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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These are indeed the best Rice Krispie Treats. So ooey and gooey and buttery. I’ve already made them twice in the last week, and I already need to make another batch! I’ll never make Rice Krispies any other way.
Made them for super bowl, using One Degree cereal (chocolate) and WF brand of regular crisped rice cereal both gf. They came out amazing. Had to make them again 2 weeks later for my kids and me!! delicious, what an improvement on the regular recipe.
I made these- amazing. I didn’t do the 2 cups at the end and instead just added all the marshmallows together and it was so sticky that using any kind of spatula wouldn’t work- I had to get in there with my hands, which was fine, but not ideal. How were you able to stir the mixture enough using just a wooden spoon? I took a tip from another recipe to add the marshmallow/butter mixture to the Rice Krispies (in a separate bowl) versus the other way around.
Do you think it was the extra marshmallows that made mine so sticky (and tough to work with) or the mixture into Rice Krispies? Those were the only two deviations I made to your recipe.
Hi Liz, I do think adding the marshmallows all at once made the mixture extra sticky. When the remaining 2 cups get added at the end, they only soften rather than melt, so you had extra “goo.”
So you know what the real problem was? I was adding the marshmallow mixture a big bowl of Rice Krispies and not the other way around (as you specified in your recipe.) Once I switched that, they came out amazing.
BUT!!
I found a way to improve on your already amazing recipe. I’m not interested in doing this generally, but when I found I only had half the butter, I remembered the recipes where I’ve combined coconut oil with butter. That was game changer. What it does is much more evenly coat everything and spread the liquid ingredients over the cereal. It also makes it much more moist.
So everything in your recipe but while the butter is browning (half the amount), you melt an equal amount of coconut oil (I used the microwave) and then right before you add the marshmallows, add the oil, stir, and then continue on. Same yummy richness of the brown butter but a more even and more moist finish!
Glad you got to the bottom of it (and good to know about your tweak of using half coconut oil)!
WAAAAY too much butter. My treats came out as a gloppy, oily mess.
WOW! These are seriously amazing.
These truly are the BEST EVER!! I’m a lover of the Rice Krispie treat… and I will never use a different recipe.
They freeze beautifully too!
I didn’t think the original Rice Krispie treats recipe could be improved upon. Boy was I wrong! These truly are the best! They’ve become my go-to special treat for my daughter every time she comes home from college. And they don’t last long!
Your Dutch oven looks gorgeous. Would you be able to tell us what kind it is and how to buy.
Hi, It’s a Le Creuset and I love it! You can buy it off their website or on Amazon. Hope that helps!
Absolutely delicious. The whole O.R. staff & doctors are vultures & devoured every last piece. Eyeing on your classic lasagna to make next for something savory…
BEST EVER. I recently made these for a group of friends for a weekend getaway and they received tons of compliments. Seriously the brown butter makes all the difference in the world. Will not do my rice krispies any other way, this recipe is a game changer. Love!