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❤️ Why you'll love it
- A fun, easy activity to teach kids kitchen measuring skills
- Simple ingredients make a crunchy, sweet treat that tastes like s'mores
- No peanut butter—a great recipe for anyone with a peanut allergy
S'mores puppy chow is a spin-off of the deliciously addictive muddy buddy recipe made famous by Rice Chex cereal. It's the perfect snack for grazing at holiday parties, munching on road trips, or giving away in "doggy bag" gifts!
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Melt and stir together the chocolate chips, Nutella, and butter.
- In a large bowl, combine the melted chocolate mixture and some of the Golden Graham cereal squares.
- Shake the chocolate-coated cereal and powdered sugar together in a plastic bag.
- Let cool on a lined baking sheet. Then, combine it with the remaining cereal pieces and marshmallows.
🥫 Storage
The best part about s'mores puppy chow (besides how tasty it is) is that the delicious snack lasts all week! As long as you don't scarf it all down in one sitting, that is.
Just like classic puppy chow, transfer the leftovers to an airtight container. We like to use a heavy Ziplock bag, but you could also just cover a large mixing bowl with plastic wrap.
Keep the s'mores puppy chow at room temperature and consume within a week. It'll lose its crunch the longer it sits.
📖 Variations
- Reindeer Chow: add peanuts, red and green M&Ms, and crushed peppermint candies. (Great during the holiday season!)
- Snickerdoodle Puppy Chow: use white chocolate chips and almond butter instead of milk chocolate and Nutella. Replace half the Golden Grahams with a cinnamon sugar cereal, like Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
- Original Puppy Chow Recipe: replace the Nutella with peanut butter.
- Peanut Butter Lover's Chow: follow the variation for "Original" above, but mix in some peanut butter chips or crushed Reese's cups at the end for even more nutty flavor.
- Halloween Ghost Chow: add a few drops of black food coloring to the confectioners' sugar/chocolate cereal mixture. At the end, stir in some candy corn, Halloween sprinkles, and edible "eyeball" candies.
- Gluten-Free S'mores Puppy Chow: swap the Golden Grahams with half corn Chex and half rice Chex for gluten-free muddy buddies.
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Puppy Chow: use cookie butter instead of Nutella, and add ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract to the melted mixture. Use semi-sweet chocolate chips and crumbled Oreos at the end instead of (or in addition to) the marshmallows.
Or, try this yummy red velvet puppy chow. There isn't any peanut butter in it so it's great for the kids to take to school! I love it for Valentine's Day.
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: Though s'mores puppy chow is safe for those allergic to peanuts, keep in mind that it's not safe for someone with generic nut allergies. After all, Nutella is made from hazelnuts!
- Don't overheat the chocolate mixture. Take your time melting it down in increments, stirring in between to evenly distribute the heat.
- Mini chocolate chips melt down more quickly than large ones.
- You can melt the chocolate, Nutella, and butter over a double-boiler if you prefer not to use the microwave.
- Letting the coated cereal mixture cool on parchment paper makes clean-up a breeze.
- Also, cooling the cereal between steps seven and eight in the recipe card keeps the muddy munch snack looking cleaner!
- If you're making an extra big batch of puppy chow, you can use a clean, large brown paper bag to shake everything up. Otherwise, this recipe will fit just fine in a gallon-sized, freezer bag or something similar.
- Always check the ingredients list when preparing foods for someone with a peanut allergy. Though Nutella brand hazelnut spread does not have any cross-contamination risk with peanuts, generic brands might.
👩🍳 FAQs
S'mores puppy chow is the perfect combination of a sweet and crunchy treat. The classic recipe uses a few cups of crunchy Chex cereal, melted peanut butter, and powdered sugar. It's a sweet snack mix with drool-worthy textures (thanks to the creamy powdered sugar combination) and yummy chocolate flavors.
This delicious treat is not dog food, just so you know! The nickname actually comes from its resemblance to puppy kibble. Sorry, Spot, this one is for humans only!
It's based on the Muddy Buddies recipe that has been published for a long time on the back of Chex cereal boxes. However, we change up a few ingredients to make it a super s'mores-flavored snack!
You can use whatever you prefer! More mature palates might enjoy dark chocolate since the Nutella and powdered sugar add sweetness. On the other hand, semi-sweet is always a good option, while milk chocolate adds an extra creamy, sweet flavor.
📚 Related recipes
- Valentine's Day Popcorn is a no-bake snack mix that is yummy, colorful, and so festive! Plus, you can switch it up according to your cravings.
- The perfect sweet and salty treat or gift, these Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites always are the first to be gobbled down at Christmas parties!
- Bird's Nest Haystack Cookies are a super fun, no-bake treat that both adults and kids have fun making—and eating, of course!
🍽️ Serve with...
🥄 Restless Chipotle recommends
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📞 The last word
I have to admit I kinda love a good snack mix. This is crunchy and gooey and sweet and ...
Well, basically perfect. Try it soon because you're going to love it! I suggest you store it in an empty Grapenuts cereal box to keep the kids out of it.
I mean, it works for me.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
S'mores Puppy Chow
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Ingredients
- 8 cups Golden Grahams cereal, divided
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
- ½ cup Nutella
- ¼ cup butter, room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 cups mini marshmallows
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Instructions
- In a small microwave safe container, combine the chocolate chips, Nutella, and butter.
- Microwave in 20 second bursts, stirring until smooth.
- In a large bowl, add 6 cups of the Golden Graham cereal.
- Pour the melted chocolate mixture over. Stir until the cereal has been evenly coated.
- Transfer the chocolate coated cereal into a large, gallon sized Ziplock bag and add the powdered sugar.
- Seal the bag and shake to coat the cereal in the sugar.
- Pour the mix onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and allow to cool.
- Once cooled, combine the mix with the remaining Golden Graham cereal and mini marshmallows.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Though s'mores puppy chow is safe for those allergic to peanuts, keep in mind that it's not safe for someone with generic nut allergies. After all, Nutella is made from hazelnuts!
- Don't overheat the chocolate mixture. Take your time melting it down in increments, stirring in between to evenly distribute the heat.
- Mini chocolate chips melt down more quickly than large ones.
- You can melt the chocolate, Nutella, and butter over a double-boiler if you prefer not to use the microwave.
- Letting the coated cereal mixture cool on parchment paper makes clean-up a breeze.
- Also, cooling the cereal between steps seven and eight in the recipe card keeps the muddy munch snack looking cleaner!
- If you're making an extra big batch of puppy chow, you can use a clean, large brown paper bag to shake everything up. Otherwise, this recipe will fit just fine in a gallon-sized, freezer bag or something similar.
- Always check the ingredients list when preparing foods for someone with a peanut allergy. Though Nutella brand hazelnut spread does not have any cross-contamination risk with peanuts, generic brands might
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