I Tried "Texas Trash" Mix and It's So Good, I'll Be Making It Every Weekend
I kind of love how “Texas Trash” is a style of food that Texans are quite proud of. Essentially, it’s a food that can be made with all kinds of items, in an effort to clear out your pantry while also making something absolutely delicious. Curious about the “Texas Trash” genre, I’ve tried Texas Trash Pie, Texas Trash Dip, and Texas Trash Cake. So you know when I came across a Texas Trash Mix, a spicy take on a classic homemade Chex Mix, I had to give it a try.
While there are a variety of different ways to make this recipe, I decided to follow the guidelines from Kelly Anthony of The Anthony Kitchen. She’s a born-and-bred Texan, and according to her post, her Texas Trash Mix is “solid gold” for snack time. As a huge fan of snack time, why wouldn’t I test it out?
Get the recipe: Texas Trash Mix
How to Make Texas Trash Mix
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix together Rice Chex, Corn Chex, Wheat Chex, bagel chips, rye chips, pretzel sticks, and Bugles. Set aside.
Melt butter in the microwave in a small bowl with Creole seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, seasoned salt, and garlic powder. You can also add in hot sauce if you want to give your Texas Trash Mix an extra kick.
Drizzle the sauce over the snack mix and toss to make sure everything is coated. Transfer the mix to a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Toss the mix, then bake for another 15 minutes. Let the mix cool before serving, and store it in an airtight container.
My Honest Review
This is the kind of snack that you keep turning to because it’s just that good. It has the perfect kick of salty and spicy, and is exactly what I’m looking for when I need a little pick-me-up in the afternoon. It’s also the kind of thing you can’t help but have in a bag while you’re traveling, like on a road trip or camping out in the woods.
I like how this mix allows for you to play with different variations; the recipe says you can mix and match what else you put in there, like adding Cheerios, Goldfish, or nuts. Because of this, I do feel that the specific combination has a little too much Chex and bagel chips and maybe not enough of the other snack foods. However, because what you put in it is basically the chef’s choice, I don’t think this changes my opinion of the recipe.
What I do think needs to be added to this Texas Trash Mix is a hint of something sweet. While I do love a salty snack, I find that the salty and spicy in this recipe is very overpowering, and I want to balance out those flavors with something a touch sweet to round it out. I think adding in honey roasted peanuts or Honey Nut Cheerios might do nicely in this mix.
Tips for Making Texas Trash Mix
Bake it for a little longer, or halve the recipe: This recipe calls for a lot of mix, and after baking it for the allotted 45 minutes, I found that it wasn’t quite done. Overcrowding your Chex Mix is a mistake you should avoid, leading to a potentially soggy mix. So I had to bake it for longer to ensure that it finished cooking. The solution is to bake it on multiple sheet pans and to make sure the pan isn’t overcrowded, or to halve the recipe you are making.
Use Crispix: This recipe calls for three different kinds of Chex; corn, wheat, and rice. However, I decided to make matters a little easier and simply buy one box of Crispix, which is a cereal that has corn and rice on each piece of cereal. This saved me from having to buy three boxes of cereal, and it also didn’t overwhelm the mix with so much cereal when there are so many other delicious goodies I wanted to add to my Texas Trash Mix instead.
Get the recipe: Texas Trash Mix
