Sometimes the best kind of treats are the ones you haven’t made in FOREVER. That includes the very famous rice krispie treats that were always in lunch boxes and at your aunt’s house during family birthday parties.
Man, I loved those sweet little marshmallow pull apart oozy-gooey sticky bars more than anything. One time I ate so many individual treats out of those bright blue wrappers that I had a stomach ache for two days straight. I also remember eating the rice krispie treat cereal straight from the cereal box. Handfuls upon handfuls, and another stomach ache later I was sure I was done with rice krispie treats for GOOD.
Years later at a friend’s house, I discovered something known as ‘Special K’ bars. Basically these bars were a combination of butter, peanut butter, butterscotch and Special K cereal in a bar, then and topped with melted (and harded) semi sweet chocolate + butterscotch chips. These too, became another favorite treat I could eat without any control. #oops #savage
See how to make the healthy rice krispie treats:
Now that I’m into full blown adulthood (and a food blogger!) I’ve LOVED bringing you my favorite childhood meals & desserts with healthy, simple twists. It’s a great way to still enjoy your favorite foods, but also make more nutritious choices.
So what are these healthy peanut butter rice krispie treats exactly? A combination of a rice krispie treat and a special k bar. There’s no refined sugar or marshmallows involved and the bars are made with only 6 ingredients (or 7 if you make them with a little protein powder!).
Here are the ingredients in these healthy rice krispie treats:
Peanut butter (or use cashew or almond butter)
Virgin coconut oil (or sub melted butter or vegan butter)
Pure maple syrup (or sub honey, brown rice syrup or coconut syrup)
Vanilla extract
Rice Krispies or Brown Rice Krispies
Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides. This is a protein powder that’s really wonderful for your skin, hair and nails. Read more here about why I love it.
Dark Chocolate bar. I love Divine dark chocolate. It’s literally the BEST dark chocolate ever. Alter Eco and Theo are two other favorites.
To be honest, these are one of my new FAVORITE no bake treats EVER. They’re so easy to make, ready in less than 30 minutes and taste like a combination between a peanut butter cup and a rice krispie treat. I had a few people over after I made these and they were completely gone before the night was over.
P.S. Don’t forget to sprinkle them with a little sea salt for a sweet and salty treat!
If you try this recipe, be sure to rate it below and let me know how you liked it. And of course, don’t forget to snap a photo and tag #ambitiouskitchen on Instagram so I can see your beautiful creations. xo!
More healthy dessert recipes you’ll love:
Salted Tahini Caramel Millionaire Bars (vegan + paleo)
Healthy Lemon Bars (gluten free, dairy free & paleo)
Peanut Butter Cup Protein Bars + video!
Grain Free Tahini Brownies (the best brownies I’ve ever eaten!)
Grain Free Salted Chocolate Chip Pecan Blondies + video
Healthy Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats
Ingredients
- For the treats:
- 3/4 cup natural creamy peanut butter
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt (if your peanut butter isn’t already salted)
- Optional: ½ cup Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides
- 2 1/2-3 cups crispy brown rice cereal (or rice krispies)*
- For the chocolate topping:
- 3.5 oz 85% dark chocolate bar, broken up into pieces
- To garnish:
- Fancy sea salt, for sprinkling on top
Instructions
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Line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
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Place a medium pot over low heat and add in peanut butter, coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth and well combined, about 1 minute.
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Next add in the protein powder (optional) and crispy brown rice cereal; stir until combined and cereal is completely coated. Pour into prepared pan, and use a spatula to flatten the top so it is even.
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Next make the chocolate topping by adding chocolate to a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high in 30 second intervals, stirring in-between, until chocolate is completely melted. You can also melt the chocolate in a small saucepan over very low heat if you prefer.
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Pour melted chocolate over the bars and tilt your pan to spread out the chocolate evenly.
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Place pan in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until bars are completely cool and chocolate is melted. Sprinkle bars with fancy sea salt, then cut into 16 bars. Enjoy!
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Bars should be kept covered in the fridge and will stay good for up to 1 week. Take bars out 10 minutes before you are ready to serve to ensure they aren't too crunchy! They soften up at room temp.
Recipe Notes
*Note that traditional Rice Krispies cereal is not certified gluten-free, so be sure to check your box and use a brown rice krispies cereal alternative if need be.
Feel free to use cashew, almond or sunflower butter in place of the peanut butter. You may need to add an extra 1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil.
Instead of coconut oil, you may use butter or vegan butter.
Feel free to use honey, brown rice syrup or coconut syrup instead of maple syrup.
63 comments
Yumm, and I love that they don’t include marshmallows — just the good stuff!
Right?! PB all the way!
These look great! I don’t have any coconut oil so Ill try subbing coconut butter and write how it goes! Thanks for the recipe!
Let me know how the coconut butter goes! Hope you love these!
I have a similar recipe that uses puffed quinoa instead of Rice Krispies. Also has chia and hemp seeds. I love them ! Will try your recipe when I have polished off the quinoa ones.
Sounds fantastic! And yes you’ll have to give these a try too 🙂
These were so easy and quick to put together! Love all your recipes but I will definitely be making these again!
Aren’t they?! One of my fav quick & easy treats! Glad you loved them 🙂
I don’t know how you do it! I have made many of your recipes and they always turn out great! Thank you!!!
So happy to hear that Mark!! 🙂
I loved these! Really easy to make! Much easier to clean up verses the marshmallow variety! I took them to a 4th of July party and they were a hit! My one question to you is, do these freeze? Or it is not recommended? They’d be a great bar to keep in the freezer and pull out should guests stop by!
Yes you can keep them in the freezer until you are ready to serve. Just let them thaw out a bit. 🙂 they’re SO good!
Amazing! And YES love these ones over the marshmallow kind 😉 These would be perfect in the freezer, too!
These were great! I brought them to work and everyone loved them. Next time I will only put in 2 1/2 cups of rice krispies (I put 3) as they were just slightly crumbly. Would definitely make again!
So glad everyone loved them! And yes the rice krispie amount can depend on your peanut butter consistency, etc. Perfect work treat!
SO delicious! I used gluten free, sprouted brown rice cacao crisps and the theo dark chocolate. Thank you!!!
Perfect! Love Theo dark chocolate 🙂
These remind me of scotcharoos – one of my favorite treats! SO YUM!
YES just like them!
My entire family loves this recipe! So easy to make. I love a treat that packs health into it. Especially the collagen peptides !! Thank you so much for all your hard work and giving us so many yummy, healthy treats the whole family loves !!
YES love these healthy treats! So glad you and the whole family loves these, Amy 🙂
Looks yummy! I hope these made up for the fact she slept through choosing ballet slippers! Regards Jacklyn
Lovely! But i love how Reece’s are salty, these definitely aren’t salty after all the maple syrup and vanilla essence. Next time I would only add 1 tablespoon of maple syrup to the peanut butter mixture, and maybe 1 tablespoon of maple syrup to the choc (to make it sweeter, I used 85%).
The sea salt sprinkle on top should give it that salty flavor! Instead of adding maple syrup to the chocolate I would maybe use a sweeter chocolate (less than 85%).
hii, how many days does this rice rispies treats last
Made these last night and they were so easy and sooo delicious! I’m interested in trying to make it again gluten free. Any ideas on what to use instead of the brown rice crispies? Thanks so much for all of your amazing recipes. I have made so many and always get lots of compliments!
Love the recipe. What can I use instead of coconut oil? Butter? Olive oil? And also if I use 75%dark chocolate I guess I can use less maple syrup? Thanks!
I used 85% dark chocolate and butter. I loved them ! So tasty and crunchy 🙂
Hi Carol! Perfect – glad those swaps worked out. The maple syrup does needs to remain as written in the recipe because it helps the rice krispie bars stick together. If you want to reduce the sugar next time, simply drizzle chocolate or don’t use it all.
Love these can I substitute tahini for peanut butter as the grandkids school is nut free.
Yes of course! Just use 1 tablespoon less coconut oil.
These are a great snack for my boys!
Yes! Hope they love them 🙂
Love these! Even my dad loves them and he wont eat anything else I make that is “healthified” lol
Haha YES love that!
I made these, so easy and so delicious. From age 3 – 65, everyone LOVED!
Q: they cut fine, but it was a little messy and krispies fell off (I made with Rice Krispies). Do you have any recommendations to help them stick together more?
Hi Erin! I recommend freezing them for 4-5 hours before cutting if you want to get perfect squares. They cut better after they’ve been frozen for a while!
Can I substitute Vital Proteins gelatin powder in place of their collagen powder? For some reason my ND recommended that specifically instead of the collagen, but I’m unfamiliar with cooking/baking with either. Thank you! Love love love your recipes, especially the healthy treats 🙂
Hmmm I haven’t actually tried baking with the gelatin powder! It says it turns into a gel in colder liquids, so I’m not sure if the properties will change when you bake with it. Let me know if you give it a try! Happy to hear that you’re loving the recipes here 🙂
I just did a little research too and found that since gelatin acts as a binder, it can be used as an egg replacer (1 TBS gelatin with 3 TBS room temp water)! Makes sense. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Let me know how they turn out!
Wonderful – great healthy snack!!
Absolutely! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
I made these with almond butter. I barely got to eat them cause my husband kept eating them and has been bugging me to make more since.
Fav treats!
I was excited that these say gluten-free, and I thought I had finally found something I could make for my sister. After I had made them, someone told me that Rice Krispies brand cereal is not gluten-free. Apparently it contains malt flavoring, which is made from barley. Fortunately, my sister is gluten-free for inflammation issues, and it ended up not being a big deal for her. However, if someone is gluten-free for something like Celiac’s Disease, this could be a bigger problem.
I think they taste really good, I was just upset that I trusted the info above the recipe and then fed her something that could have been an issue.
Hi Stacie! You’re right that traditional Rice Krispies cereal is not certified gluten free, which is why we indicate in the recipe to use crispy brown rice cereal. I’ve added an additional note to be sure to double check the brand you’re using to make sure they are certified GF as well!
So what “crispy brown rice cereal” do you recommend? I’ve never heard of that beyond Rice Krispies, and did not see any similar options at the store. I even asked several other people, and they said they also assumed that meant the “brown,” or cocoa, Rice Krispies. Maybe it’s a regional thing?
What could you use instead of Cocanut flour for you blondie bars? Or would it take away from the flavor and texture? Thanks, and wonder recipes!!
I’d recommend sticking with the flour ratios so that the flavor and texture turn out the way they should!
I used semi-sweet chocolate chips and peanut butter. So good. Definitely will make again.
Perfect! Glad you liked them!
Just made this for a healthy dessert to have on hand for the week and woah! It is AMAZING! It’s definitely an adult version of Rice Krispies. 100% recommend!
Love that! One of my fav treats!