Movie Theatre Puppy Chow (Muddy Buddies)

Chocolate-coated Chex mix muddy buddies are mixed with all of your favorite movie theatre concession snacks to create what I like to call Movie Theatre Muddy Buddies! This sweet and salty popcorn snack mix is perfect for movie night!

When I go to the movies, I often have a hard time deciding what to snack on because it all sounds so good!

I want popcorn, AND Milk Duds, AND Peanut M&Ms! I usually want a bag of gummy bears too, but I try to limit my movie snacks to just 2 different things at one time.

With this fancy muddy buddies recipe, you can enjoy all of your favorite movie theatre treats in one big bowl.

Movie Theatre Muddy Buddies combine all of my favorite chocolate candies with sweet dark chocolate covered Chex and buttery, salty popcorn.

Are you a fan of snack mixes? Check out my classic Puppy Chow recipe, Chex Mix, Mint Chocolate Puppy Chow, or this festive Christmas popcorn.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

1. Easy to Make – The majority of the steps in this recipe are just adding different things to a bowl, and the only cooking happens in the microwave. Make puppy chow with your kids, or even let them make it for you!
2. Sweet and Salty – The combination of chocolate candy and salty popcorn makes this snack addicting and irresistible.
3. Versatile Recipe – You can mix and match the candy in this muddy buddies recipe to be sure that you include all of your family’s favorite movie snacks.

Ingredients In Movie Theatre Muddy Buddies

Here’s what you need to make this amazing snack mix:

Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

• Popcorn: Make it easy on yourself, and use microwave popcorn – Movie theatre butter style of course!
• Rice Chex: I like the light crunchiness of Rice Chex for muddy buddies (aka Puppy Chow), but you can also use Corn Chex or Crispix if you prefer.
• Dark Chocolate Wafers: Candy wafers work really well to evenly coat the Chex since they melt so smoothly. You can use milk chocolate instead of dark if you want the mix to be even sweeter.
• Pudding Mix: Chocolate pudding mix – just the powder – fills in for the traditional powdered sugar coating on muddy buddies.
• Movie Theatre Candy: You can mix and match your own favorites, but here’s what I used: a half cup each of M&Ms, Peanut M&Ms, Chocolate covered peanuts, Nestle Buncha Crunch, Reese’s Pieces, and Milk Duds.

How To Make Movie Night Muddy Buddies

1. Pop Some Popcorn: Follow the package instructions to make a bag of buttery microwave popcorn. Set it aside to cool.
2. Melt Chocolate: Add the melting wafers to a medium microwaveable bowl. Heat for 45 seconds, stir, then heat for 45 more seconds and stir until smooth.
3. Make Chocolate Muddy Buddies: Add the Chex cereal to a large mixing bowl, then pour the melted chocolate over it and gently stir with a spatula until evenly coated. Then, sprinkle on the powdered pudding mix and toss to coat.

1. Mix it Up! Add the muddy buddies to a new, clean, large bowl. Add the popcorn and candy and stir to combine.

Recipe Tips and Substitutions

• Watch out for kernels! After you pop the microwave popcorn, give it a look and make sure to remove any unpopped kernels so they don’t make it into your mix.
• Technically, this recipe makes about 20 servings, a little larger than a half cup. This is perfect for kids, but grown-ups might enjoy a larger portion of this movie mix!
• You do not need to make pudding! The powdered mix from the box get’s sprinkled right on the Chex. There’s no need to add any milk.
• For the chocolate coating, I find that melting wafers or almond bark work best for making muddy buddies since they melt so easily and smoothly, but any kind of chocolate will work! Use what you have. White chocolate, dark chocolate, or even semisweet chocolate chips.
• Use any kind of bite-sized candy. In total, 3 cups of candy are added to the popcorn and chocolate muddy buddies. Mix and match to your heart’s desire!
• Chocolate Candy is ideal, but you can also swap in fruity candies like gummy bears, Skittles, or Twizzler’s bites. If you won’t be eating the muddy buddies right away, I suggest not adding fruity candy until just before serving, as they can dry out and absorb flavors strangely in storage.

Storing Tips

Keep muddy buddies with popcorn stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Storing for longer than that will cause the popcorn to get stale. It’s really best to eat this right away when it’s ready.

Make Ahead: You can make this mix without the popcorn added, and store it in the fridge for a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

To serve, allow it to thaw, and then add freshly popped popcorn.

Try These Other Movie Night Snacks

• Nachos are a fun snack to make and share! Try my recipe for Chicken Nachos, or go all out and make Totchos using tater tots instead of chips.
• If you love popcorn, try my homemade Kettle Corn or homemade Caramel Popcorn recipes next.
• For a salty snack that’s different than popcorn, make up some Ranch Oyster Crackers or Honey Mustard Pretzels.
• Cookies and milk are a perfect late night movie treat. Try candy bar inspired Twix Thumbprint Cookies, or Soft Monster Cookies packed with M&Ms.

FAQs

Everyone is going to go crazy for this Movie night Muddy Buddies snack mix! It’s a good thing that the recipe makes enough to share. Be sure to Pin the recipe so that you’ll always be able to find it.