Sweet & Spicy Trash Mix
This Sweet & Spicy Trash Mix is the kind of snack you make once… and then your family asks for it every holiday, road trip, game day, and random Tuesday night. It’s crunchy, salty, buttery, a little spicy, and completely addictive.
The magic comes from the rich bacon-grease butter sauce, it coats every piece perfectly and bakes low and slow until everything is crisp and caramelized. This makes a huge batch, perfect for gifting or packing into jars for snacking all week long.
Before You Get Started
- Use a large Dutch oven or roasting pan so everything mixes evenly.
- The sauce should never boil, keep it low and slow.
- Stirring every 30 minutes in the oven ensures every bite gets coated.
- Let it cool completely so the mix crisps up.
- Customize the heat by adding more or less Tabasco.
What You Need to Make Sweet & Spicy Trash Mix
Sauce
- Bacon grease drippings
- Butter
- Garlic powder
- Tabasco
- Worcestershire
Mix
- Chex honey nut cereal
- Pretzels
- Chex Mix
- Pork skins
- Small oyster crackers
- Cheez-Its (Extra Toasty)
- Gardetto’s rye chips
- Pecans or other nuts
How to Make Sweet & Spicy Trash Mix
1
Make the Sauce
Combine the bacon grease, butter, garlic powder, Tabasco, and Worcestershire in a saucepan.
Warm on low heat, stirring often, until everything melts together smoothly.
2
Build the Mix
Heat oven to 225°F.
Add all your snack mix ingredients to a large Dutch oven or roasting pan.
Pour about one-third of the sauce over the mix and gently fold to coat.
3
Bake Low & Slow
Place the pan in the oven.
Stir every 30 minutes, adding another splash of sauce each time until it’s all used.
Bake for about 2 hours total, until the mix is crisp and dried.
4
Cool Completely
Spread out or leave in the pot until fully cooled.
Transfer to airtight containers once cool, the flavor gets even better as it sits!
Sweet & Spicy Trash Mix
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 cup bacon grease drippings
- 1½ sticks butter
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 3 –4 tbsp Tabasco adjust to taste
- 4 tbsp Worcestershire
Mix
- 1 box Chex Honey Nut cereal
- 1 bag pretzels
- 1 bag Chex Mix
- 2 bags pork skins
- 1 bag small oyster crackers
- 1 box Cheez-Its Extra Toasty
- 1 bag Gardetto’s Special Request Rye Chips
- 1 bag pecan halves or any nut
Instructions
- Add all sauce ingredients to a saucepan and warm on low, stirring to prevent boiling.
- Preheat oven to 225°F. Add all mix ingredients to a large Dutch oven. Pour in one-third of the sauce and fold to coat.
- Bake, stirring every 30 minutes. Add more sauce each time until all is used. Continue baking until mix is dried out (about 2 hours total).
- Cool completely before transferring to containers.
