15-minute Chex Mix Muddy Buddies with a holiday flair for the 4th of July! The most delicious and addicting snack ever!
More snack mixes to enjoy include hot buttered cheerios, s’mores popcorn, and reindeer chow.
Red, White, and Blue Muddy Buddies
Do you call them Muddy Buddies or Puppy Chow? The internet is divided. And I always spend way too much time deciding what I should label them. I went with Muddy Buddies! The third option was to just call them Crack. Because that is essentially what they are.
I’ve never been addicted to anything, but if I was, I imagine it would feel something like how badly I want and need these little gems. The biggest lie you tell yourself is that you’ll only eat a handful. Impossible!
I’ve made so many varieties over the years – Lemon muddy buddies, Chai, S’mores, Birthday Cake, etc. Isn’t the red, white, and, blue fun? Perfect for Memorial Day or 4th of July snacking and parties!
Ingredients Needed
Here’s what you’ll need to make these:
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- Rice Chex cereal
- white chocolate chips (Ghirardelli will produce the best results)
- powdered sugar
- food coloring
Recipe Notes
- Adding in nut butters. I’ve seen these made with peanut butter and other nut butters, but I omitted that for these Red, White, and Blue Muddy Buddies. Milk chocolate is also more popular to use than white chocolate, but I didn’t want even a spec of brown poking through – because Red, White, Blue, and Brown Muddy Buddies? Nope! Plus, I love white chocolate.
- Food coloring. I prefer food gel over liquid dye because the colors are deeper and produce a truer color, but gel (as opposed to liquid dye) makes the mixture set up pretty fast, so it doesn’t really drizzle as well. If using food gel, just gently spread it (with a spatula) over the cereal in sections. Everything will get coated once combined with the powdered sugar.
How to Store
- How to store. Once the coating has set, muddy buddies will last for up to a week at room temperature in an airtight container. (Keep out of direct sunlight and heat to avoid melting the chocolate.) BUT I highly recommend keeping them in the refrigerator or freezer – having it cold and extra crunchy is fantastic!
- Can I freeze muddy buddies? Yes. This muddy buddies will keep well in the freezer for up to 2 months. Just store in a freezer ziploc bag and then transfer to the fridge for when the craving strikes (or you’re having a party) and enjoy.
More 4th of July Recipes:
- Red White and Blue Jello Poke Cake
- 4th of July Caramel Popcorn
- Patriotic Ice Cream Sandwiches
- Red White Blue Cheesecake Parfait
- Frozen Chocolate Banana Pops
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Red, White, and Blue Muddy Buddies
Ingredients
- 12 ounce box Rice Chex Cereal , divided
- 12 ounce bag white chocolate chips , divided (Ghirardelli is preferred)
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar , divided
- Red food coloring
- Blue food coloring
Instructions
- Place half of the cereal into a large mixing bowl.
- In a microwaveable safe bowl, melt half the white chocolate chips on high for 45 seconds; stir. Continue to microwave in 15 second intervals, if necessary, until the chocolate is melted and can be stirred smooth.
- Stir in a few drops of red food dye; whisk vigorously until completely combined and smooth.
- Pour the melted chocolate evenly over cereal, folding gently with a spatula until evenly coated. Separate any pieces that are stuck together. (If the mixture doesn't drizzle, just dollop it in sections, but make sure to do it before it sets.)
- Transfer to a gallon sized re-sealable food storage plastic bag. Add half the powdered sugar, seal bag and toss gently until all the cereal is well-coated.
- Repeat the entire process with the other half of ingredients, using the blue food dye this time.
- Place both mixtures in a large bowl and toss to combine.
- Try not to eat it all in one sitting! HA.
Made these yesterday and they were the most talked about food I served. Making double next year!
Delicious. Perfect 4th of July snack
No party for us this year due to Covid, but I wanted to do something fun with my granddaughter, so we made these today to test them out. They came out great! We’re going to make another batch on Saturday. Thank you for this fun and easy recipe!
Just made these with the grandbabies for tomorrow. Easy and fun!
Just made these for tomorrow – going to try and not eat them all before LOL. My mixture didn’t drizzle but I followed the instructions of spooning in separate areas and it worked great. Super easy recipe and pretty!!
We’re having a ton of people over for the 4th so I just did a test run of these and wish I didn’t…because they are so good. I cannot stop eating them! Great recipe – so easy and fun! Thank you!
I made these last year for a party and they were a huge hit!
I tried melting the white chocolate as directed twice and kept getting big clump instead of a smooth texture to drizzle. Any idea what I’m doing wrong? I used nestle white morsels.
My mixture didn’t drizzle either but it wasn’t clumpy. The directions say that if it isn’t smooth to just spoon it in areas which is what I did. Mine came out great. Maybe your microwave is too high? I know that can be a problem with white chocolate so you need to heat in short intervals.
Can I make this with drops of food coloring like what you would use to dye eggs?
yep.
Made these yesterday for a potluck we’re going to today, but my family ATE THEM ALL! OMG. So I made another batch today. A testament to how good they are. LOL. Thanks for a fun and delicious recipe! Happy 4th everyone!
Just made these. I’ve made them before, but with peanut butter. Loved these! And the color is so much fun. Great to change it up for any holiday. Can’t wait to serve them tomorrow for the 4th!
Oh my gosh, these are so pretty, fun and DELISH. Just made a batch for the 4th of July tomorrow and I don’t think they’ll make it because I can’t stop eating them!!
I mixed in pretzels. So good. Sweet and salty
These were a HUGE hit yesterday!
It didn’t drizzle…more like soft clumps, but spread around and coated fine once you tossed them in the bag. You just had to mix/process it fast. We loved them!
Made these today. The absolute hit of the party – fun and tasty. I should have made a triple batch!
Where o WHERE do you find white chocolate chips? All I can find are the “palm wax” based white baking chips…
I usually buy Ghirardelli – it produces the best results.
FUN!