Mom's Homemade Holiday Party Mix (Doo Dads Recipe)

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

This homemade party mix (doo dads recipe) is a favorite snack every holiday season. It's so much better than what you can find in the grocery store, and it's so easy to throw together. Plus, because it makes a hefty amount, it's perfect for holiday gift giving! Give your friends and neighbors a bag of this crunchy snack mix, and they'll be begging you for the recipe!

Square metal pan filled with homemade party mix (Doo Dad's) with a wooden spoon and small wooden bowls filled with the mix off to the side.

This party mix is one of many of my mom's famous holiday recipes. Christmas is her favorite holiday--come September (or even as early as July) she starts watching Christmas movies, gearing up for the holiday season.

I can always count on her having bowls of this party mix around the house during the Christmas season. It's a great make ahead snack for holiday parties and especially for gift giving. You're going to love it.

Another must-have Christmas appetizer inspired by my mom's recipe is my Sausage Balls recipe, as is my Pimento Cheese with Jalapeños. For a sweet dessert snack mix, you'll want to check out my White Chocolate Chex Mix recipe--it's a favorite too. Finally, don't forget my lovely (and easy) Trader Joe's holiday sangria to serve alongside all these tasty snacks. Now let's get to it!

Jump to:

Ingredients
Instructions
Substitutions
Variations
Equipment
Storage
Tasty tip
Frequently asked questions
Related
Pairing
🍽Get the recipe
Recipe guidelines and test kitchen tips
Food safety

Ingredients

Before we get started, let's gather the ingredients we need for this recipe:

Rice Chex
Wheat Chex
Corn Chex
pretzel twists
Cheez-Its
cocktail peanuts
pecans
unsalted butter
Worcestershire sauce
Lawry's seasoned salt
garlic powder
onion powder

(See recipe card for quantities.)

Instructions

Now that we've got our ingredients, it's time to get cooking!

A blend of the dry ingredients for Doo Dads recipe in a roasting pan.

First, combine the cereals, pretzels, Cheeze-Its, and nuts in a large roasting pan.

Stirring the seasoned butter mixture for Doo Dads in a small saucepan with a wooden spoon.

Next, mix the melted butter with the Worcestershire sauce and seasonings.

Pouring melted seasoned butter over the dry ingredients for Doo Dads in a large roasting pan.

Then, pour the butter mixture over the ingredients in the roasting pan.

Stirring the seasoned dry ingredients for Doo Dads with a wooden spoon in a large roasting pan.

Finally, bake the party mix at 250°F for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Let cool and serve.

Hint: Have bits and bobs of crackers, chips, and nuts? Throw them in! This snack mix is easily customizable to use up those odds and ends in the pantry.

Substitutions

Need to make some ingredient swaps? Here are some suggestions:

Cereal - Omit one or more of the Chex cereals or use another cereal if you'd like.
Pretzels - Instead of pretzel twists, use pretzel squares or pretzel sticks.
Nuts - Not a fan of pecans? Use walnuts or cashews instead or double up on the peanuts.
Cheez-Its - I love the addition of a cheesy cracker. Goldfish crackers also work great.

Variations

Here are more ways to add a unique spin to this recipe:

Spicy - Add your favorite hot sauce like Tabasco sauce to the butter mixture or stir in some crushed red pepper flakes to give this some heat.
Rosemary Mix - Add some fresh rosemary during the last 30 minutes of baking to give this mix an herby flavor.
Extra Cheesy - Sprinkle the mix with Parmesan cheese during the last 15 minutes of baking.

Equipment

Here's the equipment you'll need for this recipe:

dry measuring cups
liquid measuring cup
measuring spoons
small saucepan
large roasting pan

Storage

Store the mix in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 to 3 weeks.

You can also freeze this party mix. Store in an airtight container or zip-top plastic freezer bags and freeze for up to 6 months.

Tasty tip

For this recipe, I use the roasting pan reserved for the Thanksgiving turkey. It's heavy-duty for even cooking and it's large enough so that when I stir the party mix, the ingredients don't go flying. If you don't have a large roasting pan, several rimmed baking sheets will also work.

Frequently asked questions

Do they still make Doo Dads snack mix?

Sadly, Nabisco doesn't make beloved Doo Dads mix anymore--it was discontinued in the 90s. That's okay though--thanks to this recipe you can make a similar version!

Is Chex Mix the same as Doo Dads snack mix?

Chex Mix (the pre-packaged kind you can buy from the store) is different than Doo Dads. It has the brown bagel chips and Doo Dads had the small skinny cheese crackers called Tid Bits.

What year did Chex Mix come out?

The original recipe for Chex party mix appeared in Life Magazine in the early 1950s. In that recipe, only Wheat Chex and Rice Chex were used. Later on Corn Chex was added to the mix. In 1985, the popular snack began to be commercially packaged.

What is the shelf life of homemade Chex Mix?

If stored properly, homemade Chex mix can last up to about a month. I live in a humid location, so it doesn't last that long for me (partially because of the weather but mostly because we eat it all before then.)

Why did my Chex Mix turn out soggy?

There's a good chance the butter mixture wasn't poured evenly over the dry ingredients. Be sure to drizzle the butter evenly so a portion of the mixture doesn't turn out soggy.

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Pairing

These are my favorite dishes to serve with this party mix:

🍽Get the recipe