This Weight Watchers Chex Mix Recipe is an easy, delicious snack that’s totally part of your wholesome fix. Read on for ingredients and step-by-step instructions!
Snacking can be a problem for me in the evenings. It is important that I find Weight Watchers recipes that will keep my points in check. If you are asking the question, is Chex Mix healthy?…I will answer that below!
WHAT IS CHEX MIX?
Chex Mix is a blend of Chex cereals and other ingredients. The ingredients are seasoned and then baked so they are nice and crunchy.
Chex Mix is a snack mix that is very popular and can be purchased at the store or made at home.
There are even sweet versions of Chex Mix like Puppy Chow that people love to make and munch on.
IS CHEX MIX BETTER FOR YOU THAN CHIPS?
Most people will agree that in some ways Chex Mix is better for you than chips. Both foods are processed.
It is no secret that the fewer processed foods we eat the better. BUT…if you are craving a crunchy snack, Chex Mix is a good option.
Chex Mix has some protein and fiber and potato chips typically don't. If you are buying Chex Mix at the store your best bet is to get the traditional bag. The flavored bags are much higher in sugar, sodium and some are even high in trans-fat.
It is even better to MAKE YOUR OWN healthier Chex Mix at home.
IS CHEX MIX HEALTHY?
Chex Mix is a healthy snack in moderation. As with any food, overindulgence is a bad thing. Store-bought Chex Mix is not as healthy as making it yourself at home.
Remember that store-bought Chex Mix is a processed food and is higher in carbs, sodium, and fat.
If you make it yourself you have more control over what goes into your mixture.
Here are some ways that homemade Chex Mix can be considered healthy:
- Chex cereal is packed with whole grains which the American Heart Association loves!
- There is no high-fructose corn syrup in Chex cereal.
- Wheat Chex is a good source of fiber since it is whole wheat, with 8 grams of fiber per serving.
- My healthy Chex Mix recipe includes Cheerios, which are heart-healthy. Packed with whole grains and no cholesterol or saturated fat.
WHAT IS ONE SERVING OF CHEX MIX?
If you are eating store-bought Chex Mix a serving is only 1/2 a cup. Here is the nutrition breakdown for a 1/2 cup of store-bought Traditional Chex Mix.
- 120 calories
- 3.5 grams total fat
- 250 grams sodium
- 22 grams total carbohydrates
- 1 gram fiber
- 2 grams sugar
- 2 grams protein
You can eat ONE CUP of my Weight Watchers Chex Mix. Here is the nutrition breakdown for my recipe.
- 109 calories
- 2 grams total fat
- 343 milligrams of sodium (this sounds higher…but the serving size is double. If you eat 1 cup of store-bought it will be 500 grams of sodium!)
- 22 grams total carbohydrates
- 2 grams fiber
- 2 grams sugar
- 2 grams protein
HOW MANY CARBS ARE IN A CUP OF HOMEMADE CHEX MIX?
There are many recipes out there for homemade Chex Mix. My recipe focuses on making it as healthy as possible to help people trying to lose weight.
My recipe has 22 carbohydrates per one-cup serving.
INGREDIENTS
There are no limits to the foods you can add to your homemade Chex Mix. When creating this recipe I was looking to make it very calorie friendly for my Weight Watchers readers. Initially, I added pretzels to the mixture…which is why you see pretzels in the images. BUT those pretzels really pack a high-calorie punch. So I decided to remove them and I liked it even better!
Here are the ingredients I ended up with:
- Rice Chex cereal
- Corn Chex cereal
- Cheerios
- Butter-flavored cooking spray (saves calories over olive oil)
- Worcestershire sauce
- Butter flavored sprinkles
- Garlic powder
- Seasoned salt
- onion powder
HOW TO MAKE A HEALTHIER CHEX MIX AT HOME
Making this snack mix at home is easy. The best part is that it makes a big quantity that you can share with friends.
STEP ONE: MIX CEREAL
The first step is to preheat the oven to 200 °F. A low heat is key to a great result.
Then grab a big bowl and toss all the cereal together.
Cover a large sheet pan evenly with the cereal mixture.
STEP TWO: COAT CEREAL
Spray a light coat of butter cooking spray on top of the cereal mixture.
Drizzle the Worcestershire Sauce over the cereal mixture and stir to evenly coat.
STEP THREE: COMBINE SEASONINGS
In a small bowl combine the remaining seasonings and then sprinkle them over the cereal mixture.
STEP FOUR: BAKE
The healthier homemade Chex Mix will bake for about 1.5 hours. It is critical that the mixture is stirred and moved around every 30 minutes or it will burn!
Set a timer for 30 minutes and stir it well every 30 minutes. When it is done baking, remove the pan from the oven and let it cool.
HOW TO STORE THE CHEX MIX
Homemade Chex Mix needs to be stored in an airtight container. If you keep it stored properly it will stay good for 1-2 weeks!
**If you like a LOT of flavor in your snack mix you can double the seasonings and add more. It is a personal preference.
NO PRETZELS?
I mentioned briefly above that I made this mix and photographed it before I realized how high in calories and WW points it would be with the pretzels.
So the final recipe ended up being without pretzels.
Remember, you can add whatever you like to your mixture! Just keep the total amount of crunchy additions to 9 cups.
Here are a few ideas of things you might want to add:
- peanuts
- Goldfish crackers
- bagel chips
- rye chips
- mini breadsticks
WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS FOR CHEX MIX
On the current Weight Watchers Program (2023), it is 3 points per serving. The serving size is one cup. That is a generous serving for a crunchy snack!
PRINTABLE CHEX MIX RECIPE
You can print this recipe off via the recipe card below.
If you love this recipe PLEASE come back and leave a 5-star rating! It would mean a lot to me.
Weight Watchers Chex Mix is a healthier version of Chex Mix and is delicious! This is the perfect Weight Watchers snack recipe!
- 3 cups Rice Chex cereal
- 3 cups Corn Chex cereal
- 3 cups Cheerios
- Butter flavored cooking spray
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons butter flavored sprinkles
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder more if desired
- ½ teaspoon seasoned salt
- ½ teaspoon onion powder more if desired
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Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
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Combine all cereals on a sheet pan and cover it evenly.
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Lightly spray with butter cooking spray. and then drizzle with Worcestershire sauce.
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Drizzle mixture with Worcestershire sauce.
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Combine remaining seasonings in a small bowl and sprinkle over the mixture.
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Bake at 200 degrees for 1 ½ hours, stirring the contents of the pan every 30 minutes.
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Cool the Chex mix and then store in an airtight container.
This makes 9 one-cup servings.
Weight Watchers myWW Points are 3 points per cup.
On the current Weight Watchers Program (2023), it is 3 points per serving.
The pictures show this with pretzels….but after making it I realized that pretzels are just too high in points to make this a low-point snack! So I did not include pretzels in my calculations! If you want to add nuts or pretzels you will need to adjust your calculations.
Remember you can always use more or less of the Worcestershire sauce and spices depending on your personal preferences.
Check out these other great healthy snack recipes while you are here:
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I love Chex mix, will try this version.