Christmas Rice Krispie Treats are a quick and easy holiday treat that everybody loves. Today we are dressing our crispy treats up in their colorful Christmas best, thanks to the addition of holiday M&Ms and sprinkles. Big, thick and soft, just like the rice krispies treats you find at the bakery, your family will love when you whip up a batch of these festive treats.
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe:
- Quick and Easy – In 15 minutes you can whip up a batch!
- Classic – There’s something so irresistible about the classic taste of Rice Krispie Treats. Everyone loves them!
- Colorful – By adding holiday colored M&Ms and sprinkles, your treats get a fun and festive makeover! And this isn’t limited to Christmas, you can use any colors you like for year round fun.
- Bakery Style – These treats are extra thick, softy, chewy and gooey, just like the ones you find in the bakery.
- Kids Can Help – This recipe is so easy that it’s a great one to get the kids involved with. Just take care with the hot marshmallows.
- Food Allergy Friendly – This is a recipe that can easily be made gluten free, nut free and egg free. Just make sure to double check that each of the particular ingredients you buy does not contain (or may contain) any of the ingredients you need to avoid. Then you have an easy treat that can be enjoyed by many.
Christmas Rice Krispie Treats
There are some desserts I find almost impossible to resist – and Rice Krispies Treats is one of them. They not only taste amazing, but for many of us they also bring a bit of childhood nostalgia to our plates.
It’s so easy to dress these classic treats up for the holidays. Fun, festive and full of color, they are a perfect addition to Christmas dessert tables and treat trays. One thing I love about Rice Krispie Treats as that as long as you double check each ingredient, they can be very allergy friendly. It’s great when everyone can enjoy the same holiday treats.
How To Make Christmas Rice Krispie Treats
Let’s discuss the ingredients you’ll need, and the steps you’ll take, to make these big, delicious Christmas Rice Krispies Treats. If you want to skip my discussion, tips, information and answers to frequently asked questions, just scroll to the bottom of this post for the printable recipe.
Ingredients
- Butter – While I used unsalted butter, you can absolutely use salted as well.
- Mini marshmallows – Make sure your marshmallows are fresh and soft. This can have a tremendous impact on the end result. Mini marshmallows also melt more easily, and evenly, than larger marshmallows do.
- Half and half – While I prefer half and half, milk can also be used. Half and half just has a nice creaminess to it. You could even use whipping cream!
- Crisped rice cereal – Rice Krispies is the popular choice, but any crisped rice cereal will work.
- M&M candies – There are many great seasonal M&M candies out now. You can go with traditional red and green, or get creative using different colors and flavors.
- Christmas colored sprinkles – Sprinkles are optional, but really add to the festive look.
- Red and green sprinkle sugar – Also optional, but once again, they really dress up your regular crispy treats for the holiday season.
Directions
- Melt butter on low heat in large pot or dutch oven. Add marshmallows, stirring often, until smooth and melted. Mix in half and half and remove from heat.
- Add in cereal, candies, sprinkles, and sugar and mix until mixture comes together. Press mixture evenly into an 8×8 or 9×9 inch baking dish.
- Add more sprinkles and sugar to top if desired. Allow to cool completely, then cut into squares with sharp knife.
Tips and Advice
Thick Treats – Making this recipe in an 8×8 inch or 9×9 inch square pan gives you nice, thick Rice Krispie Treats – the kind you often see at bakeries. That said, it can also be made in a 13×9 inch size pan, the treats will just not be as thick.
Soft Treats – To make wonderfully soft treats, make sure to not over-stir your cereal and marshmallow mixture. Stir until the cereal is coated and ingredients are combined, but no more. Also, do not press your treats down into the pan. Compacting them takes away that wonderfully fluffy texture that they have.
Storing Treats – Like all rice krispy treats, Christmas Rice Krispie Treats need to be stored in an air tight container or bag. If you’ll be storing them for more than two days, I highly recommend wrapping each individual treat tightly in saran wrap. This will help keep them soft and chewy for up to a week.
Allergy Friendly Rice Krispies Treats
These cereal bars can be a great option if you want a nut free, egg free or gluten free Christmas dessert. You can even make them dairy free! While butter tastes best, I have even made them dairy free by using Earth Balance Sticks and a bit of non-dairy creamer or milk.
If you want to make your treats allergy friendly, make sure to check the labels for each and every ingredient. This is one of the best posts I’ve read which shows you how to do this. As a food allergy family, our rule is to read every label, every time. No exceptions. Some products come from different facilities, so what may be safe one time, might not be safe the next time you buy it. One variety of M&Ms might be safe, while another variety might not be, so always check every label, every time. Also take care not to cross contaminate your ingredients while making them, packaging them or serving them.
More Recipes To Make With M&Ms
While you’ve got that bag of M&M candies out, here are some more recipes you can make with them!
Christmas M&M Recipes
Rice Krisipes Recipes
I also have more recipes that use Rice Krisipes. Check them out!
- Triple Chocolate Rice Krispies Treats
- Scotcheroos
- Eggnog Rice Krispies Treats
- Cookie Dough Rice Krispies Treats
- Rice Krispies Treat S’mores
I love to hear from readers like you! If you’ve tried this, please leave a comment and review below. If you have photos, tag me @lovefromtheoven #lftorecipes on Instagram and Pinterest. Thanks!
Christmas Rice Krispie Treats
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 10 oz mini marshmallows (approximately 6 cups)
- 1 tablespoon half and half (milk can also be used)
- 6 cups crisped rice cereal
- 1 1/2 cups M&M candies
- 3 tablespoons Christmas colored sprinkles
- 1 tablespoon red and green sprinkle sugar
Instructions
- Melt butter on low heat in large pot or dutch oven. Add marshmallows, stirring often, until smooth and melted. Mix in half and half and remove from heat.
- Add in cereal, candies, sprinkles, and sugar and mix until mixture comes together. Press mixture evenly into an 8×8 or 9×9 inch baking dish.
- Add more sprinkles and sugar to top if desired. Allow to cool completely, then cut into squares with sharp knife.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
Meet Christi, Love From The Oven
I’m Christi I love sharing easy & delicious recipes that your family & friends will love. I’m a mom, baker, cookbook author and lover of sprinkles.
“10 oz mini marshmallows approximately 6 cups“ is a little confusing
I’m very excited to try these out! But I am looking for a little advice first. My daughter wants me to make them to take to school on her birthday. It’s a class of 23. I’m trying to decide if I should double it and do it in a 9×13 pan or if I should make one batch in a 9×13 and then a second batch in another 9×13?
I’d use two pans unless you want very thick krispie treats.
This turned out amazing, good recipe lol however my mom got one bag of big marshmallows so I didn’t know how much to put in so I put in the whole bag lol
Have made for bowling kids banquets twice now, requested this time. Perfect all the wsg around I freeze my candy for use in fudge and usually sprinkles. Never had melting issues. Please keep the great stuff coming, thank you
Under allergens, this article indicates that these are Gluten Free. This is not correct:
Are Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Gluten-Free? No. In the U.S., Kellogg’s Rice Krispies cereal is NOT gluten-free. It’s made with malt syrup, which is made from barley and contains gluten. Feb 23, 2022
Please research before stating gluten free.
Lyle
Looks like ingredients have changed since this was posted. Looks like at this time, the Malt O Meal Crispy Rice cereal would be a good option, though again, that can change. As a food allergy parent of over 15 years, it’s important we all, always, check every label, every time, as ingredients and manufacturing changes regularly.
To keep my&Ms from running i froze the candies first
Can you use the marshmallow fluff instead of mini marshmallows?
Personally I’ve never used marshmallow fluff in a recipe, so I can’t speak to how it performs.
Would it work to make a double batch of these or would it be better to make 2 separate batches?
You can easily double it if you have pans large enough to do so.
My rice crispy treats turned colors because of the M&Ms. How did you keep yours from doing that?
You need to give your rice krispies a minute or so to cool before mixing them in, if it’s very hot, it can cause the candy coating to run. Also if the humidity is high where you are, that can also be a factor.