These vegan rice krispie treats are bursting with ooey-gooey sweet deliciousness! Made with crispy rice cereal and vegan marshmallows, they're super easy to whip up and taste just like the classic cereal treats you grew up eating!
I realized recently that it had been around thirty years since I had a Rice Krispie treat.
Thirty. Years.
That's way too long.
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The reason for this lapse is that I first went vegetarian almost thirty years ago. (Yikes! Feeling old now.) Classic Rice Krispie treats aren't even vegetarian.
So I decided it was time I whipped up some vegan rice krispie treats. I mean, I do create vegan recipes for a living after all, so I really have no excuse for waiting so long.
This recipe is adapted from the classic rice krispie treats recipe, with ingredient swaps for the non-vegan items (which turned out to be most of the ingredients), as well as a few upgrades to make them extra amazing.
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Vegan butter. This should be pretty easy to find at most supermarkets. Look for it near the regular butter. Earth Balance and Miyoko's are a couple of popular brands.
- Vegan marshmallows. Regular marshmallows aren't vegan. (Sorry!) They're made with gelatin. Fortunately, there are some vegan brands out there! I used Dandies mini marshmallows for this recipe. Trader Joe's marshmallows are also vegan.
- Vanilla extract.
- Salt.
- Vegan crispy rice cereal. Sadly, classic Kellogg's Rice Krispies cereal is also not vegan. I won't get into all of the details, but you can read all about the animal-derived ingredients and find a list of vegan crispy rice cereals in this article. I developed this recipe using Nature's Path Crispy Rice Cereal.
- Sprinkles. These are totally optional, but I couldn't resist using them to top my vegan rice krispie squares. Make sure the sprinkles you're using are vegan, as most brands aren't. I used Sweet Eva's rainbow sprinkles.
Tip: Need to keep this recipe gluten-free? That shouldn't be a problem! Dandies and Trader Joe's vegan marshmallows are both gluten-free, as are are most brands of crisp rice cereal that I'm aware of. But I always recommend checking the package label to be safe!
How They're Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Prepare. Start by lining a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with parchment paper. This will make it easier to get your treats out of there when they're ready.
Add the butter and marshmallows. Place your butter and all but 2 cups of your marshmallows into a large pot. I used a big 6 quart Dutch oven so I'd have plenty of room to mix everything up.
Melt. Place the pot over medium heat and start stirring the marshmallows and butter. The butter will melt, and then the marshmallows will slowly start to melt.
Keep stirring. Keep heating and stirring the mixture until all of the marshmallows are melted and the mixture is smooth and fluffy. You might notice some dark spots where the mixture starts to brown. These are totally fine and actually add a hint of nutty flavor to the treats!
Add everything else. Take the pot off of heat and stir in the vanilla and salt, followed by the cereal and reserved marshmallows. It might take a little elbow grease to get the ingredients evenly distributed. Keep at it!
Press. Press the mixture into your prepared baking pan. I like to lay an extra sheet of parchment paper on top and press on it to get the surface nice and even.
Add sprinkles. If you'd like to use sprinkles (or any other topping, for that matter), distribute them over the mixture now and gently press them in so that they stick.
Let them set. Your vegan rice krispie treats will take about an hour to fully set. Once they're done you can cut them into bars and enjoy. Watch out, because they're seriously addictive!
Variations
- Switch up the sprinkles. Match them to the occasion: orange and black for Halloween, red and green for Christmas, pastels for Easter. Just make sure they're vegan, since most brands aren't.
- Add a chocolate drizzle. Drizzle your bars with melted vegan chocolate chips after they've set.
- Flavor variations. Use flavored vegan marshmallows, or add some flavor extract to the marshmallow mixture before adding the cereal. Try peppermint, coconut, lemon, maple or almond. Feel free to get creative if you have other extracts on hand!
Frequently Asked Questions
Regular-size vegan marshmallows should work, but they'll take longer to melt because of their size. You can speed things up by chopping them before heating.
This can be a few things. Make sure you're not overcooking the marshmallows. Keep the heat at medium, and take the pot off the heat as soon as the mixture is smooth. Also, don't pack the mixture too hard into the pan, and measure everything carefully.
Parchment paper does most of the work here. Line the pan with it before you start. When it's time to press the mixture in, lay an extra sheet on top and press down on that instead of touching the sticky stuff directly.
Use a large, sharp knife, like a chef's knife. Wipe the blade with a bit of oil before cutting and you'll be good!
Keep them in a sealed container at room temperature for about 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. I recommend separating the layers with sheets of parchment paper so they don't stick together.
More Vegan Sweet Treats
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Rice Krispie Treats
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons vegan butter
- 2 (10 ounce/283 gram) bags vegan marshmallows, divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 (10 ounce/284 gram) package vegan crisp rice cereal (about 8 cups of cereal)
- Vegan rainbow sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
- Line the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- Place the butter in a large (6 quart or larger1) pot.
- Separate the marshmallows, setting 2 cups aside in a bowl or container and placing the rest into the pot with the butter
- Place the pot over medium heat and slowly heat the butter and marshmallows, stirring very frequently. The butter should melt and then the marshmallows should begin to melt.
- Continue heating and stirring the ingredients until the mixture is smooth and fluffy.
- Remove the pot from heat, then stir in the vanilla and salt.
- Stir in the crispy rice cereal and the reserved marshmallows.
- Press the mixture into the prepared baking pan2.
- If using sprinkles, distribute them over the mixture at this point and gently press them into the top surface so they stick.
- Let the vegan rice krispie treats set at room temperature for about 1 hour.
- Slice into 20 bars and serve.
Notes
- If you don't have a large enough pot, grab a large mixing bowl. You can heat the butter and marshmallows in a slightly smaller pot, then transfer them to the bowl before adding the remaining ingredients.
- It helps here to place a sheet of parchment paper on top of the mixture and firmly press down on the parchment paper.
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is provided as an estimate only and may vary based on ingredients, brands, portion sizes, and preparation methods.
It was hard to resist eating them straight out the pot!