Rice Krispie Treats were totally a part of my childhood. When my son Jackson couldn’t tolerate some of the ingredients in the traditional recipe, I created a version of healthy rice krispie treats that he and his friends could enjoy. This has become the best rice krispie treat recipe, in my opinion, and I can’t wait to share it with you.
This healthy rice krispie treats recipe is an all-around winner with my kids, their friends AND me! I eat these for dessert, snack time… anytime, really. The best part is they are packed with protein, as well as healthy fats, to offset the natural sugars. This recipe is from my new best-selling book, Simple Green Meals.
Table of Contents
Why this rice crispy treat recipe is a true winner
If your kids are begging for a snack the second they walk in the door, then make a quick batch of these so that everyone wins! Why do I love these rice krispie treats so much?
- NO CORN SYRUP: Brown Rice Syrup is a better choice than corn syrup, which is often found in Rice Crispy Treats recipes. Corn syrup is a common food sensitivity— and one that my son has. So I want to avoid it as much as I can and still let them eat fun foods. (You can also swap with Maple Butter as your sweetener of choice and they hold together pretty well.)
- PROTEIN PUNCH: Almond butter makes this healthy rice krispie recipe creamy as well as packs in some protein and healthy fats. This will help curb your appetite, as well as boost your energy levels. No empty calories in this treat!
- NO BAKING! Yep, no baking necessary with rice crispy treat recipes! I think this is one of the reasons they’re so popular! Just warm ingredients on the stovetop, mix together and allow to sit. #easypeasy
Rice Krispie treats recipe swaps
It can be hard to find brown rice syrup, so feel free to swap for raw honey (that’s SUPER thick— this is important to get it to hold together). You can also use Parker’s Maple Butter, which has become my new obsession! Swap out almond butter for any other nut butter you wish. Don’t be afraid to change up the flavoring too. Cinnamon is great, yet can be swapped out for other fun seasonings like vanilla, maple, and more! What are your fav + fun adds to rice krispie treats?
Healthy + simple snack recipes for everyone
Snacking is my jam, and I make better food choices when I’ve got some healthy options on hand. I like to make a few snack recipes for the week, then change it up based on my mood each day. Here are some of my fav snack recipes (that my kids love too!):
Sweet treat recipes
- Homemade granola bars
- Healthy breakfast bars
- Vegan protein bars
- Almond butter + jam muffins
- Vegan ‘yogurt’ parfaits
- Smoothie popsicles
- Chocolate covered banana bites
- Fruit leather
Savory treat recipes
When my kitchen is stocked with healthy snacks, I eat better all day long. With a little prep, you too can change your snacking habits, and still love what you eat! I can’t wait for you to try this rice krispie treat recipe! Please leave a comment letting me know how they turned out!
Get my Best-Selling Recipe Book
Want even more plant based recipes for all seasons? check out Simple Green Meals; it’s loaded with delicious recipes that the whole family will love. Healthy eating doesn’t have to be boring or bland! I love the recipes in this book + my family eats from this cookbook on the regular. I’d love for you to fall in love with it too!
Healthy-ish Rice Krispie Treats
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown rice syrup
- 2 tbsp coconut oil plus more for greasing the pan
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 cup almond butter creamy
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 7 cups crisp brown rice cereal
Instructions
- Line a 13 × 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the rice syrup, oil, vanilla, and salt. Bring to a rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from the heat. Stir in the almond butter and cinnamon.
- Place the cereal in a large mixing bowl. Pour the almond butter mixture over the cereal and stir until well coated. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan.
- Using oiled hands, press the mixture evenly into the pan. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.
Video
Notes
- Nut free: replace almond butter with sunflower butter
- Can mix in mini chocolate chips or sprinkles for fun.
Had these last night at our super bowl party, with peanut butter subbed in. So good, gooey, and perfectly ‘rice krispie’ like. I was so impressed!
It’s a fav at our house too. Rawk on Erin!
I made this recipe but I could not get the squares to stick together as in the photo. Still delicious but not squares.
Hmm… So sorry that happened Jennifer! A full cup each of the brown rice syrup and almond butter should have done the trick. Next time, try adding a bit more of each to really hold things together. 🙂
Hello!
I can’t wait to try these! I thought I would use puffed quinoa in place of the rice krispies, I live in Switzerland and Rice Krispies aren’t readily available to me. Do you see any wrong with this substitution?
I love that idea Charly! I’m sure they’ll turn out nice with this substitution!
This recipe was assigned to me when I got to be a tester for the cookbook. They are soooo good, with much more depth of flavor than the “regular” recipe. I didn’t tell anyone about the ingredient changes and got lots of rave reviews!
That’s awesome, Kate! 🙂
Ever since I moved to New England, I’ve become crazy for pure maple products. Can’t wait to make these using maple butter, I bet they will taste amazing. 🙂
They will!
I tried these with the maple cream… I thought I had died and gone to heaven! My husband is a rice Krispy treat fiend and I didn’t think I’d be able to convince him about a no-marshmallow version, but he and my kids all loved these. We gobbled up half the pan before they even cooled. Try this recipe, you won’t be disappointed!
Oh my gosh, Chris, that sounds amazing! I’m def going to make these using maple cream.
Excited to make the rice crispy treats for my kids lunches. Always looking for things that will hold up well in the lunch sack and the kids will actually eat!
My kids really enjoy these ones (and I do too). You can get the Brown Rice Syrup on Amazon… and some natural food stores. Lundberg is the brand I use and it holds them together well.
I’d like to make green rice krispy treats for a St. Patty’s party. Where would I add the green food coloring?
Hey Jennifer,
That sounds so fun! If you are wanting to add some natural green food coloring to this recipe you can totally try spirulina or spinach powder. We have not used this with this recipe before so you will have to mess around with it to see how much to add.
Hope that helps!
I made these with my 6 year old son who loves RKTs and he loved them. They are really delicious, he felt bad that his dad couldn’t eat them because of almond allergy. Can we substitute with peanut butter?
That is awesome Yolanda!!!
I am so happy to hear that your son loved this recipe! We actually like to stay away from peanuts so we would suggest using sunflower seed butter as a replacement.
Let us know how it tastes!!
Rice crispy treats were always my favorite treat growing up! I absolutely LOVE this recipe and think it taste even better than the original 🙂
I agree, Amanda!
Can’t wait to try this new recipe with my kids! I’m loving all the kid friendly treats that I can also share with my cub scouts! Keep them coming!
Glad you are enjoying them! We love to encourage our kids to eat a healthy lifestyle and know that it can be delicious at the same time 🙂
RKT’s are one of my all time favorite snacks and i’ve always loved making them. Now I can try a twisted up version which has also inspired me to attempt making my own almond butter. Here is to hoping I can slowly coax my 14 year old son into eating let alone eating healthy along side his mama.
Hey Debbie,
I think these are 14 year old approved! Hope you and your son enjoy these!!
I can’t eat rice, but I bet my kids will love these! They are always looking for new snacks, so these will be a hit I’m sure!
I am so sorry you can’t eat rice 🙁
I know your kids will love this recipe though! In my opinion it tastes better than the original =P