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A childhood favorite you never outgrow—this Rice Krispie Treat recipe gets a few simple upgrades for even more gooey, buttery goodness.
I’m always hesitant to say a recipe is the “best ever,” especially for a dessert like Rice Krispie Treats that everyone knows and loves. But once you’ve tinkered 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: I use more butter and brown it for a deeper, nuttier flavor, add extra marshmallows and fold some in at the end for gooey pockets throughout, and finish with vanilla and a little salt to balance the sweetness. The result is everything I want in a Rice Krispie treat: buttery, gooey, chewy, and crisp without being hard.
“These really are the BEST rice krispie treats! Moist, delicious, and full of gooey marshmallow goodness!”
What You’ll Need To Make Rice Krispie Treats
- Butter: Using more than the classic recipe makes the treats richer and softer, and browning it adds a deep, nutty flavor.
- Mini marshmallows: I use two bags and reserve some to fold in at the end, creating gooey pockets throughout the treats.
- Rice Krispies: The classic choice, though another crispy rice cereal will work, too. Make sure the cereal is fresh for the best crunch.
- Vanilla & salt: Vanilla rounds out the flavor, while salt balances all that sweetness and brings out the flavor of the browned butter.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Rice Krispie Treats
Brown the butter: Melt the butter over medium heat and continue cooking until it turns golden brown and smells nutty. A light-colored pot makes it much easier to see the color change. Watch carefully toward the end—once the milk solids begin to brown, they can burn quickly.
Add the marshmallows: Stir in most of the marshmallows and cook just until completely melted, then remove the pot from the heat and stir in the vanilla and salt.
Add the cereal and reserved marshmallows: Fold in the Rice Krispies until evenly coated, then add the reserved marshmallows. They’ll soften slightly from the heat but won’t melt completely, leaving gooey pockets throughout the treats.
Press into the pan: Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and press it into an even layer without compacting it too firmly (the butter wrappers come in handy here). A light hand keeps the treats tender and chewy rather than dense and hard. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.
Cut into squares: Lift the treats out of the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into squares and serve. You can store the treats in an airtight container at room temperature for several days days or freeze them for longer storage.
Video Tutorial
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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 (23 x 33-cm) pan with heavy duty aluminum foil and lightly grease with softened butter. Set aside 2 cups (110 g) 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.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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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OMG, the title says it all – these are the best rice krispie treats ever! My husband watched me browning the butter and was intrigued. After watching me assemble them and tasting later he declared the brown butter and extra marshmallows the secret to the “pockets of fluff”. I served them to visiting family and they raved about them, too! Another winner, Jenn.
This recipe is amazing! These are elevated rice krispy treats. Your instructions to brown the butter were so helpful. I’d never done it before this recipe. Browning butter is my happy place. The smell is heaven! My family, friends and co-workers have all enjoyed this recipe many times. Thanks so much for posting this recipe!
I’ve made this recipe twice so far and it’s been a big hit in my house. My sister loved it – only my mom said there were too many marshmallows. I quartered the recipe. However, the first time I made these treats, I think I browned the butter too much. But I definitely recommend this recipe.
My family (adults!) loves the Chewy, Gooey recipe with the secret ingredient. Now a staple.
I absolutely love this recipe… have used it several times since I first saw it on your website. It is so much better than the original recipe on the Rice Krispies box. The problem is that when I make a batch, I can’t stop eating them!
Also love all your other recipes. I signed up a number of years ago to get them by email. Haven’t found a single one I didn’t like. Your website is the first place I go to when I need something to make for guests and want to be sure it will be great. The details and pictures you include also help me to be successful.
Thanks for always being there for me!
❤️
I have made these many times over, and they are fantastic. I love the addition of salt and vanilla, and browning the butter is the clincher. People always ask, “what’s in here??”. A tip for browning the butter is to use a pan with a light colored bottom so you can see the stages the butter goes through, and pull the pan away from the heat at just the right moment. In my opinion, using a wooden spoon to constantly stir the marshmallows while they melt seems to help.
After reading some of the negative reviews, I was left to wonder about the expectations of some people. I think “treat” in the name says quite a bit. That’s what they are, a sugary, gooey, delicious treat, not a main course. If you want a salad, then eat one but don’t criticize a dessert food for butter, sugar etc. By following the directions, and studying the pictures for just a minute, these are fool-proof!
Sadly, there are no Rice Krispies available over here anymore… 🙁 And I don’t want to spend $8 (for a seriously small box!) and have them shipped via Amazon, that seems a little over the top.
So my choices are:
Chocolate Krispies
some grain shaped cereals made from oats
plain puffed rice
Any suggestions what to use for best results?
Thanks,
Anna
Hi Anna, I think you’ll get the most predictable results with the Chocolate Krispies. The other options may work, but the texture will be different. Please let me know what you end up using! 🙂
So, I made half a batch using Chocolate Krispies and half a batch using puffed rice. Because the puffed rice has no added sugar I melted some more Marshmallows to have a comparable sugar content.
The Chocolate Krispies batch looked weird, but tasted great, I especially liked the “crunch”.
The puffed rice batch was a lot higher (I used the same pan), and tasted great. But it missed the “crunch” and although the taste was really good, it was too chewy for my taste.
Next time I’ll try whether other manufacturers have something more similar to Rice Krispies than the puffed rice.
But Chocolate Krispies were the better substitute. If I have to keep using the Chocolate Krispies I might try adding some peanut butter…. 🙂
Jenn, Rice Krispie Treats (named brand) are NOT gluten free. They did have a GF version at one time but are no longer in production. I have a cottage food business and going to incorporate these into my line up. They are amazing and have added a couple small changes. I did find gluten free crispie cereal at my local Winco. It is their store brand. Thanks again for making a difference in the original dry crispie treats!
So glad you like these enough to incorporate them into your line up! (And regarding them being gluten-free, I know that not all brands of rice cereal are gluten-free, but put them in the gluten-free adaptable category because they are available in gluten-free versions. (I have a disclaimer at the bottom of all the gluten-free adaptable recipes indicating that.) Hope that clarifies! 🙂
I love you!!!
Great recipe. Really good detail on adding the reserve marshmallows. This is the only thing I can make that actually turns out really good.
Thank You
These rice krispy treats are perfection. I love the brown butter! Thank you for another five star recipe!
Other than to use it to pull it out of the pan, is there a reason to use the foil lining in the pan as long as you butter it? Could you use parchment?
Hi Beth, sure, parchment will work here too. Hope you enjoy!