Best Rice Krispie Treats
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A few tweaks to the back-of-the-box recipe make these the best Rice Krispie Treats ever.
I’m always hesitant to say a recipe is the “best ever,” especially for a dessert like Rice Krispie Treats or chocolate chip cookies that everyone knows and loves. But once you’ve tinkered around with a recipe for weeks—asking your kids, their friends, and anyone who passes through your house to sample different versions—you can say it’s the best with some confidence. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the original back-of-the-box Rice Krispie treat recipe, but it can be made so much better with almost no effort. Here’s how:
- Use more butter (lots more) and brown it to deepen the flavor.
- Increase the marshmallows and stir in some at the end for extra gooeyness.
- Add vanilla extract for flavor.
- Add salt because a little salt makes anything sweet taste so much better.
Table of Contents
“These really are the BEST rice crispy treats! Moist, delicious, and full of gooey marshmallow goodness!”
What You’ll Need To Make The Best Rice Krispie Treats
- Butter: Provides the rich, buttery flavor and helps bind the treats together.
- Mini Marshmallows: The main sweetener and binder, melted marshmallows create the gooey, sticky texture that gives Rice Krispie treats their characteristic chewiness.
- Vanilla Extract: Adds a touch of vanilla flavor, enhancing the overall taste of the treats.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavor of the other ingredients.
- Rice Krispies: The star ingredient, these crisped rice cereal pieces absorb the melted marshmallow mixture and provide a crispiness.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by melting the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Save the wrappers – you’ll use them later.
After the butter melts, it will begin to bubble, foam, and turn golden around the edges. Eventually it will turn a dark golden color and smell nutty – watch carefully, it will go from golden brown to burned quickly.
You’ll see little bits of golden brown sediment forming; that’s okay. But if they get too dark, go ahead and strain them out and then pour the brown butter back in the pot.
Add all but 2 cups of the marshmallows, the vanilla, and salt.
Place the pot over medium heat and stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until the marshmallows are completely melted.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the cereal.
Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir until evenly combined.
Add the reserved 2 cups of marshmallows.
Stir until they are softened and partially melted. Don’t overmix – you want pockets of goo.
Transfer the mixture to a foil-lined 9×13-in baking dish.
Using the butter wrappers, press into an even layer.
Let cool for at least an hour, then use the foil overhang to lift the treats onto a cutting board.
Use a serrated knife to cut into squares. Store the treats in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Enjoy!
Video Tutorial
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, place the treats in layers separated by wax paper in an airtight container; freeze for up to 6 weeks. Let the treats stand at room temperature for about an hour before serving.
Absolutely! You can swap out a portion of the Rice Krispies in your treats. One of my favorite ways to make them is with a combination of Golden Grahams and Rice Krispies, like in these Chewy, Gooey Golden Rice Krispies Treats. Lucky Charms is another popular variation, especially around St. Patrick’s Day.
Yes, you can add chocolate chips, dried fruit, or candy bits, but keep in mind that some add-ins will melt from the warmth of cereal and marshmallow mixture, so let the mixture cool slightly before folding them in. This way, they’ll partially melt but still maintain their distinct texture in the treats.
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Best Rice Krispie Treats
A few tweaks to the back-of-the-box recipe make these the best Rice Krispie Treats ever.
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan
- Two 10-oz bags mini marshmallows, divided
- ¾ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8½ cups Rice Krispies or crispy rice cereal (see note)
Instructions
- Line a 9 x 13-in pan with heavy duty aluminum foil and lightly grease with softened butter. Set aside 2 cups of the marshmallows.
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, preferably with a light bottom so you can monitor the color, melt the butter over medium heat (save the butter wrappers; you'll use them later for pressing the mixture into the pan). Swirl the pan occasionally to be sure the butter is cooking evenly.
- As the butter melts, it will begin to bubble and foam, and the color will progress from bright yellow to golden to, finally, a toasty-brown. Once you smell that nutty brown butter aroma, take the pan off the heat. (You'll see little bits of golden brown sediment forming; that's okay. However, if the sediment looks almost black, go ahead and pass the butter through a fine sieve to strain it out, then return the brown butter to the pan.)
- Off the heat, add the remaining marshmallows, vanilla, and salt.
- Place the pot back over medium heat and stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until the marshmallows are completely melted. Remove the pan from the heat and add the cereal. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir until evenly combined.
- Add the reserved marshmallows and stir until they are softened and partially melted. Don't overmix; you want pockets of goo. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and, using the butter wrapper or damp fingers, press the mixture gently into an even layer in the prepared baking pan. Let cool at room temperature for at least an hour.
- Use the foil overhang to lift the treats onto a cutting board, then use a serrated bread knife to cut into squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Note: Kellogg's no longer makes a gluten-free version of Rice Krispies, so if you have a gluten-sensitivity, make sure the cereal you purchase is certified gluten-free.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: To freeze, place in layers separated by wax paper in airtight container. Freeze for up to 6 weeks. Let stand at room temperature for about an hour before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (24 servings)
- Calories: 162
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 27 g
- Sugar: 15 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Sodium: 93 mg
- Cholesterol: 15 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Worst recipe ever.
Whatever you do, don’t ever brown the butter for rice crispies! Destroyed my entire batch this way.
Sorry that happened Paul. I’ve made these krispie treats at least four times in the last couple of years and everybody wants the recipe and I of course eat too much of them 😊. Browned butter adds an extra special taste to it …….a sort of a nutty taste.
Paul, I am sorry you were unable to successfully brown the butter. It is an art that’s not as easy as you’d think! It is the key skill to other recipes though, so perhaps a bit of resilience is in order here! Use a light colored pan so you can watch it. Start by not browning the butter, when it gets foamy and is still golden, pull the pan off the heat. You will still have a delicious result for your efforts. You can progress to browning it a batch at a time until you get the hang of it. Try on a day when you have woken up on the right side of the bed. It’s a great recipe actually. Some of my batches turn out better than others, but that’s on me, not the recipe! My teenage boys and their friends eat the entire batch every time I make them. I have a pine nut brittle recipe I get right about 30% of the time, so I feel your frustration here, but trust me…..try this once more! The salt and vanilla make these fantastic. When you brown the butter, even better. It’s not imperative though.
Sounds like you burned butter rather than browned..
I just made these and added a little brown sugar and sweetened condensed milk and they are SO good! (Next time I’m just going to add the brown sugar as they’re a little too sweet with both.) I don’t think I got the butter as browned as it needed to be because I didn’t think ahead and used a dark colored pot. Next time I’m going to use something light so I can see better. I can’t wait to drop some off at my friends’ house – I’m not going to tell them they’re made differently and see what they say. Thanks!
These are the best treats! I was worried I wouldn’t be able to brown the butter correctly, as I don’t have a light bottomed large pan, but I trusted my nose, and as soon as the butter emitted a nutty aroma, I removed the pan from the heat. The treats came together easily and quickly, and they are the gooiest. I was never a big fan of RKT, but these are addictive.
So, I’ve made these twice now and both my husband and dad think these are the best rice krispie treats they’ve ever had!
They are perfect.
Really great! I’ve always thought these could be better but I wasn’t sure how to fix the recipe. I’ll be making these for a welcome basket and I think the family will really enjoy them. My kids and husband ate the entire pan and said they were the best treats they had ever had.
Add a little condensed milk to it!
Best homemade Rice Krispy Treats I’ve had!
These were very good Krispie treats, but it was just too much butter for us. Made them again with the great add-ins of the salt, vanilla and the extra mini marshmallows (which make them awesome!) but only 4 T of butter. Much better for us. Still tasted great, but not so overwhelmingly rich. Added bonus of using less butter is I could eat more of them!
Hi Jenn. Would this recipe work with vegan marshmallows like the one you can find at Trader Joe’s? We can’t have gelatin so wanted to find out if the vegan ones would work.
Hi Ayesha, I’ve never used vegan marshmallows so I can’t say for sure – I’m sorry! If you do try it, please report back and let me know how it works out!
Made my first Cannabis Rice Krispie with the recipe. Fantastic, thanks!
AMAZING! These are truly the best way to make Rice Krispie Treats. When the adults keep coming back for more, you know it’s a keeper recipe. The tip about “pressing the mixture gently into the baking pan” is key!
This really is a great recipe. I’ve made it twice now and both times it turned out amazingly delicious. I don’t think I’ll ever use another rice krispie treat recipe again.
One thing that I should mention is that the foil is completely unnecessary, at least if you’re using a glass pan. I just buttered the pan itself and the treats cut and come out cleanly with no sticking at all. No need to waste a section of foil.