These strawberry Rice Krispie treats are a little gooey with a beautiful pink color and sweet strawberry flavor. Perfect for Valentine’s Day, bridal showers & birthdays!
In preparation for Valentine’s Day, I’m always searching for new pink desserts to try. These strawberry Rice Krispie treats have a beautiful pink color and are ridiculously easy to make – so they’re perfect for baking with children or if you’re short on time. What I love most about this recipe is the strawberry flavor. We’re using freeze-dried strawberries – which are real berries. Therefore, you get a real strawberry flavor instead of the artificial flavor you’d get from using something like jello.
They’re sweet, a little gooey, a little crispy and completely addictive. The chocolate layer on top makes pairs perfectly with the strawberry flavor – but they’re equally delicious left plain.
A Note About Freeze-Dried Strawberries
Freeze-dried strawberries are, in fact, real strawberries and give these treats the best flavor instead of an artificial one. When they’re dried, all the moisture/liquid is removed. We need to use freeze-dried berries, instead of fresh or frozen berries, because we don’t want the liquid from real berries. Otherwise, the treats wouldn’t set properly.
Some freeze-dried strawberries are sliced first and then dried, whereas some are dried as whole berries. Whether your berries are in pieces or are whole, you’ll first pulse in a food processor or high-powered blender until they’re fine crumbs.
Since moving to Australia, I’ve found freeze dried strawberries at Woolworths and other supermarkets. In Canada, I typically bought them online or at health food stores. From my research, you can find them on Amazon or at Trader Joe’s in the US. Note: This is NOT a sponsored post – I just wanted to show what freeze-dried strawberries look like for anyone who’s unsure.
Making the Rice Krispie Treats
From there, the recipe is the same as any other Rice Krispie treats. You’ll slowly melt together the butter and marshmallows over low heat. Then you’ll stir in the freeze-dried berries that you’ve pulsed in a food processor. You’ll see them melt and turn the marshmallow-y goo a beautiful pink color. If some pieces of strawberry don’t fully melt, that’s totally OK.
Then you’ll stir in the cereal. The amount of Rice Krispies you use is a dependant on how gooey you want your cereal treats. I typically use 5 ½ cups. If you want them really gooey, feel free to use 5 cups. Or use 6 cups for crispier cereal treats.
For thicker Rice Krispie treats, you’ll press the mixture into a 9×9 inch pan. Or for thinner Rice Krispie treats – like the ones pictured – use a 9×13 inch pan.
Pro Tip: If you press the batter down more tightly, the bars will be harder and firmer. If you don’t press them down as firmly, they’ll be softer, and won’t keep they’re shape quite as well.
After pressing the mixture down, you’ll melt the chocolate and pour it over top of the bars. The chocolate topping is totally optional, but I find it incredibly delicious. I used 10 ounces (284 grams) of chocolate for a thick layer. 8 ounces (226 grams) will work too. If using a 9×9 inch pan, you’ll only need 6-8 ounces (170 – 226 grams) for the topping.
Variations
- Feel free to skip the chocolate topping if you’re short on time.
- Feel free to use your favorite type of chocolate on top. I used dark chocolate in the photos. Milk chocolate, white chocolate or semi-sweet are all delicious options.
- If you don’t want as much chocolate on top, melt 4 ounces (113 grams). Then drizzle the chocolate on top.
- For Valentine’s Day, use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut heart shaped Rice Krispie treats out of the pan.
For more Valentine’s Day favorites, then be sure to try:
- Strawberry Layer Cake – this tender cake is infused with berries and topped with strawberry frosting
- Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies
- Maraschino Cherry Cake
- Red Velvet Cupcakes
Strawberry Rice Krispie Treats
Equipment
- 9x13 inch (23 x 33 cm) baking pan*
Ingredients
- 1.5 ounces freeze dried strawberries (43 grams) feel free to use up to 2 ounces for a stronger flavor
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter (75 grams) salted works too
- 12 ounce bag mini marshmallows (340 grams) see recipe Notes for alternatives
- 5-6 cups crispy rice cereal
- 10 ounces dark chocolate (284 grams) or milk, semi-sweet or white chocolate
Instructions
- Lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan. Optionally, lightly grease a 9x9 inch pan (see Recipe Notes below if using a 9x9 inch pan).
- Add the freeze-dried strawberries to a food processor or high-powered blender. Pulse until they're fine crumbs.
- Add the butter to a very large saucepan. Melt over low heat.
- Add in the marshmallows and gently stir with a rubber spatula as the marshmallows melt together with the butter.
- When the marshmallows are almost melted, add in the pulsed freeze-dried strawberries. Gently stir as the freeze dried berries dissolve and melt.
- Once the marshmallows are completely melted (if you have pieces of strawberries still - that's ok), turn off the burner. Stir in the cereal 1 cup at a time. You want all the cereal covered with gooey marshmallow.
- Spoon/pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Lightly grease your hands and gently press the mixture down into the pan. The tighter you pack it down, the firmer your cereal treats will be.
- Chop the chocolate into very fine pieces and place in a heatproof bowl.
- Microwave the chopped chocolate on medium power (not high power, which is often standard) for 45-second intervals. Stir between each interval until smooth.
- Pour the chocolate over the Rice Krispie treats and spread smooth. Let the bars set at room temperature until the chocolate has hardened. Slice with a thin, sharp knife. I always let cereal treats firm up on the counter, instead of in the fridge, because in the fridge they can get too hard.
Notes
- Pan Sizes: I made this in a 9x13 inch pan. It can also be made in a 9x9 inch pan, for thicker bars. If using a 9x9 inch pan, you'll only need 6-8 ounces (170-227 grams) of chocolate for the topping.
- Marshmallows: I used 12 ounces of mini marshmallows - this is equivalent to about 7 cups of mini marshmallows. You can also use 12 ounces of regular marshmallows, which is about 50 marshmallows. If you only have a 10 ounce bag of marshmallows, then I recommend making these in a 9x9 inch pan and using 4 cups of Rice Krispie Treats (you can keep the amount of butter and strawberries the same).
- Storage: I always recommend storing cereal treats at room temperature, as I find they get too hard and crispy in the fridge. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- Nutrition: Details provided are an estimate only and based on 1 cereal treat with chocolate on top, assuming the pan is sliced into 15 equal-sized pieces.
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