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Puppy chow may be thought of as a great treat for kids, but today we are making it for the adults! Chocolate and Baileys are combined in this addicting Baileys Irish cream puppy chow – perfect for St. Patrick’s Day!
Muddy Buddies for Adults
Who says the kids should get to have all the fun? This Baileys puppy chow will have you coming back for more. Here’s why.
- Easy to make – Puppy chow is super quick to make. The only time you have to worry about is drying/cooling time. You can have this ready in no time.
- Amazing flavor – Who doesn’t love Baileys and chocolate?! It’s one of my favorite combinations and it’s so good in this.
- Great for sharing and snacking – Puppy chow is super portable – just put it in a container and go. Plus, it’s easy to share in cute bags or just grab and snack. It’ll be hard to resist!
- Festive! – The green color makes it perfect for St. Patrick’s Day!
What You’ll Need
This is a very simple recipe, but you need to make sure you have the right ingredients. You’ll find exact measurements if you scroll to the recipe card below.
- Rice chex cereal – You can use rice chex, corn chex or even chocolate chex. I use the rice chex cereal.
- Irish Cream Liqueur – Feel free to use your favorite brand. I always use Baileys, but there are lots of options.
- Heavy whipping cream – Stick with heavy cream. Milk or half and half will be too thin.
- Green gel icing color – Don’t use food coloring, it’ll be too thin. Wilton and Americolor both have great gel icing color.
- White chocolate chips – I used Nestle brand, but feel free to use your favorite.
- Milk chocolate chips – Stick with milk chocolate here. Other kinds, like semi-sweet, are a different texture. You need milk chocolate for this so that it doesn’t get too thick to coat the cereal properly.
How to Make Baileys Puppy Chow
It’s a simple process, but don’t stray from the instructions. I tested this quite a few times to be sure the two kinds of chocolate and Baileys won’t seize or separate when combined. Be sure to scroll to the recipe card below for more detailed instructions.
Make the Green Puppy Chow
- Make white chocolate mixture – Combine 2 tablespoons of Irish Cream, one tablespoon of heavy cream and green gel icing color in a small bowl. Add the white chocolate chips and microwave in 30 second intervals until melted and smooth.
- Add the Chex – Add the melted white chocolate to one bowl of the chex cereal and stir everything to evenly coat the cereal with the green chocolate. Be careful to not break the chex cereal too much.
- Add powdered sugar – Add half a cup of the powdered sugar to the green chex and gently stir to coat evenly. Pour the chex onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and spread it out so it can dry. If you need to toss it with a little more powdered sugar, you can. Set aside to dry.
Make the Brown Puppy Chow
- Make chocolate mixture – Add the chocolate chips, remaining 2 tablespoons of Baileys and remaining tablespoon of cream to a small microwaveable bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals until melted and smooth.
- Add the Chex – Add the melted chocolate to the other bowl of the Chex cereal and gently stir to coat. Be careful to not break the Chex cereal too much.
- Add powdered sugar – Add the remaining powdered sugar to the chocolate Chex and gently stir to coat evenly. Pour the Chex onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and spread it out so it can dry. If you need to toss it with a little more powdered sugar, you can. Set aside to dry.
- Once completely dry, combine the two kinds of puppy chow together and toss with the M&Ms.
Tips For The Best Puppy Chow
This baileys Irish cream puppy chow isn’t hard to make, but there are a few things to keep in mind to avoid mishaps.
- Melt everything together – Don’t be tempted to melt the chocolate and then add the Irish Cream or gel coloring, etc. If you melt the chocolate and then add the Baileys (or something that’s a cooler temperature), the chocolate and white chocolate will seize and be unusable. Trust me – I tested it.
- Don’t add more Baileys – If you add more, the chocolate doesn’t dry/harden as well and the puppy chow can became a big glob. This goes for the heavy cream, too.
- Do add more powdered sugar – After adding the powdered sugar to each puppy chow mixture, let it dry for about 5 minutes, then break up the pieces a bit. The powdered sugar can soak into the puppy chow a bit, so you can add 4-6 tablespoons more of powdered sugar, if you’d like.
Storage Instructions
This puppy chow is best eaten within about 3-4 hours of making it. Because of the Baileys in it, the moisture soaks into the cereal over time and it will begin to soften and lose it’s crunch. It’s still tasty and you can totally eat it, but it will become more chewy. So if it makes it long enough to need to be stored, do so in an air-tight container at room temperature.
More Great Baileys Desserts
- Baileys Chocolate Cookies
- Baileys Fudge Brownies
- Mini Baileys Chocolate Cheesecake Trifles
- Baileys Chocolate Poke Cake
- No Bake Baileys Cookie Balls
- Caramel Baileys Pound Cake
This post was originally published February 2013 and updated February 2025. For the original recipe, download the recipe PDF.
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Baileys Irish Cream Puppy Chow
- Prep Time: 30 Minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Puppy chow may be thought of as a great treat for kids, but today we are making it for the adults! Chocolate and Baileys are combined in this addicting Baileys Irish cream puppy chow – perfect for St. Patrick’s Day!
Ingredients
- 5 cups rice Chex cereal, divided
- 4 tablespoons Bailey’s Irish Cream Liqueur, divided
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream, divided
- Green gel icing color
- 5 ounces white chocolate chips
- 1 cup powdered sugar, divided
- 5 oz ounces milk chocolate chips
- 1 cup green and brown M&Ms
Instructions
- Divide the rice Chex cereal evenly between two medium sized bowls, with 2 1/2 cups in each bowl.
- Combine 2 tablespoons of Baileys, one tablespoon of heavy cream and green gel icing color in a microwaveable small bowl. Add the white chocolate chips. Microwave the mixture in 30 second intervals, stirring well between each, until melted and smooth.
- Add the melted white chocolate to one bowl of the Chex cereal and gently stir everything together to evenly coat the Chex cereal with the green chocolate. Be careful to not break the Chex cereal too much.
- Add half a cup of the powdered sugar to the green-covered Chex cereal and gently stir to coat evenly with powdered sugar. Pour the Chex onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and spread it out to allow it to dry. If you need to gently toss it with a little more powdered sugar, you can. Set aside to dry.
- Add the chocolate chips, remaining 2 tablespoons of Baileys and remaining tablespoon of cream to a small microwaveable bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring well between each, until melted and smooth.
- Add the melted chocolate to the other bowl of the Chex cereal and gently stir to coat evenly. Be careful to not break the Chex cereal too much. The chocolate mixture is a little thicker than the white chocolate mixture, so if you notice that, it’s ok.
- Add the remaining powdered sugar to the chocolate covered Chex cereal and gently stir to coat evenly with powdered sugar. Pour the Chex onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and spread it out to allow it to dry. If you need to gently toss it with a little more powdered sugar, you can. Set aside to dry.
- Once completely dry, combine the two kinds of puppy chow together and toss with the M&Ms. Serve. Keep in mind that the Baileys in this puppy chow does make the chocolate coatings a little softer than normal (it should not be sticky or way to soft), and that moisture will cause the Chex cereal to soften more quickly than other kinds of puppy chow. It’s best if eaten within about 3-4 hours of being made, so that it stays crunchy. It’ll still taste good after that, but will begin to lose its crunch.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 779
- Sugar: 102.7 g
- Sodium: 280 mg
- Fat: 29 g
- Carbohydrates: 121.7 g
- Protein: 6.7 g
- Cholesterol: 31 mg
I tried adding the Baileys several ways and it always siezed up the candy chips. The milk/cream in Bailey’s ruins the smooth consistency. Reader beware! — Also,
Almond bark instructions warn NOT to use food coloring that is water based (most is made with water–It siezed up the candy immediately for me.). Use ONLY baking chips or oil based colorings.
How long does puppy chow stay fresh? How far in advance can you make it for an event?
Thank you! We are using it for an Irish themed bridal shower 🙂
Puppy chow generally is fresh for at least a week.
Thank you so much 🙂 That is perfect timing for me! Have a great day!
Everything u have on here looks goodnincant wait for some of the recipes
I tried making this with white chocolate chips and food coloring but the chocolate was frosting consistency as mentioned above. Then I tried using semi sweet chips and baileys mixing every 15 seconds, but it was even worse. It won’t even mix with chex at all. I’m curious how long you microwaved yours for. I must have done it too long, but it never reached a melting point. It was as if the baileys prevented it from doing so.
Hmm, the Baileys shouldn’t keep it from melting. Much like when heating heavy cream for make ganache, it should actually help it melt. I usually microwave chocolate in 30 second intervals to prevent it from burning, or just until the Baileys starts to boil. Some chocolate chips aren’t great at melting. You could try using a candy coating, like candiquick or almond bark.
Hmm… Must have been my junkie mocrowave or chocolate. I just broke the chocolate into pieces then, mixed it with powdered sugar and called it baileys chex mix. Everyone still loved it and ate my double batch by lunch time at my work at. Patrick’s day potluck!thanks for the recipe and your reply!
I tried it with regular (semi-sweet) chocolate chips and white chocolate chips. The semi-sweet did not work well-like you said, it was more frosting consistency than anything. The white chocolate chips melted better, or maybe it’s because I had the hang of it (I tried the semi-sweet first). I found the key is to heat it in small increments and really watch it-once the Bailey’s starts to bubble, you gotta get it right away or it gets all icky. You’ve gotta move fast with it because it cools really quickly too-it’s a bit of a challenge!
Do you think you could double the recipie? I’m going to a big St. Paddys Day party next weekend and I think I’ll need a double batch. I know you warned about doing things in the right order so the chocolate doesn’t seize, do you think I could just double all the ingredients and make one big batch? Or should I just do two separate batches?
Doubling it should be fine. The main thing is to heat the Baileys and chocolate together – much like when making chocolate ganache. If you were to heat the chocolate, then add room temperature Baileys, the chocolate would seize up and be unusable.
Awesome, thank you!
I love these recipes would like to email them but I dont see any button for that option.
Hi Patti! Underneath the photos and links to other recipes you might like (which is below the actual recipe), there’s a line of social media buttons that you can use to share the post. The second to last one is a grey email button. That should allow you to email it.