Gluten-Free Christmas Chex Mix

How to make gluten-free holiday chex mix – This easy gluten-free christmas chex recipe is so fun and festive! A perfect gift for friends & neighbors!

This easy holiday treat has had SO many nicknames over the years, from Reindeer Bait, to Christmas Crunch, and so many more, but we almost always just call it Christmas Chex Mix.

While we LOVE a great savory gluten-free Chex Mix, Christmas Chex will always have a special place in our hearts. Have you had it before? It’s sweet, a little salty, cute, colorful, and has a seriously satisfying crunch factor I can’t get enough of.

This holiday Chex Mix recipe is gluten-free, no-bake, and so easy to make. Made with just a few ingredients, it’s a great holiday recipe to make with kids or for snacking during holiday movies, parties, or gift-wrapping. It also makes a DELICIOUS edible gift idea, perfect for delivering to friends, neighbors, and co-workers! We go through batches and batches over the holiday season!

Here’s what you need to make this deliciously gluten-free Christmas Chex Mix (no oven needed!)…

Here’s What You Need To Make Gluten-Free Holiday Chex Mix

• Rice Chex & Corn Chex. Since we’re making a gluten-free chex mix recipe, I use a mix of gluten-free cereals. I like mixing Rice Chex & Corn Chex for the mix of colors and flavors, though you can absolutely do all of one or the other!
• Cheerios. Next up is Cheerios. You can use plain Cheerios, but I sometimes choose the multigrain Cheerios for a bit more color. Whichever you like!
• Gluten-Free Pretzels. Let’s add some salty to this Holiday Chex Mix! I like the Snyder’s gluten-free pretzels for this, but Glutino gluten-free pretzels are another good choice. Some Christmas Chex Mix recipes use pretzel sticks, but I like regular pretzels so the shapes are a bit more uniform.
• M&Ms or Chocolate Candies. Here’s where we add some cute color! Pick up a bag of red and green m&ms at the holidays to give these a festive look. (Feel free to use peanut butter m&ms or peanut m&ms if you prefer!)
• Salted Peanuts. My own little spin. I like adding a bit more salty crunch to my Christmas Chex mix, so I’m adding salted peanuts. They’re delightful paired with the chocolate and round out the mix nicely. If you’ve got a peanut allergy, feel free to swap them for more cereal, pretzels, or other nuts.
• White Chocolate, White Candy Melts, Or Vanilla Almond Bark. Lastly, to bind the whole holiday snack mix together, you’ll use a bit of vanilla almond bark (easiest to work with!), white chocolate candy melts (that come in wafers) or some white chocolate chips (like Ghirardelli or Guittard).
• Sprinkles. For a cute look at the end, you can use a few shakes of sprinkles. We love nonpareils or jimmies for this job, but check out our Sprinkles 101 post to find other shapes that can work!

WE ♥

How To Make Gluten-Free Christmas Chex Mix, Step By Step

As always, you can find the full recipe, with ingredient amounts, detailed instructions, and tips in the recipe card below.

1. Prep Your Station. Spread out a few sheets of parchment paper (I like to put mine on a baking sheet or two for stability, but feel free to spread them on your counter).
2. Combine The Christmas Chex Mix Ingredients. Set aside half of the M&Ms to decorate with at the end. In your largest large bowl, combine rice Chex, corn Chex, Cheerios, gluten-free pretzels, half of the m&ms, and the peanuts (if using).
3. Melt The White Chocolate Coating. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt vanilla almond bark in 20-30 second intervals, stirring well after each interval until the white chocolate coating is smooth and has no lumps. (You can also do this on the stovetop in a double boiler, if you prefer)
4. Drizzle & Stir. Pour the melted vanilla bark/candy melts over the cereal mixture and quickly stir to combine. (You want to coat everything well with the white chocolate mixture, but work quickly since the candy melts will start to cool and harden)
5. Spread Out, Sprinkle & Cool. Transfer the coated cereal onto your prepared sheets of parchment, and immediately sprinkle on the second half of the m&ms and the sprinkles (if using), and let it cool to set. It will form some clusters as it cools. I like to leave some larger sections and some smaller sections rather than breaking it all up.
6. Serve & Store. Once the chocolate is all set, enjoy it right away, or transfer to an airtight container and store at room temperature on the counter up to 1 week.

FAQ + Tips And Tricks For The Best Gluten-Free Christmas Snack Mix

Our Favorite Way To Package Chex Mix For Gifting. Whenever we’re packaging up Christmas Crunch Chex Mix for giving to friends or neighbors, I like to scoop it into these large treat bags and tie it with a cute ribbon, like red and white striped ribbon, red polka dot ribbon, or red velvet ribbon.

Can I Make This Dairy-Free? If you use dairy-free white chocolate/candy coating & swap out the m&m’s for a dairy-free chocolate candy, like Unreal candies, ChocoNoNo’s or Little Secrets, this Holiday Chex Mix can be dairy-free!

Feel free to add other mix-ins! Sometimes I’ll swap the milk chocolate m&ms for peanut butter m&ms (so good!) or add a handful or two of gluten-free peanut butter stuffed pretzel nuggets at the end. Some people even like mini marshmallows, or bits of crushed candy cane, though that tends to run a bit sweet for my taste.

More Gluten-Free Holiday Treats To Try

No-Bake Gluten-Free Oreo Truffles

Gluten-Free Caramel Popcorn

Gluten-Free Chex Party Mix (Savory!)

Recipe Card

Gluten-Free christmas Chex Mix

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5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Emily Dixon, Sweets & Thank You
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: 9 cups 1x
• Diet: Gluten Free

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Description

This easy gluten-free christmas chex recipe is so fun and festive! A perfect gift for friends & neighbors!

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Ingredients

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For The Christmas Chex Mix:

• 2 cups Rice Chex Cereal
• 2 cups Corn Chex Cereal
• 1 1/2 cups Cheerios Cereal
• 2 1/2 cups Gluten-Free Pretzels, like Snyder’s Gluten-Free (I prefer twists over sticks)
• 1 cup Salted Peanuts (just salted, not seasoned peanuts)
• 1 cup Red & Green M&Ms Candy* (I use milk chocolate, or peanut butter m&ms)
• 16 oz. Vanilla Almond Bark, White Candy Melts, or White Chocolate Chips

Optional, To Decorate: 

• 1–2 Tablespoons red and green sprinkles, like nonpareils or jimmies*
• Flaky sea salt

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Instructions

1. Prep Your Station. Spread out a few sheets of parchment paper (I like to put mine on a cookie sheet for stability, but feel free to spread them on your counter).
2. Combine The Christmas Chex Mix Ingredients. Set aside half of the M&Ms to decorate with at the end. In your largest large bowl, combine rice Chex, corn Chex, Cheerios, gluten-free pretzels, half of the m&ms, and the peanuts (if using).
3. Melt The White Chocolate Coating. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt vanilla almond bark in 20-30 second intervals, stirring well after each interval until the white chocolate coating is smooth and has no lumps. (You can also do this on the stovetop in a double boiler, if you prefer)
4. Drizzle & Stir. Pour the melted vanilla bark/candy melts over the cereal mixture and quickly stir to combine. (You want to coat everything well with the white chocolate mixture, but work quickly since the candy melts will start to cool and harden)
5. Spread Out, Sprinkle & Cool. Transfer the coated cereal onto your prepared sheets of parchment, and immediately sprinkle on the second half of the m&ms and the sprinkles (if using), and let it cool to set. It will form some clusters as it cools. I like to leave some larger sections and some smaller sections rather than breaking it all up.
6. Serve & Store. Once the chocolate is all set, enjoy it right away, or transfer to an airtight container and store at room temperature on the counter up to 1 week. 

Notes

*3 Tricks For Prettier Presentation:

1. First, consider holding back a handful or two of the m&m candies and adding those after you spread the Chex Mix out to dry. Then some of the m&ms will be coated in the white chocolate and some will be easily visible. Since we want people to know we’re making this Chex mix with m&ms, it makes the red and green pop more!
2. Second, add a few sprinkles. Just a little sprinkle of some nonpareil sprinkles or jimmies sprinkles adds a fun, festive touch! 100% unnecessary flavor-wise, but 100% cute looks-wise!
3. Dip some pretzels first. If you really want to go all out, you can lightly dip 1/2-3/4 cup of the pretzels into the melted almond bark, sprinkle them with sprinkles, and set them aside on a piece of parchment paper to dry before pouring the rest of the melted almond bark over the cereal/pretzel/candy mixture. This will give you a few really pretty pretzels that stand out! (But this is 100% cosmetic!)

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 2 minutes
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Microwave
• Cuisine: American

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