Healthier Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats

Melissa King Recipes, Snack Bars

Who doesn’t have memories of making and eating rice crispy treats as a kid?  Let’s take a look at the ingredients in the store bought version taken off their website.  I couldn’t find the peanut butter ingredients, but here is everything in the original flavor:

TOASTED RICE CEREAL (RICE, SUGAR, SALT, MALT FLAVORING, NIACINAMIDE, REDUCED IRON, RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], FOLIC ACID), MARSHMALLOW (CORN SYRUP, SUGAR, GELATIN, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR), FRUCTOSE, MARGARINE (VEGETABLE OIL [SOYBEAN AND PALM OIL WITH TBHQ FOR FRESHNESS], WATER, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL BUTTER FLAVOR [CONTAINS MILK], DATEM, ACETYLATED MONOGLYCERIDES, BHT FOR FRESHNESS, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, VITAMIN D), CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, CONTAINS TWO PERCENT OR LESS OF DEXTROSE, GLYCERIN, SALT, NIACINAMIDE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), SOY LECITHIN.

Wow!  That’s a lot of ingredients!  Plus a lot of things I try to avoid.  My recipe contains just 4 ingredients.

Rice Krispy Treats Watermark

I wanted to create a healthier version for my kids.  It took me 3 tries to get it right, but the end product is really good with no added sugar.

Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats

Healthier Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats

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Prep Time 10 min Cook Time 10 min

Ingredients

  • 4 cups rice cereal (I used Barbara's Brown Rice Crisps)
  • 3/4 cup peanut butter
  • 12 medjool dates (pits removed)
  • 3 T coconut oil (measure after melting)
  • water

Instructions

  1. In a food processor , mix the dates with enough water so a syrup starts to form. 
  2. The syrup should be thicker, almost like a caramel.  I used about 1/4 cup water. 
  3. Once the dates are in a syrup, transfer them to a saucepan with the peanut butter and coconut oil. 
  4. Stir on medium heat just enough to soften the peanut butter and combine all the ingredients. 
  5. Once that is done, add them to a bowl with the cereal and mix until everything is well combined.
  6. Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper, leaving enough paper to stick out the sides. 
  7. Pack the mixture down tight and stick it in the fridge to set. 
  8. Once it’s set, pull the bars out using the parchment paper and cut into squares with a pizza cutter .

by

Recipe Notes

My bars were thick. If you want a thinner bar, use a slightly bigger pan. I got 9 squares out of my batch. They should last a couple weeks in the fridge. Enjoy!

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39 thoughts to “Healthier Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats”

    3. u can use almond butter peanut butter tastes too much like peanut... or u can use UNROASTED, RAW peanut butter.. or u can use sunflower butter.. u can make those at home by just soaking then grinding the seeds in the food processed until u have butter-like consistency.. i also dont use coconut oil cause its expensive
      Reply
  2. Why the coconut oil? It is 90% saturated fat (and obviously 10% poly/mono) I would love to try some of your recipes, but no way will I feed my family so much oil! Not my idea of healthy. And you have so many great ideas! I just never end up making them because of the oil issue!
    Reply
    1. Saturated fat isn't that bad if you use it in moderation. Also, here is an article explaining why coconut oil is healthy. http://www.naturalnews.com/040903_coconut_oil_healthy_fats_oils.html Ever since I quit processed foods, I have lost weight even though I am using coconut oil as a fat source. However, if you choose to not use it, you can replace it with applesauce in most recipes.
      Reply
      1. I appreciate your point of view, and I am complete agreement that processed food is utter crap and no one should eat it, but that link has no credible information in it. There is so much hype about coconut oil, and it simply isn't warranted. Please have a look at this info: http://www.jeffnovick.com/RD/Articles/Entries/2008/4/10_Marketing_Junk_Food__Dont_Go_Cuckoo_Over_Coconut_Oil.html Also, this video is about 1.5 hours long, but I really urge you to watch it when time permits. It was very eye opening to me, and has changed how my family and I think about fats. I only wish to share information that I feel is well researched and we all can benefit from! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcKwBzKJQSw Thanks again for all your creative recipes! I usually do use applesauce to replace oil in baked goods with excellent results.
        Reply
        1. Saturated fats in general (from natural sources such as coconut, meat, eggs, and full-fat dairy) are good for you. It's the polyunsaturated fats like soybean oil, canola oil, etc. that are highly inflammatory and very bad for you.
          Reply
  4. Oh man, I'm going to make these tonight! Just out of curiosity, what brand of dates do you use? I haven't had much luck with what's available in the grocery stores around here. Also, I love your blog! You've got some amazing stuff on here, and I thank you for sharing :)
    Reply
    1. Thanks Kara! I get medjool dates. You can find them at most stores. Even Sams and Costco have them. I often get mine out of the bulk bins at Whole Foods.
      Reply
    1. I tried several times without and had a hard time getting them to stay together. You could use another nut butter if you want.
      Reply
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  7. I just made these with one of my daughters and we loved the taste and the ingredients!!!! However, the brown rice crisps were not crispy at all, in fact, they are quite soggy. Is this how they are supposed to be? I suppose it could be that I covered them too early after putting them inthe pan or it could be because of the brand (natures path). We did like the recipe though and will make it again regardless, but would appreciate your feedback on this. Thanks!
    Reply
    1. Glad you liked the taste! How much water did you add? The date paste should have been a caramel like consistency. I guess I should explain that better in the post. Also, covering them too early could have caused it? I'm sorry that happened, but happy you liked the flavor. :)
      Reply
      1. I might have put in a little too much water (I didn't measure it). Thanks for your input! I figured they were supposed to be more crisp like, but i wasnt sure. I will just try again soon with less water and not covering it. Thanks!
        Reply
  8. Hi Melissa I've just made these and my crispys were soggy, I read the comments above. Should I have let the mixture cool before adding the crisps?
    Reply
    1. I'm sorry they turned out that way. :( My saucepan mixture never really got too warm, so I added it right away. I'm honestly not sure why they aren't turning out. I may need to make this again and write more detailed instructions. How much water did you add?
      Reply
      1. Hi that's ok.. Didn't really measure it, about a quarter of a cup, used about 12 normal dates, the mixture was a gloopy consistency so maybe I added too much water
        Reply
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  10. Hi Melissa! Sorry I an always asking you so many questions. I do not have coconut oil. I do have canola oil. Could I use that or is there something else that I could use? Thanks for your help!
    Reply
  13. Hi Melissa! I am going to make these with almond butter and want to omit the oil. Would you suggest applesauce or more almond butter? If so, how much? Do you think it will not turn out without the oil? I'm on Weight Watchers and trying to make it with less points. :) Thank you so much for all your help!
    Reply
  14. Hi Melissa! I'm going to make these with almond butter. If I didn't want to use oil would you suggest using more almond butter or applesauce? How much more would I use? I'm on Weight Watchers and I'm trying to make it so it's less points but I do not want to alter it if there is concern it will not turn out. Thank you so much!
    Reply
    1. Normally I would say omitting the oil and using applesauce would be fine, but the oil really helps bind these and I am not sure it would work without. :(
      Reply
  16. Have you tried to make your own rice krispies? Maybe with leftover brown rice baked to a crisp? I was wondering if that would work? Thanks for your awesome recipes. My husband loves rice crispy treats, so I will have to try this soon and surprise him in his lunch one day. :)
    Reply

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