Get the secret tips and tricks to making the most PERFECT Rice Krispies Treats recipe. From using fresh butter and marshmallows to adding vanilla extract, this is my favorite dessert.
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The BEST Rice Krispies Treat Recipe
There are thousands of recipes for making homemade krispie treats, and I’m putting it out there that my recipe is BEST. You may see some similar nowadays, but they all stem from my original add-ins.
- Only 4 ingredients
- Thick and chewy
- Vanilla flavor
- Perfect ratio of cereal to marshmallows
We love that this classic treat can be changed up using different cereals too!
- Chocolate– Cocoa Krispie Treats
- Fruity– Fruity Pebbles Treats
- S’mores– Golden Grahams Treats
- Cheerios– Cheerio Treats
The Original Rice Krispie Treats
Rice Krispie Treats have always been the key to my heart. Knowing how to make rice krispie treats has gotten me far in life.
- I love crispy treats so much that I’ve created over a dozen flavors….from Fluffernutter Krispie Treats to Cinnamon Roll Krispie Treats.
- I’ve even got these adorable TURKEY Krispie Treats and this Pumpkin Pie Rice Krispie Treat for Thanksgiving!
But, in the end, it’s the classic, original, homemade rice krispie treat that captures my taste buds.
The biggest question is how to spell it. Some people say Rice Crispy treat, Some say Crispy Rice, some say Rice Crispies. Either way, you get the point! This rice crispy treats recipe is the best!
Ingredients You Need
- Butter- use salted butter for this recipe. Just trust me! Don’t have any on hand? Use unsalted butter and a pinch of salt while melting. DO NOT use margarine.
- Marshmallows- you’ll need 9 cups of mini marshmallows, keeping about 1 cup aside to add in at the end!
- Rice Krispies Cereal- any brand of crispy rice cereal will work, just make sure it’s FRESH.
Aimee’s Secret Ingredient
Adding my homemade vanilla extract or any pure vanilla extract takes this recipe over the top. Or make it lemon flavored using our easy lemon rice krispie treat recipe.
How to Make Rice Krispie Treats
Making rice krispie treats is super easy. You’ll only need one pot and a spatula for stirring! Oh, and I love making mine in a 9-inch square pan, for thicker bars, but you can use a 13×9 if you prefer.
- Melt butter & marshmallows.
- Add vanilla, cereal, and remaining marshmallows to the mixture.
- Pour into dish to set! No need to use nonstick spray…but I do love a piece of parchment paper for easy cleanup and removal.
Quick Tips
- Use fresh marshmallows. Using stale marshmallows will result in stale treats. Trust me, I’ve learned the hard way.
- Brown the butter. Learn how to brown butter and make a batch of my flavorful brown butter rice krispie treats next!
- Add my secret ingredient. VANILLA EXTRACT. Not imitation vanilla, but PURE VANILLA extract. It makes a difference in creating the illusion that you’re using homemade marshmallows.
- Kelloggs is wrong. DO NOT press these bars into your pan firmly. Using your fingertips and gentlypress them in just until they are spread out. The harder you pack them in, the harder they are when it’s time to eat them!
- The trick to pressing them in your pan without sticking to your hands is to run your fingers in water. Dip in water, shake off the excess, and press. Voila. No sticking!
- Store in an airtight container for two days. If they last that long, I’d be shocked!
- Make these gluten free by choosing a crispy rice cereal labeled Gluten Free (and check your marshmallow labels too just in case).
Why are my rice krispie treats hard?
As mentioned above, you’ll get hard rice krispie treats a number of ways.
Using stale ingredients will results in stale, hard treats. So always use fresh marshmallows and fresh cereal too.
Avoid pressing your bars too firmly into the pan. The harder you press, the more firm the rice krispies treats will be.
Storing Leftovers
Rarely is this the case in my house, as we all know I can eat an entire pan of homemade rice krispie treats. But, should you find yourself with leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature. I usually just slide them into a ziploc bag.
Or you can freeze rice krispie treats. I was skeptical for a long time, and finally tried it out. I slide my leftovers into a ziploc freezer bag and placed them in the freezer.
Surprisingly, they thaw pretty quickly on the counter and they taste super fresh too!
More Rice Krispie Treat Flavors
Add in some flavored gelatin (or pudding mix) to the melted marshmallow for a unique twist! Cherry Krispie Treats!
Make Lucky Charms Treats for a St.Paddy’s Day dessert idea.
- For best results, name brand cereal stays fresher longer and can hold up to the melted butter and marshmallows better
- Always start with fresh marshmallows. If you use stale marshmallows in hopes that melting them will give you good results, you’ll be disappointed!
- More mix-ins: fold in some m&m’s or Reese’s peanut butter cups for a delicious dessert idea.
Best Rice Krispie Treats
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Rice Krispie Treats Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons salted butter
- 16 ounce bag mini marshmallows divided
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 6 cups rice krispies cereal
Instructions
- Line a 9-inch square baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Once melted, add in all but 1 cup of the marshmallows. Reduce heat to low and continue stirring until completely melted.
- Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Add the cereal and the remaining 1 cup of marshmallows and gently stir until combined.
- Pour into the prepared baking dish. Press GENTLY with your fingertips just until completely spread out (the harder you pack them in, the harder they are to eat).
- Allow to set, about 1 hour. Cut and enjoy!
Notes
- How many marshmallows do I need? One 16 ounce bag of marshmallows is about 8-9 cups. You’ll melt all but one cup of the marshmallows in the butter, reserving the last cup for adding with the cereal.
- Line a 9-inch square baking dish with parchment paper. This way you don’t have to worry about extra butter on your fingertips, or the other extreme of your bars sticking to the pan! Use binder clips to help the parchment paper stay in place.
- Use fresh marshmallows. Seriously, they make a difference. Don’t grab that bag that’s been in your pantry for months and months thinking it will be okay since you are melting them. It won’t be okay.
- Add my secret ingredient. VANILLA EXTRACT. Not imitation vanilla, but PURE VANILLA extract. It makes a difference in creating the illusion that you’re using homemade marshmallows.
- DO NOT (I repeat) DO NOT press these bars into your pan firmly. Using your fingertips, GENTLY press them in just until they are spread out. The harder you pack them in, the harder they are when it’s time to eat them!
- The trick to pressing them in your pan without sticking to your hands is to run your fingers in water, shake off the excess, and press. Voila. No sticking!
- Store in an airtight container for two days. If they last that long, I’d be shocked!
- Make these gluten free by choosing a crispy rice cereal labeled Gluten Free (and check your marshmallow labels too just in case).
- Can you freeze rice krispie treats? YES! I slide them on a parchment paper lined sheet into a ziploc freezer bag. Thaw on counter until soft again!
Video
Nutrition
Original Rice Krispie Treats recipe with all the tips and tricks for making them thick and chewy!
Hi! I was wondering if you needed to let the butter, marshmallow, and vanilla mixture sit for a bit before adding the rice krispies in or is it okay to do while it’s still hot? thank you!
They are soooo good
The video looked like there was waaaay more than one cup melted marshmallow? I added more but wasn’t sure if you could clarify the measurements? I did one cup (8oz) melted then 1 cup (8oz) off they heat. Haven’t tried yet but they don’t look as “gooey” as the video .
Thanks !
The recipe calls for one 16oz BAG of marshmallows, which is roughly 8-9 cups total. You’ll reserve one cup to add with the cereal, the remaining gets melted with the butter.
I never leave a review BUT I literally just made these with my son and OMG!! So easy, so simple and SO DELICIOUS!! I don’t think these are going to make it through the night. Thank you for sharing this recipe, definitely a keeper.
I’m so glad you all enjoyed them 🙂
Hi, can they be refrigerated?
No, they will get hard. They won’t last that long anyways lol.
I made it! & it’s delicious! I put a 20 oz. bag of marshmallows instead of a 16 oz. bag. I also put 10oz. Of unsalted butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract. It revived so many childhood memories of homemade rice crispy treats.
A different twist, melt 1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips and 1 cup of butterscotch chips, mix together and pour over the rice crispy treats. Delicious!
With this recipe you gave, you stated a 9×9 pan, can we use a 13×9 pan?
Yes, they will be much thinner.
Hello Aimee,
I was wondering how easy it would be to mold them into heart shapes. Should I do it was I put them in the pan or cut them after? Also, would topping them with sprinkles add flavor or ruin the texture?
Nick,
I have made these a few times (they are amazing!) and I bake them in the pan and use heart shaped cookie cutters after they are set. They are gooey enough you can mold back the excess and keep stamping out hearts. It is a bit over board, but I’ve also melted down white chocolate with a tad of red food coloring to drizzle over the top. This gives them an elevated appearance. Just sharing how I utilize Aimee’s recipe.
Happy Heart Day!
I made these about 8 weeks ago and they are by far the best! My go to from now on. They didn’t last but going to double ingredients and put in 13×9 pan this time. Thanks for sharing.
So glad you loved them!!
Hi Aimee! In the ingredients, you list 16 oz mini marshmallows. Do you mean a 16 oz bag? I used 2 cups of marshmallows and the cereal barely held together. My apologies if you state this in the description! New mom over here trying to put together a quick treat! 🙂
Yep, 16 oz bag of marshmallows.
A 16oz bag of mini marshmallows is the same amount as a 16oz bag of large marshmallows. Just different shapes because 16oz is the same amount regardless of shape.
Hey! I only have large marshmallows. How many of those would I use instead?
16 oz 🙂
A 16oz bag of marshmallows is measured in weighted oz. 2 cups or 16oz in a measuring cup is a liquid measure.
I’ve made these treats twice in the last week. Oops, this IS a judgment free zone, right? LoL, seriously though, I add almost an extra cup at the end though because some of them melt right away. Best krispy treat recipe ever! Thanks! My son & hubby love them, and so do I! It’s hard to find any dish I can say that about. But, alas, shugary sweets did it big!
Awww love to hear it 🙂 And no judgement from me!
this recipe was so good thank you for sharing it with me
Oh my gosh! We just made these for the school bake sale tomorrow and I hope that I will have enough left to bring. They are ridiculously good! Thanks for the easy recipe.
Perfect Rice Krispie Treats Recipe is great! To be honest, I’m not good at cooking but I like them, they give me joy and excitement every time I finish the dishes, which is a great thing. With your recipe, I just need to follow the instructions and the rest is simple.Thanks for sharing!
Try turning off the heat and putting the melted marshmallows and butter in a bowl to mix. I found this was the trick I wish I had been told years ago! Also try 8TBS of butter not 6. Hope this helps!
Hi!
Does this make them last longer?
I KNEW my Mom added more butter than what the current recipe calls for! These are so much better than what is on the box today.
Adding vanilla and mini marshmallows at the end? GENIUS. These were the best. Thank you!
Oh my gosh! We just made these for the school bake sale tomorrow and I hope that I will have enough left to bring. They are ridiculously good! Thanks for the easy recipe.
I guess everyone else just assumes marshmallows is your exception to a volumetric measurement, despite holding back a cup? I’ve ruined it. 🙁
Made these before and they were a hit, thank you for your awesome and simple recipe.
Will these still be good if I don’t have an hour to wait, like I only have about 20 min to let them cool..? Thanks!
I’m in tears after trying this, I just want to eat the whole pan. I used salted butter (I actually think the salt might enhance the flavor a bit) and imitation vanilla (because that’s what I had) but my goodness… it was fluffy and had a couple pops as I bit into them..I thought it seemed like too much marshmallow as I was mixing it all together but it’s literal perfection. Thank you!
So glad you love it 🙂
We grew up using cookie sheets and rolled out the rice krispy treats, then put ice cream on one sheet and then flipped the other sheet on top and had ice cream sandwiches! They were the best!!
Made these tonight and WOW! I make my own vanilla extract using Tito’s Vodka… Used my homemade extract in this recipe and holy smokes. My husband tried to talk me out of using it and after eating a treat, he is convinced its the best ever.
Awww yay!