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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I made these with my kids over the weekend and it was a hit. It’s easy enough for the kids to do and definitely decadent!
I mixed in a cup of oat flakes, replacing a cup of brown rice crisps. We made them into 2 long trays and we ate a tray in a single sitting.
Ummmm…..just trying really hard not to eat it all at once. I also threw in a little rum and almond extracts, plus some cinnamon and grated ginger. Thanks for the guidelines, it was just what I was looking for. I may have eaten a serving or 3 before it made it to “chill” stage. Note: chill stage has yet to be completed. 😳😜 😉
LOL! I’m so glad you love them Julie! And waiting is the hardest part!
I doubled the recipe by using a 10 oz. bag of Ghirardelli chocolate chips, 16 oz. bottle of unfiltered honey, and a 16 oz. jar of organic creamy peanut butter. All other ingredients doubled as well. It all fit well into a 13 x 9 pan. Easy to make with just three dishes for microwaving and stirring.
Thank you so much for the notes on doubling! So glad you enjoyed them!
Hello…wondering if doubling the recipe would fit into a 9 by 13 pan…thankyou Linda
Yep! I doubled for a 9×13 pan and they were perfect!
Do you have to use brown rice krispes
Nope!!!! I’ve made them with normal rice crispy cereal and they’re perfect!
These are great! I’ve just popped my second batch into the fridge 🙂 So easy to make. You have some fab recipes on your website that I’m looking forward to making too.
I made these yesterday and so far people are liking them and want the recipe! I had a little less honey than the recipe called for so my crispy part isn’t holding together as well, so I’ll make sure to have the correct amount of honey next time (I probably had closer to a 1/4 cup instead of 1/3 cup as required). Thank you for this recipe!
Delicious. Substituted Hershey’s Sea Salt Caramel pieces and used some in the crisp mix, then melted the peanut butter and sea salt caramel pieces and drizzled on top lightly So, so good.
Another substitution suggestion: I recently discovered that quinoa puffs have a crispy texture similar to Rice Krispies. I’ve subbed them in a cheese cracker recipe and they work great – will try this next! Thanks.
Just made these and, wow, they are amazing!