Puppy Chow Recipe with Crispix (Dairy-Free)

Puppy chow, often called Muddy Buddies, is a sweet and salty snack (for humans, not dogs) made of Chex cereal covered in melted peanut butter and chocolate, then dusted with powdered sugar. This Puppy Chow Recipe with Crispix has a lighter and more crisp texture that's insanely addicting!

Peanut butter and chocolate are the stars of the show when it comes to the classic flavors in puppy chow. For more peanut butter and chocolate recipes, try these: Healthy Peanut Butter Twix, 4 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cups, and Snicker Dates.

Jump to:

• ❤️Why You'll Love this Recipe
• ❓Why is it Called Puppy Chow?
• 📝Ingredient Notes
• 🥛Substitutions
• 🥨Variations
• 🥣Equipment
• 🔪How to Make Puppy Chow with Crispix
• 🧊Storing
• ✅Pro Tips
• ⁉️Frequently Asked Question
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

❤️Why You'll Love this Recipe

• Quick and easy: This easy puppy chow recipe takes less than 10 minutes to throw together. It's perfect when you want something salty and sweet on the fly, or you want a quick snack to prepare for a get together.
• Addicting: Chocolatey, peanut buttery, salty, and sweet. These flavors are why most people can attest to eating puppy chow by the handful and not leaving any leftovers. At least that was the case for my household growing up!
• Dairy-free and vegan: Dairy-free puppy chow is exactly the same as classic puppy chow other than using dairy-free chocolate chips. I use dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips and they taste just the same as ones that contain milk. You wouldn't necessarily have to tell people without diet restrictions that it's dairy-free, because you can't tell anyway!

❓Why is it Called Puppy Chow?

According to Taste, In the late 1930s, Purina (the dog food company) launched Chex cereal (for humans) that debuted in grocery stores. Their dog food was referred to as "dog chow" and their cat food as "cat chow". The term "chow" came from World War I soldiers who referred to their rations as "chow". Their Chex cereal didn't stick out to the public until they called it "human chow". Somewhere along the line, this recipe concoction that we love today was named puppy chow.

📝Ingredient Notes

• Semi-sweet chocolate chips (dairy-free): I either use the brand Nestle Toll House or Enjoy Life. These dairy-free options are available at grocery stores like Walmart. If you can't get them in-store, check for a shipping option!
• Peanut butter: For this recipe, I like to use Jif's Natural Creamy Peanut Butter instead of natural peanut butter that needs to be stirred. I do this to make sure the chocolate and peanut butter coating sets properly, but you can also use peanut butter that only contains peanuts and salt! Using natural peanut butter could require a little extra powdered sugar to soak up some of the extra oils.

🥛Substitutions

• Semi-sweet chocolate chips: Milk chocolate or dark chocolate can also be used instead of semi-sweet. Lindt makes non-dairy oat milk chocolate bars, and their chocolate bars that are 70% dark chocolate and up are also dairy-free.
• Peanut butter: If you want to make puppy chow without peanut butter, use another nut butter like almond or cashew butter. If you need to go nut-free, try using sunflower seed butter.
• Crispix cereal: Chex cereal is the original cereal used for making puppy chow. You can use it instead of Crispix!
• Powdered sugar: The only substitute for powdered sugar would be a sugar-free powdered sugar. There's a brand called Swerve that makes a powdered sugar replacement that uses Erythritol instead of cane sugar. Erythritol has a cooling effect similar to mint. So, if you've never had erythritol, keep that in mind. Also, just like dogs CAN'T actually eat puppy chow, they definitely CANNOT have erythritol.

🥨Variations

• Vanilla
• Peanuts
• Pretzels (sticks or mini pretzels)
• M&M's: There are several brands that make dairy-free variations. You can read this post here to find dairy-free M&M alternatives.

🥣Equipment

• Gallon Ziploc bag
• Small microwave-safe bowl or stockpot for melting the peanut butter and chocolate

🔪How to Make Puppy Chow with Crispix

🧊Storing

Store leftover puppy chow in an airtight container or ziploc at room temperature for up to 1 week, or store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Puppy chow can also be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months in a freezer-safe ziploc.

✅Pro Tips

• Don't add the powdered sugar if the melted chocolate and peanut butter are hot: Once you shake the cereal with the melted peanut butter and chocolate, wait to add the powdered sugar if it feels hot. This way it won't melt the powdered sugar.
• Use plenty of powdered sugar: You want each piece of cereal to be well coated in sugar so that it's not sticky to the touch. The cereal should look fairly white.
• Don't mix the chocolate mixture and powdered sugar at the same time: Each piece of cereal should be well coated in chocolate and peanut butter before dusting with powdered sugar. This way the sugar sticks well to each piece.
• Use corn or rice Chex, or Crispix when making puppy chow: Avoid using wheat Chex. You won't get the same crunch if you do.
• Seal the Ziploc bag tightly before shaking: If the bag isn't properly sealed, you'll have ingredients flying out! I'm totally speaking from experience.
• Use quality ingredients: While generic ingredients are still going to give you delicious puppy chow, some argue that quality ingredients will give you the best results. For example, some say that generic powdered sugar contains more cornstarch, making it less sweet. If you're looking to make the best puppy chow ever, you may want to use the best ingredients you can find.

⁉️Frequently Asked Question

⭐️Before you go! If you enjoyed this Puppy Chow Recipe with Crispix, leave a recipe rating below! I love to hear from you.

📖 Recipe

Nutrition Disclaimer: The nutrition label is only an estimate. Amounts may vary based on the products used and different nutrition calculators. If tracking nutrition information is important to you, it's recommended that you plug these ingredients into an online nutritional calculator.