These Brown Butter Rice Krispies are made with just three ingredients! This recipe is a perfect nostalgic dessert the whole family will enjoy, easily made vegan with no baking required.

Are traditional Rice Krispies vegan?

No; most recipes and store-bought versions for Rice Krispie Treats are not vegan as they are typically made with sugar, water, and gelatin. Gelatin is often derived from the collagen of animals. If eating a vegan diet is important to you, there are plenty of options for plant-based marshmallow alternatives.

Ingredients Needed for Brown Butter Rice Krispies

4 TBS butter (Miyoko’s Cultured Non-Dairy Butter is my favorite)
10 ounces marshmallows
6 cups of crisp rice cereal

You can also add in 1 TBS vanilla if you’d like, but it is not necessary.

What are the best vegan marshmallows for Rice Krispies?

In this recipe I used Dandie’s Mini Marshmallows. They worked perfectly and I would recommend them. Other brands of marshmallows should work, just be sure to use 10 ounces of whatever size you have (the bag will list this information and 10 oz. is fairly common).

Dandie’s marshmallows will also work well in this recipe for S’mores Brownies.

What is the best kind of cereal to use in this recipe?

Any kind of plain crisp rice cereal will work well. I purchased mine from Trader Joe’s, but the usual Rice Krispie brand will of course work perfectly. You could certainly test this with puffed rice or kamut cereal, though keep in mind the flavor will be slightly less traditional.

How to Brown Vegan Butter

Set a pot on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Add butter to pot and stir as it begins to melt. Continue stirring so that it heats evenly.
Watch as it darkens in color. Do not recommend leave the stove, as it can burn quickly and become acrid. You will not see individual pieces of butterfat. You will know if it done when it has a nutty aroma.
Remove butter from pan once it takes on a dark golden-brown hue. Removing it from the pan ensures it will not continue to cook.

Vegan butter has a different chemical structure than dairy butter so will react a bit differently when melted and browned. Miyoko’s is my favorite brand to use, and the ingredients are as follows:

Organic Coconut Oil, Filtered Water, OrganicÂ Sunflower Oil, Organic Cashews, Organic Sunflower Lecithin, Sea Salt, Cultures.

Since coconut oil is the main ingredient, we will not see the telltale pieces of “browned” butter like in a regular butter recipe. This is fine, as the warming flavor will still be present! we also use this technique in the recipe for Brown Butter Rhubarb Crumble.

I hope you enjoy this recipe for Brown Butter Rice Krispies! For more no-bake desserts, try one of these next:

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Brown Butter Rice Krispies

Author: Emily
Total Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 12 bars 1x
Diet: Vegan

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Description

These Brown Butter Rice Krispies are made with just three ingredients! This recipe is a perfect nostalgic dessert the whole family will enjoy, easily made vegan with no baking required.

Ingredients

Scale

4 TBS butter, dairy-free as needed (like Miyoko’s)
10 oz. marshmallows, vegan as needed (like one bag of Dandies Mini Marshmallows)
1 TBS vanilla extract (optional)
6 cups crisp rice cereal
Optional Add-Ins: Rainbow sprinkles, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, pretzel pieces,

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Instructions

Begin by browning your butter in a large pot on the stovetop over medium high heat. Stir as it begins to melt, and continue stirring so that it heats evenly. Watch as it darkens in color (I do not recommend leaving the stove as it can burn quickly), continuing to stir.
After a few minutes of browning the butter, add your marshmallows, stirring to combine. Lower heat to medium. The marshmallows will begin to melt and will be fairly sticky, so be sure to mix to prevent scorching the pan. The entire process will take around 5 minutes.
Once marshmallows are fully melted, remove pot from heat and crisp rice cereal. Stir to coat so that each piece of cereal is covered. The mixture will be very tacky. It may seem like there is not enough marshmallow to cover, but just continue to stir and it will combine.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Category: Dessert