Consisting of Chex Cereal, butter, peanut butter, chocolate and powdered sugar, puppy chow is a unique yet often overlooked snack. Although this magnificent snack deserves more praise
It was a sunny Saturday afternoon during the summer of 2015. I had just gotten out of the pool after my last summer swim meet event of the day and was wrapped in a warm towel by my mother. Now that I didn’t have to swim for the rest of the day, I could finally stomach a snack. I quickly walked to the swim meet concession stand run by parent volunteers. It was at that moment that I saw white, powdery, handful-sized portions in several mini-zip-lock bags.
“What is this?” I curiously asked the woman standing behind the table.
“It’s puppy chow, sweetheart!” The woman responded, “Would you like some for a dollar-fifty?”
I stood there confused. Puppy chow? Surely they weren’t handing out dog treats to the children. I mean, they didn’t look like dog treats; they actually looked very tasty.
“What’s in it?” I asked.
“It is chex coated in chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar.” The woman replied.
Okay, that definitely didn’t sound like ingredients for dog treats, but it sure sounded delicious. I gave the woman cash my mother sent me over with and grabbed the largest-looking bag in the collection of puppy chow. I sat down on a bench and carefully opened the zip-lock bag, grabbed one piece of chocolate peanut-buttery powdered sugary goodness and tossed it in my mouth, and my life was never the same. It was dry, moist, crunchy, yet soft and so delicious. It was like nothing I had ever tasted before, and I understood why it was enjoyed by the other children at these swim meets. Furthermore, it marked the beginning of a weekly summer snack at swim meets and, eventually, a treat I would not hesitate to grab at the store.
According to Taste, an online publication centered around food and cooks, puppy chow is a snack that has been remembered since the 1960s as a homemade snack made from Chex Cereal. While this still remains true in that people are still making homemade puppy chow, the Chex company created a “Muddy Buddies” recipe in 2002 with the same recipe as puppy chow after noticing the puppy chow craze and later released a packaged version in 2009. Muddy Buddies has also come out with different flavors of their popular snack, including cookies and cream, Oreo flavor, brownie flavor, among numerous other flavors.
Taste also notes that puppy chow is a “vaguely Midwestern” staple that runs not only through Wisconsin, but also Iowa, Nebraska and both North and South Dakota (Tomky). However, it is not often appreciated as a snack among teenagers and adults, even around one of the most popular campuses in the Midwest–the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Now, I often see people on campus–whether it be on their lunch break, studying or just enjoying a midnight snack–with Cool-Ranch Doritos, protein bars or even the classic Chex Mix, but never puppy chow. This is surprising to me because whenever I go to the convenience store or Flamingo Market–the grocery store attached to quite a few of the dining halls on campus–they are typically out of stock, or the Chex Mix name for puppy chow, which is “Muddy Buddies,” that they offer is out of stock, so people must be eating it.
My thought process on this, though not extensive, made me think. I’m not the one clearing the shelves of its puppy chow, so this leads me to wonder: how are the store shelves often cleared of puppy chow but no one is talking about how good it is or publicly enjoying it?
Honestly, it appalls me that people aren’t hyping up such a unique, delicious snack, especially since it is a staple of the Midwest and midwesterners aren’t talking about it enough, even though they love it. As a child, puppy chow was praised by all of my peers. Nowadays, no one wants to appreciate this commodity and I think I know why. People find puppy chow childish and are embarrassed to openly appreciate it as adults, thinking they are holding on to something immature. However, I find beauty in the implied “immaturity” or “childishness” of puppy chow.
Puppy chow’s sweet, crunchy yet soft qualities are like no other snack I have ever tasted in my life and this connection I made with it in childhood introduced me to a different kind of joy. I truly believe that many people in the United States–perhaps more specifically the Midwest–are introduced to puppy chow during their childhood, experience the childlike joy when eating something sweet, and subconsciously think that they have to stop openly enjoying it when they become adults. This saddens me because I do not see any reason as to why we cannot simply enjoy this yummy snack, because it is “childish.”
This wonderful treat is not childish. I think it is a unique, hopeful experience that comes out with new flavors that restore my faith in snacks in general. Also, there is nothing like ripping open a new bag of fresh, chocolatey-peanut-buttery-sugary goodness that you get with puppy chow.
Additionally, why can’t we spread the love of puppy chow more often? I’ve noticed that this very important issue translates into gift-giving as well. When adding on a fun snack to the birthday present, people throw in Nerds Clusters or chips, but I’ve never seen a gift include puppy chow or Muddy Buddies and I find it absurd.
All in all, this piece was inspired by my love for puppy chow and Muddie Buddies, and by how I always see them taken off the shelves but never shown the love and praise they deserve. Puppy chow was never just a snack to me; it was a piece to me. From a nostalgic part of my childhood to its consistent role as a perfectly wonderful snack that is very underappreciated. I will continue to show my love and appreciation for puppy chow, and you should too!
Work Cited
Tomky, Naomi. “The History of Puppy Chow, a Staple at Human Holiday Parties.” Taste, 13 December 2017, https://tastecooking.com/history-puppy-chow-staple-human-holiday-parties/. Accessed 13 March 2026.