Slow Cooker Cajun Snack Mix
Craving a good snack for this weekend? This Slow Cooker Cajun Snack Mix is an easy and tasty treat!
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It’s surprising some of the things you learn about places in your own backyard. Saratoga Springs is a quaint town nestled at the base of the Adirondacks, and it is the place to be every year in August. That’s because the track (one of the oldest horse racing venues in the country) is only open for about the last 6 weeks of the summer. (Downtown Saratoga is only about 10 miles away from us.)
You should see the cars coming north on Friday afternoon and going south on Sunday evening! Saratoga is an easy getaway for folks from New Jersey and NYC, and rightfully so. Not only is the track scene pretty cool, but the dining options are some of the best in our region. Basically, Saratoga is the place to see and be seen in August.
And apparently it’s been that way for a while. I just stumbled across an article detailing the connections between Saratoga and organized crime. Yes, like the Mafia. Back in the early 1900’s, Saratoga wasn’t known as much for horse racing as it was for underground casinos. Underground betting parlors run by folks like Arnold Rothstein and other members of organized crime families. (If Arnold Rothstein sounds familiar, it might be because his character appeared in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire.) One of these underground casinos pulled in $17 million (in today’s dollars) in the summer of 1901 alone. That’s some serious bucks!
So what does the organized crime scene from the early years of Saratoga have to do with Slow Cooker Cajun Snack Mix? Nothing. I just found the story about those underground casinos quite interesting!
Earlier this week, I was craving Chex Mix like crazy. Does that ever happen to you guys? You just crave a certain chip or snack. The more you think about it, the more you convince yourself that you want need it. So I decided to fix that craving by whipping up this batch of Slow Cooker Cajun Snack Mix. With March Madness in full frenzy now, I knew I needed some snacks on hand. And this snack mix did the trick!
So I actually have both a slow cooker and an oven option for this Slow Cooker Cajun Snack Mix. Why? Because I wanted to get rid of the boxes of cereal. I didn’t need 3 half-full boxes of Chex cereal hanging out in my pantry, so I decided to make a double batch. That’s when I realized I had more snack mix than would fit in my slow cooker. Oops. So I fired up the oven. I had one tray of snack mix going in the oven while the slow cooker did it’s job on the countertop. Needless to say, I had plenty of snack mix. (Shout out to my teammates at the curling club for helping solve that problem!)
Snack mix in a slow cooker is a strange thing. It seems like it shouldn’t work. But it does. (Just leave the top off of the slow cooker.) In fact, it totally works just as well as the oven! (Trust me, I did a side-by-side comparison…and I couldn’t tell the difference.) So if you’re in the mood for some tasty snacks this weekend, how about whipping up a batch of this Slow Cooker Cajun Snack Mix? Or you could make it in the oven. Or you could do like I did and make it in both. Cheers! (And if you’re a college basketball fan like me, enjoy watching the games this weekend!)
Slow Cooker Cajun Snack Mix
Ingredients
- 3 cups corn Chex cereal
- 3 cups rice Chex cereal
- 3 cups wheat Chex cereal
- 2 cups pretzel sticks
- 2 cups unflavored bagel chips
- 1½ cup peanuts
- 1 cup pecan halves
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- ½-1½ tsp hot sauce depending on preference
- 2 Tbsp Cajun seasoning see note
Instructions
- Add first seven ingredients (3 types of cereal, pretzels, bagel chips, peanuts and pecans) to slow cooker; stir until well combined.
- Using a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and Cajun seasoning. Pour mixture over snack mix and stir until well combined.
- Cook uncovered on high for 2 hours, stirring every 20 minutes.
- Spread snack mix on baking sheet and let cool fully before serving.
Notes
Looking for more tasty snack recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
Slow Cooker Spinach Artichoke Dip
Southern Cheese Straws
Carta di Musica
You wouldn’t think that it would work to put all those dry ingredients in the slow cooker, but obviously it does! And I totally feel ya about the half boxes of cereal….like, why won’t I finish a box before starting another one? Why? Your curling team is lucky. You keep giving them awesome snacks like this 🙂 I think they may be playing just for the food, lol!!
I totally agree with you, Dawn…it seems odd that you can make snack mix in a slow cooker. But you can! (Of course, I made it in the slow cooker AND the oven…so I had plenty of snack mix to go around. Haha!) Sshhh…don’t tell anyone my plan about the food and curling. 😉
Hi David. If I make this I will have to eat it entirely by myself. Gary does not like anything in this except the nuts (yeah, he does have some flaws) and no way am I going to let him pick all the nuts of it. I usually buy Crispix cereal so I don’t end up with partial boxes of cereal to get stale.
Wait…Gary doesn’t like chex mix? Crazy! And the nuts are the best part…don’t let him go through and pick all of those out. I hate when people pick out the best parts of a snack mix…that’s the worst! Tell you what…you can come up here, and we’ll share the snack mix. And we’ll give Gary a can of nuts. How about that? 🙂
I like the way you handled these 3 half-full boxes of cereal, David. There’s a great (and free) idea – next time just combine all 3 boxes…in one! Smart, eh? As a bonus, you’ll get a new mixture any store could suggest you:) But seriously, I like this snack mix and the flavors going on. I’d like similar one with a cheese flavor. The problem is I don’t know how to make it so please develop the recipe and then ship me a sample:)
Haha…I like that idea, Ben! Wouldn’t that be convenient? 🙂 Hmmm…cheese flavored snack mix, eh? I think that would be kinda hard. You’d need to use powdered cheese I think…like the kind they use for popcorn seasoning. So I guess it can be done after all! I’ll try it out and send you some…or 3 boxes worth!
OMG this recipe reminds me of Christmas when I was a kid. My mom used to make snack mix in the crock pot just like this recipe, and it would fill the entire house with this delicious aroma. We would eat it hot, by the handfuls. I love the idea of adding cajun spice, I might have to make this recipes, for old time sakes. Saratoga sounds fun, I’m going to put it on my lists of places to visit this summer.
Yes! Snack mixes are totally a holiday thing around here, too. They’re perfect for the holidays when you’re just snacking all day long. 🙂 Of course, that also describes this time of the year for me with March Madness! Oh, and you should totally visit Saratoga if you make it over to this neck of the woods. Let me know if you’re coming to town!!
You totally crack me up, “What does the Saratoga story have to do with this snack mix? Nothing.” 🙂 But who knew?
Love this kind of snack mix, though I can’t stay out of it if it’s near me! Great idea to make it in the slow cooker – I bet it smells amazing as it cooks.
Haha! Hey, it was just too fun of a story not to share…but then I realized my story had nothing to do with the recipe. Oops. 🙂 I’m with ya, though, Marissa…I have to be careful with snack mixes like this one. I’ll just keep slowly munching away until the whole darned thing is gone! Hope you have a great weekend, my friend!
I certainly know the feeling of craving certain chips or snacks. You managed to turn your cravings into something truly delicious and how clever to make a double batch of it 🙂 Interesting to read about the history of Saratoga – sounds like an interesting place. Visiting the horse racing must be exciting! Have a nice weekend, David!
I’m not so sure ‘clever’ is the right word for making a double batch of this one, Miriam. You should’ve seen how much snack mix I had! But it was tasty, so it all worked out. 🙂 Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you and your family, Miriam…and have a great weekend!
Slow cooker snack mix!!! Wow!!! My mind’s blown! I am not very experimental with my slow cooker – I’ve seen those brownies and cakes made in slow cookers and in typical Shashi fashion, I haven’t jumped on that bandwagon – yet – but snack mix in the slow cooker – that’s a first for me! Reading through your list of Spices is tickling my nose – thanks, David, now I crave snack mix!
P.S. I know all about those cravings – a few weeks ago, that was me and chocolate cake! 🙂
Also, so funny you mention those underground casinos – Lil Shashi has me watching This Is Us with her and there was a scene with an underground gambling ring run by a mafia chap – I was curious and did some digging and read a few things about it and then you mention it here! Crazy co-inky-dink!!!
Happy FriYAY, my friend!
Oh man, I was totally the same about the snack mix in a slow cooker, Shashi! I was like…wait, there’s no way that can work. But it does! And the lineup of seasonings is pretty darn awesome. Of course, you can use a premixed Cajun seasoning if you’d like. Oh, and underground casinos, eh? Sounds like you and lil Shashi may need to visit one…you know, to do research! Haha! Thanks, my friend…and have a great weekend!
Slow Cooker Cajun Snack Mix sounds really interesting David. And the best of this recipe is that you have made it in slow cooker also. Lovely sharing!! 🙂
Thank you so much, Puja! I’m all about using the slow cooker whenever I can…and if it happens to involve a snack mix then all the better! 🙂 Have a great weekend, my friend!
I’ve seen stews made in the slow cooker, pulled meats and even a lasagna…but THIS? Dude what is this sorcery? I legit need to hunt down some Chex cereal because I’m trying this out.
I hear the ponies calling 😀
I know…this really is sorcery! Snack mix in a slow cooker. Say what!? But it legit works…if you don’t try to double the recipe. Oops. 🙂