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Protein Muddy Buddies

By Brittany Mullins

4.84

39

Last updated on Dec 10, 2024

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VGVegetarian

These protein muddy buddies are gluten-free, dairy-free with a low-sugar option as well.

Muddy Buddies, Puppy Chow, Trash… it goes by many names, but no matter what you call it – it’s a delicious and highly addictive sweet treat!

I’m all about indulging, especially around the holidays, but I find it fun to make recipes a little healthier so I made some tweaks to the classic muddy buddies recipe I grew up with as a kid.

This version has fewer calories, less sugar and more protein than the traditional blend, but it tastes just as good!

One 1/2 cup serving has 4 grams of protein, but if you’re looking for even more protein, you can add more protein powder than powdered sugar. I was making this mix as a gift and didn’t want the protein powder flavor to be too overwhelming so I decided to roll with 1/4 cup.

Ingredients For Protein Muddy Buddies

• Chex cereal – Rice Chex makes the best Muddy Buddies, but for even more protein you could use half Chex and half Catalina Crunch. The chocolate peanut butter flavor would be great. 
• dark chocolate chips – I used Lily’s dark chocolate chips for less sugar.
• peanut butter – make sure you use peanut butter with no added sugar, just peanuts and salt. See my note in the recipe card if you want to use something like PB2.
• coconut oil – this just helps the melted chocolate from being too thick.
• powdered sugar – powdered monkfruit or powered erythritol will keep this treat lower in sugar, but you can totally use powered sugar if that’s what you have on hand
• vanilla protein powder – I like to use Nuzest vanilla protein powder, but use your favorite brand!

How to Make Protein Muddy Buddies

Cereal – Measure the cereal and place it in a large bowl, set aside.

Prep dry ingredients – Next, pour powdered sugar or powdered erythritol and protein powder into a 2-gallon resealable zip-lock bag.

Melt – In a saucepan over low-medium heat add peanut butter, chocolate chips and coconut oil. Stir continuously until chocolate chips have melted and the mixture is smooth.

Coat cereal – Then carefully pour the chocolate mixture over the cereal and toss until evenly coated. Carefully pour the coated cereal mixture into the bag with powdered sugar and protein powder. Seal the bag and shake until well coated.

Serve – Spread the muddy buddies onto parchment paper to cool completely. Make sure you let it cool for a while before putting it in a container, otherwise your mix will get soggy! Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Make a batch to take to your next holiday party or portion into cute containers and give it away as gifts. Or keep it around the house – but I will warn you, it’s easy to eat a whole batch of it in a day. Not that happened to me or anything. 😉

More Protein Snack Ideas

• 30 High Protein Snacks
• No Bake Protein Balls
• Easy Protein Bars
• Coconut Protein Balls

More Healthy Snack Ideas

• Maple Cinnamon Breakfast Trail Mix
• Chunky Monkey Trail Mix
• Rosemary Candied Pecans
• Chocolate Covered Frozen Raspberries
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bites

Looking for more healthy snacks? Be sure to check out all my popular snack recipes here.

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4.84 from 12 votes

Protein Muddy Buddies

By: Brittany Mullins

Make muddy buddies a bit healthier with a protein boost with just a few easy substitutions! Gluten-free and dairy-free. 

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 2 minutes minutes

Total Time: 12 minutes minutes

Servings: 12

Ingredients  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 6 cups Rice Chex
• ▢ ⅔ cup Lily's dark chocolate chips
• ▢ ⅓ cup natural peanut butter*
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
• ▢ ¾ cup powdered sugar substitute or regular powered sugar
• ▢ ¼ cup vanilla protein powder

Instructions 

• Measure cereal and place in a large bowl, set aside.
• Pour powered sugar or powdered erythritol and protein powder into 2-gallon resealable zip-lock bag.
• In a saucepan over low-medium heat add peanut butter, chocolate chips and coconut oil. Stir continuously until chocolate chips have melted and the mixture is smooth. If you're using a microwave, heat the chocolate chips and coconut oil in 30 second increments until melted. Then stir in peanut butter until combined.
• Pour chocolate mixture over cereal and toss until evenly coated.
• Carefully pour coated cereal mixture into the bag with the powdered sugar and protein powder. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on parchment paper to cool completely. Make sure you let it cool for a while before putting it in a container, otherwise your mix will get soggy.
• Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Keeping it in the fridge will keep it fresh and crunchy!

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Notes

• Chex is the traditional cereal used for Muddy Buddies, but for even more protein you could use half Chex and half Catalina Crunch. The chocolate peanut butter flavor would be great. 
• If you prefer to use powdered peanut butter for lower fat content, mix 1/4 cup PB2 with 2 Tablespoons almond milk or water and 2 Tablespoons peanut butter. Use this instead of the 1/3 cup peanut butter. If the chocolate peanut butter mixture is too thick, add more almond milk, 1 Tablespoon at a time until it’s thin enough pour over the cereal. 
• Powdered monkfruit or powered erythritol will keep this treat lower in sugar. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1/2 cup (made with powdered erythritol) | Calories: 122kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 6g | Sodium: 148mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1.5g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: protein muddy buddies

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