Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Treats are unlike any rice krispie treats you have ever had. Instead of just a melted butter and marshmallow mixture, they’re based with a melted creamy caramel + marshmallow and studded with pieces of fluffy marshmallow throughout. They are unimaginably gooey and wonderful and the flaky sea salt on top just takes them to a whole new level. They are out of this world and will definitely be in the running for your favorite Crispy treats ever!
Ingredient Notes
- Rice Krispies Cereal – Any brand of puffed rice cereal will do here! Just be aware if you are serving a gluten free crowd: some brands of puffed rice cereal contain malt syrup or flavoring, which is not gluten free, so be sure to check the ingredients list. Kellogg’s Rice Krispies contain malt flavoring and are not gluten free. Ironically, Malt-O-Meal does not use malt syrup, despite what the name suggests! Store brands are often malt syrup free as well.
How to Make Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Treats
- You’re going to need Rice Krispies, mini marshmallows, butter, brown sugar, heavy whipping cream, and kosher or flaked sea salt.
- In a large, heat-proof bowl, toss together the Rice Krispies and 1 cup of mini marshmallows. Set aside.
- Spray an 8×8″ baking pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. If you want to make a 9×13 batch (like I am in these photos), simply double the recipe, or you can make it as is and instead of them being ultra thick, they will be shorter.
- In a large, heavy pot, you’ll essentially start by making a simple caramel by melting butter, brown sugar, cream and a little corn syrup. When the caramel is thick and syrupy, you’ll add in some salt and marshmallows.
Stir until the marshmallows are dissolved, then quickly pour over the Rice Krispies and stir quickly to coat completely. Transfer into your pan but don’t smash them down too crazy. Just gently press and then sprinkle with sea salt.
Allow to cool completely (I allow mine to cool in the freezer so I am then allowed to eat them more quickly) and then cut into squares.
Note: These are categorized, among other things, under gluten free. As always, if you need this to be gluten free, make sure the cereal you’re buying says it is gluten free on the packaging–not all puffed rice cereal is considered gluten free.
FAQs
- Can I make these ahead of time? Yes! If was making a lot of these for an event, I would prepare them a day ahead of time and keep either covered tightly in plastic wrap or individually wrapped until time to serve. At home, when they have miraculously not gotten gobbled up right after making them, I’ve had them stay delicious for several days!
Love Rice Krispie Treats? Try these!
Large Batch Rice Krispie Treats
Peanut Butter Cup Rice Krispie Treats
Toasted Coconut Lime Rice Krispie Treats
Strawberry Rice Krispie Treats
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Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Treats
- Total Time: 15
- Yield: 8×8 pan
Description
Gooey caramel rice krispie treats that will arguably be some of the best you will ever have! These are made in an 8×8 pan and are super thick. You can place the mixture in a 9×13 for thinner squares, or simply double the recipe in a 9×13 for a large, thick batch. When I make these for a crowd, I triple the recipe and use a 12×17 pan and they are extra thick!Â
Ingredients
6 cups Rice Krispies
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoon kosher salt or flaked sea salt, plus more for sprinkling on top
1 10-ounce bag of mini marshmallows, plus about 1 cup of additional mini marshmallows
Instructions
In a large, heat-proof bowl, toss together the Rice Krispies and 1 cup of mini marshmallows. Set aside.
Spray an 8×8″ baking pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
In a large, heavy pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. When it’s melted, reduce the heat to medium and add the brown sugar, whipping cream, and corn syrup and cook for about 7 minutes, stirring frequently to keep the caramel from scorching. When the caramel is thick and syrupy, add in the salt and stir to combine, then remove from heat and add the 10 ounces of marshmallows. Stir until the marshmallows are dissolved, then quickly pour over the Rice Krispies and stir quickly to coat completely. Press into the prepared baking pan and sprinkle with sea salt. Allow to cool completely (I allow mine to cool in the freezer so I am then allowed to eat them more quickly) and then cut into squares.
- Prep Time: 15
Questions & Reviews
These are soooooo good. They take Rice Krispie treats to the next level!
Could you use vegan marshmallows for this recipe?
I’ve never tried that but I suspect it would work just fine! Let me know if you have success!
Yummy!!! I love the extra salt on top!
WOAH! This recipe is amazing! It is delicious and a little dangerous as I want to eat the whole pan. Everyone I served it to loved it. I tried taking some to work to share and my husband said no lol. I did end up melting down some soft caramel candy to drizzle over the top but you are better off making some extra caramel from the recipe it’s much better. Yum Yum Yum! this will be my go-to recipe and btw this was my first time making rice krispies from scratch.
These are delicious! We made them today and everyone loved them, the flavor is so good! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Can these be frozen? I wanted to put them in a care package for my granddaughter at college.
I have frozen regular rice krispie treats before, but I haven’t tried to freeze these ones yet so I’m not sure!
Best Rice Krispies I have ever had. So good!!! Thank you. They will definitely become a staple.
These are SO GOOD!! But very buttery. If I reduced the amount of butter, would it affect how the caramel turned out? Will definitely make again!
You would have to experiment with that, I’ve never adjusted the amount of butter so I’m not sure!
I made these today for Sunday dinner dessert and all I can say is WOW! They were fabulous!! Everyone loved them!!
Thank you for another amazing recipe!!
These were donated for camp. The leaders *may* have snuck the box back to our tent for a late night snack.
Now to do math. I need to quadruple this!!! Soooo good.
I will never make another Rice Krispie recipe again!! These are sooooo good!
Kraft has a caramel vanilla flavored marshmallow out right now. I used them in the “sauce” and it was soooo good! These are the best Rice Krispy Treats ever!
Holy smokes…. Addictive.
These little gems sure do fancy up Rice Krispie Squares. So good !!
I made these tonight for some friends we were having over, everyone asked what I did to them, because they tasted so much better than regular Rice Krispie treats! Thanks for the recipe!
These are awesome! It’s the only way I make Rice Krispie Treats now. I made them for July 4th this year using the special issue red, white and blue Krispies. So cute and evil good!!!
OK, I have to say, these are absolutely delicious!!!! I made them yesterday, no changes to the recipe. They were devoured by my family, gone in no time at all. Highly recommend, so much better than plain old Rice Krispies treats. The salted caramel mixture is very gooey, and sticks to the bowl when you’re trying to transfer to your dish, but – trust me, these little guys are worth every bit of the trouble. Make them!
You are my hero. I don’t even have to make them to know that I will absolutely love them.
I’ve made these multiple times and love them!!! Last night I was making them and realized I didn’t have any cream, so after a quick Google search I substituted evaporated milk instead. They still turned out awesome, and I couldn’t tell the difference.
These have become one of my very favorite treats!! I just wanted to just everyone know that as I went to make these again today, I realized I didn’t have any cream. After a quick Google search I tried making them with evaporated milk instead, and they turned out perfectly! I can’t taste a difference between the original recipe and these (although I don’t have a side by side to compare:). So anyway, if you don’t have cream, never fear! You can probably make these anyway;) thank goodness!!