Reindeer Chow is a delicious holiday snack mix that nobody can resist! This holiday muddy buddy mix (with a cute holiday name) is an irresistible blend of salty and sweet, thanks to the combination of cereal, pretzels, chocolate and candies. In less than 30 minutes you can have a big bowl of this grab and go mix ready for Santa’s helpers.
Reindeer Chow is one of those treats that is hard to resist. You can tell yourself that you’ll just have a bite, but one bite turns into ten at a lightning fast speed! It’s made with ingredients that are great on their own, but really shine when combined in this yummy Chex based mix. Much like Sugar Cookie and Chocolate Chex Mix, it’s a fantastic treat to have at the ready during the holiday season.
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
Salty Sweet – This mix is the perfect blend of salty and sweet. If your sweet tooth likes a touch of salt, this mix is for you.
Easy – Making Reindeer Chow is incredibly easy. All you need to do is melt some chocolate in the microwave, pour ingredients into a bowl, and stir!
Quick – This recipe can be made in less than 20 minutes. After making it a time or two you can probably whip up a batch in ten minutes. While in theory it’s good to let it cool a bit before serving, nobody will blame you if you can’t wait that long to dig in!
Feed A Group – While it’s quick and easy to make, it yields enough to share with family and friends – great for parties!
Flexible – One of the great things about this recipe is that you can really mix and match ingredients, and it works great with many substitutions.
Kids In The Kitchen – This recipe is easy enough that it’s a great one to let the kids, or elves, lend a hand with.
Recipe Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients you will need to make Reindeer Chow. The full printable recipe, with amounts and specific details, is found at the bottom of the page.
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Chocolate Chex Cereal: There are a number of different types of Chex Cereal. Feel free to experiment with different varieties.
- Mini Pretzel Twists: Feel free to switch this out for waffle pretzels or pretzel sticks.
- Honey Nut Cheerios: Other Cheerios will also work for this recipe. The chocolate peanut butter variety is another delicious option.
- Rolo Candies: For this recipe, buying the Rolos Unwrapped is going to be your best bet. The bag is 7.6 ounces. You can also buy the “Share” bag and unwrap the candies yourself. Or, you can switch this out for Hershey’s kisses, Reese’s mini cups, or another similar type of candy.
- M&Ms Candies: Try adding caramel, regular, or peanut M&Ms to this reindeer chow instead! I picked out the red and green m&ms from a bag of peanut m&ms, but you can use different colors instead. Feel free to get creative with the fun new flavors on the market. If you have extras, try them in my Chocolate M&M Cookies, Christmas Rice Krispie Treats, Easy Christmas Pretzels or Christmas Magic Cookie Bars.
- White Chocolate Chips: Almond bark could also be used.
- Butterscotch Chips: Peanut butter chips have a similar color and can be used instead for a different taste!
How To Make Reindeer Chow
Let’s discuss the ingredients you’ll need, and the steps you’ll take, to make this fun Reindeer Chow Christmas Chex Mix recipe. If you want to skip my discussion, tips, information and answers to frequently asked questions, just scroll to the bottom of this post for the printable recipe.
1. Combine white chocolate and butterscotch chips together in a microwave safe bowl.
2. Heat the chips in the microwave on high heat in intervals of 20 seconds. Every 20 seconds, take the bowl out and stir the chips with a large spoon. Repeat this until the chips are completely melted and smooth.
3. While melting the chocolate, combine the Chocolate Chex cereal and honey nut cheerios together in a large bowl.
4. Once the white chocolate and butterscotch chips are melted, pour them over the chex cereal mixture and gently stir to coat everything thoroughly with the melted chocolate.
5. Allow mixture to cool for 1-2 minutes, then stir in powdered sugar.
6. Stir until cereal is coated. Alternatively, you can add the powdered sugar and cereal into a gallon sized plastic baggie and shake to coat the cereal.
Finally, add in the pretzel twists, Rolo candies and peanut M&Ms to the cereal mix and stir until evenly incorporated. It’s ideal to let Reindeer Chow cool for 10-15 minutes prior to serving. That said, if you can’t wait that long, it’s okay to serve immediately.
Tips And Advice
Melting Chocolate
It’s easy to melt the white chocolate and butterscotch chips in this recipe, but there are a few tips that are important to follow. It’s critical that there is no water in the bowl or on the spoon you use with the chocolate. Any amount of water can cause the chocolate to seize.
Take care not to overheat your chocolate. It’s always better to melt chocolate low and slow, with lots of stirring in between bursts in the microwave. Too much heat can also cause your chocolate to seize. Stirring well between each round in the microwave can really help melt the chocolate smoothly and evenly.
Storage
This Reindeer Chow is perfect for those grazing herds of children, and will keep well on the counter. If in an airtight container, it will last a week, provided it isn’t snapped up by hungry bellies. You can also keep it in the refrigerator for a couple more weeks… if somehow it’s still around!
Equipment Used
Recipes FAQs
Yes, they are all different names for a similar style snack mix. But we have it on good authority this is Santa’s favorite!
Another option would be to use a double boiler, where the chips are melted but do not come in direct contact with the heat.
To do this, use a small saucepan and place about a cup of water in the bottom. Place a slightly bigger heatproof bowl on top of the pan, and pour the chips in the bowl. The burner heats up the water in the saucepan and the steam from the water heats up the chips in the heatproof bowl.
Butterscotch can take a while to melt, so be patient. Once there are only a few lumps left, take it off the heat and stir a few more times before pouring your chocolate over your chex mixture.
More Christmas Recipes To Try
If you enjoy this recipe, here are some other recipes to try out!
- Elf Dessert Dip
- Spritz Cookies
- Hot Chocolate Cookies
- Melted Snowman Cookies
- Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies
- Hot Chocolate Brownie Cups
- Soft Gingerbread Cookies
- Chocolate Covered Ritz Crackers
I love to hear from readers like you! If you’ve tried this, please leave a comment and review below. If you have photos, tag me @lovefromtheoven #lftorecipes on Instagram and Pinterest. Thanks!
Reindeer Chow
Ingredients
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 cup butterscotch chips
- 3 cups Chocolate Chex cereal
- 1 cup Honey Nut Cheerios
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 cups mini pretzels (twists, snaps or sticks)
- 1 cup Rolo candies (unwrapped)
- 3/4 cup M&M candies (holiday colors and flavors are perfect)
Instructions
- Melt the white chocolate and butterscotch chips together in the microwave using a large, microwave safe dish. Heat the chips in the microwave on high heat in intervals of 20 seconds. Every 20 seconds, take the bowl out and stir the chips with a large spoon. Repeat this until the chips are completely melted and smooth.
- While melting the chocolate, combine the Chocolate Chex cereal and Honey Nut Cheerios together in a large bowl.
- Once the white chocolate and butterscotch chips are melted, pour them over the chex cereal mixture and gently stir to coat everything thoroughly with the melted chocolate. Stir in powdered sugar until cereal is coated.*
- Add in the pretzel twists, Rolo candies and peanut M&Ms to the cereal mix and stir until evenly incorporated. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes, then serve.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
Meet Christi, Love From The Oven
I’m Christi I love sharing easy & delicious recipes that your family & friends will love. I’m a mom, baker, cookbook author and lover of sprinkles.
I could not get white chips to melt. Disaster. Trying white melting chocolate.
Different brands of chocolate or white chocolate chips can vary greatly in their ingredients, and thus in how they melt. I personally use Guittard. I find it to be high quality, and melts well. I think there is less “filler” in it if you will than say the store brand or Nestle.