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New England Patriots Puppy Chow

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New England Patriots Puppy Chow recipe is made with Chex cereal and candy melts. Celebrate your favorite NFL football team with a team colored snack or appetizer dessert recipe. Great for game day and Super Bowl party food. Gluten free.
New England Patriots Puppy Chow in red, blue, white, and gray in a football container on a counter.

Football game day is never complete without a spread of snacks! Support your favorite team with this sweet and salty New England Patriots Puppy Chow in red, blue, gray, and white for team colors.

New England Patriots Puppy Chow in red, blue, white, and gray in a football container on a counter.

Ingredients

Find full quantities and details in the full recipe card below.

Chex Cereal the plain cereal, not the flavored snack – any flavor/grain is fine but I like to use Rice because it is a light flavor and gluten free

Black Candy Melts – you only need a few of these if you want to make the gray to represent silver in the mix. And you only need a few. Otherwise, you can skip them and just do red, blue, and white.

Red Candy Melts

Royal Blue Candy Melts – if you have the black candy melts and want the blue to be a little on the darker side, you can add 4 black discs to the blue to get a more navy inspired color

Bright White Candy Melts – Regular white has a little yellow tint to it, so bright white is best to use. You can also find candy melts at your local craft store.

Powdered Sugar

Can I use white chocolate and color it?

I do not recommend using white chocolate and trying to color it, because white chocolate does not melt very well and it takes a lot of coloring to make bold colors. 

If these are too sweet on their own, you could mix them with something salty like little pretzels or peanuts.

Close view of New England Patriots Puppy Chow in red, blue, white, and gray.

Instruction Overview

Melt your candy melts according to package directions. This can be done in the microwave, but reduce the power. If it is too strong and too hot, the candy will not melt properly.

Then toss the cereal with the candy melts gently to coat.

Immediately place in a large resealable bag with powdered sugar and shake!

Now at some point in the process, you are probably going to think at least one of the following (if not all, like I did):

  • There is NO WAY that little amount of candy melts will cover all this cereal!
  • OH NO the cereal is BREAKING!
  • WHY DO THEY ALL LOOK WHITE! I MESSED UP! I CAN’T SEE THE COLOR!

But it’s okay, all of the above are FINE.  The candy melts DO cover that much cereal, just keep stirring. 

The cereal might break a little but that’s okay!  Just be gentle. 

And the colors look pretty white when they come out of the bag.  But shaking them in the fine mesh strainer gets rid of all that extra powdered sugar and you will see the color!

Modifications and Substitutions

White chocolate is not recommended as it does not melt well and seizes when coloring is added.

Use any variety of the Chex cereal as desired.

Kim’s Tips

Work from the lightest color to the darkest in case any leftover candy melt on the bag, sugar, or bowls transfers.

Increase batch size based on how much you want to have!

A pile of New England Patriots Puppy Chow in a football tray on a white counter.
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More Game Day Recipes

New England Patriots Puppy Chow in red, blue, white, and gray in a football container on a counter.

New England Patriots Puppy Chow

New England Patriots Puppy Chow recipe is made with Chex cereal and candy melts. Celebrate your favorite NFL football team with a team colored snack or appetizer dessert recipe. Great for game day and Super Bowl party food. Gluten free.
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Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: 30 Min or Less, Football, Game Day, Gluten Free, Vegetarian
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 5 servings (2.5 cups total)
Calories: 268kcal

Equipment

  • Measuring Cups
  • 1 Large Ziploc Bag maybe more if you cannot get it clean for the next color
  • 4 Small Bowls for mixing colors with cereal

Ingredients

Optional

  • black candy melts only needed if you want to make gray and/or a darker blue – see note 1

Instructions

  • Place each color of candy melts in separate bowls that are large enough to mix the cereal in for each color (I like to use deep soup bowls).
  • Place 1/3 cup powdered sugar in a quart or gallon sized resealable plastic bag.
  • Melt the lightest color (white) of candy melts in the microwave as per package directions. Stir frequently to encourage melting.
  • When fully melted, immediately mix in the Chex mix. (1/2 cup of cereal for white). Gently toss with a spoon to fully coat.
  • Immediately transfer the cereal to the plastic bag with the powdered sugar. Seal and shake. Gently massage the bag from the outside to encourage the cereal to separate, but gentle enough so they do not break.
  • Pour the bag contents into a sieve (fine mesh strainer) over another bowl. Shake to remove excess sugar.
  • Pour the cereal out on a parchment paper or silicone baking mat lined baking sheet to dry. If there are any pieces that were stuck together, you can pull them apart, dunk them into the discarded sugar, and shake again.
  • Let the candy melts that was left behind in the bag dry for a few minutes, then you can crinkle up the bag to remove the candy melts and make it ready for the next color.
  • Repeat the process with the blue candy melts next, using 1 cup of Chex cereal and fresh powdered sugar.
  • Repeat the process with the red candy melts next, using 1 cup of Chex cereal and fresh powdered sugar.
  • Mix the colors together, or keep separate, and serve. The puppy chow can be stored in a container or bag for up to 2 days.

Notes

  1. If you want to also add gray, use an additional 1/2 cup of white candy melts with 2 discs of black candy melts, mixed with an additional 1 cup of cereal and additional 1/3 cup of powdered sugar. If you want to make a darker blue, simply add 2 black candy melt discs to the blue and proceed as per the directions.
You can use any flavor or variety of Chex cereal that you wish, however rice keeps these gluten free.
Start with the lightest color and work towards the darkest just in case any pieces pick up color from a previous batch in the bag.
I used less white to keep the focus on the primary colors of red and blue, but use any ratio you want.  You need 1 cup of cereal for every 1/2 cup of candy melts and 1/3 cup of powdered sugar.  I got about 6 cups of cereal in an 12 ounce box after pulling out broken pieces.
I like to start melting the next color after I have tossed the previous color in powdered sugar, before shaking in the strainer, to save some time.
You can find all of the puppy chow recipes here!
Get red candy melts here, royal blue candy melts here, and bright white candy melts here.  You can also find them at your local craft store.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving (1/2 cup) | Calories: 268kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 135mg | Potassium: 26mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 250IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 5mg
By on December 23rd, 2025

About Kim

Kim has grown up with a passion for cooking good food! You can find her in the kitchen experimenting with new recipes, making dog treats, and eating Italian food!

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