Healthy Puppy Chow Without Powdered Sugar

Let Them Chow Down Without the Sugar Rush

If your child gives you puppy dog eyes to get a second helping of the puppy chow that’s present at holiday gatherings, this recipe is the “yes” you both need. With no powdered sugar – or any processed sugar for that matter – in this healthy puppy chow, there’s no need to feel guilty about doling out a little bit of extra holiday sweets.

And your kids will most definitely be asking for a second helping of this dark chocolate puppy chow 😁 Rich in chocolatey goodness and irresistible crunch, they won’t even know it’s sweetened with raw honey. My own kids could not stop eating it back when I first developed the recipe.

I actually created this recipe way back at the beginning of the year before I had even decided to start this website. At the time, I was thinking about creating a naturally sweetened recipe book to sell on my other website. But one thing led to another, and now I have an entire website of FREE naturally sweetened recipes kids love 🙂

So this recipe has been sitting idle for quite a few months while I focused on more seasonally appropriate recipes. I almost forgot I even had this recipe! But luckily for my kids and yours, I remembered just in the nick of time how much my kids salivated over bowls of this rich puppy chow all those months ago.

And since then, I’ve discovered that puppy chow also goes by another name: Muddy buddies 🙂

In all my childhood days, I never heard the name “muddy buddies” for this chocolate coated treat. I made this discovery recently when I started doing some puppy chow research on Pinterest.

So now I’m curious. What does your family call it, puppy chow or muddy buddies? Let me know in the comments at the bottom of this post 👇

But getting back to the topic of childhood, I remember the joy of making puppy chow with my mom and sister as a kid at Christmas time. And of course, the joy of eating it 😃

Puppy chow is one of those holiday classics. When you make Christmas goodies, you made puppy chow – or muddy buddies. It’s as simple as that.

But somehow, the satisfaction of eating and feeding my children puppy chow is now considerably diminished when I think about how much sugar is in it. And honestly, most puppy chow is excessively sweet because it is filled with so much powdered sugar.

But if you make muddy buddies puppy chow without powdered sugar, how can you get that white dusty finish?

Well, I found a way 😁 And it does not involve sugar alcohols (you can read about why I no longer like sugar alcohols right here).

Instead of coating this healthy muddy buddies recipe with sugar-rush dust or gut-disrupting crystals, I use arrowroot powder. While it does not add any flavor or extra sweetness (which it doesn’t even need) to the treat, it does make it look like the “regular” stuff instead of the healthy puppy chow recipe it actually is.

And just like that, you have a secretly healthy holiday treat recipe that even picky kids beg for!

By the way, if you are looking for more secretly healthy, naturally sweetened holiday treats to make for your kids, be sure to check out my hot cocoa spoons recipe, my buckeyes recipe and my peppermint candy cane ice cream recipe ☺️

When to Make & Enjoy This Puppy Chow

Since I’ve been finalizing, retesting and photographing this easy muddy buddy recipe over the past couple of weeks, we have had a constant supply of temptation sitting in our kitchen for the kids and I to snack on. So I’ve had some time to think about the ideal times to make this irresistible recipe.

The obvious occasions to make this healthy puppy chow are Thanksgiving and Christmas. The holidays aren’t quite complete until you’ve made a batch of puppy chow. You can make this chocolate crunchy treat for your own kids or take it to a holiday party to share!

Something that is really nice about this naturally sweetened recipe is that it does not need to be kept cold like many of my no-bake recipes do. So you can definitely take this to a holiday event and leave it out on the table for hours.

But I also have to note that this is dark chocolate puppy chow. As such, you will want to be conscious of how much caffeine your kids are consuming when they eat these addicting muddy buddies.

It’s easy to keep snacking and snacking and snacking on this homemade puppy chow and your kids will absolutely keep asking for more because it’s just so good 😃 And you don’t have to worry them getting a sugar rush from this honey sweetened recipe.

But just consider what time you want your children to be able to sleep at night when they are asking for their fifth helping 😁

Additionally, although this is a much healthier version of muddy buddies that is not full of refined sugar, it also is not loaded with protein. So it is not an ideal stand-alone snack for keeping bellies full for a long time.

In my opinion, this no bake muddy buddy recipe is ideal as a healthier holiday treat or every day dessert (but for a higher protein holiday treat that can double as a snack, try my chocolate covered peanut butter buckeye balls) 😃

Ingredients

• Rice Chex Cereal: Rice Chex are obviously the cereal base that gives muddy buddies its deliciously crispy texture. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find a rice Chex cereal without any added sugar. The lowest added sugar I can find is 3 grams per serving, so that is what I buy. See the substitutions and tips section for a possible substitute option without any added sugar.

• Unsweetened Baker’s Chocolate: I love using baker’s chocolate for chocolate treats that need to harden. It makes an excellent substitute for chocolate chips. As long as you buy unsweetened baker’s chocolate, you can sweeten it yourself with honey and still have delicious chocolate without any refined sugar.

• Vanilla Extract: Vanilla adds just a little bit of extra flavor to the puppy chow. Make sure you get pure vanilla extract. Don’t fall for the bottles of fake vanilla that say they contain pure vanilla extract but also have lots of artificial ingredients.

• Butter: Butter helps melt the baker’s chocolate and also balances out the acidity of the chocolate. I use Irish grass-fed or organic butter.

• Natural Peanut Butter: Just the right amount of peanut butter adds just a little bit of peanut flavor without being overpowering. Make sure to buy natural peanut butter with only peanuts and possibly salt as the ingredients. I like the natural peanut butter from Costco the best.

• Raw Honey: Raw, unfiltered honey is the natural sweetener in this puppy chow. Being unprocessed, it is a much healthier option than white, powdered or any form of processed sugar. I get my raw honey from Amazon, but you can also get it from Trader Joes and sometimes HomeGoods or Costco.

• Arrowroot Powder: Arrowroot powder is a gluten free starch that does not add any flavor to the puppy chow but creates the white, powdery appearance of regular puppy chow without having to use a powdered sweetener.

Instructions

Step 1

To a small-medium pot on the stove, add all ingredients except rice squares and arrowroot. Heat on low, stirring constantly until everything is melted and fully combined. Turn off heat.

Step 2

To a large bowl, add rice squares.

Step 3

Pour chocolate mixture on top of rice squares.

Step 4

Using a large wooden spoon, thoroughly mix until all rice squares are evenly coated in the chocolate.

Step 5

Cover and chill in the fridge until chocolate is completely cooled, about 15-20 minutes.

Step 6

Once puppy chow has chilled, pour arrowroot powder over the top and mix thoroughly until all the puppy chow is evenly coated. Add extra arrowroot powder if desired to achieve your ideal whiteness.

Step 7

Store in an airtight container or a sealable bag on the counter for up to 5 days or in the fridge for 2 weeks.

Substitutions & Tips

• If you don’t need this puppy chow to be gluten free, I love that the Whole Foods brand of wheat squares contains zero added sugar. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any in the Whole Foods store so far to try them out in this puppy chow recipe. Please let me know in the comments if you try them before I do.

If you do need gluten free, your best bet is probably to go with the classic General Mills rice squares even though they do have 3 grams of added sugar per serving.

• I haven’t tried it yet, but this could probably be made dairy free by substituting the butter for coconut oil. Keep in mind if you try this, it will probably need to be stored in the fridge to prevent the chocolate from melting.

• I like to use arrowroot powder as a way to make the puppy chow look white like traditional puppy chow without using powdered sugar. However, you can alternatively use dried coconut if you don’t have or don’t want to use arrowroot powder. Just pulse it in a blender or chopper to make it fine.

• Make sure your muddy buddies is fully cooled before adding the arrowroot powder. If you try to add the powder while the chocolate is still warm, it will become incorporated into the chocolate instead of coating the outside. But also, don’t stress if you add it too soon and it does melt into the chocolate. Simply add some more arrowroot powder once it is fully cooled.