Easter Muddy Buddies

Make colorful, delicious Easter Muddy Buddies this Spring to put in the kids’ Easter baskets, give as gifts, or enjoy on family movie night. Chex cereal, pretzels, white chocolate, Funfetti cake mix, powdered sugar, and your favorite Easter candies come together to make this sweet Easter treat.

Looking for more cute Easter treats? Check these 30+ easy easter dessert ideas for kids.

Sweet and salty snacks are so addictive, and this Easter puppy chow — or bunny chow — is no different. Rice Chex and pretzels are coated with white chocolate, powdered sugar, and Funfetti cake mix and then combined with pastel M&Ms, Cadbury mini eggs, mini marshmallows, and pastel sprinkles.

Like our popcorn-based bunny bait snack mix, this Easter chex mix is so tasty that it’s hard to stop at just one handful!

This snack mix goes by many names including Muddy Buddies, Puppy Chow, Easter Bunny Chow, Bunny Bait, Reindeer Chow, and others. No matter what you call it, it’s as fun to make as it is to eat.

Plus, it makes a wonderful edible gift for the kids’ Easter baskets, classroom parties, friends, and neighbors. You can also add it to lunchboxes this spring as a fun mid-day treat.

Although it’s similar to the regular puppy chow recipe, this one has a few fun twists. For starters, there’s no peanut butter here. Instead, I use extra white chocolate coating to make up for the lack of creamy peanut butter. Also, we’ve added Funfetti cake mix that’s been heat-treated to make the sweet powder coating extra thick. And finally, you don’t have to use the stove top at all. Your microwave is all you need!

Ready in just 20 minutes, it’s the perfect treat. Store it in an airtight container and it’ll keep for a week or more, so it’s a wonderful make-ahead treat.

Don’t forget to leave some of this salty dessert snack out for the Easter bunny this year!

Now let’s get to this tasty muddy buddy recipe.

Ingredients for the Easter Muddy Buddies Recipe

This section includes ingredient notes and substitution options. Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

• Rice Chex — Any type of rice squares will do, but Rice Chex is a popular choice. Feel free to use any of the Chex cereal squares like Wheat Chex or Corn Chex or a combination of all three. Store brand cereal is great, too.
• Mini Pretzels — Pretzels add a delicious salty element that helps balance out all the sweetness in the rest of the ingredients.
• Almond Bark — I prefer white Almond Bark for this recipe to highlight the pastel colors of the other ingredients, but the chocolate kind is just as tasty. You can also opt for white chocolate chips or white candy melts.
• Funfetti Cake Mix — It may sound strange, but the cake mix is a delicious addition that coats the cereal more thickly than powdered sugar alone and adds sweet, cake batter flavor.
• Powdered Sugar — This ingredient adds sweetness and clings to the melted almond bark to create a smooth candy coating on the cereal and pretzels.
• Mini Fruit Marshmallows — The pastel colors are perfect for Easter, but you can use regular mini marshmallows (they’ll look like little bunny tails), if you prefer.
• Easter M&Ms — The pastel M&Ms that are in stores in the springtime have the perfect color palette. Feel free to use regular M&Ms if that’s all you can find or swap them out for your favorite Easter-themed candies.
• Cadbury Mini Eggs — These little chocolate eggs add crunch and chocolatey goodness to the snack mix.
• Sprinkles — Pastel sprinkles add even more color and crunch to this sweet snack mix.

Equipment You’ll Need to Make Easter Chex Party Mix

To make your Easter snack mix, you’ll need these kitchen tools and supplies:

• Baking sheet
• Parchment paper
• Instant-read thermometer
• Microwave-safe bowl
• Rubber spatula
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Gallon-size zip-top baggies

How to Make Easter Muddy Buddies

This section shows you how to make the recipe with step-by-step photos and instructions. For the full printable recipe, see the recipe card below. 

Step 1: Prepare the cake mix. Heat your oven to 350°F. Spread the Funfetti cake mix in an even layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the cake mix for 5 minutes or until the temperature of the mix reaches 165°F on an instant-read thermometer. Set cake mix aside to cool.

Step 2: Melt the almond bark. Place almond bark in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after each interval, until the almond bark is completely melted and smooth.

Step 3: Coat the cereal and pretzels. Add the rice squares and pretzels to the bowl of melted chocolate, stirring to coat all the pieces.

Step 4: Combine the cake mix and sugar. Divide the cake mix and powdered sugar between two gallon-sized zipper bags. Seal the baggies and shake the mixture until well-combined.

Step 5: Add the cereal mixture. Open the baggies, add half of the candy-coated cereal mixture to each Ziploc bag, close, and gently shake until the cereal and pretzels are well-coated.

Step 6: Add the remaining ingredients. Open the bags, adding half of the remaining ingredients to each bag — mini marshmallows, mini Cadbury eggs, M&Ms, and sprinkles. Shake bags gently to mix everything together.

Step 7: Cool and dry the Easter puppy chow. Pour the mixture out onto the parchment paper and allow it to dry and cool completely before storing or serving.

Storage and Freezing

Room Temperature: Store Easter muddy buddies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Refrigerator: This muddy buddy mix will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Freezer: Although best enjoyed fresh, you can freeze Easter Chex mix for up to 3 months in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container if necessary. Make sure you remove as much air as possible first.

Note: Freezing may result in a change in texture, particularly for the pretzels and marshmallows.

Easter Chex Mix Tips and Tricks

• Let the kids do the work of shaking the bags to mix everything together. They’ll love this part!
• Coating the cereal and pretzels in the melted chocolate is easiest in a large bowl, but the baggies are the best way to coat the pieces with the powdered sugar and cake mix. Let the kids shake the baggies; they’ll love it!
• Customize this recipe for other holidays and occasions by swapping out the pastel candies with different colors.
• Add Easter puppy chow to cellophane bags tied with a ribbon or mason jars to put in baskets or give as gifts.

Additions and Variations

Add white chocolate chips. Make this mix even sweeter with some white chocolate chips added to the mix. Wait until you add the mini marshmallows and candies to avoid melting them when the mix is still hot.

Try peanut butter chips. Missing the peanut butter flavor in this puppy chow recipe? You can get the flavor without the mess by adding some peanut butter chips to the snack mix after it’s completely cooled.

Swap out ingredients to seasonal ones. Want to make some fall muddy buddies? Swap out the funfetti cake mix for spice cake mix, use white mini marshmallows, and add your favorite Halloween candies. For Christmas, opt for green and red M&Ms and sprinkles. You get the idea.

Easter Muddy Buddies FAQ

More Cute Easter Treats

Let the kids help you make these adorable treats for Easter:

• Easter Bunny Bark – pieces of chocolate made to look like bunny faces.
• Bunny Bait — made with popcorn, wafers, mini marshmallows, pretzel sticks, white chocolate chips, and colorful sprinkles. Great for family movie night; I recommend Peter Rabbit!
• Funfetti Puppy Chow – a great snack mix for birthday parties and sleepovers.
• Flower Pretzel Bites – an easy 3-minute Spring time treat made with pretzels, white chocolate melts, and M&MS.
• Easter Bunny Punch – The perfect sweet drink for your Easter celebrations.