crunch is so easy to make and perfect for parties or gift giving!
How can you resist making this festive Chex party mix?! This gluten-free Christmas Crunch is a sweet and salty combo of corn and rice Chex, gluten-free pretzels, and dry roasted peanuts. It's tossed in white chocolate and garnished with red and green M&M's and sprinkles! It's perfectly festive and mildly addicting. I took a cue from my crockpot candy recipe and decided to make this right in the slow cooker, which means it's easy to make and less of a mess since it's all mixed right in the crockpot!
Ingredients in Christmas Chex Mix
To make this gluten-free party mix, you'll need:
- Corn and Rice Chex
- Gluten-free Pretzels - I like Snyders gluten-free pretzels
- Dry Roasted Peanuts - be sure to read labels and get peanuts with ingredients that are only peanuts or peanuts and salt.
- M&M's
- Sprinkles
- White Chocolate Chips - get high-quality chocolate like Giardhelli for the best flavor and melting! The brand really does make a difference!
Making Christmas Crunch
Step 1: Melt white chocolate in a 6-quart or larger crockpot on the WARM setting. Stir every 15 minutes.
Step 2: Stir in cereal, pretzels, and peanuts.
Step 3: Stir in half of the M&Ms.
Step 4: Spread the mixture evenly on two parchment or wax paper lined baking sheets.
Step 5: Sprinkle with sprinkles and remaining M&M's.
Step 6: Allow to cool and then break into chunks.
Recipe Notes
- PLEASE NOTE: I tried this in the Instant Pot on the lowest slow cook setting and the chocolate scorched. For that reason, I DO NOT recommend using the Instant Pot for this recipe. The bottom gets too hot, too quickly, as compared to a traditional slow cooker with a thick crock that heats slowly and more evenly around the sides and bottom.
- If you don't want to use the slow cooker at all, you can melt the chocolate either in the microwave or double boiler, and then mix the ingredients in a large bowl.
Perfect for gifts
Portion this sweet snack out into bags or tins and you'll have the perfect gift for teachers, mail carriers, or your favorite delivery person!
Storage tips
Store at room temperature in airtight containers or Ziploc bags for several days or freeze for up to 4 weeks if making this Christmas Chex mix ahead of time.
Christmas Crunch Chex Mix
Ingredients
- 34.5 ounces Ghirardelli White Chocolate Chips,, 3 packages
- 5 cups Corn Chex Cereal
- 5 cups Rice Chex Cereal
- 2 cups Dry Roasted Peanuts
- 1 cup Gluten-free Pretzels
- 1 ½ cups Red and Green M&M's Candy
- ¼ - ½ cup Red and Green Sprinkles
Instructions
- Line two baking sheets with parchment or wax paper.
- Add chocolate chips to the crockpot, reserving ½ of a package. Turn to warm. Cover and let warm until chocolate is melted, stirring occasionally, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Once the chocolate is melted, add the remaining half bag of chocolate chips. Stir to melt.
- Stir in the cereals, nuts, and pretzels. When cereal is almost uniformly covered in chocolate, add 1 cup of M&M's. Stir to finish coating cereal.
- Spread the mixture evenly on two baking sheets.
- Before the chocolate sets, sprinkle with the remaining M&M's and the sprinkles.
- Let cool completely to harden, break into pieces.
Nutrition
More Holiday Recipes
All of my gluten-free holiday recipes can be found here, but here are a few of my favorites:
- Christmas Sugar Cookies
- Big Batch Chex Mix
- My Great Grandma's Thumbprints and Oatmeal Cookies
- Gluten-free Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Snickerdoodles
Kathy
Looks good and tastes great! I couldn’t stop eating it.
Vicki New
Katie its nice to meet you!! I am Vicki New diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2010. I also advocate in my community and have the Chex Mix recipe in the Gluten Free magazine 2017 Summer Issue. I love sharing my recipes and finding new ones. The one part of my Chex Mix when General Mills came out with the Peanut Butter Chex "delicious" I have to mark the package for the peanuts for those who have a peanut allergy. I also found my daughter made a corn casserole that was wonderful. I was determined to get my own version. So with Krusteaz Honey Corn Bread, Del Monte creamed corn SUCCESS!!! I have decided if there is something I want to eat there is a way to make it Gluten Free. Its my life and I dont intend to compromise. By the way where do you live in Illinois. My daughter was born in Carol Stream and her inlaws live in Catlin. Thanks for the recipe!! Vicki
Corcoran Crimmins
I like Ghirardelli white chips, but worry about cross contamination as they aren't marked gluten-free. I am hoping the Nestle's white chocolate chips, which do say Gluten-free will work. Why oh why can't Girardelli's produce gluten free, versus possibility of gluten cross contamination...