Crock Pot Parmesan Ranch Party Mix

Aunt Lou here.

MY LATEST RECIPES

Michael and I were talking a week or so again about recipe ideas. It does me well to talk things over with him. As you know, Michael is a food lover. So it never fails that if I come up with an idea he has a tweak or two to make to it. So I might as well have his input from the start!

I can’t take any credit for the initial thinking on this one because Michael had that “light bulb – I’ve got an idea” look on his face. He said, “Why can’t you make party mix with ranch dressing mix! That would be awesome!” So I took a look at Cris’ Sweet & Salty Party Mix recipe to use as a cheat sheet of sorts…you know, cook times, base mixture, etc. and gave it a try!

This Crock Pot Parmesan Ranch Party Mix was a HUGE hit at small group. It may have even been described as divine. In fact, we had such few leftovers on Sunday that Michael requested I make it again by Wednesday. It is that good…and addicting! Yum!

Crock Pot Parmesan Ranch Party Mix

Now the parmesan was an afterthought. I was putting the box of butter back into the fridge when I saw my remaining parmesan wedge in the fridge. Hmmm…my light bulb went off! Grated parmesan! If you have been following along with my posts ever since I made this Crock Pot Chicken Alfredo, I have been all about the fresh grated parmesan. This seemed like a good place to add some in. Thankfully, I had just started the recipe, so I just added half on top, gave it a stir and then the other half and stirred it again. I combined these steps with the butter mixture just to save you some hassle.

I do want to warn you that your butter mixture will be green…which means that your party mix will have lots of green in it. So don’t worry one bit. After the first bite, you won’t care if it was glowing! 😉

5 from 3 votes

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Crock Pot Parmesan Ranch Party Mix

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

2 hrs

Total Time

2 hrs 5 mins

 

This Crock Pot Parmesan Ranch Party Mix was an instant hit!

Course: Appetizer

Author: Aunt Lou

Ingredients

• 1 c butter sliced
• 2-3 1 oz packets of ranch dressing mix (2 if you don't want a less ranch flavoring 3 if you want more)
• 4 c rice Chex cereal
• 4 c wheat Chex cereal
• 1 c cashews
• 1 c peanuts
• 4 c pretzels
• 1/2 c fresh grated parmesan

Instructions

1. Melt your butter in a saucepan on your stove
2. Add ranch dressing mixes to your butter and stir until well combined (there will be some thicker mixture at the bottom, but do the best you can)
3. Put your cereals, nuts and pretzels in your crock pot and gently mix until they are mixed up really well
4. Pour half of your butter mixture and half of your fresh grated parmesan evenly across the top of your cereal mixture
5. Stir gently until well distributed
6. Pour your remaining butter mixture and cheese evenly across your cereal mixture
7. Gently stir again until all pieces are well coated
8. Cook UNCOVERED for 2-3 hours on high, stirring occasionally
9. Once your Crock Pot Parmesan Ranch Party Mix is glazed lay out on parchment paper to cool
10. When it has cooled completely, store in an air tight container until serving

Slow Cooker Recommendation

I made this in my Hamilton Beach Programmable Insulated Slow Cooker because it is my long-standing favorite…and I show favoritism when it comes to my crock pots. Your fav 6-quart slow cooker (or bigger) should do. With how much is in this one, I wouldn’t use any smaller than a 6 quart.