This Valentine’s Day Puppy Chow is crunchy, chocolatey, and perfectly sweet. Festive pink and red M&Ms make it a perfect holiday treat.
I love making holiday versions of puppy chow (or Muddy Buddies, or Monkey Munch—whatever you prefer to call it!). It’s one of my favorite things to do with holiday-colored M&Ms. Check out my Christmas Puppy Chow and 4th of July Puppy Chow too!
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Why Make This Recipe
- So Easy: You can have this ready in about 15 minutes, and there’s no baking required. Perfect for last-minute Valentine’s treats.
- Kid-Friendly: This recipe is always a hit with kids and so simple that little helpers of all ages can jump in.
- Perfect for Valentine’s Day (or Any Occasion): I love using pink and red M&Ms for Valentine’s Day, but you could easily swap in pastel candies for Easter, school colors for a team party, or classic rainbow M&Ms any time of year.
🥗 Valentine's Puppy Chow Ingredients
- Rice Chex: The classic base for puppy chow. Crispix also works if that’s what you have on hand.
- Chocolate: I prefer using chopped semisweet chocolate instead of chocolate chips. Chocolate chips are formulated to keep their shape, while bar chocolate melts more smoothly—exactly what you want for coating the cereal.
- Cocoa Powder: Traditional muddy buddies rely solely on powdered sugar for coating. Adding cocoa powder helps balance the sweetness and gives a deeper chocolate flavor. Either natural or Dutch-processed cocoa will work.
- Pretzels: The salty crunch complements the sweet coating beautifully. Choose smaller pretzels for easier mixing, or substitute salted peanuts if you prefer.
- Peanut Butter: A standard creamy peanut butter melts best and creates the smoothest coating. Natural peanut butter can separate and won’t blend as seamlessly. For a peanut-free version, simply omit it.
- Valentine’s Day M&Ms: The pink and red candies add that festive February touch. Be sure to stir them in after the mixture has cooled so they don’t melt.
🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions
Chop 6 ounces semisweet chocolate into very small chunks. Cut 3 tablespoons butter into 2–3 pieces. Put both into a microwave-safe bowl. Melt chocolate and butter on medium power in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds, until smooth. (It will take around 2 minutes.)
Add ½ cup creamy peanut butter and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract and mix until smooth.
Stir in ½ teaspoon kosher salt.
Pour 8 cups Rice Chex cereal into a large bowl and add chocolate-peanut butter mixture. Stir gently until all pieces are coated.
Pour 2 cups confectioners’ sugar into a large zip-top bag along with 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder.
Add cereal and shake until well coated. You may need to do this in batches.
Spread onto a cookie sheet in a single layer to cool.
When cool, put into a large bowl and gently stir in pretzels and pink and red Valentine’s Day M&Ms.
Storage Tips
Muddy Buddies keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for about a week. Put in the refrigerator if you want to keep them for 2 weeks.
🧐 Recipe FAQs for Valentine's Muddy Buddies
Puppy Chow is essentially the sweet counterpart to Chex Mix. Known by names like Muddy Buddies or Monkey Munch, this Midwestern favorite features chocolate- and peanut butter-coated cereal tossed in powdered sugar. The name comes from its resemblance to dog kibble, but this treat is much more delicious!
Yes, when made with Rice Chex. If you substitute Crispix, note that it is not certified gluten-free.
Nope. Room temperature storage works perfectly, as long as it is stored in an airtight container.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
A 2-gallon ziplock bag is perfect for this recipe. If you don’t have those, I’d recommend tossing the muddy buddies in two batches in a 1-gallon ziplock bag.
Work efficiently once the melted chocolate mixture hits the cereal. Stir gently but without delay to prevent the coating from soaking in and softening the cereal.
When removing the cereal from the zip-top bag, leave behind any excess powdered sugar at the bottom. This prevents the finished mix from becoming overly sweet or dusty once the pretzels and candies are added.
You might want to reserve some M&Ms and pretzels to add more visual appeal when serving. The candies and pretzels will be dusted with the powdered sugar as you stir them in, so adding some fresh ones on top look inviting.
Want a gluten-free puppy chow? Just leave off the pretzels (and make sure you are using Rice Chex rather than Crispix), and you're good to go! Or add in gluten-free pretzels. This valentine's puppy chow would be perfect as part of a gluten free valentine's day dessert board.
Other Valentine's Day Recipes
Looking for other sweet treats for Valentine’s Day? These are some of my favorite treats and desserts to show someone your love.
If you try this Valentines puppy chow recipe, I would love to hear from you! Please rate this recipe and leave a comment below—your feedback is invaluable to me.
And please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or subscribe to my newsletter. I’d love to inspire you with more delicious, healthy, and seasonal recipes!
📖 Recipe
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Valentine's Day Puppy Chow
Ingredients
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 cups Rice Chex cereal
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups red and pink M&Ms
- 2 cups mini pretzels
Instructions
- Chop chocolate into very small chunks and butter into 2–3 pieces, and put both into a microwave-safe bowl.
- Melt chocolate and butter on medium power in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds, until smooth. (It will take around 2 minutes.)
- Add peanut butter and vanilla extract and mix until smooth. Stir in kosher salt.
- Pour cereal into a large bowl and add chocolate-peanut butter mixture. Stir gently until all pieces are coated.
- Pour confectioners’ sugar into a large zip-top bag along with the cocoa powder.
- Add cereal and shake until well coated. You may need to do this in batches.
- Spread onto a cookie sheet in a single layer to cool.
- When cool, put into a large bowl and gently stir in pretzels and pink and red Valentine’s Day M&Ms.
Notes
Nutrition
Instagram Users: Now that you've made this Valentine's Day puppy chow recipe, tag me @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because I’d love to see your results!
More About Molly
Cooking healthy(ish) meals with seasonal ingredients is my passion. Trained as a French pastry chef, I spent over 10 years as a personal chef. Here you'll find well-tested recipes that you and your family will love!
Heidi says
This is such a fun little treat to make for the kids! It's the perfect way to upgrade Valentine's Day!!
Molly Pisula says
My daughter took a baggie of this to school with her, and it disappeared quickly. 😆