Protein Muddy Buddies
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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.
Brittany’s Tip
Store your protein muddy buddies in the fridge to keep it fresh and crunchy!
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
- 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.
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Protein Muddy Buddies
Ingredients
- 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!
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This Recipe? Rate & Comment Below!
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!
Peanut butter balls will always have a special place in my heart too. 🙂
Hey it looks so yummy!!! and easy to prepare at home, thank for the recipe.
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.
So glad you like them Amber, but I’m sorry the chocolate mixture didn’t get runny enough. I’m assuming it’s because the chocolate didn’t melt properly. I found this article online that might help explain the issue – http://candy.about.com/od/workingwithchocolate/a/meltchocolate.htm Apparently adding water is the worst idea when trying to melt chocolate = :/
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.
any idea how many calories per 1/2 cup serving?
Depending on what kind of chocolate you use ( calculated it using bittersweet chocolate) it will be around 200cal for a 12th of the recipe
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!
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!
Yes! We called is Trash as well. 🙂
Puppy chow is amazing, I can’t wait to try this healthier version. I do ALSO love its delicious Christmas cousin, Reindeer/Elf Chow:http://christmas.organizedhome.com/crafts/christmas/reindeer-chow-recipe
Not sure you can make that too healthy unless you can magically transform white chocolate and M&Ms into a health food, haha. But I’m all about indulging in my fav. Christmas snacks once a year.
Why have I never thought to sub the sugar with protein powder??! That is absolutely genius!
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!