Classic Rice Krispie Treats Recipe - Lauren's Latest (2024)

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This classic Rice Krispie Treats recipe is made from rice cereal and marshmallows for an ooey-gooey dessert or snack that everyone is sure to love. Making these is simple and quick. Perfect for dessert or just as a sweet snack. While you’re in the mood for something sweet, check out my Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars.

Rice Krispie Treats Basics

This is a classic family-friendly recipe that only takes a couple of minutes to make and a handful of ingredients. It’s also nearly fail-proof! Here’s what you need to make the perfect Rice Krispie Treats.

• Rice Krispies – crunchy puffy cereal.
• Marshmallows –what sweetens this recipe and helps everything stick together.
• Butter –salted or unsalted. I’d recommend salted to help balance out the sweetness. You can also brown your butter for a nutty taste.

Need more snack ideas? Check these out:Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars,Hard Boiled Eggs, Puppy Chow Recipe,and Amazing Chicken Salad Recipe (with Grapes).

Tips and Tricks

Just a couple tips and tricks that I have found to be helpful and bring the most success in making these.

• Fresh Marshmallows.Buy a new bag instead of using the bag in your pantry that has been sitting there for how many months (???). Trust me, fresh marshmallows are the way to go.
• Gently Pack.Press your rice krispie-marshmallow mixture into your greased pan hard enough to flatten the top, but gently enough to not pack it in. This is to avoid a hard texture when eating. The extra marshmallows will help avoid this.
• Greasy Fingers.To pack your treats into the pan without making a mess, grease your fingers, then gently press/spread the mixture into the pan. Voila!

How to Make Rice Krispie Treats

My recipe has the perfect ratio of marshmallows to cereal to make it crunchy but also chewy. Plus I have some great variations linked down below so you can make yours the way you want them. Be sure to check out this helpful video showing how I make Rice Krispie Treats. Super simple, and your kids will love these. For full recipe details, be sure to scroll down to the printable recipe card below.

Prep Pan

Spray a9×13 pan with nonstick cooking sprayand set aside. Also,spray a large pot and a rubber scraperwith nonstick cooking spray.

Melt Butter + Add Marshmallows

Place pot overmedium heat and melt butter.Pour in10 oz (one bag) of mini marshmallowsand stir to coat in butter. Continue stirring until marshmallows have melted completely.Remove from heat.

Stir in Rice Krispies + Pour Mixture into Pan

Pour in Rice Krispies and stirto coat in melted marshmallow. Once mostly coated,stir in the remaining 5 oz. marshmallows.They will melt slightly from the heat, but not completely which is what you want.Pour mixture into prepared 9×13 pan.

Press into Pan Evenly

Using lightly greased fingers, press bars down to flatten the top.Allow bars to cool 15-30 minutes before cutting into squares. Serve and enjoy.

Variations

This is not my first rodeo when it comes to Rice Krispie Treats! I’ve made a ton over the course of having this blog. So I have a lot of variations of this basic recipe as well. Here are some simple ideas to mix things up a bit!

• Mix-Ins.This can be as simple as extra whole marshmallows to as adventurous as my Maple Bacon Rice Krispie Treats. Mini M&M’s are also a super simple but yummy add-in.
• Different Cereal.Other cereals to use are cocoa rice krispies, fruity pebbles, or even cheerios. You can get pretty wild with what you use here though, like my Ruffles Marshmallow Krispie Treats.
• Toppings.Make a frosting/icing to go over the top of your treats! This can be something like Salted Caramel or even my Egg Nog Rice Krispie Treats.

Storing Rice Krispie Treats

Store in anairtight container for up to 3 days at room temperatureto maintain freshness.

More Bar Recipes to Try!

• Perfect Carmelitas!
• The Best Homemade Brownie Recipe
• Perfect Lemon Bar Recipe
• Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
• Cookie Butter Rice Krispie Treats

If you loved this Rice Krispie Treats recipe you’ll love my other bar recipes! And don’t forget to check out my other dessert recipes while you’re at it!

Printable recipe card is below, enjoy!