This 4th of July Puppy Chow is not only easy to make but is so fun to celebrate the Fourth of July with, as a quick no-bake dessert idea or even as a snack recipe to munch on during the day and evening, while waiting for fireworks!
With the Fourth of July being right in the middle of summer, keeping things easy and cool, is key! This no-bake recipe only takes about 30 minutes (20 minutes of it being inactive time) to make and it can sit out all day too! So no need to worry about refrigerating this, although you will want to keep it out of super hot spaces, as the chocolate could melt.
This recipe is definitely a beginner skill level and easier to make than say, our 4th of July cupcakes or Red, White, and Blue Star Rice Krispy Treats but they’re so cute!
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❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- 5 simple ingredients: With only 5 ingredients, this recipe uses items that you may even have on hand, or can easily grab at almost any grocery store. Since it’s so easy, you may want to go ahead and make this Fourth of July Dip too!
- Make-ahead recipe: Did you know that you can make this recipe in advance if you want to? It’s true. Simply make it, allow it to cool and rest, and then store until ready to enjoy.
- Ready in only 30 minutes: Talk about a quick and easy recipe! This recipe, from start to finish, only takes half an hour!
🧾 Ingredients Needed
I’ve highlighted a couple of ingredients below with some relevant notes in case you find them helpful.
- Cereal – We use the Rice Chex but you can also use Corn Chex (or a generic version).
- Chocolate Chips – Using white chocolate, helps keep the puppy chow, a brighter white color.
- Powdered Sugar – This recipe calls for 2 cups but you can always use more if you want to sprinkle the top of the puppy chow while drying, so it really gets that “white” color, so it doesn’t melt in.
📖 Substitutions
Sometimes substitutions are necessary because of ingredients that are unavailable or needed for dietary restrictions. Here are some suggestions that can help:
- Chocolate Chips – even though we used white chocolate chips, you can use milk chocolate or even semi-sweet.
- Peanut Butter – creamy peanut butter is preferred for this recipe but if you love that crunch, you can also use crunchy peanut butter.
👩🏻🍳 How to Make 4th of July Puppy Chow
Begin by grabbing a large cookie sheet, and then cover it with parchment paper, and set it aside, so it’s ready whenever you need to pour your melted chocolate puppy chow on top of it.
This is also a great time to separate the blue and red M&M’s from the other colors if you haven’t done so already. This is a job that my kids love doing, so it’s a great activity to keep the kids busy for a bit.
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*
STEP 1. Chocolate and Peanut Butter. In a microwave safe bowl, one that’s large enough to fit 6 cups of cereal in a later step, pour in the 1 cup of chocolate chips and the 1 cup of peanut butter (Image 1).
STEP 2. Melt. Place bowl in microwave, and cook for 30 seconds, and stir. Cook for another 30 seconds, and stir. If the chocolate has not melted yet, keep cooking in 30-second intervals, stirring after each time, until melted. Do NOT overcook or chocolate will burn and not melt well (Image 2).
STEP 3. Add cereal. Next, pour in the 6 cups of cereal in to the melted chocolate mixture and stir gently, without breaking the cereal, to fully coat the cereal (Image 3).
STEP 4. Add powdered sugar. Next, pour 2 cups of powdered sugar over the cereal mixture and gently stir again, making sure not to break the small pieces of cereal (Image 4).
Tip: Instead of stirring the cereal mixture, you can also place it in a large paper bag, and shake the chocolate cereal mixture with powdered sugar.
STEP 5. Spread on the sheet. Pour the cereal mixture on top of the parchment paper-covered baking sheet, and gently spread it out to allow it to cool and dry completely (Image 5). You may also want to sprinkle extra powdered sugar on top at this step, but it’s not required.
STEP 6. Add candies. When the cereal mixture has cooled and dried, this is a great time to add the 1 cup of red and blue M&M’s. Stir and serve or store for later (Image 6).
💭 Recipe Pro Tips
- Change for the seasons. You can make this without the candies, any time of year, or add seasonal candies or sprinkles to fit the holiday that you’re celebrating.
- Allow to cool. Make sure you allow the puppy chow to cool before storing or the condensation could make the puppy chow soggy.
📋 Recipe FAQs
Absolutely. The red, white, and blue colors like in this puppy chow recipe is not only great for the 4th of July but it’s great for Memorial Day too!
With this being chocolate-based, and with the chocolate candies, it’s best that this doesn’t sit in a hot, sunny location or it could all melt. However, it doesn’t have to be refrigerated and can sit out on the counter if stored in an airtight container for 4-5 days.
We just picked out the red and blue candies, out of the regular package, and saved the rest for later.
⭐️ More Puppy Chow Recipes You’ll Love
Love puppy chow? We do too. Here you’ll find a few other puppy chow favorites and snacks here on the blog:
Did you make this? I’d be so grateful if you left a “star” rating below to let me know what you thought! Then, the next time you need a quick and easy recipe, come back to Fantabulosity to browse all of my easy recipes!
📖 Recipe
4th of July Puppy Chow
Ingredients
- 6 cups square rice cereal
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup red and white chocolate candies We picked out the red and blue m&ms.
Instructions
- Chocolate and Peanut Butter. In a microwave safe bowl, one that's large enough to fit 6 cups of cereal in a later step, pour in the 1 cup of chocolate chips and the 1 cup of peanut butter.
- Melt. Place bowl in microwave, and cook for 30 seconds, and stir. Cook for another 30 seconds, and stir. If the chocolate has not melted yet, keep cooking in 30-second intervals, stirring after each time, until melted. Do NOT overcook or chocolate will burn and not melt well.
- Add cereal. Next, pour in the 6 cups of cereal in to the melted chocolate mixture and stir gently, without breaking the cereal, to fully coat the cereal.
- Add powdered sugar. Next, pour 2 cups of powdered sugar over the cereal mixture and gently stir again, making sure not to break the small pieces of cereal.
- Spread on the sheet. Pour the cereal mixture on top of the parchment paper-covered baking sheet, and gently spread it out to allow it to cool and dry completely. (You may also want to sprinkle extra powdered sugar on top at this step, but it's not required.)
- Add candies. When the cereal mixture has cooled and dried, this is a great time to add the 1 cup of red and blue M&M's. Stir and serve or store for later.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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