Healthy Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats
Posted Mar 28, 2018, Updated Oct 03, 2021
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These healthy peanut butter rice crispy treats are made with 6 good-for-you ingredients in 10 minutes! There are no marshmallows or corn syrup in this recipe. They are the perfect easy, no-bake, gluten & dairy-free dessert to satisfy your chocolate peanut butter cravings!
These healthy peanut butter rice crispy treats are easy, no-bake bars of chocolate peanut butter bliss. They are made with only 6 healthy ingredients and require mere minutes of hands-on prep time.
There are no marshmallows or Plus they’re gluten, dairy and refined sugar free! Quick & easy dessert perfection.
Healthy Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats: Ingredients & Substitutions
- Peanut Butter. Any nut or seed butter can be used in this recipe: almond butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter, etc.
- Honey. Use maple syrup or brown rice syrup for a vegan version.
- Crispy brown rice cereal. I used and Organic Brown Rice Crispy Cereal but any crispy rice cereal would work great in this recipe, including classic Rice Krispes.
- Bittersweet Chocolate. Choose your favorite variety of chocolate that complies with your dietary needs! For a dairy-free & vegan options choose SunSpire or Enjoy Life Foods products!
How to make Healthy Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats
I am going to walk you through making these scrumptious treats step-by-step, because each step in this crispy treat making process is deliciously beautiful
Gather the ingredients.
There are only 6 ingredients in this recipe, and it’s important to measure them all out before you begin because you need to work quickly.
Melt & Mix
I love that this recipe doesn’t use marshmallows or corn syrup but they are still very yummy. I think they’re even easier to make because melting peanut butter and honey is much easier than melting marshmallows.
If you use a creamy, natural peanut butter and a smooth honey you may be able to skip the melting process all together. However, I find it’s easier to mix these treats together if all the ingredients are slightly warm. You can use the microwave or stovetop, just be careful not to overheat the mixture!
Form Base & add the topping
To ensure easy removal, line the baking pan with parchment and lightly grease it! Use a greased spatula to spread the peanut butter crispy mixture into the pan and spread it out evenly.
Pour the warm topping onto the crispy base. Then pop them into the fridge or freezer to set.
Cut & serve
One the bars are sufficiently chilled, remove them from the fridge to warm slightly before cutting. If you try cutting them when the chocolate topping is really cold, it will crack.
Serve the bars at room temperature. Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator!
Store/freeze
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days, in the fridge for 1 week or in the freezer for up to 1 month. To prevent drying out you may want to wrap them individually in plastic wrap.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! Double the ingredients and make them in a 9×13″ baking dish.
Add more peanut butter and honey 1 TBS at a time until it reaches your desired consistency – but this should not happen if you follow the recipe.
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Healthy Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats:
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/3 cup honey
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups crispy brown rice cereal
Chocolate Peanut Butter Topping:
- 1 cup (4oz) bittersweet chocolate
- 1 TBS creamy peanut butter
Instructions
Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Base:
- Line an 8×8” or 9×9” square baking pan with parchment paper. Lightly grease and set aside.
- In a large, microwave-safe bowl or on the stovetop over medium-low heat, melt together the honey and peanut butter, stirring until combined. (be very careful to not overheat).
- Remove from heat and stir in the sea salt and vanilla extract until combined.
- Add the crispy rice cereal to a large clean & dry mixing bowl.
- Pour peanut butter mixture on top of the cereal and stir until completely combined.
- Pour mixture into the prepared baking pan. Use a greased spatula to spread it until the top is even and smooth.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Topping:
- To make the topping: melt the chocolate and peanut butter together in a small microwave-safe dish or on the stovetop over medium-low heat. Stirring until just combined.
Putting it together:
- Pour the topping over the peanut butter rice crispy treat base, using a spatula to spread it evenly and smoothly.
- Place treats in the refrigerator for 60 minutes (or in the freezer for a shorter chill time).
- Remove 5-10 minutes before serving to let them warm up slightly before cutting or the chocolate will crack. Serve at room temperature!
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Video
Notes
Ingredient Substitutions
- Peanut Butter. Any nut or seed butter can be used in this recipe: almond butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter, etc.
- Honey. Use maple syrup or brown rice syrup for a vegan version.
- Crispy brown rice cereal. I used and Organic Brown Rice Crispy Cereal but any crispy rice cereal would work great in this recipe, including classic Rice Krispes.
- Bittersweet Chocolate. Choose your favorite variety of chocolate that complies with your dietary needs! For a dairy-free & vegan options choose SunSpire or Enjoy Life Foods products!
Store/freeze
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days, in the fridge for 1 week or in the freezer for up to 1 month. To prevent drying out you may want to wrap them individually in plastic wrap.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More no-bake treats
- These no bake oatmeal bars are SO good!
- These no-bake chocolate peanut butter cookies get a healthy twist!
- I love these no bake chocolate oat bars so much!
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Hi! I made the peanut butter rice crisp treats tonight. Followed every instruction and they were delicious! But the bottom rice part crumbled when I lifted the first second and third ones out of the pan….
Any idea what I did wrong? Should I squish them down harder?
Tastes absolutely amazing for being healthy! It’s so easy to make and kid friendly as well. This will definitely be a staple treat In our house! 🙂
I love this recipe! I use dark chocolate chips instead of topping. I also microwave peanut butter and honey for about 30 seconds. For a change I used 5 cups of oatmeal in place of rice crispies and added some cinnamon. They our favorite!!!
These looked like a healther treat to make for a camp. I did have some sugar in them as the natural peanut butter I had has sugar. I also used dark chocolate chips for the topping. Whoops, out of rice crispy so had to use cheerioes. THEY WERE DELICIOUS!!! I used just one bowl as I microwaved everything. After putting the honey/peanut butter in the pan, I even used the same bowl for the chocolate. So easy and delicious!
Hi! Are these freezer friendly? If so how long do you recommend they will last in both refrigerator and freezer? Thank you!
I’ve made these four times in the last four weeks. My teenage children, husband, and I absolutely love them. I don’t feel guilty eating these and they’re delicious. Thank you for posting the recipe.
Thank you so much Ashley! I’m so grateful they have brought delicious joy to your entire family!
Recipe was definitely simple and delicious. I adjusted a bit to use what I had on hand, substituted agave and maple syrup (half each) for the honey and worked just fine. Also much better without marshmallows. I did have to switch over to a spatula that was more spoon shaped to prevent the krispies from flying out of the bowl (and yes I did use a big bowl.)
My only issue is that I ended up with a sink full of dishes. What’s the reason why I can’t just pour the cereal into the PB mixture? And why can’t I then melt the choc/PB in that same bowl? No flavor differences to keep separate and then clean up would be a lot faster.
PS for a totally different taste/texture try this with an oat product (Cheerios or Chow Mein noodles). My mom would do this in the 60’s and I loved it.
I use one pan for the whole thing. I mix the top 4 ingredients and then add my rice crispies. After I put it in my 8×8 I use the same pan to melt the chocolate chips and more peanut butter. I’m all about less dishes.
Thanks for this recipe!
In case you’d like to leave a note for other readers:We tried using natural peanut butter (no palm oil), and the consistency just didn’t work. They were still delicious, but the crispies did not combine well with the peanut butter and honey mixture.
(We still enjoyed ours, even if they were very crumbly!) 😁
thanks so very much for this healthy rice cereal squares recipe. they were delectable; i definitely will make again!