Protein Muddy Buddies

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A lightened up version of muddy buddies with an added protein boost! 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!

A bowl of protein muddy muddies made with protein powder.

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.

A hand holding four pieces of protein muddy buddy mix.

Here’s What You Need

  • 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 sugarpowdered 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!
A bowl full of protein buddy buddies.

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.

Brittany’s Tip

Store your protein muddy buddies in the fridge to keep it fresh and crunchy!

A bowl of protein muddy buddies coated in vanilla protein powder.

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

More Healthy Snack Ideas

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

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4.91 from 11 votes

Protein Muddy Buddies

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
Cook Time: 2 minutes
Total Time: 12 minutes
Servings: 12

Ingredients  

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!

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
Did you make this recipe?Mention @eatingbirdfood and tag #eatingbirdfood!

About Brittany

Hey there, I’m Brittany, the creator of Eating Bird Food, cookbook author, health coach and mama of two littles. Here you’ll find quick and easy recipes that make healthy fun and enjoyable for you and your family!

More about Brittany
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Recipe Rating




37 Comments

  1. This is one of my favorite Christmas (or anytime) treats – can’t wait to try this version!

  2. I LOVE puppy chow (that’s what I call this hehe) and this healthy variation sounds yummy!

  3. Using PB2 is a great idea!! I love using PB2 to get that wonderful peanut butter flavor without all of the fat and calories. Will def use PB2 the next time I make muddy buddies. 🙂

  4. Brittany, these look awesome! I’m very impressed by the photos, too. I made a muddy buddy recipe a few months ago and the photos were so bad I never even posted it. Your second-to-last photo is my favorite 🙂 Thanks for including me in your post.

  5. when this popped up in my inbox, I thought to myself, “goodness, that girl is a genius! she can make anything healthy!”, then i read it and was even happier that you have guilty pleasures just like me! sometimes you just have to eat junk food!

    1. 5 stars
      So true!! I could definitely make this even healthier but then it wouldn’t be as good and it just wouldn’t be worth it. 🙂

  6. Great idea- I love muddy buddies 🙂 My favorite holiday baked goods are pecan bars and peanut butter cookies!

  7. This look awesome! My family loves muddy buddies so I’ll def try this out 😀 and I agree– your pictures look amazing lol my muddy buddies always look a mess lol

  8. What a fantastic idea to add peanut flour and rice protein to this mix! “Trash” is one of my boyfriend’s favorite childhood treats, but he hasn’t had it in ages. I’ll have to surprise him for the holidays! Thanks for the recipe!

  9. Oh my gosh, I totally forgot about this. My mom used to make this all the time when we were kids. I think we used to call it “white trash” if I remember correctly. Haha!
    Such a fun recipe, thanks for sharing!

  10. Such a unique idea! A great holiday nibble! Not sure we can get all the ingredients in Ireland but it’s inspiration for creating out own!

    1. Depending on what kind of chocolate you use ( calculated it using bittersweet chocolate) it will be around 200cal for a 12th of the recipe

  11. OMG that stuff is SO good. The first time I ever made it I used a brown grocery bag instead of the ziploc to coat with powdered sugar. Let’s just say there was powdered sugar EVERYWHERE. Those things are not airtight. Totally worth it though. While it’s not technically a “baked good” hot chocolate is definitely a holiday favorite for me. I actually just posted a healthified verson on my blog made with a chocolate almond milk base, dark drinking chocolate, and peppermint chocolate tea.

    http://www.xactivities.blogspot.com/2012/12/healthy-hot-chocolate.html

    Great minds think alike 🙂

    P.S. Made your healthy protein powder macaroons on Monday and already finished all of them. So good! Keep the tasty recipes coming.

  12. Oh my goodness, I just made this and I totally agree…..this will NOT last long. LOVE how you used protein powder and PB2, genius! The one challenge I had was the chocolate mixture. I could not get it “runny” enough for the life of me. I even added a little water and microwaved it longer….no dice. I ended up with big globs of chocolate throughout, which are quite tasty but mine doesn’t look near as pretty as yours! Any suggestions to get the chocolate/PB mixture thinned out.

  13. I love that you made these healthier and added in some protein! What a great idea for the holiday season 🙂 I think my favorite treats this time of year are peanut clusters and peanut butter balls – I have a love for all things peanut butter + chocolate!

  14. 5 stars
    I’m trying to wean myself off Christmas cookies and I was craving something sweet. This is so good and quick! I used a little less sugar because Im using peanut butter protein powder and it’s already pretty sweet. I needed a little more than the recipe called for, but no biggie. My boyfriend has already had some and he approves (and he’s not worried about sugar content or protein benefits at all, so I’m sure this is kid friendly)!

    1. Woo-hoo!! So glad you and your boyfriend enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and star rating, Missy. It means the world to me. <3

  15. 5 stars
    Just made these and they were a HIT among my family. They were the perfect quick and tasty treat. And the protein powder is undetectable!

    1. Yay!! I’m so glad this recipe was a hit with your family, Lily. I so appreciate you trying my recipe and coming back to leave a comment + star rating!!

  16. Thank thr Lord you called them Muddy Buddies and not “puppy chow”. 🙄 Haha! Anyway, SUPER excited to try this!

  17. 5 stars
    I’m in a weight gain journey and looking for different ways to incorporate my mass gain powder. This recipe will definitely be known by heart soon. It was easy, quick, I altered some ingredients, it was easily halved. I’m eating them off the parchment paper😂

    1. YUM! I am so glad you found this recipe and are loving it, Caielee! Thanks so much for sharing your review & star rating, I truly appreciate it!