Browned Butter Furikake Chex Mix

5 from 2 votes

Servings: 12 people

Author: Lisa Lin

This browned butter Furikake Chex Mix is a mouth-watering, sweet and savory snack that everyone will love. It keeps well in an airtight container for 1 to 2 weeks, so they make great gifts. In my original recipe (published in 2017), I only used Chex, pretzels, and mixed nuts in the snack mix. I've modified the recipe slightly to accommodate adding popcorn. If you want the original recipe amounts, see note 1. I've also doubled the amount of vanilla that I used in the original recipe.

Feel free to substitute any ingredients in the snack mix. When making these substitutions, measure the ingredients by volume rather than weight. For example, swap 2 cups of pretzels for anything else you want.

A full batch of this recipe can serve 10 to 12 people. If you don’t want to make such a large batch of furikake Chex mix, you can halve the recipe.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1

Ingredients

1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter
2/3 cup (205g) maple syrup
1 tablespoon soy sauce, or use tamari if gluten free
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt, or 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
8.5 ounces (about 7 cups) corn Chex, can sub with 50/50 corn and rice Chex
6 ounces (about 4.5 cups) pretzel twists
12 to 13 ounces (about 2 1/2 to 3 cups) raw mixed nuts
4.5 ounces (about 4.5 cups) unsalted popcorn
1/2 cup (45g) furikake, (see note 2)

Equipment

2 large 15”x20” jelly roll pans, (see note 3)
parchment paper
2 large mixing bowls

Instructions

Preheat the Oven to 250ºF (120ºC). Position the oven racks to the upper third and lower third positions. Line 2 large jelly roll pans with parchment paper. Set them aside.
Brown Butter: Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, continue heating the butter until it starts bubbling feverishly. Start stirring the butter frequently to keep it from burning. Gradually, the milk solids at the bottom and sides of the saucepan will start turning golden, like caramel. Reduce the heat slightly and continue stirring constantly to prevent burning. Right when the milk solids start turning into the color of medium to dark roast coffee beans, turn off the heat and add the maple syrup. Adding the maple syrup immediately will help keep the butter from browning further, as the solids can blacken and burn very quickly at this stage. It usually takes me about 2 to 3 minutes to brown the butter after it has melted (less time if you’re making a half batch).
Finish the Glaze: Add the soy sauce (or tamari), vanilla, and salt to the saucepan and whisk everything together. Remove the saucepan from heat.
Toss Snack Mix: Divide the corn Chex, pretzels, and nuts between 2 large bowls. Mix the contents in each bowl.
Add Glaze & Furikake: Divide the glaze between the two bowls. Use 2 spatulas to toss and coat the dry ingredients with the glaze. Then, sprinkle 1/4 cup of furikake into each bowl. Toss again to distribute the furikake.
Bake Chex Mix: Spread the furikake Chex mix over the lined baking pans. Bake for 1 hour, stirring halfway through baking. Make sure to also swap the position of the baking pans.
Let Chex Mix Cool: Remove the baking pans from the oven. Let the Chex mix cool for 5 to 10 minutes and give everything a stir to prevent clumping. You can sprinkle more furikake over the Chex mix, if you like. The Chex mix will turn crunchy as it cools.
Store Furikake Chex Mix in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 to 2 weeks, if it lasts that long.

Notes

The original recipe used 12 ounces corn Chex, 8 ounces pretzels, and 12 ounces mixed nuts. I also used only 1 teaspoon of vanilla in the glaze.
I usually find this variety of furikake in the Asian section of my grocery stores or any major Asian grocer. You can also find it on Amazon (affiliate link).
If you don’t have these extra large jelly roll pans, you can use 2 or 3 large baking sheets (roughly 13”x18”). If you’re using 2 baking sheets, make sure to give the Chex mix a good stir halfway through baking to ensure that the glaze coats the snack bits evenly. After the Chex mix is done baking, let it cool for 5 to 10 minutes and stir everything to prevent clumping. This step is even more important when you’re using smaller baking sheets.

Nutrition

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