Chocolate Chex Treats

Crispy, chewy, and chocolate Chex treats are an easy no-bake dessert that will curb your chocolate cravings. Each gooey marshmallow cereal bar is made using Chocolate Chex Cereal and a drizzle of melted chocolate and Nutella.

When I spotted a box of Chocolate Chex Cereal in the cereal aisle, I couldn't wait to create a new marshmallow cereal treat recipe.

The Peanut Butter Chex Bars that I made recently were one of the best cereal treats ever so I figured, this recipe would be great too. I would definitely encourage your to try these cereal treats. They have a wonderful balance of flavors.

The Chex Cereal has equal parts plain Rice Chex and cocoa-dusted Rice Chex squares. The cereal tastes great right out of the box but tastes even better when blended with melted butter and marshmallows and topped with melted chocolate and Nutella.

Let's make some treats!

Ingredients

• Chocolate Chex Cereal - You can find this gluten-free cereal made with whole grain rice, cocoa, and molasses at your local grocery store.
• 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.
• chocolate chips - Use semi-sweet chocolate chips that you enjoy eating right out of the bag. I love the flavor of Hershey's Special Dark.
• Nutella - The creamy hazelnut chocolate spread will be blended with melted chocolate chips to create a soft and creamy chocolate drizzle for these treats that will firm up slightly but won't be hard.

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 or 9-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 saucepan - Use this to melt the chocolate and Nutella.

Instructions

Grease a large mixing bowl with butter and pour in 7 cups (about a 12-ounce box) of Chocolate Chex Cereal. Set aside.

Set a medium-large (3 or 4-quart) saucepan over low heat. Add the butter and allow it to begin to melt.

Add the marshmallows to the pan.

Toss the marshmallows with butter.

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

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

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.

Pour over the Chocolate Chex Cereal.

Stir until well combined.

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

Combine semi-sweet chocolate chips with Nutella in a small saucepan. Heat over low heat.

Stir constantly until 75% of the chocolate has melted, then remove from the heat (1-2 minutes).

Stir the chocolate and Nutella until creamy and smooth.

Pour the melted chocolate into a small zip-top bag. Snip off a tip of the bag.

Drizzle the melted chocolate over the pan of Chocolate Chex bars.

Set the pan of treats aside for 2 hours, then pop them in the freezer for about 10 minutes just until the chocolate firms up.

Remove the pan from the freezer and then remove the treats from the pan. Cut them into 16 squares.

The chocolate will be firm enough to hold its shape but will be soft enough to cut through.

Substitutions

Instead of using Chocolate Chex Cereal, you can use plain Rice Chex and add 2 teaspoons of cocoa powder to the recipe.

Swap out peanut butter for the Nutella to give your treats a slight peanut butter flavor.

To make these treats vegan and gluten-free, use coconut oil or plant-based butter and vegan marshmallows. The Chex Cereal is already gluten-free.

Variations

If you really love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter, use our Peanut Butter Chex Bars recipe which adds peanut butter to the melted marshmallows and butter.

Add crushed peppermints to give these treats a chocolate mint flavor. See our Peppermint Rice Krispie Treats recipe.

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 crush the Chex cereal squares.

Storage

These Chocolate Chex Cereal 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 7 days.

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

Related

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Recipe

Chocolate Chex Treats

Beth Klosterboer

Use Chocolate Chex Cereal to make crispy and chewy marshmallow cereal treats. Then, add a drizzle of melted chocolate and Nutella to make them even more chocolatey.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Resting Time 2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 16

Calories 183 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 7 cups Chocolate Chex Cereal (about 12 ounces)
• 4 tablespoons salted butter
• 10 ounces marshmallows
• ⅓ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (2 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon Nutella Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

Instructions

 

• Grease an extra-large mixing bowl and an 8-inch or 9-inch square non-stick baking pan with butter or baking spray.
• Pour the Chocolate Chex Cereal into the mixing bowl and set aside.
• Cut the salted butter into small pieces and place in a medium-large saucepan.
• Set the pan over LOW heat.
• Allow the butter to begin melting.
• Pour the marshmallows into the pan and toss with the melted butter.
• Let the marshmallows melt, stirring often until 75% have melted. This will take about 6-8 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the heat and stir until the marshmallows are smooth and creamy.
• Pour the melted butter and marshmallows over the Chocolate Chex Cereal and stir until the cereal is coated in marshmallows.
• Gently press the cereal treat mixture into the greased baking pan. Spread into an even layer.
• Combine the chocolate chips and Nutella in a small saucepan.
• Set the pan over low heat.
• Stir constantly for 1-2 minutes until about 75% of the chocolate has melted. Then remove the pan from the heat and stir until completely melted.
• Pour the melted chocolate into a small zip-top bag or disposable pastry bag and pipe the chocolate over the pan of cereal treats.
• Set the cereal treats aside for 2 hours, then pop them into the freezer for about 10 minutes until the chocolate firms up.
• Remove the treats from the pan and cut them into 16 squares.

Notes

Storage

Store your Chocolate Chex Bars in an airtight container for up to 7 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen treats in the container for several hours before opening to keep condensation from forming on the chocolate drizzle. 

Tips

Melt the marshmallows and butter on LOW heat and remove them from the heat when about 75% of the marshmallows have melted. This will keep the marshmallows from getting too hot which causes your treats to be too hard. 

Keyword cereal bars, cereal treats, Chex cereal, chocolate, rice krispie treats