Banana Pudding Rice Krispie Treats

Enjoy the flavors you love in a classic banana pudding layered with vanilla wafers in a crispy and chewy cereal treat. These Banana Pudding Rice Krispie Treats are easy to make and are bursting with banana pudding flavor.

If you love a creamy banana pudding dessert layered with vanilla wafer cookies, you'll definitely want to give this recipe a try.

Until today, I had never added instant pudding mix to our Rice Krispie Treats recipe. I honestly wasn't sure how the treats would taste.

While experimenting with this recipe, I started by adding a whole 3.4-ounce box of instant banana pudding to our small-batch crispy treat recipe that is made in an 8-inch pan. The banana flavor was way too strong.

So, I cut it in half and the resulting flavor was much nicer. The treats still had a pronounced banana pudding flavor but it wasn't overpowering. Adding vanilla wafers to the treats gave them that classic layered dessert flavor which I loved!

Let's make some treats!

Ingredients

• Rice Krispies Cereal - We always recommend using Kellogg's Rice Krispies. We think they have the best texture and flavor.
• vanilla wafer cookies - This is a classic addition to a layered banana pudding dessert and they add another layer of flavor and texture to the treats.
• butter - We recommend using salted European-style butter (with a higher butterfat content than American-made butter). It will give your treats the very best flavor. See our taste test results for more information.
• marshmallows - We recommend using Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallows because they produce perfectly chewy treats. Some store-brand marshmallows are too sticky once melted and are difficult to blend with the cereal. If you do use them, you may need to add up to an extra cup of cereal. You can use mini or large marshmallows. See our marshmallow conversion chart for details about measuring marshmallows.
• instant banana pudding mix - I used half of a 3.4 ounces box of Jell-O pudding and thought the flavor was very nice.
• glaze - This is optional, but it looks pretty and adds another layer of flavor. You can make a simple glaze using powdered sugar, heavy whipping cream or milk, and vanilla.

See the recipe card for quantities.

Equipment

• extra-large mixing bowl - You want to use a bowl that allows you room to mix the cereal and marshmallows together.
• medium-large (3 or 4-quart) saucepan - I like using a non-stick pan so the marshmallows don't stick too badly.
• 8-inch square baking pan - If you use a non-stick pan, you'll be able to easily remove the treats from the pan. A glass pan works fine too just be sure to grease it well with butter.
• silicone spatula - If you grease a silicone spatula (or Spoonula) with butter or baking spray, the cereal treat mixture won't stick. You can also use a wooden spoon but I'd grease it too.
• small bowl - Use this to make the glaze.

Instructions

Reserve 10 vanilla wafer cookies for the top of the treats and break the remaining cookies into small pieces.

Sprinkle the pieces over the cereal in a large well-greased (buttered) mixing bowl.

Cut the butter into small pieces and place them in a medium-large saucepan set over low heat.

Allow the butter to begin to melt then pour in the marshmallows and toss to coat in the butter.

Sprinkle the banana pudding mix over the marshmallows.

Toss the marshmallows with the pudding mix.

Allow the marshmallows to begin melting. Stir every minute or so.

Remove from the heat when 75% of the marshmallows have melted.

By allowing the residual heat to melt the remaining marshmallows, your treats will be nicely chewy. When marshmallows get too hot they create hard treats.

Stir until smooth and creamy.

Pour over the cereal and cookies.

Stir the cereal, cookie pieces, and banana marshmallow mixture until well blended.

Gently spread the cereal treat mixture into a well-greased 8-inch square pan.

Immediately, break the remaining 10 cookies into small pieces and press them onto the treats.

Let the treats cool for 30 minutes. Cut into 12 rectangles or 16 squares.

To make the glaze, you'll need powdered sugar, vanilla, and heavy whipping cream or milk.

Pour the vanilla and 1 tablespoon of the cream over the powdered sugar into a small bowl.

Stir until smooth. If the glaze is too thick to drizzle, stir in more cream or milk ½ teaspoon at a time.

You want the glaze to be thin enough that it falls in ribbons but still holds its shape.

Spoon the glaze into a small zip-top bag, snip off one tip, and pipe the glaze over the cereal treats.

You can also use a spoon to drizzle the glaze onto the treats, but it looks neater if you use the bag.

The glaze will form a firm crust in about 30 minutes. You will be able to stack the treats once the glaze has firmed up.

Substitutions

Vanilla wafers are a traditional ingredient in many banana pudding desserts but you can use graham crackers or any other cookies you like.

You can swap out coconut oil for the butter using the same quantity.

Variations

Drizzle chocolate over the banana-flavored cereal treats instead of the glaze as we did for our Chocolate Chex Treats or add even more chocolate by making Chocolate Dipped Treats.

If you love the combination of peanut butter and banana, start by making our Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats recipe and add in ½ a 3.4-ounce box of banana pudding mix. Mix a tablespoon of peanut butter into the glaze to give it a nutty flavor.

Top tips

Do not overheat your marshmallows! The sugar in the marshmallows will caramelize when heated too much and this will cause your treats to be hard.

Also, do not smash the cereal into the baking pan or you will compact the treats too much which will also make hard treats.

Storage

These Banana Pudding Rice Krispie treats will taste the best the day they are made but they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

To keep them longer, you can freeze them in an airtight container or zip-top bag for up to 3 months.

Related

If you like fruit-flavored rice crispy treats, give these other recipes a try.

Recipe

Banana Pudding Rice Krispie Treats

Beth Klosterboer

Chewy Rice Krispie Treats are flavored with banana pudding mix and are topped with vanilla wafers and a sweet vanilla glaze.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Resting Time 1 hour hr

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12

Calories 218 kcal

Ingredients

  

Banana Rice Krispie Treats

• 4 ½ cups Rice Krispies Cereal
• 24 vanilla wafer cookies
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 10 ounces marshmallows
• 1.7 ounces (½ of a 3.4 ounce box) of instant banana pudding mix

Vanilla Glaze

• ⅓ cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream or milk, plus 1-2 teaspoons more if needed
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

 

Banana Pudding Rice Krispie Treats

• Grease an extra large mixing bowl and an 8-inch square non-stick baking pan with butter or baking spray.
• Pour the Rice Krispies Cereal into the mixing bowl.
• Break 14 of the Vanilla Wafer cookies into pieces and toss them into the bowl of cereal. Break the remaining 10 cookies into pieces and reserve them for later to sprinkle over the top of the treats.
• Cut the butter into small pieces and place them in a medium-large saucepan. Set the pan over LOW heat.
• Let the butter begin to melt, then pour the marshmallows into the pan. Sprinkle the banana pudding mix over top and stir to combine.
• Stir the marshmallows every few minutes until about 75% of them have melted. Then, remove the pan from the heat and continue to stir until melted. The residual heat will continue to melt the marshmallows without allowing them to get too hot. Do not overheat the marshmallows or your treats will be too hard.
• Pour the melted banana marshmallows over the cereal and vanilla wafer cookie pieces. Stir until well combined.
• Spread the banana pudding Rice Krispie treats mixture into the greased pan. Gently press it into an even layer. Do not press too hard or you will compact your treats making them too hard.
• Immediately, press the remaining cookie pieces onto the top of the treats.
• Let the treats rest for 30 minutes.

Vanilla Glaze

• Meanwhile, make the vanilla glaze by stirring together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon of heavy whipping cream or milk until smooth.
• If the glaze is too thick, add more heavy whipping cream or milk, ½ teaspoon at a time until it is thin enough to drizzle.
• Cut the treats into 12 rectangles or 16 squares. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the treats. Let the glaze firm up for about 30 minutes before serving.

Notes

MICROWAVE METHOD

You can melt the butter, marshmallows, and banana pudding mix in the microwave if you prefer. Grease a large microwave-safe mixing bowl with butter. Add the ingredients. Heat on high power for 1 minute. Remove and let the bowl rest in the warm microwave for 3 minutes. Remove, and stir vigorously until the marshmallows are melted and smooth. Only, if absolutely necessary, heat for an additional 10-15 seconds, repeating the process until melted. DO NOT OVERHEAT! 

LARGE BATCH INGREDIENTS

If you'd like to use the entire box of pudding mix,  make a batch of treats in a 9x13-inch pan using this list of ingredients.

• 8 tablespoons butter
• 20 ounces (two 10-ounce bags) marshmallows
• 9 cups Rice Krispies Cereal
• 48 vanilla wafer cookies
• 3.4 ounces (1 whole box) of instant banana pudding mix 
• ⅔ cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream or milk plus more if needed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Use the instructions above. 

STORAGE

Store these banana pudding rice crispy treats in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Or, you can place them in a zip-top bag and freeze them for up to 3 months. 

 

Keyword banana pudding, banana,, rice krispie treats