• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Sweeter Than Oats

  • Home
  • Start Here
  • Recipes
  • FAQ
  • Subscribe
  • Get in Touch
  • Build your Plant-Based Pantry
menu icon
go to homepage
  • HOME
  • RECIPES
  • ABOUT
  • RESOURCES
  • SUBSCRIBE
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • HOME
  • RECIPES
  • ABOUT
  • RESOURCES
  • SUBSCRIBE
×

Home » Recipes » Chocolate

published: Jan 18, 2022 · modified: Jan 23, 2023 by Freya · This post may contain affiliate links ·

How to make Vegan Puppy Chow (small batch) - a chocolate coated Shreddies Treat

Share this Recipe!

11 shares
A pin of puppy chow

Vegan puppy chow recipe. Sweet, crunchy, chocolatey, what's not to love? This classic American snack is quick and easy to make!

A bowl of puppy chow
🡣 JUMP to RECIPE PIN the RECIPE

I first heard about this strange looking, strange named snack a couple of years ago. An Instagram friend from California had made a huge bowl for the holidays. This bowl contained white, dusty coated squares of something or other and I had never seen anything like it before. I asked Kate, what on earth is that, and she explained that Puppy Chow is a cereal-based snack, coated in chocolate, peanut butter and a LOT of icing sugar.

If you love other cereal treats, try my cinnamon donut cheerios and my molasses cheerio treats!

Jump to:
  • What is Puppy Chow?
  • How do you make Vegan Puppy Chow?
  • Substitutions
  • Try my other delicious vegan chocolate recipes
  • 📋 Recipe
  • 💬 Comments

I mentally made a note to look up how to make Puppy Chow, but then forgot all about it, and so here I am in January, on a sugar detox, making a bowl of this sugary delight.

What is Puppy Chow?

If you're from outside of the Americas, you may never have heard of it. Puppy chow is a sweet snack, also referred to as Muddy Buddies, made from an American cereal called Chex. Now us Brits don't have Chex. However, we have Shreddies, which are an oat-grain based cereal, flavoured with malt. They're not too sweet, but have a firm, unrelentingly crisp texture.

A bowl of vegan puppy chow

The cereal is coated draped in melted chocolate and peanut butter, then doused with icing sugar, giving it the white, powdery finish.

So yes, this is not a snack for the faint of heart, it is very calorific, very delicious, but, because the pieces are small, you can be strong and restrict yourself to only three handfuls a day....!

How do you make Vegan Puppy Chow?

It's easy! And very similar to traditional recipes. Melt dark chocolate chips (I always use Callebaut 811 semi-sweet chocolate chips that do not contain milk) and peanut butter with some vegan butter. I'm currently using Flora Plant-Based, but whatever your preference is. Pour this over your Shreddies and coat thoroughly.

Tip: leave to cool for a couple of minutes or until at room temperature. If the chocolate mixture is still hot, when you add the icing sugar, it will just melt and soak into the chocolate rather than coat it.

Dust liberally (and I mean liberally) with icing (confectioners) sugar until you have an ethereal looking bowl of this divine treat. You can knock up a batch in less than 15 minutes.

(This is ONLY a list of ingredients for the recipe; please see recipe card below for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

Substitutions

A bowl of Puppy Chow

Chocolate. You can use different chocolate of varying percentages. 70% will give you a darker, richer flavour, but I'm not sure it's worth it for something you'll be smothering in icing sugar.

Peanut Butter. You can use whatever nut butter you prefer. I used supermarket own brand in smooth, purely because I'm a bit of a heathen when it comes to PB, and I do like the cheap stuff! If you have a nut intolerance, you could use seed butter instead.

Cereal. Obviously if you are reading this and you are in the US, you will have a variety of cereals at your disposal, including both Chex AND Shreddies. I have read other recipes that use Cheerios too. You could use Shredded Wheat Bitesize too. I would recommend using an unsweetened cereal, purely because of all the additional sugar you are adding, it will just be one layer of sweet too many!

A singular puppy chow

Sea Salt. Now I add a good pinch of Maldon sea salt to my melted chocolate. This is because the Peanut Butter I used was on the sweeter side, and I wanted to balance out the flavours a bit more. This is optional, but does round out the end flavour.

Vanilla Extract. What sweet dish isn't enhanced by Vanilla Extract? However, omit if you don't have or you dislike the flavour.

Add-Ins. Some recipes add M&Ms or mini marshmallows, or salted peanuts, so feel free to add any little extras at the point of stirring the melted chocolate over the cereal. It's hard to find vegan versions of things like M&Ms that are reasonably priced, so I personally wouldn't bother, but if it's for a special occasion, I think it would be a great little texture note.

Doubling the Recipe. I have made a small batch here. Most recipes use a whole box of cereal which is great for family gatherings. The main ratio to remember is that you need the same weight of chocolate as you do cereal. So, 500g of cereal = 500g chocolate chips. The rest of the ingredients, simply double. The icing sugar is a little more inaccurate as it depends on how quickly it absorbs into the chocolate coating.

A bowl of vegan puppy chow

Try my other delicious vegan chocolate recipes

  • Cacao Nib Truffles
  • Vegan Donut Cheerios
  • Vegan Creme Eggs
  • Pear and Walnut Brownies
  • Chocolate Turtle Cookies
  • Nanaimo Bars

📋 Recipe

A bowl of vegan puppy chow
PRINT
4.90 from 39 votes

Vegan Puppy Chow Recipe

YIELD 8 people
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 1 minute
Total Time: 6 minutes
A simple vegan recipe for Puppy Chow using UK ingredients. Small batch.

Ingredients

  • 170 g Chex or Shreddies (UK)
  • 170 g Chocolate Chips Vegan
  • 100 g Peanut Butter smooth
  • 55 g Butter vegan
  • ¼ teaspoon Sea Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 300 g Confectioners Sugar Icing Sugar

Instructions

  • Place your cereal in a large mixing bowl.
  • In a heatproof bowl, place the chocolate chips, butter and peanut butter.
  • Heat for 1 minute or until the butter has melted. Remove from microwave and stir well. If the chocolate hasn't melted entirely, microwave for another 10 seconds.
  • Stir in the vanilla extract and sea salt.
  • Pour over the cereal and mix well until thoroughly coated.
  • Leave for a couple of minutes to cool to room temperature.
  • Pour the icing sugar over the mixture and mix carefully, making sure everything is coated. You can give the bowl a little shake to promote stickage.
  • Store in an airtight tin for up to a week or freeze in a freezer container for upto 6 weeks.
RECIPE BY Freya

Nutrition

Calories: 413kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 341mg | Potassium: 126mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 45g | Vitamin A: 172IU | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried it and Loved it?Mention @sweeterthanoats or tag sweeterthanoats!

More Chocolate

  • Millionaires Shortbread on a chopping board
    How to make Easy and Delicious Vegan Millionaire's Shortbread at home
  • A plate of shortbread
    Sourdough Chocolate Chip Shortbread
  • Boozy Truffles FI
    Easy and Delicious Vegan Boozy Truffles
  • A baking tray with beetroot muffins
    Vegan Beetroot Muffins

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Did you make this recipe? Let me know! Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Did You Enjoy This Recipe?




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Jerika says

    January 19, 2022 at 9:52 am

    Yay! I'm so thrilled to try this Vegan puppy chow recipe, it is so interesting. Me and my family will try this over the weekend. Thanks much!:)

    Reply
  2. The Confused Twenty Something says

    January 19, 2022 at 12:13 pm

    We’re both in the same boat of a sugar did a January sugar detox so now I’ve found this - role on February!! 😍

    Reply
  3. Emily says

    January 19, 2022 at 2:01 pm

    5 stars
    Growing up we always called them "muddy buddies" but it was the same idea. What a fun recipe to veganify!

    Reply
  4. Lindsay says

    January 19, 2022 at 3:11 pm

    5 stars
    I love this even more as a vegan version! Perfect treat to share with vegan friends. Wonderful recipe!

    Reply
  5. Jen Schreiner says

    January 19, 2022 at 3:27 pm

    YEs. A vegan snack that I can enjoy. Can not wait to try it.

    Reply
  6. Heather says

    January 19, 2022 at 6:07 pm

    I can't wait to make this! It sounds like great substitutions to make it vegan.

    Reply
  7. Brianna says

    January 20, 2022 at 2:43 am

    5 stars
    My lid's favorite snack mix! Super easy to make and so tasty.

    Reply
  8. Life Mag Health says

    January 20, 2022 at 5:35 am

    This is quite a great recipe and new to me! I would share this to my best friends who really loves cooking.

    Reply
  9. MELANIE says

    January 20, 2022 at 9:23 am

    5 stars
    This sounds great although I'm being careful with my sugar intake at the moment. I love there are various alternatives too.

    Reply
  10. Manali Oza says

    January 20, 2022 at 10:46 am

    This is something new for me, looks really delicious though. will surely try. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  11. Alita says

    January 20, 2022 at 1:15 pm

    5 stars
    This is the best vegan puppy chow aka muddy buddies recipe! It's a classic favorite Christmas dessert.

    Reply
  12. Beth Pierce says

    January 20, 2022 at 1:16 pm

    5 stars
    I love that this classic favorite dessert can be made without any dairy.

    Reply
  13. briannemanzb says

    January 20, 2022 at 1:16 pm

    5 stars
    Whether you grew up calling it puppy chow or muddy buddies, I think we can all agree that we'd love to make this dessert.

    Reply
  14. Elizabeth O says

    January 20, 2022 at 1:17 pm

    5 stars
    This looks delicious. I'd love to make this for my family.

    Reply
  15. Fransic says

    January 20, 2022 at 3:58 pm

    This recipe looks yummy, like how you made it with these ingredients. I would love to try it. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  16. emman damian says

    January 20, 2022 at 11:35 pm

    Wow! It looks so yummy! I can’t wait to try it. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
  17. Jennifer Prince says

    January 24, 2022 at 5:27 pm

    I love this type of snack! I haven't made it for a while, but I totally need to. So so delish!!

    Reply
  18. Neely says

    January 24, 2022 at 5:37 pm

    I always love finding vegan alternatives.

    Reply
  19. Thena says

    January 25, 2022 at 5:21 am

    Wow, this looks so good! Thank you for sharing this recipe. Can't wait to make it!

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Social

Latest

  • Easy Vegan Pan Haggerty - a delicious, nutritious and cheap supper dish!
  • Delicious Vegan Pasta, Cannellini Bean and Chick Pea Soup
  • Easy and Quick Low-Fat Vegan Chilli
  • Easy Vegan Cheats Hot Cross Bun Bread Pudding
  • Vegan Stuffed Pasta Shells with Spinach, Cream Cheese and Tomato Sauce - a simple delicious supper dish!

Popular

  • Vegan Rock Cakes on a cooling rack
    How to Make Vegan Rock Cakes
  • Keto Truffles
    How to Make Vegan Keto Chocolate Truffles
  • Sweet Potato Salad
    Roast Sweet Potato with Marmalade Dressing Salad Recipe
  • Best Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
    The Best Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe - chewy, chocolatey and perfect!

Hi, I'm Freya! I'm a plant-based foodie, obsessed with true crime, collecting cookbooks and photographing everything I eat.

More about me →

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Accessibility Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact Me
  • FAQ

Sweeter than Oats is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program.

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of material without express and written permission from this site's owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Sweeter than Oats with appropriate and specific linking to the original content.

Copyright © 2022 Freya Erickson Plant-Based Recipes with ❤️