Nuts and Bolts Recipe (2 Versions) (2024)

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

A traditional nuts and bolts recipe is what you need for someone who has everything during the holiday season.

Are you, like me, fishing around and looking for a gift to bring for friends, family, co-workers, or hosts during the holidays?

Look no further for the perfect holiday snack and homemade gift for the Christmas and New Years holidays.

Today, CBB fans Colleen and Samantha share their traditional nuts and bolts recipe they make every Christmas.

Easy Homemade Holiday Gifts

Homemade nuts and bolts are also a “cereal snack mix” and a budget-friendly party snack.

My wife has asked me for years to create a nuts and bolts recipe, but I’ve always put it last on the baking list.

I’ve had many different versions of the nuts and bolts recipe over the years, mainly around the holidays.

The salty flavor of the various ingredients pairs perfectly with a cold holiday beverage, although I still prefer a cold beer.

Some people also drizzle chocolate over their nuts and bolts recipe to add a sweet element to this popular snack once it cools.

Nut Allergy Alternative – Nuts and Bolts Recipe

Others eliminate the nuts, as Colleen does with her recipe, keeping costs down.

If someone cannot eat nuts, Colleen’s nuts and bolts recipe snack may work well for them.

Spreading Christmas Cheer

When my wife was younger, she remembers a friend’s mother would make several batches of her famous nuts and bolts recipe every Christmas.

She recalls saying how pricey it was to make as she would buy her ingredients at the Bulk Barn.

Her Nuts and Bolts recipe includes nuts such as Brazil, cashews, almonds, peanuts, and cereals took a chunk of the expense.

She would lace her rich nuts and bolts recipe with inexpensive pretzels and BBQ Fritos, which she would buy on sale at the grocery store.

Once she finished cooling the baked nuts and bolts, she scooped some into plastic bags, tied them with holiday ribbon, and added a homemade Christmas label.

Anyone visiting for the Christmas holidays went home with a bag of nuts and bolts and a bottle of homemade wine.

Everyone came to love her nuts and bolts recipe. My wife said there was always a whole house come the holidays.

A tradition was born and one that continues to this day.

Ways To Reduce Costs Of A Nuts and Bolts Recipe

As you will see below, Colleen’s ingredient list has no nuts, but there are many delicious portions of cereal in her snack mix, pretzels, and Bugles.

If you replace costly nuts, try using some peanuts, but you’d need to alter the coating amount, which should be reasonably straightforward.

Also, if you find the spices too much for your liking, you can adjust them to fit your tastebuds.

As Colleen points out, you can make different batches for your house’s nuts and bolts lovers.

Nuts and Bolts Recipe at Colleen’s House

My nuts and bolts recipe has been a family favorite in our house for years during the holidays.

I must admit that I haven’t made them over the lean years simply because the extra money wasn’t there for the pricier ingredients.

Believe it or not, I created this nuts and bolts recipe for the picky people in my family, eliminating the nuts but replacing them with Cheerios.

A couple of people in my family don’t care for my nuts and bolts recipe, but that is because they don’t care for any of the ingredients.

You can bet you will have nothing left after the holidays, so enjoy them.

Adding Pre-Roasted Nuts to Nuts and Bolts

If you want to add nuts, try almonds, cashews, peanuts, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, pecans, or walnuts.

If you roast ahead of time, I find it easier to add them at the end so you ensure that they don’t burn.

To roast nuts, put them on a baking sheet at 300 degrees and stir every 3-4 minutes so they don’t burn.

I typically stand by the oven as nuts are pricey, so you don’t want to mess up roasting them.

Feel accessible to salt and season them once they come out as the nut oils will be released but do it immediately.

Colleen’s Nuts and Bolts Recipe

Printable Recipe Below

• Recipe Type:Snack
• Author:Colleen K
• Prep time:15 mins
• Cook time:2 hours
• Total time:2 hours 15 mins
• Serves:10

This Nuts and Bolts Recipe is perfect for the holidays or any time of the year when you want to enjoy a homemade snack. Ingredients

Nuts and Bolts Ingredients Colleen

• 1/2 box Shreddies cereal
• 1/2 box Rice Chex cereal
• 1/2 Original box of Cheerios`
• One large bag (2 tiny) original flavour Bugles
• 1 large bag of stick pretzels
• Mix all of these in a large roaster.
• Coating for the Nuts ‘n Bolts
• 2 cups canola oil
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp celery salt

How To Make Colleen’s Nuts and Bolts

1. Mix the sauce ingredients for the Nuts and Bolts well.
2. Drizzle over the Nuts and Bolts and stir to coat.
3. Place the covered roaster in an oven preheated to 225 F.
4. Bake the Nuts and Bolts for two hours in the covered roaster, stirring the Nuts and Bolts every 20 min. Remove from the oven, and stir the Nuts and Bolts a couple of times while cooling.
5. Store in sealed containers.
6. This recipe for Nuts and Bolts makes two ice cream pails full.
7. ENJOY!

Samantha’s Homemade Nuts and Bolts

Another CBB fan, Samantha Joan, is sharing her Nuts and Bolts recipe too!

I fill a sizeable oval roaster with an estimate of ingredients, as detailed below.

Printable recipe below

Samantha’s Nuts and Bolts Recipe Ingredients

• 3 bags of Hawkins Cheezies
• 2 bags of Pretzels
• 1 bag of Goldfish (your choice of flavour)
• 1 bag of Nacho Bugles
• 1/3 box of Shreddies cereal
• 2 cups of Peanuts
• 2 cups of Cashews

Nuts and Bolts Sauce Ingredients

• 1.5 cups butter
• 1.5 tsp each of garlic powder and celery salt
• 2 tsp of Worcester sauce

How To Make Nuts and Bolts By Samantha

• Roughly 1/3 box cereal, 2 bags of pretzels, a bag of goldfish, a bag of Bugles, three bags of cheezies, 2 cups of peanuts, and cashews.
• Melt the butter and mix in the seasonings to make the nuts and bolts sauce. (recipe below)
• Pour the sauce over the nuts and bolts, then stir to cover everything.
• Bake for 2 hours at 250F, stirring every half hour.
• Let it cool, then enjoy.

Keep Your Holiday Gifts On Budget

Homemade holiday gifts are a great way to add your personal touch while spreading love and happiness to those special people.

Store your Nuts and Bolts in sealed containers and enjoy them before they are all gone.

-Mr.CBB

Check out my new Free Recipe Index Plus and catch up on how to save money in our Free Ultimate Grocery Shopping Guide.

More Delicious CBB Recipes

• Turkey Chili
• Cauliflower Cheese Soup with Italian Meatballs
• Pumpkin Brownies
• Spiced Apple Bread
• Sweet Peach Crumble Bar
• Turkey Chunks in Teriyaki Sauce

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