5 from 7 votes

Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Treats

Name: Salted Caramel Rice Krispies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: ½ cup salted butter ((plus additional for greasing pan)); 1 cup brown sugar (firmly packed ); 6 Tablespoons heavy cream; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; ¼ teaspoon salt; 10 oz marshmallows ((mini or regular-sized will work fine)); 7 cups crisped rice cereal; ¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips or chocolate baking bar (for drizzle, optional); additional flaky sea salt for sprinkling on top (optional)

By Sam MerrittUpdated Feb 28, 2023

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Servings: 20 squares

25 mins

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Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Treats are a sophisticated twist on the childhood classic! My version is made with an easy homemade caramel sauce and finished with a drizzle of chocolate.

Close-up shot of salted caramel rice krispie treats lightly drizzled with dark chocolate.

Gourmet Rice Krispie Treats

These salted caramel rice krispie treats are the gourmet version of your favorite childhood snack. They are thick with caramel, crunchy, chewy, and SO easy to make too. I like to top mine off with a chocolate drizzle (you know I can’t resist caramel and chocolate!), and I’ve lightly salted them too, because what’s caramel without a little salt?!

Today’s recipe starts with a quick and simple caramel sauce, but please don’t let that intimidate you. Making caramel sauce on the stove is not difficult, and unlike making caramel candy, there is no boiling and no need for a candy thermometer. It’s easy!

Why try my recipe:

Just 25 minutes to make!
Perfect for packing in lunchboxes.
Rich flavor with minimal effort.
A simple, but satisfying no-bake dessert!

What You Need

Overhead view of ingredients including rice krispies cereal, marshmallows, brown sugar, cream, and more.

Only 8 ingredients come together to make this easy dessert! Here are the important ones:

Butter. While I like to use European butter in my regular rice krispie treats, I don’t find it makes much of a difference here since we’re getting so much flavor from the caramel sauce (though you could certainly use European butter, I just like to save my money here). While I recommend using salted butter, you can substitute unsalted and just add a pinch more salt.
Marshmallows. Make sure you use mini marshmallows, as these will melt easier. Save your full sized marshmallows for s’mores or hot chocolate!
Heavy cream. Double cream or whipping cream will also work.
Chocolate. A drizzle of semisweet chocolate (either from a chopped bar, chocolate chips, or melting wafers) is a necessity for me. You can always skip it though!

SAM’S TIP: If you can’t wait for your treats to cool, you can always pop them in the refrigerator for a few minutes to help them firm up a little before cutting them. Just don’t leave them there too long — the refrigerator can dry out rice krispie treats and make them hard and stale.

This is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

How to Make Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Treats

mixing cereal into a salted caramel sauce in a white Dutch oven

Stir together the butter, brown sugar and heavy cream over medium-low heat until melted, then increase the heat to medium and whisk for 2 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in the salt and vanilla.
Add the marshmallows and stir until completely melted.
Stir in the cereal until everything is fully coated, then spread the mixture into a buttered 9×13 pan.
Drizzle with melted chocolate and let harden before cutting.

SAM’S TIP: Press your cereal mixture into your pan so your salted caramel rice krispie treats stick together once cooled, but be careful not to pack the mixture too firmly into your pan, or they will be hard and too dense.

Rows of rice krispie treats topped with a chocolate drizzle.

Frequently Asked Questions

How should these be stored?

Your treats will keep for up to 5 days in an airtight container at room temperature. Refrigerating can make them too hard, so I don’t recommend storing this way.

Why are my rice krispie treats hard?

I talk more about this in my original rice krispie treats post, but essentially this can happen for one of two reasons: too high of heat when cooking or too much pressure when pressing into the pan. Make sure you don’t crank up the heat when cooking (particularly when melting the marshmallows) and use a gentle, but firm hand to spread the cereal mixture into your pan.

Are these gluten free?

It depends on the cereal you use. While rice itself is gluten free, some puffed rice cereals use additives that contain gluten. Always make sure to check that all of the products you use are certified gluten free before serving to any gluten sensitive guests!

Three stacked salted caramel rice krispie treats.

Love these? You simply have to try my caramel popcorn or caramelitas next!

Enjoy!

Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook

5 from 7 votes

Salted Caramel Rice Krispies

Salted caramel rice krispie treats are a sophisticated twist on the childhood classic! My version is made with an easy homemade caramel sauce and finished with a drizzle of chocolate.

Prep: 15

Cook: 10

Total: 25

Servings: squares

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Equipment

Ingredients

▢ ½ cup (113 g) salted butter, (plus additional for greasing pan)
▢ 1 cup (200 g) brown sugar, firmly packed
▢ 6 Tablespoons (88 ml) heavy cream
▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
▢ 10 oz (283 g) marshmallows, (mini or regular-sized will work fine)
▢ 7 cups (205 g) crisped rice cereal
▢ ¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips or chocolate baking bar, for drizzle, optional
▢ additional flaky sea salt for sprinkling on top, optional

Instructions

Prepare a 13×9" baking pan by lightly greasing the bottom and sides with butter. Set aside.
In large pot melt together butter, brown sugar and heavy cream on medium-low heat, stirring constantly until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved.
½ cup (113 g) salted butter, 1 cup (200 g) brown sugar, 6 Tablespoons (88 ml) heavy cream
Once butter is melted, increase heat to medium and whisk for 2 minutes (do not allow to come to a boil).
Reduce heat to medium-low.
Stir in salt and vanilla extract.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt
Stir in marshmallows, stirring constantly until completely melted.
10 oz (283 g) marshmallows
Add cereal and stir well, ensuring ingredients are well combined and cereal is entirely coated by caramel mixture.
7 cups (205 g) crisped rice cereal
Spread into prepared pan.
Melt chocolate in microwave by heating at 15 second increments and stirring regularly.
¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips or chocolate baking bar
Drizzle chocolate over cereal in pan. Allow rice krispies to sit until chocolate hardens before cutting and serving.
additional flaky sea salt for sprinkling on top