With just five ingredients and LOTS of marshmallows, these Extra-Marshmallow Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispies Bars are the perfect treat to feed a crowd. Each gooey-chewy batch makes up to 48 bars and there’s no baking required, making these an ideal potluck dessert!
An Easy Dessert for a Crowd
If you’re like me, the first thing that comes to mind when you receive an invitation to a gathering is, “What should I bring?”
For those of you on dessert-duty, I have just the answer for you!
This recipe for Extra-Marshmallow Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispies Bars is a big one, with 48 good-sized servings. It’s perfect for a larger group and travels well. Plus, the bars have a fudge-like texture that everyone finds completely irresistible!
To make things even better, these rice krispies bars are nice and simple, with only 5 ingredients and no baking!
But promise not to freak out when you see how many marshmallows I stuffed into these bars. I’m kinda crazy for marshmallows! :)
When planning this recipe, I knew that I wanted to use a 12 x 17 inch pan, larger than the go-to 9 x 13 size. Because sometimes we just want to make the menu as easy as possible when planning for a larger crowd. I cut this pan of marshmallowy treats into 2-inch square pieces, which guarantees an ample-sized sweet for at least 48 people.
If I could use just one word to describe these bars, I would say “fudgy”. When you melt butter, marshmallows, chocolate chips, and peanut butter, it leaves you with some kind of truly magical texture, not to mention flavor. Add to that crispy rice cereal and another round of marshmallows for those extra-marshmallow pops of goodness, and hold on tight! These are some downright awesome bars!
These can easily be made a day in advance. They travel really well, and they also disappear really fast. If you take these to a gathering, I can pretty much guarantee you won’t be taking any leftovers back home with you!
What You’ll Need
Can you believe there’s only 5 ingredients in these Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispies Bars?! You probably have all the ingredients in the pantry already…except I bet you’ll need more marshmallows!
- Butter – I use unsalted butter, but use salted if you like.
- Semisweet chocolate chips – I use semisweet chocolate chips in most of my baking. It pleases both the milk chocolate and the dark chocolate lovers!
- Mini marshmallows – Brace yourself for the marshmallows in this recipe! I love ’em!!
- Creamy peanut butter – Any brand works, but I stay away from natural peanut butters for this recipe.
- Rice Krispies cereal – The base of these rice krispies bars!
How to Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispies Bars
These chocolate peanut butter rice krispies treats are super easy to make! Just be sure to allow time for them to cool and set before serving.
- Prepare the pan. Lightly spray your pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
- Melt ingredients together. In a large pot over medium heat, combine all of the ingredients except for the cereal. (Reserve 10 ounces of marshmallows too.) Stir with a wooden spoon and scrape the bottom of the pot to make sure the mixture isn’t scorching. Remove from heat when almost completely combined and stir vigorously.
- Fold in remaining ingredients. Quickly fold in the cereal until mixed throughout. Then sprinkle in the remaining marshmallows. Stir.
- Transfer to pan and let cool. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and press into an even layer. Let cool and then cut into squares.
Tips for Success
While these homemade rice krispies treats are simple, there are a few important things to keep in mind. The most important thing is to prepare everything quickly and avoid burning your dessert.
- Use high-quality chocolate chips. Since chocolate is one of the star ingredients, be sure to use good quality chocolate chips. These are my favorite chocolate chips!
- Stir constantly. When melting the ingredients, be sure to stir almost continuously, and frequently scrape the bottom. The marshmallow mixture can burn if left unattended or if the heat is too high.
- Add the ingredients quickly. Once you remove the chocolate and marshmallow mixture from heat, stir in the cereal immediately. If given time to cool, it will become more and more difficult to stir it in properly.
- Use the butter wrappers to press the mixture into the pan. When you unwrap the butter, reserve the paper wrappers for pressing the final mixture into the pan. The wrappers provide a great nonstick means for pressing in that super sticky mixture.
- Make in advance. Since these rice krispies bars need time to cool and set, they are great for preparing in advance. They can be made several hours in advance, or even the night before!
Serving Suggestions
Since I typically make these chocolate peanut butter bars for potlucks or super casual gatherings, I usually just serve them straight from the pan. If you want to be a little fancier, you can transfer the slices to a nice serving platter. They just disappear so quickly around my family that I don’t even bother with a fancy presentation. These make a great grab-and-go treat!
How to Store Leftovers
Though I will be amazed if you have any leftovers at all, they will last really well for up to 3 days.
You can store these on the counter or in the fridge. As long as the house is cool and they are not in direct sunlight, I prefer to leave them out on the counter, for the chewiest, fudgiest treats. If you do refrigerate them, give them a few minutes to come to room temperature and return to their fudgy texture.
Like this recipe? Save it to Pinterest!
Extra-Marshmallow Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispies Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 24 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips – here’s my favorite!
- 50 ounces mini marshmallows divided
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter not natural peanut butter
- 12 cups Rice Krispies cereal
Instructions
- Lightly spray a 12" x 17" pan with nonstick spray and set aside. Unwrap the butter and reserve the paper wrappers for pressing the final mixture into the pan. The wrappers provide a great nonstick means for pressing in that super sticky mixture. Measure out the cereal into a large bowl and set aside.
- In a very large pot (I use a large soup pot) over medium heat, melt butter, chocolate chips, 40 ounces (four 10-ounce bags) of the marshmallows, and peanut butter. Stir almost continuously with a sturdy wooden spoon, scraping the bottom of the pot to make sure the mixture isn’t scorching. The mixture will be very thick. When just about completely combined, remove pot from heat and stir vigorously to finish combining.
- Now you want to move quickly in these last steps because as this thick mixture cools, it gets harder to fold. Have your cereal and remaining marshmallows ready to go! That wooden spoon is going to give you a good workout! Quickly fold in the cereal until completely mixed throughout. Then sprinkle the remaining 10 ounces of marshmallows over the top and quickly fold them in. Aim to keep the marshmallows intact, so there are extra-marshmallow bites scattered throughout the bars.
- Transfer mixture to prepared pan and use the buttery side of the reserved butter wrappers to press the mixture evenly into the pan. Let cool completely and then cut into squares.
Notes
Nutrition Information:
More Rice Krispies Recipes:
- Extra-Marshmallow Rice Krispies Bars with Confetti
- Oreo Fluffernutter Rice Krispies Treats
- Rocky Road Rice Krispies Bars
This post was originally published in 2016, and then updated in 2021. You can also find my recipe over at The Pioneer Woman!
Found out one thing for certain; the store brand cereal just does not work when making Krispie Treats
make now
Loving aaaalllll of this! We make rice krispie treats frequently in our house too!
Meg made these as soon as she saw the recipe!!! You make our kitchen sparkle!!!
I love it!! But who did the stirring? That takes some work!! :)
The chocolate PB combo in these makes them out of this world!
Um, do you deliver? Because I need these ASAP!
I want a little of EVERYTHING EXTRA in my life – especially mallows!!
Oh, my. These gooey bars wouldn’t last long at my house! Perfect for the holiday weekend!!!
Chocolate, Peanut butter and Marshmallows… umm YES please!
Yesss! I need to put this on my next pot luck take-along!
Making my mouth water! :) LOVE it!!