Sometimes the best kind of treats are the ones you haven’t made in FOREVER. That includes the very famous, classic rice krispies that were always in lunch boxes and at your aunt’s house during family birthday parties. I created this new version back in 2018 and haven’t stopped making them since.
When I was a kid, I discovered ‘Special K’ bars — a combination of butter, peanut butter, butterscotch, and Special K cereal topped with semi-sweet chocolate + butterscotch chips. No mini marshmallows involved! These became a staple in my life, and as a full-blown adult, I knew I wanted to make a more nutritious version (that’s equally as delicious).
These chocolate peanut butter rice krispie treats are 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!).
Ingredients in healthy peanut butter rice krispie treats
You just need a handful of simple ingredients to make these quick peanut butter rice krispie bars. I find that they’re easier to make than classic rice krispie treats because they’re not overly sticky. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Peanut butter: because who doesn’t love a chocolate peanut butter combo? Natural, drippy peanut butter will help keep these healthy rice krispie treats together without using marshmallows.
- Coconut oil: unrefined coconut oil has a slight coconut flavor that adds a subtle sweetness to these bars and helps the filling stay together. It also keeps the bars dairy-free!
- Maple syrup: for an all natural sweetness we’re adding a little pure maple syrup.
- Vanilla extract: extra delicious flavor! Learn how to make your own vanilla here!
- Rice krispies: feel free to use regular or brown rice krispies. If you need these to be gluten-free, remember to check your labels to ensure the crispy rice cereal you’re using is certified gluten-free.
- Dark chocolate bar: I love to pair dark chocolate with peanut butter. Feel free to use a bar or chocolate chips.
- For topping: I like to sprinkle these bars with a little flaky sea salt for a sweet-salty combo.
Optional ingredient swaps
Out of a few ingredients? These peanut butter rice krispie treats are easy to customize! Here’s what I can recommend:
- For peanut butter: as I mentioned, feel free to use cashew, almond, or, to keep them nut-free, sunflower butter. You may need to add an extra 1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil.
- For the coconut oil: you may use butter or vegan butter.
- For the maple syrup: feel free to use honey or brown rice syrup.
A note on keeping these bars vegan
Make sure you use vegan/dairy-free chocolate to keep these bars both vegan and dairy-free.
Want to add a boost of protein?
Turn these into a higher-protein treat or snack by adding 1/2 cup of your favorite protein powder! I like to add collagen peptides because they’re flavorless.
Choose your favorite topping
I love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter (I mean, check out this full post), but these bars would also be delicious with melted white chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate on top!
You can also simply drizzle chocolate on top instead of coating the full bars if you’d like.
How to make peanut butter rice krispie treats without marshmallows
- Mix the wet ingredients. Place a medium pot over low heat and add the wet ingredients. Mix until smooth and well combined, about 1 minute.
- Make the “batter.” Next, add in the protein powder (optional) and crispy brown rice cereal; stir until combined and cereal is completely coated.
- Prep your pan. Pour the mixture into a pan lined with parchment paper (I prefer this to cooking spray), and use a spatula to flatten the top so it is even.
- Add the chocolate. Melt your chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl or on the stovetop over low heat until it’s smooth and creamy. Pour the melted chocolate over the bars and tilt your pan so that they’re evenly coated.
- Refrigerate & devour. Place the pan in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until the chocolate is solid. Sprinkle bars with fancy sea salt, then cut into 16 bars and enjoy!
Storingn tips
- In the fridge: store these bars covered or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. When you’re ready to eat them, just let them come to room temp for about 5 minutes so that they soften a bit.
- In the freezer: place the bars in a container or freezer-friendly bag in the freezer for up to 2 months. I’d recommend separating the bars with parchment or wax paper as well. When you’re ready to eat them, let the bars thaw in the fridge and then bring them to room temperature as described above.
See how to make the healthy rice krispie treats
Tools you’ll need
Get all of my fav kitchen tools here!
More no bake treats to try
- Peanut Butter Cup Freezer Fudge
- Birthday Cake Rice Krispie Treats
- Coconut & Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars
- Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites
- No Bake Chocolate Caramel Tahini Chex Bars (allergy-friendly!)
Get all of my no bake treats here!
I hope you love these peanut butter rice krispies treats! If you try them, be sure to rate them below and let me know how you liked them.
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Healthy Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats
Ingredients
- For the treats:
- ¾ cup (192g) natural creamy peanut butter
- ⅓ cup (104g) 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 (40g) Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides
- 2 ½-3 cups (93-111g) 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
- Line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Pour melted chocolate over the bars and tilt your pan to spread out the chocolate evenly.
- Place pan in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until bars are completely cool and chocolate is hardened. Sprinkle bars with fancy sea salt, then cut into 16 bars. Enjoy!
- Bars should be kept covered in the fridge and will stay good for up to 1 week. Take bars out 5 minutes before you are ready to serve to ensure they aren't too crunchy! They soften up at room temp.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
Post originally from June 2018, republished March 2020, republished on July 5th, 2023, updated with new photos on June 8th, 2026, and republished on June 9th, 2026.
Help please – I made this perfectly last week and they were amazing but this weeks ones (so good that even double the recipe has disappeared super fast!) the Rice Krispies are soggy?? Disaster – any clues as to why for the next batch please? I did nothing differently I dont think??
I’m not sure why they turned out differently this time! Did you use a different brand of anything?
JUst made these rice crispy peanut butter treats. grandson loves them as do all the family. SO quick and easy to make.
So happy to hear that!
My new snack obsession! I tried the protein powder option and also topped with hemp seeds while the chocolate was still melty. I like these straight out of the freezer with afternoon tea.
The perfect afternoon treat! Glad you enjoyed!
Super easy and yummy! Happy to have found this new family favorite which has no refined sugar and is just as easy to make as regular rice crispy treats:)
For anyone who may be wondering about swapping chocolate…I used milk chocolate instead of dark this time (all I had) and reduced the maple syrup by about 1.5 tablespoons to even out the sweetness. It worked great! I still prefer the recipe as written, but definitely enjoyed this version too.
So happy to hear you had success with these after reducing the sugar! Thanks for trying these ones, Erin 🙂
Made these with Catalina crunch peanut butter chocolate cereal, tastes like a puppy chow bar! Chefs kiss!
That sounds amazing!!
Loved it! I have a lot of dietary sensitivities and love that I didn’t have to modify much for this. I just cut out the protein powder and bought vegan/GF chocolate chips to be safe. This dessert is pretty clean, and low FODMAP which is awesome for me! 🙂
Perfect! So glad you found this recipe!
I was looking for a way to finish off the last of my homemade hazelnut butter so I googled peanut butter rice Krispy treats and I subbed the pb for hazelnut, I love white chocolate with hazelnuts (not a huge Nutella fan) omg these tasted amazing. I know not healthy but it’s not a treat I’d make often and I halved the recipe. Such a good basic recipe, thank you so much!
Love that idea! Glad you tried these!
I made this recipe a few days ago and they were delicious! I subsisted agave for maple syrup and used a chocolate whey protein I like. The bars are delicious and a great way to somewhat satisfy my sweet tooth at the end of the night.
“Healthy” I’m not so sure, Its basically a better for you candy bar but it’s still a candy bar.
Such a great treat to have on hand!
These are SO good! Came together fairly quickly and i added collagen peptides to it and i love how it gives it a boost of protein, the brown rice crispies are a must for the crunch factor, 10/10 🙂
Perfect! Such a great treat 🙂
You do not miss marshmallows AT ALL in this recipe, it completely hit the spot for ‘something choco/peanut buttery’ that feels like a treat but isn’t full of sugar. I added 1 scoop of my double choco protein powder and it was absolutely perfect. Will def be making again!!
Absolutely! Great idea to add protein powder, too 🙂
Hi,
These look delicious but I wanted to know if I could substitute the coconut oil for a sweet mild olive oil or avocado oil.
Thank you.
Mimi
I’d recommend butter or vegan butter instead so maintain the right flavor 🙂
These taste good but did not adequately stick together. They fell apart and had to be eaten with a spoon.
Sorry to hear that! Did the mixture seem dry before you chilled the bars?
Try reducing the rice krispies.
These are soooo tasty! However I made mine without the protein powder, and they didn’t seem to stick together? The rice krispy part was falling apart when I picked it up- any tips?
Sounds like there was too much of the dry ingredients! Maybe try adding a little more coconut oil or maple syrup next time.
Mine went completely soft, I don’t know how 🙁
These do need to be stored in the refrigerator or freezer, so be sure to chill them long enough!
DELICIOUS and such a quick, easy recipe! Everyone loved them. I’ll definitely make these again and again — thanks AK!
So happy to hear that!!
Great flavour! I’d use brown rice syrup another time so it holds together better
Glad you liked the flavor here! Let me know how you like it with brown rice syrup.
I was not looking for a healthy treat to use up some Rice Krispies I had but found this recipe and was intrigued. Please don’t be deterred by the notion that these are healthy! I did not have coconut oil so I used butter and I used crunchy peanut butter instead of creamy. The chocolate topping was amped up by being very dark chocolate and the sea salt sprinkled on top made this an adult dessert. These are simply wonderful! I have printed out the recipe and placed it in my “Keeper File” and will make them again. Thank you for such a tasty treat, even if it IS healthy!
Love that! Perfect treat 🙂