Christmas Puppy Chow
Christmas Puppy Chow is a delicious holiday treat you can serve for parties or even give as gifts! It’s a must-have recipe for the holidays!
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I love making this Christmas Puppy Chow (also known as “muddy buddies” or “reindeer chow”) for parties and then watching everyone gather ’round. I think it’s the mixture of peanut butter and chocolate combined in a crunchy cereal kind of treat that makes this everyone’s favorite sweet finger food! It doesn’t hurt that it’s so easy to make, too.
If you want a puppy chow recipe without the holiday vibe, be sure to try this Vegan Puppy Chow.
Reader Reviews
★★★★★
Gretchin
This is the best puppy chow recipe! I love how it uses minimal sugar. It’s still plenty sweet, just not as bad as some!
Ingredients & Substitutions
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
- Chex cereal — Use either the store-brand or your favorite rice chex cereal.
- Dairy-free chocolate chips
- Peanut butter
- Vegan butter — Use any dairy-free butter or margarine or make your own vegan butter. Substitute refined coconut oil.
- Powdered sugar — This recipe uses a bit less powdered sugar than some, but I think you’ll find it’s still plenty sweet.
- Skittles — To keep this dairy-free, and to keep the holiday theme going, we’ll use red and green skittles. Substitute your favorite red and green candy.
To offset the sweetness of this recipe, consider adding a few pretzels to the mix for a salty/sweet combination of flavors.
What Makes This Recipe Shine?
- Adding a bit of vegan butter to the chocolate sauce creates a smooth, spreadable consistency to coat the cereal pieces.
- Spreading the chocolate-coated cereal pieces out on a baking sheet helps the chocolate set into more individual pieces, rather than clumping together.
- Using powdered sugar creates a coating around each treat, making it perfect finger foods for parties.
When you’re ready to serve, add the Christmas Muddy Buddies to a bowl along with green and red candies.
Marly’s Tips
There are some dairy-free M&M type candies these days (see more about them in my Vegan M&M Cookies recipe), but the colors are limited and they may not offer green and red colors. Skittles make a great substitute or use your favorite green and red candies.
Storage Tips
Store the Christmas Puppy Chow in a large ziplock bag or in an airtight container. It will keep up to 4 days at room temperature, or up to 10 days in the fridge. It can also be frozen for up to 2 months.
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Vegan Christmas Sweets
Christmas Puppy Chow
Ingredients
- 9 cups rice chex cereal
- 1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup vegan butter (or coconut oil)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup skittles (red and green)
Instructions
- Measure cereal and pour it into a large mixing bowl.
- Place the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in a pyrex measuring cup (microwave-safe bowl). Microwave for 1 minute, let it sit for 1 minute, then stir. If it's not melted, repeat in 30-second increments.
- Pour the chocolate mixture over the cereal. Gently stir until the cereal is evenly covered with the chocolate.
- Transfer the chocolate-coated cereal to a large baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Sift some of the powdered sugar over it and then gently stir it some more. Repeat until all the powdered sugar is gone.
- Refrigerate the pan to speed up the chocolate setting process.
- To serve, arrange the puppy chow to a serving bowl. Add holiday-themed Skittles and enjoy!
Recommended Equipment
(The products above contain sponsored links to products we use and recommend)
Notes
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This post was originally published in 2020 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2021.
About the Author
Hi! I’m Marly McMillen. I’m the founding editor, author, recipe developer, vegan home chef, and food stylist behind Namely Marly. I’m so grateful to you and every member of my audience for your support and dedication. More about Namely Marly ›
One Response to Christmas Puppy Chow
Rate / Comment
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Thanks, Gretchin! I’m so glad you liked it. I agree with you – minimal sugar is actually better because it allows the flavors of the other ingredients to come through.