Puppy Chow (Muddy Buddies)

This easy Puppy Chow is a delicious treat made with Chex cereal, chocolate chips and peanut butter into delicious sweet and crunchy snack the whole family will love.

Suitable for gluten-free and dairy free diets.

You only need 5 ingredients, 10 minutes of prep time, and a microwave to whip up this homemade sweet snack mix which is much-loved for movie marathons, tailgate and Super Bowl parties, holiday parties, potlucks, bake sales, lunch boxes, and as a hosted gift.

Like my Halloween Puppy Chow, and Cracker Candy, this crunchy Puppy Chow is really addictive and really adaptable so you can mix in whichever extra and candy you want to.

Puppy Chow or Muddy Buddies?

Puppy Chow is a well-known midwestern snack that is made with a few simple ingredients which together create an amazing flavor. You can’t go wrong with a crunchy snack covered in chocolate and peanut butter right? Fun fact: Puppy Chow got its name from the fact it looks pretty similar to dog food.

Puppy chow is also commonly referred to as muddy buddies, reindeer chow, monkey munch, muddy munch, and reindeer chow. The muddy buddies snack name seems to have come from the makers of Chex cereal, General Mills, which now sells pre-made muddy buddies packs that you can easily tuck right into.

While there are many variations and names for this delicious treat, the main ingredients generally include cereal, powdered sugar, melted chocolate, and creamy peanut butter.

Why Make This Recipe

• It is budget friendly and made from pantry staples you already own. No need to run to the store to make this.
• It is easy to make with only 5 ingredients and less than 10 minutes of prep. 
• Easy to customize with various mix-ins.
• Prep ahead – and just pull out when guests arrive.
• Scale up – This crowd pleasing Chex snack mix is easy to scale up to feed a crowd or give as edible gifts. Plus, leftover taste great over the next few days.
• Dietary – using Rice Chex cereal means this is a gluten free recipe.

Ingredient Notes

• Chex cereal – This recipe uses Rice Chex cereal as the crunchy base of this recipe. But corn Chex will work too.
• Semi-sweet chocolate chips – You will be adding sweetness via powdered sugar so use a semi-sweet chocolate. You can also use chocolate bars broken into pieces, but this will take a little while longer to melt. I used dairy free chocolate chips.
• Vanilla extract – Adds that extra fragrant flavor that we all love.
• Peanut butter  – Use creamy smooth peanut butter for even melting and to easily coat the cereal.
• Powdered sugar – Puppy chow gets it sweetness and color from powdered sugar. Add more or less to suit your taste.

How To Make Puppy Chow

Get the complete ingredients list and instructions from the recipe card below.

1. Pour Chex cereal into a large bowl.
2. Place chocolate chips and peanut butter in a separate bowl, and melt in the microwave using 30 seconds intervals, until fully melted and smooth. Stir in the vanilla extract.
3. Pour mixture over the Chex cereal and gently stir to fully coat the cereal. Let the chocolate cool for a few minutes, but do not let it harden.
4. Then transfer the coated cereal into a large ziplock bag, add the powdered sugar, and tightly seal the bag closed.
5. Shake the bag until the powdered sugar completely coats the cereal.
6. Transfer into a serving bowl and enjoy!

Recipe Tips

• Make sure you use a large enough bowl to accommodate you chex mix and everything else.
• You can add more powdered sugar if you want it sweeter.
• Use a large, gallon-size ziplock bag, as the mix will not all fit into a smaller bag. Or you may need to divide the mix into 2 smaller bags.

Puppy Chow Variations

This muddy buddies snack is delicious as is but you can add other mix-ins depending on whatever theme you decide upon, such as:

• Add extra mix-ins – Green and purple candy, or other halloween candy, cut up Oreos and other cookies, crushed candy canes, rainbow sprinkles, Reeses Pieces, Mini Pretzels, almonds or other nuts.
• Vary the chocolate – use white chocolate or flavored chocolate instead.
• Vary the nut butter – You can also use nutella, cashew butter or almond butter too.

Budget Friendly Tips

• Check out the Sales –  Many stores regularly hold sales on cereal and chocolate. Look out for coupons or discounts on shopping apps. 
• Buy Generic – Store own brand and other generic ingredients are an inexpensive alternative.

Storage

• Store – stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days. 
• Freeze –  Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. It might be easier to freeze in snacking portions so you just defrost what you need.
• Thaw – thaw to room temperature on your counter.

FAQs

More Recipes You May Like

• Halloween Puppy Chow
• Pineapple Muffins.
• No Bake Chex Bars.
• Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes.
• Festive Cracker Candy.
• Festive Ice Cookie Cream Sandwich.

Please don’t feed this to your puppies. It is not good for them.

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Did you make this recipe? Then I would love to hear how it turned out. Please leave a comment and star rating below. And I really appreciate you sharing this recipe with your family and friends. Enjoy every mouthful 😊🍲 – Bintu

Get The Muddy Buddies Recipe