4th of July Rice Krispie Treats
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These fun and sweet 4th of July Rice Krispie Treats are loaded with red, white, and blue M&Ms, sprinkles, and drizzled in candy melts making them the perfect no bake dessert for your holiday festivities.
A Fun Take on a Classic Dessert
Rice krispie treats are a classic and delicious sweet treat that have been a family favorite for years. And, what’s better than traditional rice krispie treats? 4th of July Rice Krispie Treats loaded with rice cereal, marshmallows, and patriotic m&m’s.
Easy, no-bake desserts are my favorite especially during these hot summer months and rice krispie treats are perfect for every occasion. Not only can you make them with simple ingredients but they don’t take long to prepare which is always a win in my book! Rice cereal, butter, and marshmallows together create a soft and chewy dessert that everyone will love. And, since we also love patriotic desserts, we’ve added red, white, and blue m&m’s, sprinkles and candy melts to create a festive dessert that everyone needs at their 4th of July party.
These patriotic rice krispie treats are soft, gooey, and chewy – everything you want in a delicious dessert! Looking for more easy no-bake treats? Try my recipes for Oreo Dirt Cups, Nutella Fudge and S’mores Snack Mix.
Ingredients Needed to Make Patriotic Rice Krispie Treats
- Rice Krispies cereal – can’t make rice krispie treats without crispy rice cereal.
- Butter – salted butter may be used in place of unsalted butter and salt.
- Salt – just a pinch adds a little extra flavor.
- Marshmallows – I recommend mini marshmallows because they melt easier and faster.
- Vanilla extract – adds extra flavor to the cereal bars.How to make 4th of July Rice Krispie Treats
- Red, white, and blue M&Ms – can use mini or regular sized candies.
- Sprinkles – everything tastes better with sprinkles!
- Red, white and blue candy melts – these are optional.
How to Make Red, White, and Blue Rice Krispie Treats
If you’ve made rice krispie treats before, you know how easy they are which makes this the perfect no bake dessert. First, line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper and coat with non-stick spray. Set aside.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter, salt, and marshmallows together until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and cereal until fully coated. Gently and quickly fold in a ½ cup of the M&Ms then transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish.
Use parchment paper or greased hands to gently press the mixture into the pan. Sprinkle the remaining M&Ms over the top as well as any sprinkles and gently press them in.
Allow to set for 30 minutes before removing from the pan and cutting into squares.
Melt the candy melts in separate bowls on 30-second intervals, stirring between each or until fully melted. Drizzle over the top of the rice krispie treats. This step can be done before or after the initial cooling. Make sure the candy drizzle has cooled and hardened before consuming.
Tips for Making the Best Rice Krispie Treats
- Premeasure all of your ingredients. You will need to work quickly with this recipe.
- Melt butter and marshmallows at a low heat to avoid hard rice krispy treats. When the melted marshmallows get too hot it causes the bars to be too hard and crunchy when they cool.
- Use parchment paper to line baking dish. This makes it so much easier to remove bars from pan and cut into bars.
- Grease the spatula or spoon. This will make spreading the mixture in the pan so much easier!
- When adding M&M’s to rice krispie treats, add them close to the end of mixing. This will prevent the colors from the candy coating may bleed into the cereal.
How to Keep Rice Krispie Treats Soft?
Want to make sure your rice krispie treats turn out soft and chewy and stay soft? Here are some tips:
- Don’t overcook the marshmallows when melting them with the butter. Sugar becomes harder the longer it cooks. Once the marshmallows have melted, remove from heat immediately.
- When pressing the mixture into the pan, don’t press too hard.
- After cutting them into bars, store in an airtight container or resealable bag.
How to Store Rice Krispie Treats
To keep your Rice Krispies treats fresh and crispy, store in an airtight container or large zip-lock at room temperature up to 5 days.
More Delicious Dessert Bars
- Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies
- Baked S’mores Bars
- Blueberry White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie Bars
4th of July Rice Krispie Treats
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 8 cups mini marshmallows
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 9 cups rice krispies cereal
- 3/4 cup red, white, and blue M&Ms
- sprinkles
- red, white and blue candy melts optional
Instructions
- Line a 9×13-inch baking sheet with parchment paper and coat with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan, melt the butter, salt, and marshmallows together until smooth.
- Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and cereal until fully coated.
- Gently and quickly fold in a ½ cup of the M&Ms then transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish.
- Use parchment paper or greased hands to gently press the mixture into the pan.
- Sprinkle the remaining M&Ms over the top as well as any sprinkles and gently press them in.
- Allow to set for 30 minutes before removing from the pan and cutting into squares.
- Melt the candy melts in separate bowls on 30-second intervals, stirring between each or until fully melted. Drizzle over the top of the rice krispie treats. This step can be done before or after the initial cooling. Make sure the candy drizzle has cooled and hardened before consuming.
Notes
- Pre-measure all of your ingredients. You will need to work quickly with this recipe.
- Store in an airtight container in a cool dry space for up to 2 weeks.
- If it’s really warm or humid, you can place these in the refrigerator to set.
- You want to add the M&M’s close to the end of mixing otherwise the color from the candy coating may bleed into the cereal.
- Candy melts may be skipped if desired or you could also dip the rice krispie treats in them instead of drizzling.
- Salted butter may be used in place of unsalted butter and salt.