Furikake Chex Mix is a sweet salty Hawaii snack made from cereals and chips, tossed with furikake and a sweet and savory butter-soy sauce syrup. Step-by-step photo recipe included!
Furikake Chex Mix!
You've heard of Chex Mix, but have you heard of Furikake Chex Mix?
The "mix" for our Furikake Chex Mix
What Is Furikake Chex Mix?
Furikake Chex Mix is similar to regular Chex Mix...but with the addition of furikake (more about furikake below).
Furikake Chex Mix is a very "Hawaii thing." It's a sweet and salty, crunchy snack that involves a combination of cereals and chips tossed with a butter-soy sauce syrup and furikake. You bake, then let it cool and start snacking!
It's easy to make and keeps well, just make sure you store it in an airtight container/bag.
The basic recipe calls for at least three whole boxes of cereal (Wheat or Rice Chex, Corn Chex, and Honeycombs), so you will end up with a lot of Furikake Chex Mix. Which is why people love sharing this snack.
No one person can finish an entire batch of Furikake Chex Mix. You make a batch, set aside some for yourself and then divide the rest to share with family and friends.
There is no single "correct" recipe for Furikake Chex Mix. Everyone has their own way of doing it.
In addition to the three essential cereals, we add Bugles, Fritos, and pretzels. Sometimes we also include goldfish, Cheetos, and peanuts or almonds! It just depends what we happen to have at home.
Toss the cereal and chips together, and set it aside while you make a hot butter-soy sauce syrup. Then pour the hot syrup over the cereal and chips. Mix evenly. Sprinkle on the furikake and mix again.
Then bake low and slow at 250F for an hour (make sure to toss every 15 minutes). Some people like to make their recipe light on the syrup (add more cereal/chips), others like more syrup (use less cereal/chips).
What Is Furikake?
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Furikake is a Japanese seasoning mix and the key ingredient in Furikake Chex Mix. There are many types of furikake, and I like to use a popular furikake made from nori (seaweed), dried bonito, sesame seeds, and salt.
We love furikake in Hawaii and put it on many things. Standard use is to sprinkle it over a bowl of rice. But we also use furikake to make Spam Musubi, Hurricane Popcorn, and Furikake Chex Mix!
I use one bottle Nori Goma Furikake per every three boxes of cereal, but some people might use two bottles of furikake per every three boxes of cereal. Try my version first below, and then adjust to your personal preference.
My Furikake Pick:
Furikake is a savory Japanese seasoning made of nori (seaweed), dried bonito, and sesame seeds. This specific furikake is the most popular around town. Costco Hawaii even sells a giant container of it! We like to use furikake to make Furikake Salmon, Furikake Chex Mix, Spam Musubi, and Hurricane Popcorn! You can also just sprinkle it on a bowl of rice for a simple and tasty snack.
Furikake
Sprinkling in the furikake! Make sure to sprinkle evenly so it doesn't clump in one area.
Hawaii LOVES Furikake Chex Mix
Hawaii has a strong snack culture, and Furikake Chex Mix is one of many snacks that we grew up with. Other popular Hawaii snacks include cornflake cookies, andagi, manju, lilikoi bars, butter mochi, etc...there is so much!
Furikake Chex Mix is easy to make, flexible (add more of the stuff you like, less of the ones you don't), and portable. It's perfect for beach snack, hiking snack, packing in backpacks for school snack, or in your bag or pockets for work snack.
Kahala Times Supermarket has a whole end aisle (this was during holiday season) with everything you need to make Furikake Chex Mix! Just get one of everything 🙂
Where to Buy Furikake Chex Mix
You can find Furikake Chex Mix at local snack shops, drug stores, and supermarkets in Hawaii including Longs Drugs and Foodland.
If you happen to spot a craft fair or local farmer's market, stop by because you'll likely find a vendor offering Furikake Chex Mix. Growing up, we had Furikake Chex Mix at school bake sales or as part of a birthday party goodie bag.
During the holiday season many people get super into making Furikake Chex Mix, and the supermarkets are READY for it.
Pictured above is a photo I took mid-December at the Kahala Times Supermarket. They had a whole shelf filled with all the pieces and parts for you to make Furikake Chex Mix at home! I love it, so Hawaii ^_^
Mixing the hot syrup with the all the cereals and chips
What Goes In Furikake Chex Mix?
What's even better than buying Furikake Chex Mix? Making Furikake Chex Mix. (Though we all know that nothing beats being gifted a bag of homemade Furikake Chex Mix.) Here are the ingredients you'll need:
The Cereal and Chip Mix
- 1 box Wheat Chex
- 1 box Corn Chex
- 1 box Honeycomb cereal
- 1 bag (any size) Fritos
- 1 bag (any size) Bugles
- 1 bag (any size and shape) pretzels
The Butter-Soy Sauce Syrup
- 1 cup butter
- ½ cup Karo Syrup (or honey or maple syrup)
- ⅔ cup sugar
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 1 bottle Nori Goma Furikake
Furikake + ingredients for the syrup. *Note: please use soy sauce and not mantsuyu (dipping sauce for noodles).
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 250F.
2. In two large pans, divide the Wheat (or Rice) Chex, Corn Chex, Honeycomb cereal, Bugles, Fritos, and Pretzels, evenly between the two pans. Set aside.
Making the syrup
3. Now make the syrup. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Once melted, add in the Karo Syrup (or honey or maple syrup), sugar, vegetable oil, and soy sauce. Stir to mix.
Pouring in the hot syrup. Make sure to pour and mix evenly.
4. Pour the syrup over the two pans of chex mix (make sure to divide the syrup equally between the two pans). Using two big spoons/spatulas, toss the chex mix until all the pieces are lightly coated with the syrup.
Every piece has syrup and furikake. (The wooden spoon has lots of furikake stuck to it 🙂 )
5. Then sprinkle in the whole bottle of Nori Goma Furikake, split between the two pans. When making this by myself, I use one hand to sprinkle and another to stir. Stir until the furikake is evenly mixed.
6. Bake at 250F for 1 hour. Take the pan out every 15 minutes to toss/mix everything to make sure it cooks evenly.
FYI - with this baking step you're not trying to "cook" the chex mix. You just want to bake it till the syrup is dry and makes every piece of furikake cereal crunchy and crisp.
Fresh packed (giant) bag of Furikake Chex Mix
7. Remove from oven, let cool. Then divide up into bags/containers and share. Everyone loves Furikake Chex Mix!
Recipe Notes and Tips
This recipe is very flexible and forgiving. Feel free to change up the Bugles, Fritos, and Pretzels..include more/less of any or skip them entirely.
Other popular ingredients people often add are: peanuts, Cheetos, and Goldfish. Just make sure to keep the three "essentials" which are: 1 box each of the Wheat Chex (or Rice Chex), Corn Chex, and Honeycomb cereal.
The classic Hawaii recipe calls for Karo Syrup, but in an effort to be somewhat healthier, many updated recipes now call for honey or maple syrup instead of Karo Syrup. It's delicious either way.
We use either Aloha Soy Sauce or Kikkoman Soy Sauce (both the regular and light/low-sodium one works). Aloha and Kikkoman are the two most common soy sauce brands in Hawaii. Aloha taste slightly less salty to me, but we use both interchangeably.
Furikake Chex Mix Recipe
See below and enjoy!
Furikake Chex Mix
Furikake Chex Mix is a fun and easy Hawaii snack that we love to make and share with family and friends.
Ingredients
- 1 box Wheat Chex
- 1 box Corn Chex
- 1 box Honeycomb cereal
- 1 bag (any size) Fritos
- 1 bag (any size) Bugles
- 1 bag (any size and shape) pretzels
- 1 cup butter
- ½ cup Karo Syrup (or honey)
- ⅔ cup sugar
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 bottle Nori Goma Furikake
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250F.
- In two large pans, divide the Wheat (or Rice) Chex, Corn Chex, Honeycomb cereal, Bugles, Fritos, and Pretzels, evenly between the two pans. Set aside.
- Now make the syrup. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Once melted, add in the Karo Syrup (or honey), sugar, vegetable oil, and soy sauce. Stir to mix.
- Pour the syrup over the two pans of chex mix, make sure to divide the syrup equally between the two pans. Using two big spoons/spatulas, toss the chex mix until all the pieces are evenly coated with the syrup.
- Then pour in the whole bottle of Nori Goma Furikake, split between the two pans. Stir until the furikake is mixed evenly.
- Bake at 250F for 1 hour. Take the pan out every 15 minutes to toss/mix to make sure it cooks evenly.
- Remove from oven, let cool. Then divide up into bags/containers and share. Everyone loves Furikake Chex Mix!
Notes
- This is a flexible recipe. Feel free to change up the Bugles, Fritos, and Pretzels..include more/less of any or skip them entirely. Other popular ingredients people also add are peanuts, Cheetos, and Goldfish. Just make sure to keep the three "essentials" which are: 1 box each of the Wheat Chex (or Rice Chex), Corn Chex, and Honeycomb cereal.
- The classic Hawaii recipe calls for Karo Syrup, but in an effort to be "healthier," many updated recipes now call for Honey instead of Karo Syrup. You can also try it with Maple Syrup! It's delicious either way.
Just wondering about how many gallon bags this recipe fills?
I’m trying to determine if it’s better to buy it for my wedding (240 guests) or make it. 😅
i am allergic to seaweed/nori. what do you think would make an acceptable substitute?
What size Chex cereal? Regular or family size?
Thanks!
Hi! I was just wondering if you use salted or unsalted butter for this recipe? Thanks!
Usually unsalted because you are using soy sauce which has a lot of sodium already.
Hi there! Do you use salted or unsalted butter for this recipe? Thank you!
Thank you for posting this recipe. My Auntie used make and send it to us on the mainland, but now I can make my own.
Is it really a cup of butter in the recipe ingredients? From the pictures it looks like you use 1/2 cup (one stick) of butter.
I only used one stick of butter and it was fine! Especially since there's the added oil.