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Ready in only 15 minutes, this insanely easy chocolate and peanut butter puppy chow recipe is a no-bake favorite!
Quick and Easy Puppy Chow
Every Friday in our house is movie night, and this puppy chow recipe makes a frequent appearance. The best part? This dessert is ready in 15 minutes, making it a no-bake favorite!
We’ve made it for as long as we can remember (us sisters use to sell it at boutiques when we were younger) and now love to serve it at parties and holiday gatherings.
Whether your family calls it “Puppy Chow,” “Muddy Buddies,” or “Muddy Munch,” this easy dessert recipe for kids is one we ALL love and one we know you’ll LOVE too.
why we love it:
Ingredients
PREP TIME: 10 minutes
COOK TIME: 5 minutes
- 9 cups Chex cereal – Use any variety such as Wheat, Honey-nut, Rice Chex, or Corn Chex cereal. Chex mix brands are all gluten-free except the Wheat Chex.
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips – or milk chocolate, dark chocolate chips, or white chocolate chips
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter – For best results use regular peanut butter but natural peanut butter, Nutella, almond butter, seed butter, or another nut butter can also be used.
- ½ cup unsalted butter – or use margarine or dairy-free butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups powdered sugar (confectioner’s sugar)
- add-ins (optional) – marshmallows, peanuts, almonds, pretzels, M&M’s, Reese’s pieces, or customize with holiday candy
How to Make Puppy Chow
- PREP. Place 9 cups cereal in a large bowl and set aside.
- SAUCE. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the 1 cup chocolate chips, ½ cup peanut butter, and ½ cup butter by combining and cooking these until smooth (stirring frequently). Remove from the heat and stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla.
- COAT. Pour the melted chocolate over cereal, lightly stirring with a spatula until evenly coated.
- Pour melted chocolate mixture into a 2-gallon ziploc bag. Add 1½ cups powdered sugar. Seal bag and shake until well coated.
- SERVE. Spread out on a piece of waxed paper to cool, then serve immediately or transfer to an airtight container to store.
Puppy Chow Recipe
Ingredients
- 9 cups Chex Cereal, rice or corn
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Place 9 cups cereal in a large bowl and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter. Cook, stirring frequently, until melted. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla.
- Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated.
- Pour into a 2-gallon resealable plastic bag. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag and shake until well coated.
- Spread out on a piece of waxed paper to cool, then serve immediately or transfer to an airtight container to store.
Video
Notes
- S’mores: Prepare puppy chow as directed, then mix in 4 cups Golden Grahams and 2 cups mini marshmallows.
- Cookies and cream: Add about 8 crushed Oreos to the bag along with the powdered sugar.
- Holiday: Add 1 cup of holiday M&M’s or other holiday-colored candies to the mix.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
You can store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 10 days or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Place cooled puppy chow in a freezer-safe container and store it for up to 3 months. Allow it to thaw before eating.
Puppy Chow is the name because it looks like dry dog food. It was really popular at sleepovers when I was a kid. Regular people came up with it and it became a common homemade snack. Then sometime in the 2010s, after the internet changed recipe sharing, General Mills company noticed that a lot of people bought Chex to use to make puppy chow, so they decided to further monetize this by selling their own branded pre-made version, which they named Muddy Buddies. I find it a little sad that so many people only know the prepackaged name.
As adults we like using dark chocolate chips so it’s not so sickly sweet (and you can use enough powdered sugar this way).
Using a large bowl with lid eliminates the need for single use plastic bags!
A couple of my kids’ friends have celiac (no gluten for them) so I like to keep this in the freezer to have on hand so they can always have a yummy treat when they’re over.
One of those quick grab snacks that everyone loves.
This is such a delicious snack. Thanks for the easy DIrections.
I’ve heard it called puppy chow, but we call it muddy buddies at my house. no matter what you call it, it’s seriously addicting! My teenage son loves making it to take to friends houses when they are watching movies. everyone loves it!
We call them muddy buddies but either way they are THe best! We love them!
My kids love puppy chow!! I love that it’s easy to make & tastes so good!! We love it for movie night!
thanks for shareing your receips. i will be trying them