These sweet and salty Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats will bring out the child in everyone. Each peanut butter flavored cereal treat is loaded with creamy peanut butter and just the right ratio of marshmallows and rice crispy cereal.
In less than 10 minutes you can have an entire tray of peanut butter Rice Krispie treats to snack on.
Each cereal treat is creamy and crunchy and bursting with peanut butter flavor. If you love peanut butter as much as I do, you are definitely going to want to try this easy peanut butter rice Krispie treats recipe.
I started by making a batch of our Best Rice Krispie Treats and simply stirred in some creamy peanut butter. That's it! It's so easy.
Of course, it's important that you have just the right ratio of ingredients to make the best-tasting peanut butter rice crispy bars.
Being we already had 20 people taste test over 20 versions of the traditional marshmallow cereal treat recipe to find the perfect ratio of Rice Krispies Cereal, butter, and marshmallows, all we had to do was find the perfect amount of peanut butter to add to our recipe.
Let's make rice crispy treats with peanut butter!
You will need:
Peanut Butter
- ½ cup of peanut butter will give your cereal treats just the right amount of peanut butter flavor without making them too soft.
What peanut butter is best?
- I prefer Jif Creamy Peanut Butter but you can use the peanut butter that is in your pantry. If you like Peter Pan, Skippy, Reese's, or even a store brand, they will all work well in this recipe.
Can I use natural peanut butter to make these peanut butter treats?
- This recipe has been tested using natural peanut butter and it tastes great. Just be sure to stir your peanut butter really well before adding it to the recipe.
Can I use almond butter or cashew butter?
- Yes! Any nut butter can be swapped out for peanut butter. Just note that some types of nut butter have a drier, grittier, texture which will affect the texture of your treats.
If you love peanut butter you might also like these other peanut butter recipes:
- Peanut Butter Honey Rice Krispie Treats
- Easy microwave peanut butter fudge
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cake
- Reese's Puffs Cereal 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 a nice gooey Rice Krispie Treat but they are not 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.
- Check out our Marshmallow Conversion Chart to see how many of each brand of marshmallows are in a cup.
Butter
- We always recommend using a good quality, European-style, salted butter to make your treats. It seriously makes a huge difference in flavor! However, being the peanut butter flavor is the dominant flavor in these treats, the flavor of the butter isn't quite as important.
- Our favorite brands of butter are President European-Style Salted 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 taste good too.
- We do not recommend using the Market Pantry brand from Target though, as the cereal is just too hard and crunchy.
How to make peanut butter rice crispy treats:
Stove-top Method:
- Begin to melt 4 tablespoons of salted butter and ½ cup of creamy peanut butter in a medium saucepan set over low heat.
- Stir in the marshmallows.
- Continue to stir frequently until about 75% of the marshmallows have melted.
- Then remove from the heat and continue to stir, pressing down on the marshmallows, until they have all melted.
- Pour over 5 cups of Rice Krispies Cereal and stir until evenly coated.
- Gently press into a well-buttered 8-inch or 9-inch pan.
- Let the cereal treats cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting.
Microwave peanut butter rice crispy treats:
- Combine 4 tablespoons butter with ½ cup peanut butter and 10 ounces 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.
- Pour 5 cups of Rice Krispies Cereal into the bowl and stir until well combined.
- Spoon into a well-buttered 8-inch or 9-inch square pan and gently press into an even layer.
- Let the rice Krispie treats rest for at least 30 minutes before cutting into 16 squares.
Large batch peanut butter treats recipe:
- Use either method above with these quantities:
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
- 16 ounces marshmallows
- 7 ½ cups rice crispy cereal
- Press into a 9" X 13" pan.
NOTES:
- It's preferable to let your Rice Krispie treats cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting, but seriously you can cut into them right away if you just can't wait.
- If you use a good quality non-stick pan you can skip buttering your pan. The treats will probably slide right out.
- You can also use cooking spray, but I personally prefer the flavor of butter on the cereal treats.
- Speaking of butter, it is always good to butter your spatula or spoon too so that the gooey marshmallows don't stick.
- You'll notice in the video below that I butter my hands then press the cereal treats into the pan using my hands.
- For more tips and tricks for making cereal treats be sure to check out our Cereal Treat FAQ page.
How to store cereal treats.
- It's best to store your 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 a week or even two weeks after you make them. I've actually left rice Krispie treats in an airtight container for up to a month and they still tasted good.
- The treats will lose a little bit of their crunchiness over time but they're still pretty darn tasty!
Can they be frozen?
- Yes! Just be sure to wrap the treats really well in non-stick tin foil or wax paper before placing them in a freezer bag or airtight container.
- Then place them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treat Video
Did you make this recipe or have questions? Let me know by leaving a comment and rating the recipe below.
Peanut Butter Crispy Treat Recipe
Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons European salted butter, cut into small pieces
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- 10 ounces Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallows
- 5 cups Kellogg's Rice Krispies Cereal
Instructions
- Begin to melt the butter and peanut butter in a medium saucepan set over low heat.
- Add in the marshmallows and stir occasionally until about 75% melted.
- Remove from heat and continue to stir, pressing down on the marshmallows, until completely melted.
- Alternatively, you can melt the butter, peanut butter, and marshmallows in the microwave using bursts of high power for 1 to 1 ½ minutes.
- Pour the melted marshmallows over the cereal and stir until well coated.
- Gently press the cereal mixture into a buttered 8-inch or 9-inch pan.
- Let cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting into 16 squares.
Notes
This recipe was originally published June 7, 2019.
More Rice Crispy Squares with Peanut Butter
If you love these treats you might also like to make these other cereal treat recipes...
Check out the recipe to make Honey Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats if you want a peanut butter krispies recipe made without marshmallows.
Scotcheroos are peanut butter rice Krispie treats made with karo syrup and sugar instead of marshmallows. As an added bonus the peanut butter treats have a delicious chocolate topping.
If you prefer to use marshmallows, be sure to check out our Peanut Butter Butterscotch Rice Krispie Treat Recipe. It's amazing!
Love chocolate? Make chocolate peanut butter rice krispie treats.
Sarah says
Great sweet treat. I followed your recipe to the letter. Found mixing the cereal into the marshmallow mix was like mixing cement but a good workout!! I cut them after an hour in the fridge. I will be trying out your other flavoured krispy treats... so quick and easy to prep. Thank you for posting!
Meaghan Mountford says
That's wonderful! We're so glad it worked well! Every time I have to pysch myself up for the marshmallow/cereal mixing, but I like that I'm building upper body strength :).
Ricci Johnson says
These treats are the bomb diggity! I made them to bring to work and they were gone in less than 10 minutes. Everyone asked for the recipe and I told them to check out your site. I am excited to try more of your amazing cereal treat recipes. Thanks!!!
HowToMakeCerealTreats says
I am so excited to hear that your coworkers all asked for this Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats recipe! I do hope you give some of our other cereal treat recipes a try. They are all really great.
Caitlyn M says
can I use honey oats/cherrios instead of rice krispies?
I have a big box of those that I wanna use up
cant wait to try this recipe!!
Beth Klosterboer says
Hi Caitlyn,
You can use Cheerios instead of the Rice Krispies Cereal. I typically add an additional cup of cereal so the treats aren't too soft. You can find our Cheerios Recipe here - https://howtomakecerealtreats.com/cheerios-bars/
Enjoy your treats!
Stacy Keller says
Oh, yeah, now these are my kind of cereal treats. I can't wait to try this recipe.
Antonia Sears says
This is now my favorite way to make rice krispie treats. I don't know why I never thought to add peanut butter, but now I don't think I'll ever make them without it. Well, not until I try more of your recipes. Then I might change my mind again!
HowToMakeCerealTreats says
I'm happy that you love this recipe, but am sure you will find a lot more recipes to try too. The Reese's Cup Rice Krispie Treats has an amazing peanut butter flavor and I'm guessing you will enjoy that one too.
Brianna says
Adding peanut butter to rice krispie treats is such a great idea and your recipe really is perfect.
HowToMakeCerealTreats says
So glad you enjoyed these peanut butter cereal treats. I agree, that peanut butter makes them even better.
Kelly Cruz says
I tried this recipe using natural peanut butter and it turned out great. I actually used freshly ground Honey Roasted Peanut butter and they tasted amazing. I highly recommend trying it!
HowToMakeCerealTreats says
Ooh, that does sound good. I love the Honey Roasted Peanut Butter so I will definitely give this a try.
Ellen Stark says
Made these to bring to a bake sale and they were the very first desserts to sell out. People came back wanting more after they ate their treats. Next time I'll make several batches. They are so GOOD!!!
HowToMakeCerealTreats says
That is great to hear!! So glad the treats helped to make your bake sale a success.
Rachael S. says
I'm so excited to make these for our 4th of July picnic. They look amazing.
HowToMakeCerealTreats says
I hope everyone at your picnic loved their peanut butter cereal treats!
Paula Buchi says
I agree with everyone else, adding peanut butter to a rice krispie treat recipe is a fabulous idea. I made these for our church group and everyone wanted the recipe. I could't lie and tell them it was my recipe so I sent them all to your site.
HowToMakeCerealTreats says
We are very grateful that you shared this recipe with your church group and love knowing that the treats were a big hit.
Marli says
Totally agree with the other comments. These are amazing!
Mickey Nes says
These are the best cereal treats ever!
Willma Russel says
I'd never added peanut butter to a rice krispie treat before and have to say that I loved them! So did everyone how tried them. I'm not sure I'll make plain cereal treats again.
Miki Carrington says
I'm so full! I ate half the pan of these peanut butter rice krispie treats. YUM!!!!!!!!!!!
HowToMakeCerealTreats says
HaHa! I know how you feel. These were so hard to put down. I'm glad you enjoyed them.
Blaine Rurman says
Thanks for this great recipe. I'm making my second batch already.
HowToMakeCerealTreats says
You are welcome. I'm glad you like this recipe.
Vickie says
I am in love with these peanut butter cereal treats!!!! I have eaten way too many of them but I can't stop. Thank you for this fantastic recipe.
HowToMakeCerealTreats says
Haha! I understand. These cereal treats are hard to resist.
Nareen Wooka says
Wrap individually in plastic wrap. Crispy treats will last, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Filomena Osario says
Life can be wonderful and these treats need to be a part of everyone's life! 🙂 Kisses everyone!
HowToMakeCerealTreats says
I totally agree!
Justine Melba says
These are my new favorite cereal treats. I used Jif Creamy peanut butter and President Butter and Kellogg's Rice Krispie Cereal. So, so, yummy!
Keep up the good work!
HowToMakeCerealTreats says
Thank you, Justine! I'm happy you enjoyed this recipe.
Celina Abercrombie says
YUM!!!
Tanja Becker says
These were absolutely delish!!!
J. Redmond says
YUMMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nancy Weeks says
I was looking for a quick and easy peanut butter recipe and was so happy I found this one. These treats are so yummy! I made them for my daughter who loves everything peanut butter. She loved them! She's a picky, hard-to-please, preteen, so your recipe gave me some points with her. Thanks!
Beth Klosterboer says
I am so happy that this recipe scored you some points with your daughter! I'm glad she loved the treats.
Christine Knight says
I'll never make normal treats again. Adding peanut butter makes everything taste better. Yummy!
Tiffany says
Yummm!! I’ve always loved rice crispy treats, adding peanut butter takes them to a whole new level! I will definitely be making these more often! I couldn’t even wait til they were cooled before I tried them!
Flora Murphy says
Thank you for this recipe. My kids loved these peanut buttery treats. I did too!
Aimee Adevy says
YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! These were so delicious. My kids couldn't get enough of them and asked me to make another batch as soon as the first batch was gone.
Stacy A. says
These peanut butter rice krispie treats were delicious! I will definitely be making these again.
Stephanie Leadford says
Oh, my goodness. These peanut butter rice krispie treats are to die for! I will be making another batch this weekend and probably next weekend and the weekend after that.
Kathy Inka says
Delicious!!!!!
Tracy B. says
I couldn't agree more with all the other comments. These peanut butter treats were so delicious. They had the perfect ratio of peanut butter to cereal. I'll definitely be using this recipe again.
Janice Ball says
OMG, these were sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good! Thanks for the perfect recipe.
Karina M. says
I just made a batch of these to take to a picnic and am not sure how many will make it! I want to eat them all myself. They are delicious!
Charlotte Sams says
This recipe had the perfect ratio of all the ingredients. They were chewy and crispy and perfectly peanut buttery.
Beth Klosterboer says
I'm so happy that you found perfection in this recipe!
Julia Hormel says
YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am a peanut butter freak and these treats were freaking amazing!
Doris D. says
I am in love with these treats!!!! So, so yummy. Thanks for the great recipe.
Alice says
I was looking for something different than the regular rice krispie treats... I used the Gluten Free Krispies as my family is Celiac. Such an easy treat to make for them. Thanks.
Beth Klosterboer says
I'm so glad you and your family enjoyed the recipe using gluten-free rice crispy cereal.
Michaela B. says
OMG, these are amazing. I love peanut butter but had never added it to my rice crispy treats. I can't wait to try more of your treat flavors.
Darlene Christopher says
I never imagined a rice krispie treat could taste so good. I love the addition of the peanut butter. Yummy!
Chasity Jacob says
I am going to make these tonight for dessert
Beth Klosterboer says
Enjoy!!!
Carol Moro says
I made a batch in a 9x9 pan and they were delicious!!! Can you Please confirm the correct amount of butter for the large batch? The directions call for 6oz of butter ((which is 12 tablespoons). Should it be 6 Tablespoons instead of ounces?
Thank you!
Beth Klosterboer says
I'm glad you liked the treats. Yes, the butter should be 6 tablespoons not ounces for the larger batch. Thanks for pointing that out! I corrected the mistake.
Karen Gilbert says
Excellent basic recipe and easy to follow instructions. Thanks!
Rose says
I grew up having Rice Krispie treats made with PB. Just an fyi you can use regular unsalted butter as an alternative.
Kris says
I had a lot of compliments when I took to work!
Meaghan Mountford says
Wonderful!! Thank you so much Kris!