Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats { No Marshmallow}
These healthier no-bake Rice Krispie treats are so easy to make. Made with crispy brown rice cereal, honey, peanut butter, and a little decadent dark chocolate, these treats are gluten-free, refined sugar-free, vegan, make the perfect to grab on the go or for a back-to-school snack.
Bringing back my childhood favorite snack with a healthy twist without marshmallow.
I have been loving all the no bake desserts in these hot summer days.
They are always so easy to make, and not much effort required.
What are Rice Krispie Treats made of?
Traditionally, Rice Krispie treats are made with gooey marshmallows, butter, and Rice Krispies cereal.
While undoubtedly delicious, they can definitely tax a little bit on our bodies.
I love an authentic Rice Krispie treat from time to time, but this peanut butter rice crispy treats recipe is even better!
These homemade cereal bars are not only easy to make, and delicious, but also can be enjoyed as often as you’d like!
Even better? They are absolutely kid-friendly.
Since this recipe is made with minimal ingredients and only sweetened by maple syrup or honey, I love making them for my two toddlers as well.
They’re great to pack in the kid’s mid-afternoon snack, or to have along with your morning cup of coffee for a fun variation on breakfast!
Ingredients You Need to Make Peanut Butter Cereal Bars
This recipe only requires 4 basic ingredients and no bake time.
For this recipe you will need:
1. Brown Rice Cirspy Cereal
Kelloggs makes a brown rice cereal that is made with whole wheat. Or I love One Degree Organic’s sprouted brown rice cereal.
2. Peanut Butter
I choose to use unsweetened, smooth peanut butter. The organic one from Trader Joes is actually my favorite to use. It is drizzly and not too thick. Just perfect for this recipe. And of course the fresher the better when it comes to making this recipe. Once peanut butter has been opened and sitting out for a while, it starts to get dry clusters on the bottom which makes it hard to stir.
3. Honey or Maple Syrup
Honey or maple syrup are my favorite ways to sweeten snacks or dessert besides medjool dates. They are the only sweetener used in this recipe.
If you are looking to make this recipe vegan, you can simply substitute the honey with maple syrup instead.
4. Dark chocolate
Just a drizzle of dark chocolate really takes these treats to the next level.l.
You can choose to coat the entire top of the Healthy Peanut Butter Rice Krispie treats with the chocolate/peanut butter mixture, or just drizzle it over the top for a fun design.
Both are delicious, it just depends on how much chocolate you want in each bite!
What Can I Use Instead of Marshmallows In This Rice Crispy Treat Recipe?
I used honey in this recipe to give it that chewy, sticky texture that melted marshmallows would normally create.
Maple syrup is another good option to use to keep this refined sugar-free and vegan-friendly as well.
Another added bonus to not using marshmallows in this recipe… it’s A LOT less messy!
How to Make Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats
You know I love giving traditional indulgent foods my personal twist, to make it simple and only with good ingredients.
These peanut butter cereal bars take about 5 minutes to throw together and then you just set it and forget it in the freezer for about an hour.
That’s it! So easy!
Step One: Prepare the Rice Crispy Layer
First, mix peanut butter and honey together. Microwave for 20-30 seconds if they are too thick to mix thoroughly. Heating them up a little bit will thin them out and make them much easier to mix.
Add the brown rice cereal and gently stir with a spatula until all crispy cereals are coated with the peanut butter/honey mixture.
Press the rice crispy mix into a lined 8×8 pan. You could also spray with cooking spray for easier removal of the treats from the pan.
Step Two: Prepare the Peanut Butter Chocolate Layer
Melt dark chocolate and peanut butter and drizzle over top.
Step Three: Bring it all together
Put peanut butter rice crispy treats in the freezer for at least 30 minutes to set.
Take the Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats out of the freezer to cut and enjoy!
Note: allow rice crispy to sit at room temp for ~10-15 minutes before cutting may help prevent cracking chocolate layer while cutting.
How to Store Rice Crispy Treats
You can store these treats in either the fridge or the freezer.
No need to defrost before eating, they are even crispier straight out of the freezer!
I love having them in the freezer, especially for a hot summer day like this. They come out cool and extra crispy.
Hope you get to enjoy with the family!
What’s your favorite way to eat rice krispie treats? Leave a comment below!
I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOUR CREATIONS! YOU CAN USE “TRIED IT” ON PINTEREST OR SHARE ON INSTAGRAM BY TAGGING #SHUANGYSEATS
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Get the recipe:Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats {No Marshmallow}
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats
- 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, drizzly
- 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
- 2 1/2 cups brown rice cereal
- A pinch of salt
Chocolate Topping Layer:
- 1 cup dark chocolate melted
- 1 heaping tablespoon peanut butter
Equipment
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine room temperatured peanut butter and honey or maple syrup (if the texture comes in gooey or solid form, microwave for 15- 20 seconds or until the texture becomes runny).
- Add cereal and pinch of sea salt to the bowl, and gently stir until well combined (the texture should be sticky).
- Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper. Pour the peanut butter crispy layer into the pan.
- In a small mixing bowl, melt chocolate and peanut butter together in the microwave for 40 – 50 seconds. Stir halfway to make sure the chocolate doesn’t burn.
- Pour the chocolate over the peanut butter rice crispy treat base. Sprinkle additional sea salt (optional).
- Place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
- Cut into squares and enjoy!
Notes
The Nutrition Facts above are specific to the ingredients I chose to use for this recipe, which may vary.
These were a fun tasty treat. However, when I went to slice them they crumbled apart pretty badly. I used organic “honey nut cheerio” type cereal (a healthier brand), rx brand vanilla almond butter, maple syrup and dark chocolate. I froze them for about an hour before slicing. So, I didn’t follow the recipe exactly which may be why it didn’t turn out perfect. I would also recommend making these in a 9×13 dish just so they are more bite sized! Just my preference though 🙂
Hi Molly,
Thank you for your feedback! We do have a note in the post that mentions to let the Krispie’s sit out for 15min after taking them out of the freezer prior to cutting. Hope this tip helps you in the future!
Happy Baking 🙂
Constance
Is it possible for us to see other reviews and comments? Not sure if it’s just on mobile but I only see the overall star review and not individual reviews as it would be helpful to read other comments and I also don’t remember which knows I’ve commented on already. Thx!
Hi Jodi,
You should be able to see the reviews (the stars) and the comments below the recipe card. If you can’t see them, that may just mean there haven’t been any comments left for this particular recipe :). But if you have tried it, it would be much appreciate it if you could share your feedback 🙂
Shuang
These rice crispy treats are so good!!! They are super quick to make too! I used maple syrup instead of honey and worked great.