These Vanilla Brown Butter Rice Crispy Treats have everything you love about a traditional rice crispy treat but with nutty brown butter! The combination of vanilla, brown butter, and melted marshmallow is too good and will take your crispy treats to a whole new level.

rice crispy treats cut into squares on wire rack

The Best Rice Crispy Treats Have Brown Butter

Look, I love a rice crispy treat and I also love brown butter so obviously when it came time to share my favorite rice crispy treat recipe with you it was going to include plenty of nutty brown butter.

Rice crispy treats are one of the first treats I made on my own as a kid and I’ve literally never followed the instructions on the back of the box for making them, haha. In my book they always had to have a little extra marshmallow, a little extra butter, a bit of vanilla, and a pinch of sea salt to be really good.

This recipe has all of that plus, I’ve browned the butter to give the treats the best flavor. There’s just something about nutty brown butter that really takes these over the top and they’re so good. Ditch that standard recipe you’ve been using and make these rice crispy treats the next time you’re craving something sweet!

Ingredients Overview

Butter: I like to use unsalted butter for this recipe and a bit of sea salt later. I also prefer to use high-quality, grass-fed butter for the best buttery flavor.

Marshmallows: you can use mini-marshmallows for this recipe or go with the larger variety, just make sure you use the correct amount in ounces. If needed, you can use vegan marshmallows.

Vanilla: use high-quality vanilla extract to infuse the recipe with that delicious vanilla flavor. You could also swap the vanilla extract for vanilla bean paste if you prefer!

Salt: trust me on this! a pinch of salt helps balance the sweetness of the marshmallows and enhances the overall flavor of the treats.

Rice Crispy Cereal: use your favorite plain rice crispy cereal just about any will work.

How to Make the Best Brown Butter Rice Crispy Treats

Step One: Grease or line a 9×9 baking dish with parchment paper.

Step Two: Make the browned butter. To do so, add the butter to a large pot or Dutch oven, and melt it over medium heat. Allow the butter to bubble and “cook” until it begins to change from a bright yellow color to a golden brown color. You will know it has “browned” when you see browned bits beginning to form in the bottom of the pot.

Step Three: Once the butter has browned, reduce the heat to low, and add the marshmallow, vanilla extract, and kosher salt to the pot. Use a nonstick spatula to stir the marshmallow mixture until it’s completely smooth and melted.

Step Four: Remove the pot from the heat, and stir in the rice crispy cereal until it’s completely combined and coated.

Step Five: Transfer the cereal mixture to the prepared baking dish, and gently press it into an even layer. To help make this easier, you can either spray your fingertips with nonstick oil spray or use a sheet of parchment paper to press the mixture into the pan!

Step Six: Let the vanilla rice crispy bars cool completely at room temperature. Then, slice, serve, and enjoy.

Tips and Tricks

Don’t skip lining your baking dish with parchment paper so the rice crispy treats don’t stick. This will make lifting them out to cut them much easier.
Use a non-stick spatula when stirring the cereal mixture together. Trust me it makes things much easier.
Use a sharp knife when cutting the bars to get those nice even square pieces.
Speaking of slicing, let the treats cool a bit and “set” to make cutting them into bars easier.
If you want you can add mix-ins such as peanut butter, chopped nuts, chocolate chips, candy pieces, or coconut flakes when stirring the cereal into the marshmallow mix.

How to Store

Store sliced brown butter rice crispy treats in an airtight container on the counter. I guarantee they won’t last long!

rice crispy treats cut into squares and stacked on each other

More Delicious Treats to Try

I hope you give these Vanilla Brown Butter Rice Crispy Treats a try! They’re full of rich flavor and are perfectly sweet! If you do give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo & tag @allthehealthythings on INSTAGRAM. Your reviews and ratings help support All the Healthy Things and make it possible for me to continue to create the recipes you trust and love.

Brown Butter Vanilla Rice Crispy Treats

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Author: Ashlea Carver
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 9 1x
Category: Dessert
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: American
Diet: Gluten Free

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Description

Ingredients

Scale

1/2 cup unsalted butter
10 oz jet puffed marshmallows
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
5 cups rice crispy cereal

Instructions

Grease or line a 9×9 baking pan with parchment paper.
Add the butter to a large pot or dutch oven and heat over medium heat. Allow the butter to bubble and “cook” until it begins to change from a bright yellow color to a golden brown color. You will know the butter has “browned” when you see brown bits beginning to form in the bottom of the pot.
Once the butter has browned, lower the heat to low and add the marshmallow, vanilla extract, and kosher salt to the pot. Use a nonstick spatula to stir the marshmallow mixture until completely smooth and melted.
Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the rice crispy cereal until completely combined.
Transfer the cereal mixture to the prepared making dish and press it into an even layer in the pan. To help make this easier you can either spray your fingertips with a nonstick oil spray or use a sheet of parchment paper to press the mixture into the pan.
Let the bars come to a complete cool at room temperature before slicing.