High Protein Muddy Buddies (AKA Puppy Chow)

July 1, 2025

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Published: Jun 28, 2025 by Cathy Chenard · This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

This high-protein muddy buddy recipe (aka puppy chow) is the perfect low-carb snack—crunchy, chocolatey, peanut buttery, and ready in just 5 minutes!

These high-protein muddy buddies (also referred to as puppy chow) are crunchy, sweet, and packed with chocolate peanut butter flavor. You’d never guess they’re low in carbs and high in protein!

They’re made with just 5 simple ingredients. As a base, we use Catalina Crunch Chocolate Peanut Butter cereal — it’s a great low-carb, protein substitute for Chex cereal since it’s crunchy, holds up well, and works perfectly in this recipe.

The cereal gets combined with melted sugar-free semi-sweet chocolate chips and peanut butter. Then it’s tossed in powdered monk fruit sweetener and peanut butter powder (PB Fit for the win!) to boost the protein and create that classic muddy buddy coating.

Plus, this easy, no-bake treat takes 5 minutes or less to make. It’s a great snack, dessert, or even a crunchy topping for sugar-free ice cream or pudding.

Ingredients

Catalina Crunch Protein Cereal (Chocolate Peanut Butter): One of our favorite protein cereals with 11 grams of protein per serving. We use the chocolate peanut butter flavor because it pairs well with the chocolate and peanut butter in the base.

Lily’s sugar-free, semi-sweet baking chips: We use Lily’s sugar-free semi-sweet chocolate baking chips, but you could also consider Lily’s sugar-free dark chocolate or milk chocolate baking chips.

No-added sugar peanut butter: We use Santa Cruz Organic Light Roasted Creamy Peanut Butter since it has no added sugar. However, you could use another sugar-free peanut butter of choice.

PBfit Peanut Butter Powder: We use this as part of the powdery coating since it’s packed with protein and doesn’t have any weird protein powder taste. It’s simply pressed peanuts without the oil, which means 87% less fat and ⅓ the calories, plus 8 grams of protein. If you don’t have, you could use some type of protein powder, but it may not taste as good.

Powdered sugar-free sweetener: For the powdered sweetener coating, we use Lakanto Powdered Monk Fruit Sweetener, but you can use another sugar-free option like allulose or erythritol.

image of catalina crunch peanut butter cereal that is used as a base

Preparation Steps

Melt chocolate and peanut butter: In a microwave-safe bowl, combine peanut butter and chocolate chips. Microwave for about 45 seconds, or until melted. Stir until smooth.

Combine: Pour the melted mixture over the Catalina Crunch cereal and gently toss to coat. In a separate bowl, mix peanut butter powder and powdered monk fruit sweetener.

melted peanut butter and chocolate in a bowl

melted peanut butter and chocolate in a bowl with protein cereal combined

Finish: Sprinkle the powdered topping over the coated cereal, tossing until everything is evenly coated and no longer sticky. Enjoy right away or store in the fridge until you’re ready to eat.

Finished protein muddy buddies with sugar free powdered sugar coating

Storage

Store muddy buddies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. They stay crunchy and chilled. Perfect for a quick snack straight from the fridge!

What is considered high protein?

A snack is generally considered high in protein if at least 20% of its calories come from protein. For reference, Wikipedia defines a high-protein meal or diet as one with over 20% of calories from protein, while Diet Doctor sets a range of 25% to 35%. To learn more about how to identify high protein foods, click here.

More High Protein Treats

If you try this recipe, we would love to hear your feedback! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag @lowcarbsimplified on your photo of this recipe on Instagram or Facebook. We hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!

Recipe