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Best M&M Rice Krispie Treats

overhead shot of rice krispie treats with M&Ms on parchment paper.

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5 from 1 review

These simple M&M Rice Krispie Treats are hands down the greatest no-bake treat around! They're fun, colorful, and best of all, only need 5 ingredients. These treats are ooey, gooey, chocolatey, and so fun for kids and parties!

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 8 tablespoons salted butter
  • 10 ounces mini marshmallows
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 6 cups Rice Krispie Cereal
  • 2/3 cup Mini M&Ms (frozen)

Instructions

  1. Place the mini M&Ms into the freezer for at least 20 minutes before starting.
  2. In a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium heat, begin to melt the butter. Continue to cook it, swirling occasionally, until the top becomes foamy and you'll audibly hear popping sounds. When the noises stop, you'll want to swirl the pan until the butter smells nutty and you start seeing brown bits form at the bottom. Continue swirling for 1-2 minutes until the butter appears a rich, amber color. 
  3. Turn the heat off and add in the vanilla, marshmallows, and salt, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until all the marshmallows are smooth and melted.
  4. Remove the pot from the heat. Then pour in the rice cereal and stir with a rubber spatula until all of the cereal is completely coated. Let the mixture sit for 3-4 minutes to cool off a bit. (no more than 4 minutes though!!)
  5. After 4 minutes, add the frozen mini M&Ms to the cereal/marshmallow mixture and gently fold them in. Transfer the mixture to a prepared 9x9 inch baking pan and LIGHLTY press the mixture into the pan with your fingers or the rubber spatula
  6. Allow the treats to cool completely to room temperature before using a sharp knife to cut them into squares. Enjoy!!

Notes

  • Use fresh ingredients: Stale cereal or marshmallows will cause your M&M Rice Krispie Treats to turn out hard and well, stale. You want to use fresh ingredients so you end up with ooey, gooey, chewy treats instead!
  • Freeze your M&Ms: In order to completely prevent the chocolate from melting in the cereal treat mixture, I like to freeze the M&Ms for at least 20 minutes before mixing them in.
  • Wait before mixing in the M&Ms: Even though the M&Ms have been frozen, I still like to wait about 10 minutes after mixing the cereal into the melted marshmallows to add the M&Ms so that the colors don't spread and the chocolate melts.
  • Don't pack them in: Another way to prevent hard, dense cereal treats is to NOT tightly pack them into your pan. Just lightly press on the tops to make an even layer and let them set.
  • Prepare your pan: For easy removal and clean up, I like to either spray my pan with non-stick cooking spray or line it with parchment paper. Both are quick, easy, and make sure your treats don't get stuck!
  • Cool completely: If you want to be able to cut the Rice Krispie Treats with M&Ms into squares, let them cool and set completely before using a sharp knife to cut them.
  • Decorate: For a little decoration, I melted some white chocolate chips and dipped the top of the treats. I also added a few mini M&M's for extra color and flair!
  • Storing: Keep leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.