Name a better appetizer than well-seasoned party mix. Hard to think of one, huh?! A good bowl of party mix is sure to be gobbled up quickly at any gathering. Even if that gathering only involves you and your dog on the couch 🙂
The balanced notes of sweetness and spice in this recipe do sincerely make it quite irresistible. Know that you’ve been warned. This party mix is hard to resist. The good news for you is that it’s made with cleaner ingredients and is full of satiating healthy fats from nuts.
What Makes This Party Mix So Irresistible
The seasonings are always what make the party mix. Just think about it… if someone was to mix nuts and pretzels in a bowl and put it out for a holiday party you’d opt for other snacks and treats. There isn’t anything particularly special about the base ingredients for party mix, whether it’s nuts, chex cereal, crackers, corn puffs, pretzels, goldfish or any other sort of crunchy snack. It’s all fairly plain until you season it up, bake it and voila! You end up with a delicious flavor bomb in your mouth.
The pairing of sweet and spicy flavor in this mix really makes it special! There is a lingering kick from the cayenne pepper (but not too much) and a delightful sweetness from the honey which actually caramelizes perfectly over the nuts and pretzels when you bake this party mix.
Cluster of sweet and spicy party mix
How to Make This Sweet & Spicy Party Mix
You will start with this simple list of ingredients:
- Raw nuts of choice: Make sure these are raw nuts, not roasted and salted nuts, since you’ll be roasting them in the oven and seasoning them in this recipe. You can use any assortment of nuts you have! I used almonds, pecans and walnuts most recently when I made this recipe and it worked out perfectly.
- Pretzels: Just some simple pretzel twists. You could even use gluten-free pretzels, like these, to keep this recipe gluten free.
- Honey
- Butter: I tested this recipe multiple times with salted butter and loved the slight addition of salt from the butter, but you could use either salted or unsalted butter.
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Garlic powder
- Cumin
- Cayenne pepper: You can be as light or as heavy-handed with this as you’d like depending on your spice preference, but I find that 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper is perfect for a varying level of spice preferences.
And now to make this goodness!
- Step #1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Step #2: In a small sauce pan combine the honey, butter and all spices over low-medium heat, until the butter is fully melted.
- Step #3: Combine the nuts and pretzels in a bowl and pour the honey butter mixture over the top.
- Step #4: Stir to coat the nuts and pretzels, then spread into a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Step #5: Bake for 14-17 minutes, stirring the mixture at the 10-minute mark. (When you take it out of the oven, you want the glaze to be starting to brown on the edges.)
- Step #6: Let cool to harden, then break apart into clusters.
How to Store This Party Mix
Keep your batch of party mix in an airtight container at room temperature and you can enjoy it for up to a few weeks. Yet another reason this recipe is perfect for parties – you can make it earlier in the week and it will still taste perfectly delicious on the day of your gathering!
This sweet & spicy party mix is total crowd-pleaser and it's an incredibly easy recipe to make! Snag some nuts, pretzels, honey and spices – it's time to make the most irresistible snack mix you've ever tried.
- 3 cups raw nuts of choice (I used almonds, pecans and walnuts)
- 2 cups pretzels
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a small sauce pan combine the honey, butter and all spices over low-medium heat, until the butter is fully melted.
Combine the nuts and pretzels in a bowl and pour the honey butter mixture over the top.
Stir to coat the nuts and pretzels, then spread into a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake for 14-17 minutes, stirring the mixture at the 10-minute mark. (When you take it out of the oven, you want the glaze to be starting to brown on the edges.)
Let cool to harden, then break apart into clusters.
Recipe Video
PER SERVING
239 cals ~ 15g fat ~ 21g carb ~ 5g protein ~ 3g fiber ~ 11g sugar
Looking For Another Drool-Worthy Party Mix Recipe?
This Paleo Honey Mustard Snack Mix recipe takes me straight back to childhood, snacking on those honey mustard pretzel bits. Remember those? They were oddly addicting and so is this snack mix recipe 🙂
