It's super easy to color Rice Krispie Treats! These vibrant, red treats are great for holidays or themed parties.

red Rice Krispie Treats

Coloring Rice Krispie Treats to personalize desserts or for holiday designs is so easy. It's just one extra step. Red Rice Krispie Treats are great for Valentine's Day and Christmas. Or, if your team wears red jerseys, cereal treats for their wins! Even for Halloween (wrap as "raw meat").

We already have plenty of fun party treats with different colors. And, follow these instructions to make red and pink hearts for Valentine's Day. But here, we're focusing on making perfect RED cereal treats.

And if you have any questions, learn to make flawless cereal treats HERE.

How to color Rice Krispie Treats

We start with our BEST taste-tested Rice Krispie Treat recipe. After melting the marshmallows and butter, stir in red food coloring. Then, fold into the Rice Krispies, transfer to a baking pan, let set, and cut.

marshmallow mixture for red rice krispie Treats

red food coloring

Because of it's vibrancy, red food coloring can be intense. While any red food coloring works in this recipe, the brand does matter.

We recommend using gel paste food coloring instead of liquid food coloring, as it is more concentrated. You need a lot of food coloring to get a good red, and liquid food coloring can ruin the texture of your treats.

When it comes to gel paste, you may use any brand from the craft store or even the supermarket, however, note that the taste may be a bit bitter.

I highly recommend Americolor Soft Gel Paste in Red Red, (or any if their reds) available online and in some specialty stores.

Supplies and Ingredients you'll need

To make cereal treats, you'll need Rice Krispies cereal, marshmallows, and butter. That's it!

ingredients

To make a smaller batch of treats, you'll need:

4 ⅔ cups Rice Krispies
4 tablespoons salted butter (European style preferred)
10 ounces marshmallows (about 40 regular-sized OR 6 cups mini)

To make a larger batch of treats, you'll need:

7 cups Rice Krispies
6 tablespoons salted butter
16 ounces marshmallows (about 68 regular-sized OR 9 cups mini)

supplies

You'll need either and 8 or 9-inch square baking pan for a smaller batch, or a 9 x 13-inch baking pan for the larger batch.

Line your baking pan with parchment paper or non-stick foil.

As mentioned above, you'll need red food coloring.

I also recommend spraying bowls and spatulas with non-stick spray to deal with the stickiness.

Fun party ideas for Rice Krispie Treats

So what do you do with your red Rice Crispy Treats? Feel free to make any size treats, just add more red food coloring as needed. Here are some tips:

How to make sheet pan Rice Krispie Treats
How to cut out Rice Krispie Treats with cookie cutters
Find ideas in this roundup of 40 Rice Krispie Treat variations.

To decorate treats for Valentine's Day or Christmas:

Top with holiday-themed sprinkles. Press the sprinkles to adhere to the treats. Or, spread with vanilla frosting and then add sprinkles.

Red Rice Krispie Treats for Valentine's Day

And on the flip side of the year, we have Christmas!

print the recipe

red Rice Krispie Treats

Meaghan Mountford

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1

Rest for 2

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 16 treats

Calories 115 kcal

Equipment

non-stick cooking spray
8 OR 9-inch baking pan (see notes for making treats in a 9 x 13 pan)
RED food coloring (Americolor Soft Gel Paste highly recommended)
parchment or non-stick foil

Ingredients

4 ⅔ cups Rice Krispies cereal (5.1 ounces or 146 grams)
10 ounces marshmallows (about 40 regular OR 6 cups mini)
4 tablespoons salted butter European-style recommended

Instructions

Line your baking pan with foil or parchment and set aside.
TIP: Spray your bowls and spatulas with non-stick spray.
Place the cereal in a large, greased bowl.
Place the marshmallows and butter, cut in pieces, in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat for one minute and stir vigorously until melted and smooth.
If needed, microwave in 15 second increments.
Squeeze food coloring into the mixture and stir well. Add additional food coloring until desire shade is achieved.
Fold the marshmallow mixture over the cereal and blend very well.
Transfer to the baking pan and let rest until well set, at least 2 hours.
Cut into squares and decorate or enjoy.

Notes

We recommend Jet-Puffed brand marshmallows.

To make on the stove-top, melt the butter and marshmallows over low heat and stir. Remove from heat when about 75% of the marshmallows are melted. Then stir and use the residual heat to fully melt the marshmallows.

To make a 9 x 13 inch baking pan batch, use 16 ounces of marshmallows, 6 tablespoons salted butter, and 7 cups of Rice Krispies.

While any gel paste food coloring will work, we recommend Americolor Soft Gel Paste brand, as that does not have the bitter taste other colorings may have.

Keyword red Rice Krispie Treats