Homemade Gardetto’s snack mix is a savory, crunchy blend of mini pretzels, rye chips and cereal tossed in a flavorful seasoning. It’s my favorite salty spicy snack mix and even my kids love it. Whether hosting a movie night or holiday parties, my copycat Gardetto’s Recipe is always a crowd-pleaser!

5-Star Review
“Mom made this every year, in fact, it wasn’t Christmas without this stuff.” -John
Copycat Gardetto’s Recipe
I adapted this recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Cravings by Chrissy Tiegen. These Homemade Gardetto’s instantly caught my eye, and I wanted to try them right away! The bold, spicy and salty combination makes this snack mix everything I crave! I hope this recipe brings you as much joy as it does for me —perfect for Super Bowl parties, holiday gatherings, summer BBQs, and road trips!
Homemade Gardetto’s
Equipment
- 2 Baking Sheet
Ingredients
- 6 cups Chex cereal rice and corn work well
- 3 ounces Grissini Torinesi thin breadsticks broken into 2-inch pieces (1 package)
- 2 cups itty bitty minis pretzels
- ½ cup butter (1 stick)
- 1 ounce ranch seasoning store-bought or homemade
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- ½ teaspoon seasoning salt
- 1½ tablespoons garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cups Gardetto's Special Request Rye Chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F. Since this recipe requires two baking sheets, set one oven rack to upper middle and one to lower middle.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine cereal, breadsticks, and pretzels.6 cups Chex cereal, 3 ounces Grissini Torinesi thin breadsticks, 2 cups itty bitty minis pretzels
- In a small saucepan, over medium heat, combine butter, dry ranch dip, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, seasoning salt, garlic powder, and black pepper. Whisk well and cook until butter melts. Remove from the heat.½ cup butter, 1 ounce ranch seasoning, ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon hot sauce, ½ teaspoon seasoning salt, 1½ tablespoons garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Stir well and pour butter mixture over the cereal mixture. Stir until all dry ingredients are thoroughly coated.
- Spread half of the cereal mixture, in an even layer, onto a baking sheet. Pour the remaining half over the second baking sheet.
- Place baking sheets in the oven and bake for a total of 30 minutes. After 15 minutes, add half the Gardetto's Rye Chips to each tray and stir.2 cups Gardetto's Special Request Rye Chips
- Rotate the baking sheets, top-to-bottom and front-to-back. Bake another 15 minutes. If the cereal isn't crispy, bake another 5-15 minutes.
- Pour the baked mix onto a clean dishcloth to cool. Store in an airtight container.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How to Store
Once the snack mix is completely at room temperature, transfer to an airtight container and store at room temperature.
Serving Suggestions
This amazing snack mix recipe needs a good cocktail to wash it down with. I recommend my Skinny Margarita and Champagne Sangria. If you’re throwing a party then go for my Party Punch. Game Day here we come!
Great recipe! I love the crunchy texture and rich, hearty flavor of rye chips. The seasoning blend sounds delicious—can’t wait to try making these at home! Thanks for sharing!
Mom made this every year, in fact, it wasn’t Xmas without this stuff.
What a wonderful memory, John! Thanks so much for sharing!
I’m a little confused – the recipe states .5 cup of butter then 1/2 stick that would be 1/4 cup right?
The correct measurement is 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)!
Definitely needs to be tweaked 30 minutes is too long and it’s very bland – I tried again with half the cereal pretzels etc and added more season salt, much. We’re
We’re sorry this recipe wasn’t quite to your tastes, Heather! Thanks for sharing what worked for you.
I make mine differently – but this way was still good too (no shade). I love trying new mixes!
Mine is to mix 1/2 C oil of choice with 1 TBSP Worcestershire, 1/2 – 1 tsp yellow mustard (I like it a bit more mustardy), a pinch of crushed carroway seeds, 3 tsp Dill Weed, 1 tsp lemon pepper, 1 tsp garlic salt (sometimes more lol), 1 tsp each chili powder and paprika, 1/2 tsp onion *salt (not powder), and 1 TBSP soy sauce (I prefer LaChoy), Sprinkle of thyme, and 1 tsp season salt. I do not heat this mix, but do let it rest 10 minutes or so. Side note- the flavors in the herbs comes out better if you gently roll them in your hand, works for cooking anything)
The crackers/pretzels, etc are the same but I add a few oyster crackers. I toss together, heat in oven at 300°F in an oven safe *bowl* for 3 minutes, stir and go another 3. Then stir again. Then I lay out flat in a cookie sheet and let air dry. It will seem a little soggy until it dries, the heat just helps it dry quicker.
If I’m doing this solely for my oyster cracker/pretzel mix, I double the ingredients, use 2 bags of oyster crackers and about 2 cups pretzel sticks or mini pretzels and air dry only (dont heat in oven).
gardettos stans rise up
Hello, have you figured out a way to duplicate the sesame nubbins? Those were my favorite and sadly they removed them from the mix. I fear I will forever roam the earth in search of those delicious nubbins to no avail
I have not yet!
Justin, if you do a quick search for “Italian sesame breadsticks” you may be able to find some near you! They’re a salad accompaniment that some grocers still carry!
Your easy recipes caught my eye. Just enjoying thinking about all the ones I want to try. Good job!!!
Thank you! I hope you get the chance to try them!
Yum! Excited to make this! But Please take out that apostrophe!
Hey Vic! The Brand actually uses an apostrophe so it must be someone’s last name :) http://gardettos.com/
Wow.Thank you very much for this crispy tip.I used to buy gardettos.You made me to prepare this at my home.Loved it
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