Bowl of churro Chex Mix with pretzels and caramel squares, coated in cinnamon sugar, next to a glass of milk.

Churro Chex Mix is an easy-to-make snack combining Rice Chex, Corn Chex, and pretzels with a buttery brown sugar coating, a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar, and chewy caramel pieces. Ready in just over an hour, it’s perfect for parties, picnics, or a fun treat at home.

Jump to Recipe

Prep Time15

Cook Time45

Total Time1

Servings

Churro Chex Mix takes the classic cinnamon-sugar flavor you love from churros and transforms it into a bite-sized treat. Think crispy Chex cereal, salty pretzels, buttery cinnamon-sugar coating, and chewy caramel pieces.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Ingredients for Churro Chex Mix including Rice Chex, Corn Chex, pretzels, Kraft caramels, butter, cinnamon, vanilla extract, sugar, and brown sugar. — All you need for the ultimate Churro Chex Mix: granulated sugar, cinnamon, Rice Chex, Corn Chex, pretzel sticks, melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and chewy Kraft caramels.

Ingredient Notes

We tested this mix with different amounts and found that nine cups total cereal is the sweet spot. Any more, and the butter-sugar coating doesn’t stretch far enough, leaving some pieces bland.

We always use salted butter (or add a pinch of sea salt if we only have unsalted on hand). That little bit of salt makes the cinnamon-sugar flavor pop—just like salted caramel. Without it, the mix tastes flat.

You can use Wheat Chex or Crispix as alternatives to Rice and Corn Chex for a different texture and flavor.

Bowl of Churro Chex Mix with pretzels, cereal squares, and caramel pieces coated in cinnamon sugar, with inset image of plain cereal and pretzels before baking.

How To Make Chex Mix Using Cinnamon Sugar

Preheat the oven and line the sheet pan with parchment BEFORE mixing the coating. That way, once the butter, sugars, and vanilla are stirred into the cereal, it goes straight onto the pan without sitting around.

Step-by-step process of making churro Chex Mix, showing butter mixture being poured over cereal, mixing with pretzels, adding cinnamon sugar, and baking on a tray. — Cinnamon Sugar Chex Mix is so easy to make. Just combine cereal and pretzels, coat with a buttery brown sugar mixture, toss with cinnamon sugar, bake until crisp, then finish with chewy caramel pieces.

Spread everything out on parchment paper, which not only prevents sticking but also helps distribute heat evenly. Anytime we’ve skipped it, cleanup was a nightmare and the sugar coating hardened unevenly. Lesson learned.

Bake the mix in three 15-minute rounds instead of one long bake. This lets the butter-sugar coating caramelize gradually without burning–and stirring in between ensures every piece gets evenly coated. Trust us, low and slow wins.

Toss the quartered caramels in once the mix is warm but not hot. That way, they soften just enough to cling without melting into goo.

Serving Ideas

Large serving bowl with scoop: A guaranteed crowd-pleaser for game nights or holiday spreads.
Gift jars or bags: Pack in mason jars or clear cellophane bags tied with ribbon for edible gifts.
Individual servings for a movie night upgrade: Swap out popcorn for a sweet-salty bowl of this Churro Chex Mix.

Churro Chex Mix served in different ways — big bowl for parties, mason jars for gifting, and small containers for movie night.

Storage Instructions

Churro Chex mix keeps beautifully in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days—making it ideal for parties, game nights, road trips, or edible gifting! We don’t recommend freezing, since the caramel turns sticky and the cinnamon-sugar coating loses its satisfying crunch.

Final Thoughts

This Churro Chex Mix takes the cozy flavors of classic churros and transforms them into an easy, make-ahead snack that’s just as fun to eat by the handful as it is to share. With its balance of crunch, sweetness, and chew, it’s one of those recipes that always gets passed around—literally and figuratively.

Wooden spoon scooping churro Chex Mix with cinnamon sugar coating, pretzels, and caramel chunks.

More Chex Mix Recipes

Churro Chex Mix

No ratings yet

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1

Servings

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Review Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar
1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
6 cups rice Chex brand cereal
3 cups corn Chex brand cereal
2 cups pretzel sticks (if longer than 2-inches, break in half before adding)
1 cup salted butter, melted
⅓ cup light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
24 pieces Kraft brand caramels, unwrapped and cut into quarters (approximately 1 cup)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 275°F. Line a large (18×26 inch) rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Mix together in a small bowl the granulated sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
To a large bowl add the rice Chex cereal, corn Chex cereal, and pretzel sticks.
In a separate bowl, stir together the melted butter, light brown sugar and vanilla extract until the sugar has dissolved.
Pour the butter mixture over the cereal and pretzels and stir gently to combine without crushing the cereal.
Sprinkle the reserved cinnamon sugar over the butter coated cereal and gently toss to evenly coat all the cereal and pretzels with the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and spread the mixture out into an even layer.
Bake in the center rack of the preheated oven for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and stir. Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Stir then bake for a final 15 minutes, for a total bake time of 45 minutes. This method helps to ensure that all sides of the coated cereal are evenly crisped and does not burn.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the mixture to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before adding the quartered caramel candies. Gently toss to evenly distribute all the caramels into the cereal mixture.
Transfer the churro chex mix to a large bowl for immediate serving.

Notes

Rice, corn and wheat varieties of Chex brand cereal can be used. You can use only one variety or a combination of them all. You do not want to exceed a total of 9 cups of cereal for this recipe.
If your brand of pretzel sticks are not longer than 2 inches in length, you do not need to break them in half before adding them to the mixture. Some brands are 3-4 inches long and those would need to be broken in half before added. Any small variety of snack pretzel will work well in this mix.
Kraft brand makes a caramel bit that is sold in the baking aisle. These are little balls of caramel. You can substitute the quartered caramel squares with these if you do not want to take the time to unwrap and cut the squares. You will need approximately 1 cup of the bits if using them as a substitute.
If using unsalted butter, you will need to add ½ teaspoon fine sea salt to the melted butter mixture before pouring over the cereal and pretzels. The salt helps to balance the sweetness of the churro chex mix.
If you do not have a large (18×26 inch) rimmed baking sheet, also known as a full sheet pan, you can divide the mixture between two smaller parchment lined baking sheets. Be sure to rotate the pans in the oven when you take them out to stir to ensure even baking.

Nutrition

Have You Tried This Recipe?Follow me on Pinterest @spaceshipslb

Proudly Prepared by the Spaceships Kitchen

This recipe was developed, tested, cooked and photographed by the Spaceships Kitchen. From our dinner table to yours, we hope you think it's out of this world!

Stephanie Keeping Publisher
Layne Kangas Marketing
Lexus Monroe Editorial Assistant
Amy Tandiko Graphic Designer
Ina Chong
Sian Cox Photographer
Teresia Shrum Recipe Developer