Learn the best way to color vibrant Green Rice Krispie Treats.

It's easy to make light green, neon green, and Kelly green marshmallow cereal treats if you follow these easy steps.

Turning our Best Rice Krispie Treats green is easy and the green marshmallow cereal treat mixture can be used to create Rice Krispie Treat Wreaths, Christmas Tree Rice Krispie Treats, Shamrock Crispy Treats, or Grinch Treats.

Or, it can be cut into squares and served as-is.

The trick to making green Rice Krispie Treats is to color the melted butter and marshmallows with food coloring. The amount of type of food coloring will determine the color of your treats.

Can you see the difference between the color of the treats pictured above and the color of the treats in the first picture in this post?

Both recipes were made using liquid green food coloring, the kind you get at the grocery store. The only difference is the amount of green food coloring used to make the treats.

Let's make green rice crispy treats.

You'll need:

butter - For the very best flavor, we recommend you use European-style salted butter. This butter has more butterfat (more flavor) than American-style butter and will make your treats taste rich and buttery.

marshmallows - We recommend you use Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallows or Campfire Stay-Puft Marshmallows.

Many store brands of marshmallows are stickier and will make sticker treats. If you use store-brand marshmallows, you may want to add an additional 1 cup of cereal to this recipe.
Check out our Marshmallow Conversion Chart if you don't have access to 16-ounce bags. You can find the number of marshmallows needed for our recipes.

green food coloring - You can use liquid or gel food coloring.

crispy rice cereal - Kellogg's Rice Krispies Cereal will give your treats a great flavor and crisp texture. It's our recommended brand of cereal but other crisp rice cereals will work as well.

step 1 - melt the butter and marshmallows

Begin melting 6 tablespoons of salted butter in a large saucepan set over LOW heat.
Then, stir in 16 ounces of marshmallows.
Allow them to melt for about 5 minutes, then stir.
Heat a few more minutes, stirring often, until 75% have melted.
Then, remove the pan from the heat and stir until the marshmallows completely melt.

TIP:

By allowing the residual heat of the melted marshmallows to melt the remaining marshmallows, you ensure your marshmallows will not get too hot.
When marshmallows are heated too much, the sugars begin to crystalize, essentially turning the marshmallows into hard candy. Over-heated marshmallows create hard Rice Krispie treats.

step 2 - color marshmallows green

As soon as your marshmallows are melted, start by stirring in a ¼ teaspoon of liquid green food coloring or a few drops of gel food coloring until well blended.
Then add more coloring until you get the desired shade of green.
Note, that once you add the cereal, the color will become muted, so make your marshmallows greener than you want your treats to look when they are finished.

How to get various shades of green?

If you look at the images above, you can see how I started by mixing ¼ teaspoon of green coloring into the marshmallow mixture to make light green marshmallow treats. Then, I added another ¼ teaspoon and the shade of green got slightly darker. When I added another ¼ teaspoon the green got more intense, but it wasn't until I added a full teaspoon that I got a nice shade of Kelly green.
If you want neon green, you can either use neon green food coloring, or you can add a few drops of yellow food coloring. Just be aware that the cereal already has a slightly yellow tone to it (see the notes about making Grinch treats below).
If you want dark green, just keep adding more food coloring until you get a deeper green color. You can add a drop or two of red food coloring if you want a forest green treat.

If you want light green rice crispy treats, only use ¼ teaspoon of coloring.

When I made my Grinch Rice Krispie Treats, I stopped after adding about ¼ teaspoon of green food coloring.

I wanted these treats to have a more yellow-green color to them, and the yellowish Rice Krispies Cereal added that yellowish hue to the treats.

step 3 - mix green marshmallows with cereal

Grease a large bowl with butter (or baking spray). This will keep the marshmallows from sticking too much!
Fill the bowl with 7 cups of Rice Krispies Cereal.
Pour the green marshmallows over the cereal.
Stir until well blended and most of the cereal looks green.
If you are making Rice Krispie Treat bars, then gently press the green marshmallow cereal treat mixture into a well-buttered 9x13-inch pan.
If you are using it to make wreaths or Christmas trees, allow it to cool for about 5 minutes until it's no longer hot to the touch, then use it to shape your treats.

What if my treats don't look green enough?

If you mix in the cereal, and treats look too dull, then you can add a few drops of coloring and mix it in. This is tricky!

It's difficult to get the color completely mixed in once the cereal is added. You may end up with some spots of dark color in your treats, but you can add coloring once the cereal has been mixed into the marshmallows.

Where to find supplies?

You can find items you need to make green Rice Krispie Treats from Amazon. I earn a small commission when you use the links below at NO extra cost to you.

Printable Recipe

If you have any trouble making your treats, be sure to check out our How To Make Cereal Treats FAQ page for commonly asked questions and troubleshooting tips.

Green Rice Krispie Treats

Beth Klosterboer

Use liquid or gel food coloring to make vibrantly colored or lightly-colored green rice krispie treats.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 24

Calories 91 kcal

Ingredients

7 cups Kellogg's Rice Krispies Cereal
6 tablespoons European-style salted butter, cut into small pieces
16 ounces Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallows
green liquid or gel food coloring

Instructions

Grease a 9 inch by 13-inch pan with butter or spray with baking spray if making green rice crispy treat squares.
Grease a large mixing bowl with butter or baking spray and pour in the cereal, then set aside.
Stove Top Instructions
Begin melting the butter in a medium-large saucepan set over low heat then stir in the marshmallows.
Continue to melt over low heat, stirring often, until about 75% of the marshmallows have melted.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir vigorously until all of the marshmallows have melted.
Then, add ¼ teaspoon (or up to 1 teaspoon) of liquid green food coloring or several drops of gel food coloring and stir until well blended.
Add more coloring until you get the desired shade of green. Use 1 full teaspoon of liquid coloring for a vibrant green cereal treat.
Pour the melted marshmallows over the Rice Krispies Cereal and toss to evenly coat.
Spread the mixture into the buttered pan and gently press into an even layer if you want squares or allow the mixture to cool for about 5 minutes before shaping into wreaths, Christmas trees, or other green treats.
Let the pan of green cereal treats cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting into 18 rectangles.
Microwave Instructions
Combine the butter and marshmallows in a large microwave-safe mixing bowl.
Heat in the microwave for 1 minute then remove and stir vigorously until melted.
If needed, heat for additional 15-second increments stirring after each until melted.
Follow the steps above to color the marshmallow cereal treat mixture.

Notes

European-style salted butter contains more butterfat than American-style butter adding richness to the treats. Salted butter balances out the sweetness.
We recommend using Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallows. They have great texture and flavor. We found store-brand marshmallows to be stickier. If you use store-brand marshmallows, we recommend adding up to one additional cup of Rice Krispies Cereal.
Do NOT overheat your marshmallows. This is key to making soft and chewy Rice Krispie Treats, not hard treats.
Also, do NOT compact the cereal treat mixture into your pan or you will end up with very dense, hard treats. Gently press the mixture into the pan.
Store your treats in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Do NOT refrigerate your treats. They will become stale-tasting if stored in the fridge.
You can freeze the treats. Wrap them well, and freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, bring them to room temperature and let them sit, unwrapped, for a few hours. Then unwrap and enjoy.

Keyword green food coloring, rice krispie treats