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Reindeer chow is an irresistible mix of Chex cereal, chocolate, peanut butter, and your favorite candies, perfect for the holiday season.
I bake so many Christmas cookies between Thanksgiving and December 24 that I really love having some go-to no-bake treats to throw into the mix, too.
Sometimes it’s just nice not to have to turn on the oven, ya know?
My rum balls are always on the menu, and so are buckeyes and oreo truffles. And my kids love helping me making this festive reindeer chow recipe!
What is reindeer chow?
If you’ve ever had puppy chow, then you’ve pretty much had reindeer chow.
There are a couple different versions of reindeer chow (sometimes called reindeer food) out there; one of them coats the mix in white chocolate, and the other is a twist on puppy chow.
My family’s favorite version of reindeer chow is puppy chow—a mix of Chex cereal coated in chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar—with some extra mix-ins to make it even more festive.
Red and green M&Ms are the most common additions to reindeer chow, but pretzels, peanuts, and mini peanut butter cups are also popular.
This snack mix is always a hit at holiday parties and is great for gifting, too. Package it up in some festive tins and it’s a perfect gift for neighbors. It’s also an easy snack to make on snow days or for cozy nights watching Christmas movies.
Plus, since this is a no-bake recipe that uses the microwave, it’s a great treat to make with kids! My girls especially always love helping to shake the reindeer chow up in the powdered sugar.
How to make reindeer chow
Reindeer chow is going to be your new go-to easy Christmas treat.
Start by prepping a baking sheet with parchment paper. Unlike ranch chex mix or ranch crackers, this isn’t going in the oven; the sheet pan is just to let the mix cool later.
Add the cereal to a very large mixing bowl; set this aside.
Add the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and salted butter to a large, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on 50% power for 1 minute and stir.
Keep microwaving on 50% power in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until the mixture is smooth.
Stir in the vanilla, then pour this mixture over the cereal. Stir until the cereal is well coated in the melted chocolate mixture.
Add the coated cereal to a 2-gallon zip-top bag. If you only have 1-gallon bags, do this in 2 batches or divide everything between 2 bags.
Add the powdered sugar to the bag and seal tightly. Now for the part my girls love! Shake it up until the cereal is well coated in the powdered sugar.
Spread the mix onto the lined baking sheet. There will probably be some clumps of cereal; you can break those apart or leave them.
Let the mix cool completely. Now you can add in the mix-ins. Our favorites are salted peanuts, red and green M&Ms, mini pretzels (we like twists but pretzel sticks also work), and mini peanut butter cups.
Storage
Store reindeer chow in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
You can also freeze it for 2-3 months. This makes for extra good crunch!
If you want to store the mix in the fridge or freezer, I recommend waiting to add the pretzels until just before serving so that they don’t get stale.
Recipe variations & substitutions
The version of this recipe as written in the recipe card is my family’s favorite, but there are plenty of ways to make this reindeer chow your own.
- Allergic to peanuts? Swap the peanut butter for almond butter or SunButter. If doing this, make sure to omit the peanuts and omit or swap out the peanut butter cups, too.
- Use corn chex in place of rice chex, or use a mix of the two.
- For a fully gluten-free version, make sure to use gluten-free pretzels and check that your other ingredients are certified gluten-free, too.
- Switch out the holiday M&Ms for different colors to theme this mix for different seasons and occasions.
- Omit the peanuts and swap the regular M&Ms for peanut M&Ms.
- Instead of mini peanut butter cups, try using other mini unwrapped candy bars, such as KitKats or Snickers.
If you love reindeer chow, you would also like strawberry chex mix for a fruity version!
Reindeer Chow
Ingredients
- 10 cups Rice Chex Cereal
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup salted butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 ½ cups salted peanuts
- 10 ounces holiday M&Ms
- 1 ½ cups mini pretzel twists
- 1 ½ cups mini peanut butter cups
Instructions
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set that aside.
- Pour cereal into a large bowl and set that aside as well.10 cups Rice Chex Cereal
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter. Microwave uncovered on 50% power for 1 minute; stir. Continue microwaving on 50% power in 30-second increments until the mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour chocolate mixture over cereal, gently stirring until evenly coated.1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, 1/4 cup salted butter, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pour coated cereal into (1) 2-gallon zip-top food-storage bag. If you only have 1-gallon bags on hand, you’ll need to do this step in batches, or use 2 bags.
- Add the powdered sugar to the bag(s) and seal the bag(s). Gently shake the bag(s) until the cereal is coated with powdered sugar. Spread onto the prepared baking sheet to cool. Once the mixture has cooled, add peanuts, m&m’s, pretzels and mini peanut butter cups.1 ½ cups powdered sugar, 1 ½ cups salted peanuts, 10 ounces holiday M&Ms, 1 ½ cups mini pretzel twists, 1 ½ cups mini peanut butter cups
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
