Reindeer Chow
Cheerful, festive, and colorful 5-minute Reindeer Chow has crunchy cheerios, savory pretzels, and rice chex mixed together with white chocolate and red ‘n green M&M’s for the perfect salty & sweet holiday treat!
The Easiest Reindeer Chow Recipe
Welcome to the most festive and easiest recipe for Reindeer Chow, a Christmas snack mix you and your loved ones will love to make!
With bright red and green candies, salty pretzels and crunchy chex sweetened up with a delicious white chocolate coating to bring it all together, this super easy Reindeer Chow will be your new favorite holiday tradition!
Ingredients
- Cheerios – those tiny rounds of cereal are fun to eat and yummy, but feel free to use any plain cereal that will be delicious with a white chocolate coating
- Chex – I like to use rice Chex, but you can use your favorite cereal here
- Peanuts – I prefer using salted peanuts to increase the salty/sweet factor in this reindeer chow recipe. You can also use almonds, cashews, or any of your favorite nuts
- Pretzels – trust me, having two different pretzels made all of the texture difference. I used rods and snaps (grid-like pretzels). People were fighting over who got the snaps, then who got the rods!
- Candies – I used red and green holiday M&M’s because they boast festive colors and are delish. You can also use Rolos, peanut butter cups—whatever you like!
- White Chocolate – you can easily use milk chocolate or dark chocolate here—in which case, you can skip the coconut oil. But do keep it if using white chocolate morsels.
- Coconut Oil – you might be tempted to skip this one, but trust me, it’ll make *all* the difference in melting the white chocolate. This one ingredient will stop the chocolate from overly hardening and getting clumpy.
What is Reindeer Chow?
Reindeer Chow is a sweet and salty festive holiday treat made of a combination of cereal, nuts, and candies coated with a sweet coating.
How to Make Reindeer Chow
Learn how to make reindeer chow with just a few simple and easy steps. You’ll be blown away by how easy it is!
The photo tutorial below will take you through this recipe, step by step. Be sure to check out the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact measurements and instructions!
Start by lining a large baking sheet with parchment paper or wax paper. Then, clear some room in the refrigerator for this sheet—you’ll need it later.
Next, add cheerios, rice Chex, peanuts, pretzels, and red and green holiday M&M’s to a large bowl.
Stir this dry mixture together until everything is well mixed.
Then, melt the white chocolate and coconut oil using the double boiler method or a microwave.
If using a microwave, heat white chocolate and coconut oil in 15-second increments, stirring together in between heating until melted and smooth.
Using a heatproof spatula, scrape all of the white chocolate from the bowl onto the dry mixture.
Here’s the fun part: stir and fold everything together, coating each and every bit in delicious white chocolate.
Your reindeer chow should look like this, before and after. Before: you can see the golden brown of the pretzels; after: everything is coated in white chocolate and has a ‘snowy’ look.
Now, pour your reindeer chow mixture onto the prepared baking sheet, spreading into an even layer.
Quickly sprinkle the 1 cup of red and green M&M’s toppings over the reindeer chow, pressing down to adhere it.
Place the baking sheet into the refrigerator space you cleared earlier, just until hardened, about 10-20 minutes.
Lastly, remove the sheet from the fridge and break reindeer chow into pieces and enjoy!
How to Store Reindeer Chow
Before storing reindeer chow, be sure to cool and harden it completely. Then, transfer to an airtight container and store in a cool, dark environment like a pantry for 2-4 weeks.
Can You Freeze Reindeer Chow?
Yes, you can freeze reindeer chow! Allow to cool and harden completely, then store in a freezer-friendly container for 1-3 months.
Tools You Need
- Baking sheet
- Silicone spatula
- Glass mixing bowls
- Stainless steel measuring cups
1st Annual
Beaming Holiday Treat-a-Palooza! ❄️ 🎁 🍪
Welcome to the 1st Annual Beaming Holiday Treat-a-Palooza! I’ll be sharing new festive treats throughout the season… check back here to see what new recipes are unveiled!
- #10: Snowball Cookies
- #9: Peanut Butter Blossoms
- #8: Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies
- #7: Reindeer Chow (today’s recipe)
- #6: Sugar Cookie Martini
- #5: Brownie Cookies
- #4: Gingersnaps {Thin ‘n Crispy}
- #3: Peppermint Milkshake
- #2: Peppermint Bark Recipe
- #1: Chocolate Coconut Candy
Deer-ly Wishing You a Festive Season!
How did you like today’s recipe? Did it help you celebrate an easier and tastier festive season? Let me know in the comments below & leave a rating—it helps everyone! If sharing to social media, tag me @beamingbaker and #beamingbaker.
Erik and I wish you a festive, fun, and happy holiday season. ‘Til the next sweet treat…
Sending you all my love and maybe even a dove, xo Demeter ❤️
Print
Reindeer Chow
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 64 ¼-cup servings (16 cups total) 1x
Description
Reindeer Chow from Beaming Baker. Cheerful, festive, and colorful Reindeer Chow has crunchy cheerios, savory pretzels, and rice chex mixed together with white chocolate and red ‘n green M&M’s for the perfect salty & sweet holiday treat!
Ingredients
Reindeer Chow – Dry Mix
- 2 ½ cups Cheerios cereal
- 2 ½ cups rice Chex cereal
- 2 cups peanuts – salted is delicious
- 2 ½ cups pretzel pieces – I like rods & snaps
- 2 cups red and green holiday M&M’s or other candy, more below
Coating
- 12 oz. white chocolate
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
Toppings
- 1 cup red and green holiday M&M’s
Instructions
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or wax paper. Clear some room in the refrigerator for this sheet—you’ll need it later. Set aside at room temperature.
- In a very large bowl, add the Dry Mix: cheerios, rice chex, peanuts, pretzels, and (2 cups) M&M’s. Stir until thoroughly and evenly mixed.
- Use the double boiler method to melt the white chocolate and coconut oil, or do the following: add white chocolate and coconut oil to a medium, microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 15-second increments until softened and melted, being careful not to burn. Stir thoroughly in between increments to smooth and help melt the chocolate.
- Using a heatproof spatula, scrape every last bit of the melted white chocolate over the dry mix. Stir and fold until everything is coated.
- Pour this mixture onto the prepared baking sheet, spread into an even layer.
- Quickly sprinkle the Topping (1 cup) M&M’s over the white chocolate, pressing it into the melted white chocolate—this will make the reindeer chow pretty!
- Place the baking sheet into the refrigerator to chill for 10-20 minutes, or until firm.
- Remove from the refrigerator and break into pieces, if needed. Enjoy!
Notes
To Store: Allow to cool and firm up completely before storing. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-4 weeks. Keep out of direct sunlight and away from heat sources.
To Freeze: Cool and firm reindeer chow, then store in a freezer-friendly container in the freezer for 1-3 months.
- Prep Time: 4 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 minute
- Category: Dessert, Snacks
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
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Such an easy and fun mix! This reindeer chow is super addicting!
I know! It literally disappears the moment I finish making it. (And sometimes while it’s still being made 😉)
What a fun and easy to make sweet treat for the holidays! 🙂 I love the sweet & salty combo happening here.
Same here, it’s truly the best. Hope you have a wonderful holidays, Carrie!
I made this as an after school snack for my kids this week and they absolutely loved it! This is such a fun, festive treat and so easy to make too!
How sweet of you! I’m super pleased that the little ones enjoyed it so much. 🙂
We made this reindeer chow for a Christmas movie night snack and loved it. The combo of sweet and salty is perfect. Thank you!
Ooh how fun! So glad to be a part of the holiday enjoyment. 😄
This is my favorite Christmas snack! Sweet and salty and oh so good!
You got that right, Justine!