Rich, crunchy, and salty-sweet, these Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats With Caramel are a long cry from the 3-ingredient lunchbox snacks of days past. Flavored with cocoa powder and homemade marshmallow fluff, these decadent cocoa rice krispie treats are coated in chocolate before being drizzled with a dense chocolate ganache and salted caramel, then finished with flaky sea salt. Consider this mic dropped!

⭐ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Even as a professional pastry chef, I have great respect for the simple delicacy of Rice Krispie Treats. They’re soft and chewy, but have this delightful bit of crunch - sweet, but not cloying - cozy and familiar. All in all, they’re a pretty magical dessert.
Now, when you add 3 kinds of dark chocolate, a homemade salted caramel drizzle, and a generous sprinkle of flaky sea salt to the mix? Why that, my friends, takes this riff on a childhood favorite WAY over the top.
These dark chocolate rice krispie treats take the cereal bars we all know and love and combine them with another favorite: chocolate caramel turtles! They’re salty, sweet, and extra decadent. Honestly, they’re fancy enough to serve at an elegant dinner party with a spiced apple brandy chocolate old-fashioned or with a pear & fig sour. So, let’s get to it already!

🍴Ingredients
While these are not as simple to make as the OG rice krispie treats of our youth, their flavor far outweighs the extra work involved. Here’s what you’ll need to grab at the store:
Chocolate Rice Krispies Treats:
- Cocoa Krispies Cereal - Feel free to use generic store brands here if you prefer. Or swap in regular rice krispies cereal if you have it on hand.
- Unflavored Gelatin Powder - Gelatin might seem intimidating to work with, but I promise it’s quite easy. It will give your marshmallow fluff a light, bouncy, and slightly chewy texture that is simply divine.
- Vanilla Extract - Vanilla paste or powder are perfectly acceptable substitutes here.
- Sugar Syrup -This combination of water, light corn syrup, and granulated sugar needs to be heated to a particular temperature before mixing with bloomed gelatin to create magical homemade marshmallow fluff.
- Cocoa Powder - Opt for Dutch-processed cocoa powder when possible; it has a smoother, less bitter flavor than regular. You can also use cacao powder if you prefer.
Chocolate Ganache:
- Heavy Cream - Heavy cream has a milk fat of no less than 36%, which results in a super luscious mouthfeel. If needed, you can swap in whipping cream which ranges from 30-36% milk-fat, but whatever you do, don’t reach for low-fat cream. It is loaded with stabilizers and is not a good fit for this traditional French recipe.
- Glucose Syrup - Technically speaking, glucose syrup is an umbrella term that includes corn syrup. As such, you can make an easy swap here, using *light* corn syrup in place of glucose. That said, corn syrup is sweeter than glucose syrup, so you may want to adjust the amount used or use a higher percentage of dark chocolate to balance things out.
- Dark Chocolate - Since there are so few ingredients in ganache, I'd highly recommend using quality chocolate as the flavors and textures will shine through! Also, I’m something of a dark chocolate connoisseur - reach for 70% or higher from a reputable brand like Valrhona, Callebaut, Scharffen Berger, Guittard, or Ghirardelli.
- Unsalted Butter - Reach for brands that boast organic, grass-fed, and/or cultured on their label for the best flavor.
To Garnish:
- Salted Caramel - My simple homemade recipe for thickened caramel sauce calls for just heavy cream, butter, sugar, and salt, but feel free to use a store-bought alternative to cut back on prep time.
- Melted Chocolate - You can use the same type of chocolate you used to make your ganache, or switch things up! Just be sure to choose a high-quality brand that lists cocoa butter as a primary ingredient for these caramel rice krispie treats.
- Flaky Sea Salt - I love the gorgeous pyramid shape of Maldon, but any finishing salt will do!


⚒️ Equipment
You don’t need a lot of fancy equipment to make some seriously gourmet chocolate rice krispie treats, but there are a few items that will help you along the way:
- Candy Thermometer - It is imperative that your sugar syrup hits the right temperature in order to turn into marshmallow fluff. Take the guesswork out of it with a candy thermometer.
- Stand Mixer With Whisk Attachment - Making homemade marshmallow fluff requires that you beat a heck of a lot of air into your sugar syrup/gelatin mixture. Save your arms and get some mechanical help!
- Serrated Knife - After cutting into my fair share of rice krispie treats this summer, I would highly recommend using a serrated knife! Light, airy, and chewy rice krispie treats tend to get squished incredibly easily if they're not handled with care. Using a serrated knife to cut into your squares will prevent this from happening and allow for the perfect squares.
📖 Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Warm the cereal. Grease a large mixing bowl with butter and pour in the rice krispies. Place the bowl in the oven on low to warm your cereal. This will make the future mixing process much easier!
Step 2: Bloom the gelatin. Mix the gelatin with a little water and vanilla in a small bowl. Set aside.
Step 3: Make the sugar syrup. Heat the sugar, water, corn syrup, and salt in a heavy-bottomed saucepan until it begins to bubble. Continue to cook without stirring until the mixture reaches 250°F.
Step 4: Whip up the marshmallow fluff. Transfer the sugar syrup to the bowl of a stand mixer. Once slightly cooled, add the bloomed gelatin and whisk until the mixture turns opaque, thick, and glossy.


Step 5: Flavor the fluff. Add the cocoa powder and softened butter to the homemade marshmallow fluff and mix until just combined.
Step 6: Assemble and cool. Use a spatula sprayed with a bit of cooking oil to mix the warm rice krispie cereal into the marshmallow fluff. Transfer this mixture to a baking pan and press into an even layer. Let the cereal treats set and firm up before taking the next step.


Step 7: Make the ganache. Add cream & glucose to a saucepan and bring to a slight boil. Remove from heat and pour over the dark chocolate. Stir to combine, letting the warm cream start to melt the chocolate.
Step 8: Finish ganache. Add the butter into your warm chocolate mixture, and using an immersion blender, blend the ganache until the butter has fully incorporated and your mixture is smooth. Allow the chocolate ganache to cool completely before assembly.


Make-Ahead Tip: Chocolate ganache can be made up to a week in advance and kept in the fridge until ready. Simply let the ganache come to room temperature before spreading atop your gourmet rice krispie treats.
Step 9: Melt chocolate. Using a double boiler, melt the chocolate for spreading atop the finished chocolate crispy treats. As soon as it is melted, pour the chocolate on top of the cooled cereal mixture. Pop in the fridge for about 15 minutes to set the chocolate.
Step 10: Cut. Once the chocolate layer has cooled, remove the chocolate rice crispy treats from their pan. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut into rectangular bars.
Step 11: Decorate & Enjoy! Fill small piping bags with chocolate and salted caramel. Working one treat at a time, drizzle the caramel on first, then follow behind with the melted chocolate. Top with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt and dig in! More of a visual learner? Check out this short reel showing how I decorate these chocolate rice crispy treats!



⏲️ Substitutions & Variations
These Turtle-esque rice krispies treats are a dang pleasure to eat, and I happen to love the process of making them, too! However, taste and pleasure are highly subjective, so I have a few suggestions on how to make life a little easier:
- Cut back on prep time by using store-bought marshmallow fluff. Doing so will eliminate steps 2-4!
- Use store-bought caramel to make life even easier. I love my homemade salted caramel and there’s always a jar in my fridge, but grabbing a container from the store would work perfectly too.
- Use a peanut butter drizzle instead of caramel. Thin out some creamy peanut butter (not the all-natural kind, which has a tendency to separate) with a bit of light corn syrup, then pipe like you would the caramel. It will also be salty, sweet, and an excellent pairing for your chocolate rice crispy treats!
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
These are not your mama’s rice crispy treats, which means they are a bit more finicky. Here are my best tips to ensure that your chocolate caramel rice krispie treats come out perfectly every time!
- Pay attention to the specific temperatures of your sugar syrup before moving onto the next task. Make sure to use a thermometer and babysit the syrup to ensure that you are hitting the right temperatures.
- Be extra gentle when you are mixing together the cereal and marshmallow fluff. The cereal is quite delicate and can easily be crushed!
- Make sure to grease your spatula! This ensures that your marshmallow fluff and rice krispie cereal does not get stuck, preventing you from incorporating everything well.
- To make sure that the chocolate rice krispie treats hold their shape, wait to cut into them for at least an hour. I know... it's hard to wait! But you won't regret it.


💭 Recipe FAQs
Once you try a single bite, I have a feeling they won’t last long at all, I’m afraid! But, if you’re making some for a friend, I recommend you deliver them pretty quickly; they’ll start to go stale and hard after about 3-4 days. Individually wrapping them in plastic wrap or parchment paper when placing them in an airtight container will also help to stave off staleness.
Generally, the soggy/rubbery texture is due to adding too much butter. If you have used store-bought marshmallow fluff instead of homemade, be sure to omit the extra butter!
That all comes down to tempering your chocolate, which is not hard, but it is technical. Follow along with this recipe to get perfectly tempered chocolate to pour over your rice krispies treats and adding a small caramel layer.
More Rice Krispie Treat Ideas
You must use the category name, not a URL, in the category field.If you try this recipe for Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats with Caramel, please leave a 🌟 review and share your creation with me on social media! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube and Pinterest - for more delicious recipes sent straight to your inbox, sign up for my newsletter! 📧

Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats With Caramel
Equipment
- Fork
Ingredients
Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats
- 180 g (5 cups) Chocolate Rice Krispies Cereal
- 2 teaspoon Unflavored Gelatin Powder
- 2 tablespoon Cool Water, for blooming gelatin
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 60 g (¼ cup) Water, for sugar syrup
- 170 g (½ cup) Light Corn Syrup
- 200 g (1 cup) Granulated Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 55 g (¼ cup ) Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- 30 g (¼ cup ) Black Cocoa Powder, or unsweetened cocoa powder
Homemade Caramel
- 250 g (1 ¼ cup ) Granulated Sugar
- 180 g (¾ cup) Heavy Cream
- 56 g (4 Tablespoons) Unsalted Butter , room temperature
Chocolate Ganache
- 100 g (⅓ Cup + 1.5 Tbsp) Heavy Cream
- 32 g (1.5 Tablespoons) Corn Syrup
- 175 g (1 Cup) Dark Chocolate, melted
- 25 g (2 Tablespoons) Unsalted Butter , room temperature
Garnish
- 45 g (¼ cup) Dark Chocolate, melted
- Flaky Sea Salt
Instructions
Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats
- Set oven to warm, or to 150°F. After greasing a large bowl with butter, pour in the rice krispy cereal and place in the oven. The cereal will begin to warm while you start on the marshmallow fluff making it easier to mix later in this process!180 g Chocolate Rice Krispies Cereal
- In a small bowl, mix gelatin, 2 tablespoon water, and vanilla with a fork.2 teaspoon Unflavored Gelatin Powder, 2 tablespoon Cool Water, 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Combine the sugar, water, corn syrup, and salt in a pot. Turn on the stove to medium-high and heat until bubbling. Continue to cook without stirring until the mixture reaches 250°F.60 g Water, 170 g Light Corn Syrup, 200 g Granulated Sugar, ½ teaspoon Salt
- Pour the hot syrup into the bowl of your stand mixer and cool until your thermometer reads 212 degrees. Add the gelatin mixture into the sugar syrup and mix with the whisk attachment on low speed to combine. Once homogenous, increase the speed to medium-high and continue whisking until the syrup is thick and glossy. This should take 5-8 minutes.
- Grease your 8x8 pan while you wait for the marshmallow fluff to finish mixing.
- Add cocoa powder and softened butter to the marshmallow fluff and whisk to combine.55 g Unsalted Butter, 30 g Black Cocoa Powder
- Grab the warmed cereal from the oven and pour your chocolate marshmallow fluff into the bowl with the cereal. Using a spatula sprayed with oil, fold the cereal into the marshmallow fluff gently until combined.
- Transfer the mixture into your prepared pan, gently pressing to the top of the rice krispie treats. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest and ingredients to cool/firm for 1-2 hours.
Homemade Caramel
- Pour the sugar into a saucepan, and over medium-high heat, allow the sugar to slowly melt and eventually shift in color to a deep amber-brown color.250 g Granulated Sugar
- Add the cream and butter to the sugar – expect the ingredients to bubble and foam for about 30 seconds or so. Then, over low heat, continue to melt down any large bits of caramel until the mixture is completely fluid and smooth before removing from heat.180 g Heavy Cream, 56 g Unsalted Butter
- Pour caramel into a glass container and allow to cool completely before garnishing. You can always place the caramel in the fridge to help it cool more rapidly!
Chocolate Ganache
- Add cream & corn syrup to a saucepan and bring to a slight boil.100 g Heavy Cream, 32 g Corn Syrup
- Remove from heat and pour over the dark chocolate. Stir to combine as the warm cream starts to melt the chocolate.175 g Dark Chocolate
- Add the butter into your warm chocolate mixture, using an immersion blender or spatula, mixing ganache until the butter has fully incorporated and your mixture is smooth.25 g Unsalted Butter
- Allow the chocolate ganache to cool slightly before pouring it onto the top of your rice Krispie treats that have been setting in their pan. Place in the fridge to cool for about 15 minutes before continuing!
Garnish
- Cut into rectangular bars using a serrated knife. Drizzle with caramel, melted chocolate and flaky sea salt before enjoying!
Video

Notes
- Pay attention to the specific temperatures of your sugar syrup before moving onto the next task. Make sure to use a thermometer and babysit the syrup to ensure that you are hitting the right temperatures.
- Be extra gentle when you are mixing together the cereal and marshmallow fluff. The cereal is quite delicate and can easily be crushed!
- Make sure to grease your spatula! This ensures that your marshmallow fluff and rice krispie cereal does not get stuck, preventing you from incorporating everything well.
- To make sure that the chocolate rice krispie treats hold their shape, wait to cut into them for at least an hour. I know... it's hard to wait! But you won't regret it.
Comments
No Comments