This is one of my favorite new recipes, so I chose to show you this one first in the Heavenly Homemakers Parade of Recipes and Cooking Tips!
I rarely buy cereal because it is expensive and no matter what kind you buy, it is generally not very good for you. However, occasionally I’ll buy a Mom’s Best or a Kashi variety. We all have “those mornings” when we just want to grab out a box (or two) of cereal and call it breakfast.
A couple of weeks ago, I was looking around on Amazon for organic cereal choices and was excited to find Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Cereal for a very reasonable price and with ingredients I didn’t feel too bad about. I used my Swagbucks and ordered some.
Because this cereal is made with brown rice, it’s a little bit different from your “normal” Rice Krispie cereal, but since cereal is a special treat around here, we all like it just fine. Well, then…I got to thinking that it sure would be fun to make some sort of “rice crispy treat”. I miss Rice Krispie treats. They’re so easy and yummy.
While this recipe doesn’t taste entirely like a real Rice Krispie Treat, it does have the feel and crunch of one – plus they taste really, really good!! I still haven’t tried making homemade marshmallows, so I skipped that idea altogether and just used honey to sweeten and make the cereal “stick together”. All of us have declared this recipe to be quite tasty…and I, the mom, have declared it to be one of the easiest recipes ever. It takes about five minutes to throw these together!
Stay tuned to see what’s coming up next in our Parade of Healthy Recipes and Cooking Tips!!
- 1 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
- ½ cup honey
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups Crispy Rice Cereal
- In a saucepan, melt and stir the peanut butter and honey together. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Stir in Crispy Rice Cereal. Spread in a 9x9 inch pan and allow to cool.
- For fun, you could add 1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips as you're stirring in the cereal. We LOVE these soy free mini chocolate chips from Enjoy Life!
- I love that this recipe is gluten free, easy, fast, healthier and crunchy! This is SUCH a simple snack to throw together. I think I'll try to make some with Sunbutter for Malachi - I don't know why it wouldn't work!
Danielle says
Not only is this the kick-off of your parade, but it’s also a High 5 recipe! Awesome! They look delicious :)
Rhonda says
This sounds great Laura! I also like the new look your site has. Looking forward to your recipes this week!
Jamie says
They look great! I’ll have to give these a try. For the record, I have made homemade marshmallows. If you have a stand mixer that you can put on high speed and walk away from for 20 or so minutes, you can make them. They turned out great and weren’t too difficult. The downside is that they are full of sugar, so if you can figure out a way to make those healthier, I’d be first in line for that recipe!
If memory serves correctly, I’m certain it was a Martha Stewart recipe (several years ago when my MIL had given me a gift subscription).
Meredith says
Thank you thank you thank you! My sweet 3 year old son has been patiently waiting for me to fullfill my promise to come up with an “even better” rice crispy treat than the one in the shiny blue package someone graced him with recently. I have been looking for ways to make marshmallows without corn syrup and have been a little intimidated to try it, but this will be a quick way to make something that is similar and I know he will love! This could not have come at a more perfect time :)!!
josette says
I found this cereal too…and now I have a yummy treat recipe to go with it. I wonder if you do find a good way to make a marshmallow if you can freeze marshmallows. That would be nice.
I have made marshmallows before, but it is tricky.
Jenny says
Laura, Just wondering what you do about your son that has a peanut allergy? My daughter has one as well and I do not even make or have peanuts in the house. I make everything with sunbutter that would normally be made with peanut butter.
Just curious because you still post a decent amount of peanut butter recipes.
Laura says
We recently had him tested and he didn’t test to be allergic – which is WEIRD because we thought for sure that he was. We are relieved of course. BUT, I think we have freaked him out so much about PB that he won’t go near it…he’s afraid of it now. Or at the very least, he doesn’t like it. Or, maybe his little body knows what it needs. Either way, we don’t feel like we need to be super careful about having it in the house, but I make accomodations for him anyway and use sunbutter for treats like this one so that he’ll have something to eat too.
Dakota says
Oh man that looks so good! I’m currently avoiding the sweeteners because of yeast overgrowth, but this is going on my “to try” list once my body gets situated.
Marie says
Thank you! I just bought some crispy rice with the intentions of making rice krispie treats to use up some random marshmallows we have around. I am much more enthusiastic about making these for my kids…they’ll be happy to help, too, I’m sure!
Megan says
For those of you looking for a marshmallow recipe w/o the white suger there’s one over at http://www.naturallyknockedup.com made with maple syrup.
Erin says
I’ve never made rice crispy treats before (gasp!!!)I’ve eaten my fair share though :)
These sound good. I love anything with peanut butter in.
Jenni Peiffer says
They look amazing!!!!
Sarah @ Davis Family CEO says
What a great recipe! Thanks for mentioning using sunbutter instead of peanut butter. My 4 yo son is allergic to peanuts. I have not heard of sunbutter, so I can’t wait to try it!
ShorterMama says
Sounds delish!
Peggy says
Can’t wait to try this recipe. My family loves rice crispy treats and peanut butter.
Danielle says
These sound great. Can’t wait to try!
Laura--The Balanced Housewife says
Oh! I love homemade peanut butter rice krispie treats! I actually like them a lot better than the marshmallow variety. Yum, now I want to make them.
Amanda says
These sound great!
Alex Hall says
I can’t wait to try these! My husband loves Rice Krispie Treats, so I think I’ll probably have to stick to the regular Rice Krispies, but I think the other modifications will definitely be an improvement in the quality of the treat. Thanks!
Jennifer S. says
These look really good. I can always use easy and fast recipes. :)
Tracey says
This looks delicious! I think the honey/peanut butter combination would be fabulous!
Debbie says
I look forward to trying this recipe this week.
Kelly says
Oh my family will be so excited for these! I’ve been holding off on making sweet treats because I wanted them to be healthier. These will be a hit for sure!
Deanna Peterson says
I have made a similar treat before and loved them! we melted some chocolate chips and spread over the top and they were so yummy! we used to make it with butterscotch chips mixed with the chocolate chips but those have hydrogenated oil in them, so we removed them….know of a way to make butterscotch chips by any chance?? thanks for the great ideas!
Sarah DJ says
Mmmm, peanut butter always makes anything taste good – these look great!
Angela says
i was just thinking something like this sounded good….now I have a better recipe!
Katie M. says
Yummy! Thanks for sharing this!
Joy says
WOW a healthier rice crispy treat..we thought those were just long gone for us…thanks so much for sharing!!!
Joy
Alisha says
that sounds so good! I am going to have to try this one out this week!
Julie G says
Sounds like something my husband would love…he likes peanut butter. Thanks!
Ivy Mae says
I’m going to file this away for when my 14 month old son gets old enough to want to help make treats in the kitchen! Won’t be too long…
Sarah A says
Mmmm…peanut butter and honey…these sound better tasting than the original too!
Robyn O. says
This looks fantastic!
Esther L says
We made Rice Krispie treats last weekend–with marshmallows. With a peanut/tree nut allergy in the family, we’re sometimes limited by substitutions. I wonder–have you experimented with your granola bar recipe trying something other than a nut butter? Thanks!
Gena says
Look forward to trying this!
Rebecca says
I will have to give these a try when I get some rice cereal. Thank you for sharing!
Lauren@BaseballsandBows says
This looks wonderful!
Kristin says
I have been making these for a while. I use almond butter and my kids can’t tell the difference.
Christy says
I was skeptical, but I think the peanut butter could really save these from being too weird. Hmmmm …
trixie says
These look so much better than even a regular rice crispy treat! I love peanut butter anything, so will have to try these.
Alicia says
What a great recipe, I have never tried peanut butter and honey
in rice crispy treats, and I Loove peanut butter, I cannot
wait to try this recipe with my kiddos!!!
Amy says
These look yummy I will need to make these for my boys. Thanks for sharing.
alesha says
these look awesome. I am going to print this recipe…
Pam Frohn says
Oooo, I just ordered 10 lbs of raw honey. Yum!
Angie says
I can’t wait to make these for my gluten free friend!
Carrie says
mmmm…these look great! I can’t wait to have my kids try the healthier version of one of their favoriate treats.
Bethany B. says
Yum!! My hubby has a recipe for peanut butter/chocolate rice krispie treats that I might have to try with this. Thanks so much!!
Meredith says
Anything with peanut butter is a friend of mine.
Jennifer says
PB Rice Krispy treats were a favorite growing up so I’m glad to know how to make them healthier. Thanks!
April says
I was JUST about to make something like this! I’m going to try your recipe instead!!
Carla says
Looks good! I will have to try it!
Natasha says
I will take PB and honey over marshmallows any day! Thanks!
Heather says
These sounds awesome, although I’m not a huge peanut butter fan. I’ve come to love it in my fake PB cup recipe and in these kind of treats and with the honey…no doubt a winner!
Heather
Ashley Godoy says
Gotta try this! Sounds peanut-buttery deliciousness!
Kimberly says
I’m with Heather– PB is not my thing! Sad, I know.
But with all of these other yummy ingredients, I might be able to handle it!
Amy in SC says
Mmmmmm! These look y-u-m-m-y!!!
Merry Jo says
These sound delicious! Can’t wait to try them!
Shauna says
My Husband LOVES rice-crispy treats so I am excited to try these and see what he says! I’m not picky about sweet treats :)
melanie says
Oh these look really good, Laura! Aha ~ something else for my Amazon/swagbucks List =)
We don’t live on boxed cereal here either, but I have purchased the Kellogg’s variety or store brand… then took the time to read the labels this month. Ugh, corn syrup. :-(
The healthier stuff should work fine for us, too!
Angie P says
I would love to learn how to make healthier homemade marshmallows. Is that even possible? LOL!!
Lenetta says
I recently found a recipe for marshmallow cream here… not sure if that’ll help you and I bet it would be awfully soft to try and make rice crispy treats out of, but there you go anyway. :>)
Vanessa says
Looks super yummy! I will be trying it with sunbutter, so I will let you know how it goes. :-)
Christy says
Mmm… hubby would love the peanut butter in this!
Sarah Falk says
Yes, any word on healthier marshmallows? My son LOVES them!
Jessie Chilson says
So I LOVE marshmellows, but I am willing to try the peanut butter! Only problem is we have a peanut allergy in the house :(
Kim says
These look yummy! Healthy too.
Carmen says
I can’t make marshmallow rice krispies because then I EAT THEM! Like the whole pan in a single day. I love them too much. My husband has made homemade marshmallows before but I think they still had corn syrup (they were good! but it would also seem a shame to make them into something else). I might have to try these – they sound a lot like Scotcharoos – minus the chocolate/butterscotch chip topping (and less sugar / no corn syrup in the krispies)
Laurie Plath says
These sound wonderful! Anything with peanut butter has got to be good (or with chocolate or both)!!!
jennifer viol says
Mmm sounds amazing
Wendy says
Can’t wait to try these! Yuuuummmy!
Rachel B says
These look much better than the traditional kind. Not that I have much experience even with those. (I once hosted a Pampered Chef party and when the consultant asked me to make some in the non-stick pan to show how easily they come out I had to ask her how!) Might have to make these some time soon …
Aya says
Anything with peanut butter and honey goes over well here!
Nicole S. says
You had me at peanut butter! I did these marshmallows last year and they turned out great. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/homemade-marshmallows-recipe/index.html
Amy C. says
OOohh….peanut butter!!!! Anything crunchy, sweet, peanut buttery….mmm!!!! This recipe looks yum!!
Lindsay M says
These look great! I’ve been looking for a healthier recipe for this, I’m looking forward to giving it a try.
Debra says
I haven’t had Rice Crispy Treats in years – now I’m craving them :)
DTroxell says
I would love the chicken book. This recipe sounds yummy!
Courtney says
My kids love homemade rice krispies treats as a once-in-awhile treat. I’ll have to give these a try.
Marianne says
My hubby just askd me yesterday if I could make Rice Krispie treats! I replied huh are you kidding, fluff, sugar – thanks for another out of the box recipe Laura!!
Marianne says
And I will use sunbutter, peanut allergies here!!
Janet Kiessling says
I am definately going to try this recipe. We have two children that can not have regular cane sugar – only evapoarted cane juice or organic sugar. So, marshmellows are OUT. Did you know how I found your web-site? I neede to know if there was a way to make chocolate for them!! They are sooooo thankful to you!!! :0) We have made lots of stuff from your list!!! My hubbie is very grateful cause we were using careub chips – ew!!! He was not a happy camper! Thank you – again!!
Kimberly says
MMMmmmm. And, peanut butter and honey I always have on hand…where as marshmallows I do not. Looks great!
Greta says
Been thinkin’ a lot lately, ’bout makin’ some krispy treats– thanks for the recipe!
Merrilee says
This is great timing. I have a bag of rice krispies I need to use up. I bought them for Rice Krispie treats for my daughter’s birthday, but don’t want to buy more marshmellows.
Kristina Hultgren says
That’s awesome that they have brown rice crispies! I’d love to try those with homemade marshmallows for rice crispy treats!
Lindsy says
YummO!
Rachel says
Those do sound really good. They kind of remind me of the oh-so-good no bake cookies with the oats, chocolate and peanut butter. I will have to try this recipes.
Cathy says
These sound like they would be much more satisfying than traditional rice crispy treats. Thanks for the recipe!
Julie says
Looks pretty yummy!
Stephanie says
sounds much better than with the marshmallows….and tons healthier also!!!
Cheryl says
We like peanut butter and honey together! Throw in the crunch of rice cereal (I’m thinking chex would work also) and that sounds even better! Thanks for the idea!
Jessie says
Laura, you are a wonder. Thanks for the source for decent rice crispies, and thanks for the tasty-sounding recipe!
Amy W says
these look yummy!
Maggie says
Looks delicious, if you ever do figure out healthy(er) marshmallows be sure to post, it’s one of the biggest things my dd misses since going healthy.
Lisa says
These look so yummy-and easy. I really want to try this one.
susan says
i might have to try these. my regular rice crispy’s always get hard…they look good
Allyson says
Yum, peanut butter rice crispy treats. My husband will love these!
Mandy says
Yummers! These sound delicious.
Amanda Sikes says
These sound so yummy!!! I really must try them. Thanks for such a great idea.
Laura says
A bag of rice crisps sits in my pantry right now and I was thinking this weekend ‘gee, some rice krispie treats would be tasty, I wonder how I could make them healthy?’ Thanks for sharing!
Amanda says
I’ll have to try this! Although rice krispy bars are my husband’s favorite, and I doubt I could convert him away from marshmallows. :)
Jami says
Those look sooooooo good!!! We LOVE peanut butter at our house so these would go over very well! I would love to get the “Do the funky Chicken” or “What to do with the Cocoa”
Those are the only two I don’t have!!
Sara R. says
I have a box of this cereal that I just got for a recipe I found in Clean Eating magazne for “fried” chicken. This’ll be the perfect way to use up the rest!
Mary says
I’ve made something very similar in the past. Yum!
april says
I’m amazed at your willingness to just “try to make something work” and risk losing it all. Obviously it speaks to a depth of understanding about what things will react what way. I would have been worried they would have come out hard as a rock or something.
Betsy says
We will try this one for sure!
Amanda Y. says
These look questionably unappetizing, but your recipes are normally great, so I still think I’m going to try it soon!
Sabrina says
Pick me! Pick me!
Jackie says
I LOVE that there’s peanut butter involved!! I’d also love to win “What to Do With the Chicken in Your Kitchen”
Bethany says
Okay-I have to tell you THANKS!!!
I made your recipe for Peanut Butter Honey Fudge not long ago, and it was a huge hit! My 3 yr. old and husband loved it and it vanished very quickly! So it got me to thinking and I made my own recipe for those “no bake cookies” that have peanut butter, sugar, cocoa, butter, oatmeal and vanilla in them… My version is healthier with coconut oil and natural peanut butter and honey. So thanks for the inspiration!
But it looks like now I’m going to try this one because I’m sure my guys will love it. (And I secretly really enjoy it when they like something that is healthy(ier)!!!)
Thank you for giving us a healthier version of sweet treats like this!
AmyR says
I think you could spread peanut butter, honey and vanilla on a tire and the kids would beg to eat it so I’ll give this recipe a try. ; )
Carmen says
I am going to make these this week!
Nissa Morgan says
Can’t wait to try these!!
Angela says
These are fabulous! So yummy!
Nancy Michel says
Love honey and peanut butter…this will get made soon, hopefully tomorrow!!
I would like thinking outside the breakfast box e-book
laura says
I can’t wait to try these!!! Thank you.
Christina says
This recipe looks great. Though it might be a hard sell for my kid.
Phil says
Honey is always popular in our house, but my son doesn’t like peanut butter. I wonder what a good alternative would be for a similar texture.
Emily says
what about almond butter?
Deborah says
Almond butter is probably a really good choice. I don’t usually
like it because it’s kinda flavorless in my opinion. But at a neutral
way to add protein, it’d be perfect!
You could also do sunbutter.
Emily says
NICE! What a great idea! for a great treat
Charlotte Moore says
So, what is the parade button??? I have not seen one!!!
Heidi says
i am upset by this recipe! well, only because i have no rice crispies in the pantry and i now have a puddle of drool on the keyboard. i can’t imagine how these could turn out bad. thanks for a reason to buy cereal again LOL!
Julie says
I love rice krispy treats!
Tina says
sounds easy to put together
Lorinda says
The classic Rice Krispie treats were so fun to make. I remember the melted marshmallow strings and the Rice Krispies sticking to the wooden spoon. That was the best part! Eating the warm melt-y mess that was on the spoon. And trying to keep fingers well buttered to form the treats in the pan. The addition of peanut butter sounds great!
Annie says
These sound GREAT!! Especially since my boys’ favorite lunch is peanut butter and honey sandwiches! I’d be so popular if we just ate these for lunch instead of sandwiches!!!
Dana says
I would love to win one of your ebooks! There are so many that look good!
Lis says
Oh! Thanks for the info on the “healthier” rice cereal. I’ve been looking for some for ever so long. Will try this recipe when I get the cereal! :) PB&H is a huge favorite in our house, and I’ve always made my krispy bars with peanut butter… whether the marshmallow version or another one we grew up with using karo syrup(Could use honey there!).
Thanks again!
Katrina says
I’m going to try this with home-made marshmallows!
Michelle says
So, is crispy rice different than puffed rice? The puffing process freaks me out a little…
Laura says
Oh yes, very different from puffed rice. These taste pretty much like rice krispies (kellogs).
Anick says
I tried this recipe the next day! Everybody liked it, which rarely happens. Thanks for all the great recipes!
Jaclyn says
This sounds super yummy, I can’t wait to try it!
Betsy says
I made these for the kids the other night and we liked them soooo much more than the marshmallow ones!! Thanks Laura!
Rebekah says
These look delicious! Can’t wait to try them! They’d probably look festive for the holidays rolled up in balls. :-)
Susan says
I’ll have to try this cereal and the recipe. Yay for Swagbucks!
Lisa @Retro Housewife Goes Green says
Anyone try this with sunflower butter? I can’t use nut butters or peanut butter.
Laura says
I made them with sunbutter last week and they turned out great!
kelly says
have you tried it with sunbutter? and if so how did they turn out?
Laura says
Yep…they turned out great!
Reagan in Mississippi says
YUM! My kids (big and little) loved them!
Melissa says
I’ll have to try these!
Josie says
Do you think it would work to turn these into more of a trail mix bar by adding craisins, sunflower seeds, etc? Would I need to add more peanutbutter or honey so that they wouldn’t be too dry? Thanks for this great recipe!
Laura says
Yes, either you would need more PB and honey OR you could just add LESS rice crispy cereal and add in your other yummy ideas!
Megan says
I just got a box of that cereal today. It tastes just like the traditional Rice Krispies cereal. I look forward to baking with it.
Stephanie says
I was excited until I saw the peanut butter…My daughter is allergic to peanuts….
Stephanie says
I just saw that it is yummy with sunbutter so I am excited again :)
Andrea Bloom says
I’m going to make these with brown rice crispy cereal, for a little more nutrition and I can’t wait!
The plan is to shape them into pumpkins and decorate with mini chocolate chips (my husband) or raisins (me) for a healthy (-er) Halloween Treat!
Won’t they be the perfect color? I might even put a bite or 2 of chopped apple and a caramel in the middle, as a surprise!
Thanks so much for sharing!
myra says
I make these for special desserts here, but with regular Rice Crispies, and add in melted chocolate. Everyone loves them.
Melissa says
Oh man this brings back memories! This is how we made ‘ice cream sandwiches’ at home. Make these pretty flat, freeze a bit to set up, then a slice of ice cream in between. A wonderful treat!
Jen says
Just made these! They are delicious!!!
Miranda says
Hi Laura,
These sound yummy! I’m wondering if the mixture stays “pliable” long enough to mold? I have a heart-shaped mold that will form only one at a time; I might be able to get 6 – 8 pieces from this recipe if it doesn’t set up too quickly. Thanks for sharing!
LindseyforLaura@HHM says
That should work out just fine!
Tricia B. says
Used my own homemade peanut butter & a little homemade almond butter with regular Rice Krispies (it was all I had on hand) and let them harden in the fridge. Delish!!
A bit on the rich side but surprisingly like regular Rice Krispie treats :).
Desiray Layton says
Do any of u know how many calories are in a serving size of this recipe?or how I might figure out how many calories are in the recipe?
Kelly says
I figured out the calories to be 2440 for the whole batch. I made half a batch and cut it into 8 pieces. So if the whole batch was 16 pieces they would be 152.5 calories each.
I used Barbara brand brown rice crisps cereal.
Kim says
I added crushed cashews, almonds, and pumpkins seeds to take to my son and his football team this weekend.
Debbie says
Is this recipe magical because I am using crispy rice cereal for instead of puffed rice or because the proportions are so different from the other recipes I’ve used? I have tried others just subbing puffed rice because it was all I had, but one had only ½ c each of honey and pb for 5 cups of cereal plus ½ c dried cherries, and one used an entire box of the brown rice cereal with 1¾ c brown rice syrup and ¾ c peanut butter. I have this cooling (with CRISPY rice cereal, for once) and I can tell already it is actually holding together! The others I tried fell apart as soon as I tried to cut them. It smells so good in here!
Jenni says
I am looking forward to trying this one, and am excited because I already have the crispy brown rice on hand! I add it to my granola, but love having another idea for using it (especially since you get 6 boxes with amazon). I was actually wondering about the peanut butter though. If you use natural peanut butter for this, does it need to be refrigerated? Thanks!
LindseyforLaura@HHM says
No refrigeration needed!
Wendy says
My DD who loves rice crispy treats doesn’t like like peanut butter. Strange child. Anyway, I wonder if you could mix up a batch of homemade marshmallow and instead of pouring them into a pan to set up just mixing in the cereal. Seems silly to make the marshmallows, wait a day for them to set up, then melt them again with butter. But I don’t know how the lack of butter would cause the end product to turn out. anyone ever tried this?