Ultimate Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats
Chewy, creamy, crunchy, rich- these chocolate peanut butter Rice Krispie treats really are the ultimate. A mixture of both traditional rice krispies + peanut butter Cap’n Crunch, studded with peanut butter chips and topped with a velvety chocolate layer and crumbled Reese’s peanut butter cups. These are THE treat of the summer.
Erica’s Thoughts
So I’m not a Rice Krispie gal. Never have been. Ya know, the sticky, overly sweet classic Rice Krispie treats in the shiny blue wrapper? Yeah, that’s gonna be a hard pass for me.
But here’s the thing. My fam is big into Rice Krispie treats. Especially each year for our annual family camping trip. And so about 10 years ago (yikes 10 years, how has it been that long!?) I set out to make an upgraded Rice Krispie treat. One that I was actually excited about indulging in. And mission accomplished, these are a whole new level of delicious.
And I honestly can’t remember who or where the idea to use Cap’n crunch came in. But I did and never looked back. It is the KEY to making these more special than traditional crispy treats. I make this easy recipe once per year for our big summer camping trip and they are devoured and loved by all—a true family favorite.
All ya need for these no-bake treats is a handful of simple ingredients and 15 minutes.
What You’ll Need for the Best Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats:
Rice Krispies: classic rice krispies or crisp rice cereal, whatever you want to call it, grab a box.
Peanut Butter Cap’n Crunch: this you’ll find at nearly any grocery store in the cereal aisle.
Marshmallows: mini or regular size, one 16oz bag!
Smooth peanut butter: for normal, day-to-day eating I love to use the all-natural, stir-it-yourself type of peanut butter, but for this recipe, the emulsified kind like Jif or Skippy works best.
Butter: you will need one stick of regular butter for this recipe. I generally use salted butter because it’s what I keep in my house, but unsalted butter will work too.
Peanut butter chips: these are found in the baking aisle next to the normal chocolate chips.
Chocolate chips: these are for melting and spreading on top. I use semi-sweet, but you could use dark or milk, whichever you prefer.
Coconut oil: just a touch of coconut oil helps the chocolate melt and spread really nicely. You could also use vegetable oil.
Reese’s peanut butter cups: snag from the candy aisle or check-out lane. You will need four full-size peanut butter cups.
How to Make Peanut Butter Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats:
Line a 13×9 inch pan or 14×10 inch pan with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray. Alternatively, you could use an 8×8 square pan x2.
Stir together the cereals and peanut butter chips. Over medium-low heat in a large pot or saucepan, melt the butter. Add the entire package of marshmallows and use a rubber spatula or whisk to stir well. Continue on low heat, whisking until marshmallows are completely melted. Add the peanut butter, stir until combined and then remove from heat.
Add the peanut butter marshmallow mixture to the cereal mixture, stirring quickly to get all of the cereal nice and coated. Dump the mixture into the prepared pan and use your hands to press it into a flat, even layer.
Add the chocolate and coconut oil to a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1-2 minutes, stirring at each 30 second interval until chocolate is completely smooth and melted. Pour the melted chocolate over the cereal treats and spread evenly across the top.
Top with crumbled reese’s peanut butter cups, gently pressing the candy into the chocolate topping. Refrigerate for an hour until completely set. Slice into bars and try not to eat 147 bites while you are packing them up.
Topping ideas for cereal bars:
Although I think this recipe is UH.mayzing just as is, it lends itself exceptionally well to variation. I haven’t tried any of the following, but here are some fun ideas that I think could be delicious!
- white chocolate chips
- sprinkles
- toffee bits
- caramel or peanut butter M&Ms
- reese’s pieces
- butterscotch chips
- dark chocolate chips
- finely chopped peanuts
- flaky sea salt
Variation ideas:
- cocoa pebbles instead of regular rice krispies
- reese’s puffs instead of peanut butter cap’n crunch
- make brown butter before adding the marshmallows
- try almond butter, cashew butter or chunky peanut butter
BUT- promise to try this recipe first and THEN go wild with the variations, mmkay!?
FAQs
Keep the bars in a sealed Ziploc bag or an airtight container.
Store at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the fridge for up to a week. You can also freeze for up to 3 months.
I make these one week in advance of our trip, seal them in an airtight container and put them in the freezer. Then I pack them in our cooler for our trip- they are seriously the perfect dessert for camping!
Absolutely! The sky is the limit, see above for ideas!
They are a delight straight from the fridge- cold and dense and chewy. However, sometimes I like them at room temperature as they are more of a softer, gooey treat. You choose!
You can. But for the best results, ultimate meltability and texture, I like and recommend an emulsified peanut butter like Jif.
Yep, mini or regular marshmallows work great.
Summer’s’ favorite treat! These chocolate peanut butter rice krispie squares are a guaranteed crowd pleaser.
If you try and like this recipe please don’t forget to leave a comment and star rating down below! If you love more lifestyle, behind the scenes and ‘eating in real life’ type of content come find me over on Instagram, @itsaflavorfullife, I love connecting with you all there!
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Ultimate Peanut Butter Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: N/A
- Total Time: 15 minutes + chilling time
- Yield: 35 rice krispie squares 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Description
The ultimate chocolate peanut butter rice krispie treats- chewy, salty, sweet, rich, crunchy- it’s just all the things and SO GOOD!
Ingredients
- 1 stick salted butter
- 1 16oz bag marshmallows
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 4 cups rice Krispie cereal
- 5 cups peanut butter Cap’n crunch cereal
- 1/2 cup peanut butter chips
- 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil (optional, for melting)
- 4 Reese’s peanut butter cups, chopped
- Flaky sea salt, for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Line a 13×9 inch pan or 14×10 inch pan with parchment paper or spray with baking spray. I like to leave a bit of overhang of parchment paper on the short sides of the pan so I can easily lift the bars out.
- Stir together the cereals and peanut butter chips.
- Over low heat in a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add the entire package of marshmallows and use a spatula to stir well. Stir until marshmallows are completely melted. Add the peanut butter, stir until well combined and remove from heat.
- Add the peanut butter mixture to the cereal mixture, stirring quickly to get all the cereal nice and coated.
- Dump the mixture into the prepared pan and use your hands to press it into a flat, even layer.
- Add the chocolate and coconut oil to a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1-2 minutes, stirring at each 30-second interval until chocolate is completely smooth and melted. Pour over the cereal treats and spread evenly across the top. Top with crumbled reese’s peanut butter cups, gently pressing the candy into the chocolate top. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt, if you’re extra like that. Refrigerate for an hour or until completely set.
- Slice into bars. Chocolate peanut butter lovers UNITE.🤘🏼
Notes
Store in a sealed Ziplog bag or airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days, in the fridge up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 treat
- Calories: 220
- Sugar: 18.8 g
- Sodium: 127.3 mg
- Fat: 11.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 28.7 g
- Protein: 3.7 g
- Cholesterol: 7.1 mg
A slice of heaven and super easy to make!
Hooray!! So good right!? So glad you liked them!
Best Rice Krispies I have ever had. Sneaky good!
Thank you so much!! I really appreciate this!
xx
Erica
Made them this weekend for a pot luck and I was told that I must bring this to our weekly summer pot lucks from now on. I subbed cocoa Krispies and Reese’s cereal-the salty/sweet with the fluffanutter vibe was perfection! The pan was GONE.
Oooo—we made these—-so yummy!!
And as the expression goes—“nobody can eat just one!”
RIGHT!?! I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
If you don’t have coconut oil can you use regular oil?
Yep! The oil is to help prevent the chocolate from seizing. Just be sure not to use butter.
Absolutely delicious!
So glad you enjoyed them Leslie!
Very easy. And they smell heavenly. Only thing I did differently was replaced the coconut oil for vegetable shortening. A little over a tablespoon. In my opinion the shortening has a better feel on the tongue than coconut oil.
Took these to a BBQ tonight and they were a hit!! You can never go wrong with PB and chocolate. DELICIOUS and EASY!!
I made these and forgot to get peanut butter chips and coconut oil for the chocolate. 🤦🏻♀️ I thought I would sub avocado oil for the coconut oil (bad move)… it ruined the chocolate. So I tried the peanut butter cereal treats without the chocolate… my whole fam said it didn’t even need it!! Soooo good!!
Made this for my 5 years old daughter so I reduced the sugar by using regular wheat oat cheerios and no added sugar natural peanut butter. I also mixed dark chocolate chip with semi sweet chocolate chip and no Reese pb cup. Came out perfect! Love this recipe.
Excellent!! Happy to know those substitutions worked, thanks for sharing!
These are amazing!!! Will definitely make again!!
Such a fun dessert. Delicious and easy to make!
These were a big hit at a barbecue. We all agreed the sea salt was a great touch. Crunchy peanut butter is all we have and we liked the little extra crunch. Thanks for the delicious recipe!
These Rice Krispies are HEAVENLY!!! Have made them for multiple family function, they disappear quick and have now become a regular request! Absolutely delicious 🤤
Yaaay, glad to hear it Stacy, thank you!
This was absolutely decadent and delicious. I can’t stop eating it
Yay! Glad you loved them Ariel, thanks for trying!
Such a yummy recipe! My son said “this is a brilliant recipe!”
The perfect chocolate peanut butter treat! Made minor modifications and took camping as a treat to share. Still had leftovers at home to share and everyone who tries them RAVES about them. “I’ve heard about your peanut butter treats”…and I have to tell them that they’re not mine and point them to your recipes. A++++++ blend of sweet and salty!!!
Why have I waited so long to make these?!?!? Amazing—huge hit in my house! The flaky salt is a must! Delicious!
Brought a double batch of these to a cookout and the plate was empty in under 5min. SO. GOOD.
I’ve made these so many times. The chocolate on top is definitely a must.