A time-tested childhood classic and party favorite, this is the Best Puppy Chow recipe made with dark chocolate, creamy peanut butter, rice Chex cereal, and powdered sugar – plus extra mix ins like peanut butter pretzels and M&Ms.
Puppy chow (also known as muddy buddies) was a classic part of my childhood. Maybe this was just part of growing up in the Midwest in the 90’s, but I feel like it was everywhere. I remember my aunt making big batches of puppy chow for all of our cousin sleepovers. There was always a big bowl of puppy chow for birthdays. And we always ended up with lots of random baggies of puppy chow chex mix throughout the Christmas season. Obviously, I will always have nostalgic memories of puppy chow. But a few years ago, Steve and I both realized that it had been way too long since we had eaten any – and it was time that changed.
This puppy chow recipe has become one of our favorites to bring to any get together or party with friends and family. With dark chocolate and peanut butter and lots of crunchy clusters, it is always a huge hit with the adults and kids alike. Everyone goes crazy for it!
How Do You Make The Best Puppy Chow Recipe?
While the recipe always uses a combination of rice cereal, peanut butter, chocolate, and powdered sugar, there are lots of different ways to make puppy chow. Some people let the peanut butter and chocolate coating cool entirely before adding the powdered sugar while others coat it right away. Some shake the cereal in a ziplock bag to cover it in powdered sugar, while others just stir it all up. My puppy chow recipe takes the best of all of these recipes to make the best puppy chow you can imagine.
To make this the best puppy chow recipe, I add the cereal, pretzels, and melted peanut butter/chocolate mixture in layers and mix in a large bowl. Once evenly coated, I refrigerate the mixture for just a few minutes to allow the coating a chance to set before adding the powdered sugar. I think this helps keep the powdered sugar from just disappearing, so you get a better coating. I also add the powdered sugar in batches, rather than all at once. Letting it rest about 15 minutes in between. There is no need to dirty an extra bag, shaking the puppy chow to coat, I just stir or shake it in the same big mixing bowl (my mixing bowls have matching lids).
Most recipes usually use a good amount of butter and semi-sweet chocolate chips. I prefer to swap out dark chocolate as it gives a richer and chocolatier flavor, without being too sweet. Don’t worry, even those who aren’t usually fans of dark chocolate won’t even notice after you mix it with all of the powdered sugar and peanut butter.
I also removed most of the butter, adding more peanut butter instead. Again, I feel like this gives it more flavor.
But one of my favorite additions that makes this the best puppy chow recipe is tossing in some peanut butter filled pretzels. They add the perfect addition of crunch, plus you can’t beat that salty/sweet mix. Finally, I love to mix in M&Ms at the end, because who doesn’t love a little extra candy.
How Can I Customize This Puppy Chow Recipe?
If you are looking for a more classic puppy chow recipe, feel free to skip the M&Ms. You can also use a different kind of pretzels if you can’t find the peanut butter ones (like sticks or regular twists). Or just substitute an equal amount of Chex mix for the 2 cups of pretzels – although the pretzels have become my favorite part of this mix.
When making this for Christmas, I love to use red and green peanut butter M&Ms to reinforce the peanut butter and chocolate flavor. You could also use peanut or regular M&Ms, depending on your preference. If you want to customize this puppy chow recipe for any other holiday or special event, feel free to use different colored candies. For example, Reece’s Pieces are the perfect color for fall or Halloween.
Looking for More Chex Mix Recipes?
If you are looking for other easy chex mix recipes, here are some of my favorites:
- Cheesy Ranch Chex Mix: More of a traditional, savory Chex mix recipe, this includes some delicious twists including Cheese Its, oyster crackers, crunchy pecans, and ranch mix.
- Sweet and Salty Chex Mix: For when you can’t decide between savory and sweet, this chex mix brings it all. It is loaded up with Chex, pretzels, Bugles, and Cheese It crackers, all tossed in a sweet and salty brown sugar coating.
Best Puppy Chow with Peanut Butter Pretzels
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 5 cups rice Chex cereal
- 2 cups peanut butter filled pretzels
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 cup peanut butter M&Ms (about one 10 oz bag)
Instructions
- Melt peanut butter, chocolate, and butter together in the microwave or on a double boiler
- Add 3 cups of Chex cereal to a large bowl. Pour about 1/2 of the chocolate/peanut butter mixture over the cereal.
- Add 2 more cups of cereal and pretzels to the bowl, and pour over the rest of the chocolate/peanut butter mixture.
- Stir until the cereal is evenly coated.
- Refrigerate mixture about 5 minutes. You want it to cool just slightly, but not harden.
- Once your mixture is at or below room temperature, add 1 cup of powdered sugar. Stir or shake (adding a lid to the bowl) until combined.
- Let cool for about 15 minutes.
- Add more powdered sugar 1/4 cup at a time until your cereal is coated to your desired level. We like lots of powdered sugar.
- Stir in M&Ms.
- Store in an airtight container in fridge/freezer or at room temperature (see note).