Old Bay Party Mix

By Ali Slagle

Published August 26, 2024

  • Kerri Brewer for The New York Times. Food Stylist. Cyd Raftus McDowell.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
55 minutes
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
50 minutes
Rating
4(120)
Comments
Read comments

Make this zesty snack mix for your next party, or keep a batch on hand for a pick-me-up. Throughout parts of the Chesapeake Bay, the scent of Old Bay seasoning, a heady combination of paprika, celery, black pepper and other secret herbs and spices, is synonymous with  summer and seafood. But Old Bay can be used on so much more than crabs and shrimp, including baked into snacks for a crispy party mix. The mix-ins featured nod to sides you might find alongside blue crabs or clam chowder — potato chips, corn (in the form of corn nuts) and oyster crackers — but feel free to use 8 cups of whatever cereals, crackers, chips and nuts speak to you.

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Ingredients

Yield:8 cups

  • 2 cups rice, corn or wheat Chex or Crispix cereal

  • 2 cups potato chips

  • 1 cup raw nuts

  • 1 cup mini pretzels

  • 1 cup oyster crackers

  • 1 cup corn nuts

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

  • 2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning

  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder

  • ½ teaspoon ground cayenne (or more to taste)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

48 grams carbs; 13 milligrams cholesterol; 344 calories; 7 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 14 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 302 milligrams sodium; 7 grams protein; 1 gram sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, toss together the cereal, chips, nuts, pretzels, crackers and corn nuts. To the melted butter, stir in the Old Bay, garlic powder and cayenne until combined. Pour the butter over the cereal mixture and toss until well coated.

  2. Step 2

    Transfer to a parchment-lined sheet pan and spread into an even layer. Bake, stirring halfway through, until golden and toasted, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool completely on the sheet pan. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
120 user ratings
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Comments

M.C.

Pretzel goldfish in keeping with the nautical theme

Marc Jacobs

As a Marylander, I'm really inspired by this recipe. I want to take it further, to be honest, substituting freeze-dried corn kernels for the corn nuts, cornbread or garlic bread croutons for the pretzels, shrimp crackers for the cereal, salt-and-vinegar chips for the plain potato chips, and some roasted butter beans for the nuts. The oyster crackers are a keeper. Maybe some kani miso or fish sauce added to the butter? A bit of crystallized lemon?

John

Didn’t have mini pretzels, but did have peanut butter pretzel nuggets, and that honestly made this even better:

Bert

Grew up in Maryland and was excited to see this recipe. After reading the comments I tried to get as many unsalted items for the mix as possible, like unsalted nuts and pretzels, and didn’t use potato chips or corn nuts. I used 6 tbsp of olive oil instead of butter, and the amount of Old Bay the recipe calls for. It is still salty but I enjoyed it and did not feel it was overly salty or inedible.

Jill

Since everyone was saying it was too salty I only used 1 and a half tbsp of Old Bay (still pretty salty, though). I did add a splash of Worcestershire and hot sauce as suggested in comments. I liked the blend of snack items in this mix—big fan of corn nuts. If you have access to them, could use the crab-seasoned potato chips from UTZ or Herrs.

VHath

Delicious and addictive. This can be made with less butter, possibly with olive oil. The Old Bay is very salty so try not to add any more, if possible.

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