Enjoy sweet and salty Cashew Butter Rice Krispie Treats topped with roasted and salted cashews. This marshmallow cereal treat recipe has the perfect ratio of ingredients to give these treats a delicious cashew flavor.

cashew butter rice krispie treats stacked next to roasted and salted cashews

If you love cashews, you will go nuts over these gooey marshmallow treats that are loaded with cashew butter and salted cashews.

To make these treats, I started by swapping out cashew butter for the peanut butter in our popular Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats recipe.

Our taste testers agreed that we have found the perfect ratio of marshmallows, butter, and cereal to make the very Best Rice Krispie Treats, and adding nut butter makes the treats rich, creamy, and delicious!

Let's make rice crispy treats with cashew butter!

Ingredients

Cashew Butter

½ cup of cashew butter will give your cereal treats just the right amount of cashew butter flavor without making the treats too soft.

What cashew butter is best?

I love making homemade cashew butter using my food processor (just pulse the cashews until they become creamy) to use in this recipe but any creamy cashew butter will work fine. My particularly favorite cashew butter is from Walmart. The Sam's Choice Creamy Cashew Butter is delicious!

No matter what type of creamy cashew butter you use, be sure to stir it well so the oil is well blended into the nuts.

Can I use almond butter or peanut butter?

Yes! Any nut butter can be swapped out for cashew butter in this recipe. Just note that some types of nut butter have a drier, grittier, texture which will affect the texture of your treats.

Marshmallows

We found in our taste testing that the best marshmallows to use are Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallows. Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallows melt easily and they produce perfectly chewy Rice Krispie Treats that aren't too sticky.
You can use other brands of marshmallows, but just know that the texture may be quite different. We found Kroger and Walmart brands of marshmallows are seriously sticky, hard to stir, and produce an overly chewy cereal treat.
I prefer to use mini marshmallows because they melt quickly but large marshmallows work fine too.
Check out our Marshmallow Conversion Chart to see how many of each brand of marshmallows are in a cup.

Do I have to use marshmallows?

No, you can use honey instead. Use our Honey Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats recipe and just use cashew butter instead of peanut butter.

Butter

We always recommend using good quality, European-style, salted butter to make your treats. It adds richness and a nice balanced flavor.
Our favorite brands of butter are President European-Style Salted Butter, Kerry Gold Butter, and Private Selection French Cream Salted Butter.
European-style butter has a higher cream content (less water) than an American brand of butter, making your cereal treats extra creamy!

Cereal

We always recommend using Kellogg's Rice Krispies Cereal because the crisp rice has just the right texture and flavor, but we also found that Kroger brand and Walmart brands are pretty good too.
We do not recommend using the Market Pantry brand from Target though, as the cereal is just too hard and crunchy.

Instructions

melting butter and cashew butter in a saucepan over low heat

Start by cutting your butter into pieces and placing them in a pan with the cashew butter. Heat over LOW heat. Do not increase the heat!!!

saucepan filled with mini marshmallows coated in cashew butter and melted butter

Once the butter begins to melt, add the marshmallows and stir until the marshmallows are well coated. Stir often, until about 75% of the marshmallows have melted.

stirring melted marshmallows, butter, and cashew butters

Once 75% of the marshmallows have melted, remove the pan from the heat and stir until smooth and creamy.

pouring melted marshmallows and cashew butter over Rice Krispies

Pour the melted marshmallow cashew butter mixture over a bowl of Rice Krispies Cereal and stir until well blended.

cashew butter rice krispie treat mixture in baking pan

Spoon the cereal treat mixture into a well-buttered 8-inch or 9-inch square baking pan.

cashew butter rice krispie treats in an 8-inch square pan

Gently press the mixture into an even layer. Do not press down too hard or your treats will be hard.

pan of cashew butter rice crispy treats topped with cashew pieces

Immediately, sprinkle roasted and salted cashew pieces over the treats. Press down on the nuts to ensure they stick.

Set the pan of treats aside for 30-60 minutes before cutting them into squares.

Can I make my treats using the microwave?

Yes, follow these instructions

Combine 4 tablespoons butter with ½ cup of cashew butter and 10 ounces of marshmallows in a large microwave-safe bowl.
Heat in the microwave on high power for one minute.
Let the bowl sit in the microwave for about a minute before removing it from the microwave.
Stir, pressing down the marshmallows, until melted. This can take a minute.
If the marshmallows are not all melted after stirring for a while, you can heat them for additional 15-second increments, stirring after each, until melted Just be sure you do not overheat your marshmallows or your treats will be hard.
Pour 5 cups of Rice Krispies Cereal into the bowl and stir until well combined.
Spread into a pan, let the treats cool, then cut them into squares.

Can I make the treats in a 9x13-inch pan?

Yes, just use either method above with these quantities:
- 6 ounces salted butter
- ¾ cup creamy cashew butter
- 16 ounces marshmallows
- 7 ½ cups rice crispy cereal
Press into a 9" X 13" pan.

TIPS:

DO NOT overheat your marshmallow mixture. When you get the marshmallows too hot the sugar begins to crystalize, turning into hard candy, which will ultimately cause your treats to be too hard.
It's preferable to let your Rice Krispie treats cool for 30-60 minutes before cutting them into squares, but if you just can't wait, you can cut them sooner. They just might not hold their shape quite as well.
It's always best to grease your pan with butter but I also recommend greasing your bowl and spatula or spoon too. You can use cooking spray, but I personally prefer the flavor of butter on the cereal treats.
For more tips and tricks for making cereal treats be sure to check out our Cereal Treat FAQ page.

Storage

It's best to store your cashew Rice Krispie treats in an airtight container at room temperature.
Your treats will taste best if eaten within a few days, but honestly, they will still taste great up to a week after you've made them.

Can they be frozen?

Yes! You can store your treats in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Place the treats in a large zip-top bag before placing them in the freezer. If you plan to keep them longer than a month, you might want to wrap them in plastic wrap, wax paper, or Glad Press 'n Seal before you place them in the bag.

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