The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of two RUTFs in young children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in the Democratic Republic of Congo. One RUTF contained soya-maize-sorghum (SMS-RUTF) while the other consisted of standard peanut paste based RUTF (P-RUTF). The SMS-RUTF contained 38.6% dehulled soybeans, 4% maize and 10% sorghum and provided a protein:energy of 11.9%. The P-RUTF contained 25% dried skim milk and 26% peanut paste, and provided protein:energy of 12%, so these formulations were comparable in terms of protein:energy. The primary endpoints measured were recovery rates, length of stay, and weight gain; secondary endpoints included hemoglobin and body composition indices. About 880 children participated in the main study, but secondary endpoints were not collected on all. The results showed that in children 6-23 months of age, the recovery rate in the SMS-RUTF group was inferior to that of the P-RUTF group. However, in children 24-59 months of age, there was no difference between the treatments in terms of recovery rate. Weight gains and lengths of stay were not different between the two treatments in both age groups. There also were no significant differences in any of the body composition indices between treatment groups, and hemoglobin was significantly better in the SMS-RUTF group.