Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats

Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats topped with melty chocolate peanut butter cups are an easy spin on classic homemade Rice Krispie treats! They’re sweet, chewy, and full of chocolate and peanut butter flavor.

If you love chocolate peanut butter treats like Scotcheroos, wait until you bite into one of these!

Gooey Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats 

This recipe for peanut butter Rice Krispie treats is an oldie, but a goodie! I’ve been making them this way forever and it’s such a simple hack. These homemade Krispie treats are filled with peanut butter, topped with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and a drizzle of melted peanut butter chips. It’s the best way to have your peanut butter fix AND satisfy a craving for chocolate, too. These bars are chewy, gooey, and irresistibly peanut buttery with a thick layer of chocolate as a bonus. Too good!

Why You’ll Love These Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats

• Chocolate and peanut butter. Need I say more? Ok, you’ve twisted my arm. These peanut butter Rice Krispie bars are DELICIOUS. The peanut butter cups get just the right amount of melty against the warm marshmallow filling. Swoon.
• Easy to make. Who can forget making marshmallow treats growing up? This is a fun twist on a classic Rice Krispie treats recipe, and it’s just as easy to make.
• No baking. Give your oven the day off and make these chewy Rice Krispie treats using only your stovetop or the microwave. You can even get the kiddos involved.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Below is a short run-down of the ingredients you’ll need to make these chewy peanut butter Rice Krispie treats. Don’t forget to scroll to the recipe card for the full amounts and instructions.

• Crispy Rice Cereal: Whether you buy name-brand Rice Krispies or your favorite generic version, you’ll need about 8 cups of crispy rice cereal.
• Marshmallows: I like to use mini marshmallows as they melt down quicker and smoother. Feel free to use full-sized marshmallows if that’s what you have on hand (I recommend chopping them up into smaller pieces).
• Butter 
• Peanut Butter: Stick with shelf-stable, creamy peanut butter, like the kind from Skippy or Jif. Natural peanut butter tends to separate, and the oil will keep the bars from hardening.
• Peanut Butter Cups: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, or an off-brand version. I use Reese’s, and I bought the snack-size cups, which are slightly smaller than regular-sized peanut butter cups. They lined up perfectly in the pan! Full-sized Reese’s cups will also work, you just might need to trim them to fit.
• Peanut Butter Chips: You’ll melt these down to drizzle all over the finished Rice Krispie treats. You can also use regular chocolate chips or white chocolate chips.

How to Make Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats

I usually make this recipe on the stove, but the microwave works just as well to melt down the butter, marshmallows, and peanut butter. Just make sure that you don’t overheat the marshmallows! Let’s make some peanut butter treats:

• Line a pan with peanut butter cups. Unwrap your peanut butter cups, and arrange them facing downward in a greased and lined 9×9 pan.

• Make the marshmallow mixture. Over low heat, combine marshmallows with melted butter. Once fully melted, take the marshmallow mixture off the heat and stir in the peanut butter. Finally, gently fold in the Rice Krispies cereal.

• Fill the pan. Scoop the rice krispies mixture out into the prepared pan. Press the mixture into an even layer over the peanut butter cups. Leave the peanut butter Rice Krispie treats to cool in the pan.

• Cut into squares. After 15 minutes, flip the treats out of the pan. Drizzle melted peanut butter chips all over the top of the Krispie treats. Once the drizzle has set, cut your treats into squares and dig in!

Tips for Success

Who else is suddenly craving a peanut butter cup Rice Krispie treat? While you whip up this easy no-baked dessert, keep these tips in mind:

• Use creamy peanut butter. Natural peanut butter might separate, resulting in greasy bars that won’t set.
• Don’t overcook the marshmallows. Overheating the marshmallows can cause them to burn, and your Rice Krispie treats may turn out rock hard. Resist the urge to turn up the heat to make the melting go quicker. Make sure to melt the marshmallows slowly over low heat.
• If your kitchen is quite warm, consider letting your peanut butter Rice Krispie treats set up in the fridge for a bit. Just don’t store them in the fridge – they’ll get way too hard. See below for detailed storage directions.

Common Questions

Variation Ideas

Here are some easy peanut butter Rice Krispie treat variations:

• Try chunky peanut butter. If you prefer the extra crunch of chunky peanut butter, go ahead and use it. Just make sure it’s the shelf-stable kind and not natural chunky peanut butter.
• Add more mini marshmallows. After taking the marshmallow mixture off the heat, stir in the peanut butter and cereal, along with whole mini marshmallows. They’ll make little pockets throughout the treats, and the texture will be even more ooey-gooey!
• Chocolate drizzle. Instead of melted peanut butter chips, drizzle these bars with melted chocolate, colored candy melts, or chocolate ganache.
• Use different cereal. In place of regular Rice Krispies, try Cocoa Rice Krispies. Or, make these marshmallow treats with another type of cereal, like Cocoa Puffs, Corn Flakes, or Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

How to Store

• To Store: Peanut butter Rice Krispie treats are always best on the day they’re made! But you can keep any leftovers airtight on the counter for up to 3 days. Use sheets of parchment paper between any layers. Do not store rice krispie treats in the fridge! They’ll become too hard.
• Freezer: You can keep these peanut butter Rice Krispie treats in the freezer for up to 2 months. Store the cooled Krispie treats in an airtight container with parchment between layers. Defrost your squares in the fridge before bringing them to room temperature.

More Rice Krispie Treat Recipes to Try

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