Food and Recipes Appetizers Bacon Snack Mix 5.0 (1) 1 Review Make this snack mix ahead, and pack it in a resealable plastic bag to get ahead for you party prep. By Josh Miller Josh Miller Josh Miller is a writer, editor, recipe developer, and food stylist who has been writing about Southern food and working in the publishing industry for the past 20 years. His work has appeared in Southern Living, Food & Wine, Cooking Light, Taste of the South, and Southern Cast Iron magazines. Southern Living's editorial guidelines and Marianne Williams Marianne Williams Marianne Williams is a recipe tester and developer who has been working in the Dotdash Meredith test kitchens since 2016. Her recipes are featured in Food & Wine, Southern Living, Real Simple, Rachael Ray, Health, Cooking Light, and in various other publications and digital platforms. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on August 31, 2024 Recipe tested by Southern Living Test Kitchen Recipe tested by Southern Living Test Kitchen The Southern Living Test Kitchen has been publishing recipes since 1970, four years after the first issue of Southern Living Magazine appeared on newsstands. The Southern Living Test Kitchen team includes a team of professionals with deep expertise in recipe development, from pastry chefs and grilling experts to nutritionists and dietitians. Together, the team tests and retests, produces, styles, and photographs thousands of recipes each year in the state-of-the-art test kitchen facility located in Birmingham, Alabama. Learn more about the Southern Living Test Kitchen Rate PRINT Share Close Photo: Greg DuPree; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Claire Spollen Active Time: 30 mins Total Time: 30 mins Servings: 13 Who doesn’t love a big bowl of snack mix? Sure, you can grab it at the gas station and grocery store these days, but it just tastes as good as making it from scratch, which is SO easy, in case you’ve never done it before. You basically just melt some butter, mix it with seasonings and spices, toss it with your dry cereals of choice, and then bake it until crunchy. We’ve leveled up the classic appetizer recipe with an ingredient that most Southerners are powerless to resist—bacon. Try as we might, it’s hard to find a dish that bacon doesn’t improve. Here, we use the drippings to coat the cereal, then we add the crispy bacon in at the end, along with some smoked almonds (my absolute favorite pantry staple) for some heft. It's definitely 10 times better than any stale, over-processed bag of mix you can pick up at the store. Ingredients 6 thick-cut bacon slices (about 7 1/2 oz. total) 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 2 tsp. seasoned salt (such as Lawry’s) 4 cups corn cereal squares (such as Corn Chex) 2 cups smoked almonds Directions Preheat oven to 350°F. Place bacon in a large skillet, and cook over medium, turning often, until crisp, about 8 minutes. Remove bacon to a paper towel-lined plate; let cool, and then crumble. Pour bacon drippings into a heatproof bowl, and set aside. Whisk together melted butter, smoked paprika, Worcestershire, seasoned salt, and 3 tablespoons of the warm bacon drippings in a large bowl. Add cereal; toss until well coated. Pour onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, and spread in an even layer. Bake cereal mixture in preheated oven until crispy and dry, about 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Remove from oven, and return cereal mixture to large bowl. Add smoked almonds and crumbled bacon; toss to combine. Rate It Print