This Valentine Puppy Chow recipe is the perfect Valentine’s Day treat! Quick and easy to make, this adorable strawberry muddy buddies recipe is colored naturally and only uses 5 ingredients. Perfect for parties, gifting, or to surprise your favorite Valentine(s)!
Whether you call it puppy chow, muddy buddies, muddy munch, or monkey munch, this classic Midwest treat is always a hit! Valentine’s muddy buddies are a fun, festive, and strawberry twist on the classic peanut butter and chocolate variety.
I love that this recipe is colored naturally with freeze dried strawberries! No strange dyes from candy melts, no food coloring…it’s all natural my friends!
Prep and serve this awesome no bake treat at your next play date, game night, or party. This would also be a great treat to pack in little goodie bags to share with friends, family, or co-workers!
Did your Valentine love this muddy buddy recipe? They’d also love these no bake strawberry cheesecake parfaits and these Oreo truffles topped with Valentine’s sprinkles!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Quick and easy to make! Ready in less than 10 minutes, this strawberry puppy chow can be made last minute and still wow your guests!
Natural, strawberry flavor. Thanks to freeze dried strawberries, this Valentine’s puppy chow is an adorable shade of pink and has a wonderful hint of strawberry flavor.
It’s a crowd pleaser! This treat will disappear fast, and is sure to be the hit of any get together you’re having! For larger groups, be sure to make a double batch so you can replenish your snack bowls!
Ingredients Needed
Rice Chex Cereal – this is the base for most muddy buddies recipes. Their checkerboard texture creates the perfect pockets to capture and hold chocolate and the powdered sugar mixture.
White Chocolate / Vanilla Melting Wafers – this is used to coat the Chex cereal, and give the powdered sugar coating something to stick to. I personally like the Ghirardelli white chocolate melting wafers because they are high quality, melt like a dream, and are easy to find at grocery stores.
Freeze Dried Strawberries – used for color, flavor, and sweetening. Using freeze dried strawberries also allows us to reduce the amount of powdered sugar needed… so, I can tell myself this is a little healthier (at least a little, right?).
Powdered Sugar – a must for coating muddy buddies! Powdered sugar sweetens this treat, and coats the chocolate to help prevent the squares from sticking together.
Valentine m&m milk chocolate candies – not only do the red, pink, and white m&ms add to the cuteness factor, strawberries and chocolate is a classic combo!
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Recipe Variations and Substitutions
- Add sprinkles. Heart shape sprinkles, Valentine jimmies… add your favorite holiday sprinkles to the mix for another pop of color! Add 2-3 tablespoons of sprinkles to your final mixture if desired.
- Add pretzels. If you love a good salty sweet combo, adding pretzels to your puppy chow mixture is a great option! Toss in a handful or two of mini-twists when ready to serve and stir to spread throughout.
- Mix in some Wheat Chex. If you’d like to mix things up, you could use half rice and half Wheat Chex cereal in this recipe! Note that this will alter the texture a bit, as the wheat chex are a little tougher / crunchier.
- Use chopped up white chocolate or white chocolate chips. Don’t have melting wafers? A chopped up white chocolate baking bar is the next best option! Don’t have that? White chocolate chips can work too. See the tip below if you’re using white chocolate chips.
TIP FOR MELTING WHITE CHOCOLATE CHIPS: Add a small amount of oil. This keeps your chocolate from drying out, helping to prevent the chocolate from seizing up. Use a very small amount (like ⅛ teaspoon small) of a neutral oil, like grapeseed or canola oil. Coconut oil is also a popular option, as it is a solid when cooled.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Add powdered sugar and freeze dried strawberries to a blender or food processor.
Step 2: Blend until the strawberries have been crushed into a fine powder. If a few small strawberry pieces remain in tact, that is a-ok! Transfer to a gallon-sized zip top bag and set aside.
Step 3: Melt the white chocolate melts in the microwave in 30-second increments, stirring in between, until smooth. Pour over Chex cereal.
Step 4: Stir the chocolate and Chex mixture until all of the cereal is well-coated.
Step 5: Place the chocolate coated cereal into the zip top bag with the powdered sugar and strawberry mixture.
Step 6: Close the top tightly and shake to coat the cereal with the powdered sugar and strawberry mixture.
Step 7: Add the m&ms and pieces of freeze dried strawberries into the bag and give it a shake to distribute throughout the mixture.
Step 8: Pour Valentine puppy chow onto a wax lined baking sheet and spread into an even layer. Allow to dry.
Possible Dietary Restrictions?
This Valentine’s puppy chow recipe is vegetarian as written.
Make this into a gluten free puppy chow by selecting gluten free Chex cereal. It would also be wise to verify the white chocolate or melting wafers you’re using are certified to be gluten free if you are serving this to someone with celiac disease.
Storage
Puppy chow tastes best in the first 1-2 days after being made. However, if stored properly in an air-tight container or zip top bag, puppy chow can be stored for up to 1 week at room temperature and up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Helpful Equipment
A high-quality blender or food processor will be helpful to finely crush the freeze dried strawberries.
If you don’t have access to one of these, you can always do this by hand by placing the strawberries into the gallon zip-top bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
Recipe FAQs
Muddy buddies and puppy chow refer to the same thing! Also known as monkey munch, muddy munch, or reindeer chow. This treat is typically made with Chex cereal, peanut butter, chocolate, and powdered sugar and is popular in the Midwest.
Puppy chow is a popular Midwestern treat that is typically made with Chex cereal, peanut butter, chocolate, and powdered sugar. It is often made during the holidays, but is enjoyed year round by kids and adults alike! This treat is also known as muddy buddies, monkey munch, muddy munch, or reindeer chow.
Puppy chow tastes best in the first 1-2 days after being made. However, if stored properly in an air-tight container or zip top bag, puppy chow can be stored for up to 1 week at room temperature and up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
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📖 Valentine’s Puppy Chow (Valentine’s Muddy Buddies)
Ingredients
- ½ C powdered sugar
- 1 C freeze dried strawberries, divided
- 5 C Rice Chex Cereal
- 10 oz white chocolate melting wafers (like Ghirardelli)
- ½ C Valentine m&ms
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with wax paper and set aside.
- Place powdered sugar and ½ cup of freeze dried strawberries into a blender or food processor and blend until the strawberries have been crushed into a fine powder. Transfer the mixture to a gallon sized zip top bag.
- Place melting wafers in a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30-second increments, stirring in between, until smooth.
- Pour the melted chocolate over the Chex cereal. Stir the chocolate and Chex together until all of the cereal is well-coated.
- Transfer the chocolate coated cereal into the zip top bag with the powdered sugar and strawberry mixture. Close the top tightly and shake to coat the cereal with the powdered sugar and strawberry mixture.
- Break up the remaining ½ cup of freeze dried strawberries, and place them and the m&ms into the zip top bag with the coated cereal and give it a shake to distribute throughout the mixture.
- Pour Valentine puppy chow onto a wax lined baking sheet and spread into an even layer. Allow to dry.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Add sprinkles. Heart shape sprinkles, Valentine jimmies… add your favorite holiday sprinkles to the mix for another pop of color! Add 2-3 tablespoons of sprinkles to your final mixture if desired.
- Add pretzels. If you love a good salty sweet combo, adding pretzels to your puppy chow mixture is a great option! Toss in a handful or two of mini-twists when ready to serve and stir to spread throughout.
- Mix in some Wheat Chex. If you’d like to mix things up, you could use half rice and half Wheat Chex cereal in this recipe! Note that this will alter the texture a bit, as the wheat chex are a little tougher / crunchier.
- Use chopped up white chocolate or white chocolate chips. Don’t have melting wafers? A chopped up white chocolate baking bar is the next best option! Don’t have that? White chocolate chips can work too. See the tip below if you’re using white chocolate chips.
Anuj Dubey says
This was so good. Loved it!
Meredith says
So happy to hear you loved it Anuj!
Denzel says
This is a great recipe. It’s better than the “traditional” puppy chow!
Meredith says
I’m so happy to hear you think it’s even better than the original! Thanks Denzel 🙂
David says
Made two batches in two days. Can’t stop eating it. Send help please.
Meredith says
hehe, so happy to hear that you’re loving this valentines puppy chow!!