White Chocolate M&M Haystacks

If you’re looking for the simplest, tastiest treat out there, I’ve got the recipe for you! These M&M Haystacks are absolutely delicious and so easy to make! 

What is a Haystack? 

A haystack is a candy made from chow mein noodles, which are stacked and held together with some sort of edible “glue.” 

In the case of my Original haystacks, that clue was peanut butter and butterscotch.

Today, however, I had a different idea. Completely different. 

• I happened to have a bag of white chocolate chips. 
• I happened to have about half a cup of miniature M&Ms. 
• And I had a canister of chow mein noodles. 

Just three items. . .and yet I knew that they could be combined into an amazing sweet-but-crunch-white-but-colorful treat, guaranteed to make everyone happy! 

Should I Use White Chocolate Chips or Almond Bark? 

That, my friends, is up to you. I went with half a bag of white chocolate chips (about a cup). If you prefer, you could use four blocks of white (vanilla) almond bark. 

To melt either one you’ll need a tablespoon of coconut oil or vegetable oil. (Really, any neutral oil will do. Just don’t use, say, olive oil. The flavor will mess with the outcome of this tasty treat.) 

As I said, I went with chocolate chips. They melted easily with the oil added. 

I’ll share more about that process later. For now, let’s just take a look at what you’ll need to make these delicious candies. 

Haystack Ingredients

You will find a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post but here’s a quick peek at what you’ll need to make these treats. These are simple ingredients. . .and versatile, too! 

• chow mein noodles
• white chocolate chips (or white almond bark)
• mini M&Ms (or other small candies) 
• vegetable or coconut oil

How to Make M&M Haystacks

Place the chips and oil in a large microwave-safe bowl. 

Place in the microwave and heat in 30-second increments until melted. Mine took a minute and a half. 

Stir well until smooth. (You can melt chocolate another 30 seconds if you’re not sure.)

Add the chow mein noodles into the bowl with the liquid chocolate. 

Stir well until noodles are fully coated. 

Stir in the candies. 

Using a spoon or cookie scoop, scoop 12 haystacks (single layer) onto a sheet of wax paper or parchment paper lined baking sheet. 

Allow to firm up before serving. 

If you’re in a hurry, you can place them in the refrigerator for 10 minutes or so.

Serve and enjoy! 

Store in an airtight container or covered in plastic wrap at room temperature or in the fridge. They should stay fresh for several days. 

What to Expect from this Recipe

They’re crunchy, they’re sweet, and they’ve got the surprise element. . .that little bite of chocolate from the M&Ms. What’s not to love? 

These remind me of chocolate covered pretzel sticks because they’ve got a slightly salty edge to them. Covered in that chocolate, they’re perfection.

I’m so glad I came up with this fun idea. I can’t wait to serve these to the grandkids the next time they come over. (We always love making melted chocolate treats together!) I also think they’d make fun party favors in individual cellophane bags.

These quick treats are the best and these are particularly fun and conversational with the addition of the little colorful M&Ms against that crispy rice cereal. Kids of all ages will love these! 

Variations on this Recipe

Homemade treats are the best especially bake confections bake confections! These are absolutely delightful just like they are but I’m already thinking of fun ways to change them up. There are so many different ways to make these! Here are some ideas I came up with: 

Runts: Hear me out. Those tiny, sour little candies would be so stinkin’ fun in this treat! The white chacolate is mild and smooth and I think it would pair beautifully with the sour candies! 

Dry roasted peanuts or Spanish peanuts: Load ‘em up! Fill the treats with peanuts galore in place of candies. This would be great with peanut butter chips melted into the white chocolate (or used in place of the white chocolate) for a peanut butter version you’re going to love!

Rocky Road: Chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, slivered almonds. . .why not? Rocky Road Haystacks sound great! 

Crushed peppermints and chocolate chips: Wouldn’t these be fun at Christmas time? (I think they would be great on your holiday cookie tray!)

Red Hots: Cinnamon and white chocolate? Sounds intriguing, right? Why not add some to this no bake treat? Valentine’s day would be a terrific time to try these out!

Semi-sweet chocolate chips: No M&Ms? No problem! Simply substitute chocolate chips (semi-sweet, milk chocolate chips, or dark chocolate).

Festive Sprinkles: You could always go the simple route and add sprinkles to these, possibly sprinkling on top after stacking. These would be great during the holiday season covered in red, green, and white sprinkles. For valentine’s day you could add red and white sprinkles!

Butterscotch Chips: Make these more like Scotcheroos by adding melted butterscotch chips!

Looking for a chocolate version? Just use Cocoa Puffs in place of Rice Krispies! Talk about a great recipe, one the kids will love! And you can whip these up with minimal effort!

Other Candies from Out of the Box Baking! 

• Copycat Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
• Easy Hot Cocoa Fudge
• Simple Crockpot Candy
• Old-Fashioned Cornflake Candy
• Easy Homemade Turtles Candy

That’s it for this post, friends!

I hope you enjoyed this delicious white chocolate haystacks recipe. This is one of those easy treats you’ll whip up in a hurry!

If you make this recipe and love it, don’t forget to leave a review and a comment below. And while you’re at it, go ahead and pin some photos of this haystack cookie recipe to your Pinterest boards!

See this recipe at:

• Full Plate Thursday 
• Weekend Potluck
• The Lazy Gastronome
• Busy Monday 
• About the Author

Janice Thompson is an author, baker, and all-around mischief maker! She has overcome a host of baking catastrophes, including a toppled wedding cake, to learn more about the baking process. Janice has published over 165 books for the Christian market but particularly enjoys writing recipes and baking devotions. To learn more about Janice or to drop her a note, visit her About the Author page.