PiƱa Colada Chex Mix

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PiƱa Colada Chex Mix ā€” An EASY and addictively AMAZING salty-sweet Chex mix!! It’s crunchy, chewy, and between the pineapple, coconut, banana, and lime you’ll feel like you’re on a tropical vacation!!

overhead view of sweet chex mix on a baking tray. A pineapple rests at the top

Salty and Sweet Chex Mix Recipe

This is one of those snacks that I truly couldn’t stop eating. It’s salty-and-sweet, crunchy, chewy, with so many different textures, and it has the flavors of the tropics from the pineapple, coconut, and lime.

I had to get it away from myself or I could have eaten the entire army-sized batch myself.

When I initially posted a photo of it to my Instagram Story, I had many more people than usual comment that they couldn’t wait for the recipe. And here you are.

This homemade Chex mix recipe is incredibly flexible based on what you can get your hands on without too much difficulty. I live near a Trader Joe’s and I bought many of the ingredients there.

sheet pan of sweet chex mix next to a pineapple

Namely, the dried banana chips, dried baby sweet pineapple (that’s what are tan/brown in color and looks like it could be dates in the photos), roasted unsweetened coconut chips, and the coconut oil. In addition, there’s Honey Nut Chex Cereal and lime juice. 

There are so many different kinds of shelf-stable “dried” fruits these days including dehydrated, freeze-dried, and baked. Use what you can find and is cost-efficient.

I used a 2-ounce bag of coconut chips and had never purchased that product before and didn’t realize that two ounces would be on the skimpy side for this recipe, but I wasn’t venturing back out for a second bag. If you love coconut, I would double the amount.

The 6-ounce bag of baby sweet pineapple was also not as plentiful as I expected but after I quartered them, it was sufficient.

What’s in This Sweet Chex Mix Recipe? 

To make this baked Chex mix recipe, you’ll need: 

close up of baked sweet and salty chex mix

How to Make Baked Chex Mix

To a large bowl, add the cereal, banana chips, pineapple, coconut chips, and stir to combine. Evenly drizzle with the melted coconut oil and lime juice, then add the sugar and salt. 

Turn the mixture onto a foil-lined baking tray and bake at 250F until the cereal has dried out and crisped up a bit and the coconut is light golden brown.

Can I Use Another Type of Chex Cereal? 

I think most varieties of Chex would work, but I would stay away from Rice Chex. It’s much softer and won’t hold up as well and because this mix initially starts out saturated in melted coconut oil and lime juice, I don’t recommend Rice Chex.

How to Store Homemade Chex Mix

The sweet and salty Chex mix will keep airtight at room temp for at least 10 days, although I doubt it will last that long. It looks like a ton when you’re making it, but a nibble here, and another nibble there, before you know it, it’ll have disappeared.

PiƱa Colada Chex Mix ā€” An EASY and addictively AMAZING salty-sweet Chex mix!! It's crunchy, chewy, and between the pineapple, coconut, banana, and lime you'll feel like you're on a tropical vacation!!

Tips for Making Salty-Sweet Chex Mix

Use my recipe as a guideline and have fun getting creative and customizing the mix to your liking. 

  • I think dried apricots would work well and are cheaper than dried pineapple. Although you can’t have PiƱa Colada Chex Mix without pineapple.
  • You could also add macadamia nuts or almonds.
  • Add white chocolate chips after the mix is fully cooled to take the recipe in the sweeter direction.
  • Add additional salt if you want to play up the salty-sweet aspect.
  • There is no substitute for coconut oil that I would recommend.

PiƱa Colada Chex Mix ā€” An EASY and addictively AMAZING salty-sweet Chex mix!! It's crunchy, chewy, and between the pineapple, coconut, banana, and lime you'll feel like you're on a tropical vacation!!

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5 from 5 votes

PiƱa Colada Chex Mix

By Averie Sunshine
An EASY and addictively AMAZING salty-sweet snack!! It's crunchy, chewy, and between the pineapple, coconut, banana, and lime you'll feel like you're on a tropical vacation!!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 12
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Ingredients  

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 250F, line a half sheet pan with aluminum foil for easier cleanup, and to a large bowl add the cereal, banana chips, pineapple, coconut chips, and stir to combine.
  • Evenly drizzle with the melted coconut oil, lime juice, and stir to combine.
  • Add the sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, and stir to combine. Taste, and if you prefer more of a salty-sweet snack, add more salt to taste.
  • Turn mixture out onto the prepared pan (it will be very full; consider using two pans if your oven can accommodate two large pans at once) and bake for about 75 minutes, or until the cereal has dried out and crisped up a bit and the coconut is light golden brown. While baking, stir and flip well every 15 to 20 minutes to ensure even cooking. Start checking for doneness after 1 hour. See Baking Tips in the Notes below.
  • Allow the sheet pan to sit out, uncovered, at room temp for a few hours, or overnight. The mix will continue to crisp up as it cools.

Notes

  1. Baking Tips for Step 4 - Coconut and dried fruit can burn easily so keep an eye on it and if yours is looking done much sooner than 75 minutes, so be it. Or if you need to bake it for 90 minutes, that is fine. 75 minutes is only a guideline since all ovens and the exact combination of ingredients will vary.
  2. Don't be alarmed if it looks like there is lots of coconut oil pooling at the bottom of the pan as the mix bakes. This will mostly absorb over time, but not completely.
  3. Even if you bake it for 90+ minutes, it's the nature of coconut oil to not fully absorb. When you eat this snack, you will see coconut oil on your fingers. Embrace the moisturizing effects of coconut oil.
  4. Storage: Mixture will keep airtight for at least 10 days at room temp.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 294kcal, Carbohydrates: 36g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 16g, Saturated Fat: 13g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Sodium: 355mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 17g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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About the Author

Welcome to AverieCooks! Here youā€™ll find fast and easy recipes that taste amazing and are geared for real life. Nothing fussy or complicated, just awesome tasting dishes everyone loves!

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Please note: I have only made the recipe as written, and cannot give advice or predict what will happen if you change something. If you have a question regarding changing, altering, or making substitutions to the recipe, please check out the FAQ page for more info.

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