A holiday throwback, this garlicky Texas Trash Recipe is a crunchy garlicky snack for all your nibblin’ needs. It’s vegetarian and easily vegan with just a few ingredient swaps from the classic party mix recipe! It makes a big batch for sharing and nibbling.
A Must Make for Snackin’
Ma always makes Chex Party Mix during the holidays. Garlicky, delicious and reminiscent of holiday gatherings. Growing up in Texas, we call this snack mix Texas Trash, sometimes Scrabble or as Rob (my husband) lovingly calls it, T. T. (this gives me a chuckle every time!).
PRO TIP: Ma says, her secret to a mouthwatering snack mix is extra garlic and stirring, at least three to four times while it’s baking. That way the seasonings are throughly distributed and the mix is baked evenly.
Vegetarian or Vegan Friendly: The original Chex Party Mix isn’t vegetarian or vegan, because it’s made with Worcestershire, which has anchovies in it. Additionally, the original recipe is made with butter. Fine for some vegetarians, but to keep this recipe vegetarian and easily vegan, I subbed the butter for coconut oil (and a bit of water) and the Worcestershire sauce for a vegetarian and vegan friendly Worcestershire.
About the Key Ingredients
With just a few easy swaps, this vegetarian snack mix recipe can easily be made vegan.
- Multi Grain Squares Cereal – I like Cascadian Farm Multigrain Squares, but the packaging indicates that it “may contain milk ingredients”. For a vegan brand, I like Field Day Organic Whole Grain Wheat Squares.
- Pretzels – I like Field Day Mini Twists.
- Mixed Nuts – Buy in bulk for best price. I typically use a mix of cashews, pecans and pepitas. Brazil Nuts are a nice addition too.
- Cheddar Crackers, Os or Toasts – I like cheddar bunnies, but any small cheddar cracker will work here. To make the recipe vegan friendly, try Field Day’s Whole Grain Os, or Melba Toast crackers.
- Coconut Oil – refined or unrefined. I cannot detect the taste of coconut oil even though I use unrefined. Rob can’t tell either.
- Vegetarian and Vegan Worcestershire – look for The Wizards or Annies
At a Glance: How to Make Vegetarian or Vegan Texas Trash Recipe
With little hands on time, and a long bake, this vegetarian Texas Trash Snack Mix is easy to pull together.
- First, split the dry ingredients between the two sheet pans.
- Third, whisk the coconut oil, Worcestershire, water, garlic and salt and gently warm in the microwave or stovetop.
- Next, pour the wet mixture over the dry ingredients in each sheet pan, splitting it evenly between the two. Mix to throughly distribute the wet ingredients.
- Last, bake!
Store Texas Trash at room temperature in a lidded container for up to two weeks.
Traci’s Tips
- Mixing Technique: I’ve attempted mixing this recipe in a big bowl but found that I had a lot of crushed crackers and cereal and the wet ingredients didn’t distribute evenly. Mixing the ingredients on two sheet pans eliminated those issues.
- Coconut Oil: My taste testers couldn’t detect any coconut oil flavor. I use unrefined coconut oil, but if desired, you can sub refined. I’ve not tested this recipe with plant butter.
- The Wet Ingredients: Make sure the wet ingredients are very warm to the touch, otherwise, the seasonings won’t distribute as evenly as they should. Warm the wet ingredients in the microwave or on stovetop – gently. It doesn’t need to boil.
- Vegan Version? Yes please! Simply use alternatives to the cereal and cheddar crackers as noted in the blog post above and in the recipe card notes.
More Holiday Snacks to Try
Texas Trash Snack Mix - Vegetarian or Vegan
Ingredients
- 6 C (348g) Multi Grain Squares Cereal, about one box | *see note for vegan opt.
- 3 C (110g) Mini Pretzels
- 3 C (390g) Mixed Nuts, I like pecans and cashews
- 1 C (175g) Pepitas, unsalted
- 3 C (155g) Cheddar Crackers, I like cheddar bunnies* see note for vegan opt.
Seasoning Mix:
- 3/4 C (152g) Coconut Oil, melted, I like unrefined
- 3 Tbs Water
- 5 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce, look for vegan and vegetarian
- 1 Tbs + 1 tsp Garlic Granules, add up to 1 more teaspoon for extra garlicky!
- 2 tsp Fine Sea Salt
Instructions
- Line two sheet pans with parchment paper leaving a little hanging over two edges. Preheat the oven to 275F (135C). Set two oven racks on the center most levels, one above the other.
- Split the cereal, pretzels, nuts, seeds and crackers evenly between the two parchment lined sheet pans.
- In an spouted heat proof measuring cup, add the coconut oil, Worcestershire, water, garlic and salt and gently warm in the microwave or pour in a sauce pan and gently heat on the stovetop just until it's very warm to the touch. Whisk until the ingredients come together. It's okay if there's a little separation.
- Pour 1/2 of the wet ingredient mixture over the ingredients in one of the pans. Mix using a spatula in one hand and the parchment in the other to toss and throughly mix and distribute the wet ingredients. Repeat with the remaining wet ingredients on the second sheet pan.
- Bake at 275F (135C) for about 50-55 minutes, gently stirring at least three times while the snack mix is baking. At about 25 minutes, rotate the pans moving from bottom to top and top to bottom. Keep an eye on the mix during the last 10 minutes of baking to make sure it's not getting too dark. The snack mix is done when golden, toasty and fragrant. Let the color and fragrance of the mix guide you rather than the clock.
- Allow to cool completely. Store at room temperature in a lidded container for about two weeks.
Notes
- Look for vegan whole grain squares - I like Field Day Organic Whole Grain Wheat Squares.
- Instead of cheddar crackers, try Field Day's Whole Grain Os, or Melba Toast crackers.
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
Made it? Leave a comment below!
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We loved it, great recipe! But if i wanted to use butter instead of the coconut oil how much butter would you use? thank you :)
Hi Sue.. I’m not sure exactly Because I’ve only recently made this with coconut oil. But because butter has a bit of water in it, I suppose a few Tbs more of butter would work just fine. I hope this helps!
This is almost the exact recipe my mam-ma made during the holidays. The main difference was that she used butter instead of coconut oil and didn’t add any pepitas. Thank you so much for sharing this! I could almost remember the taste but wasn’t sure of the precise ingredients. I’ve already made this recipe three times and shared it with my family and friends It’s a huge hit and a nice way to remember and share my childhood.
Hi, Traci! I had to make this treat for the neighbors and us. This was so good it didn’t last long in either household. Yum!! I really enjoyed the different flavor compared to the regular Chex Mix. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Claudia! Thank you for your note, giving the recipe a go and rating! So happy to hear it was a hit!