Pumpkin Rice Krispie treats are a festive, fun snack for Halloween or Thanksgiving. Let your kids help make these easy pumpkin treats!
I love all of the festive and delicious desserts that can be made around this time of the year. Aside from the classics like pumpkin pie, there are Halloween cake pops and caramel popcorn!
This snack is a super fun twist on the classic Rice Krispie Treats recipe. The only additional ingredients you'll need are for decorating them to look like pumpkins.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Easy and quick: This is one of the easiest no bake Halloween desserts to make. It only takes 15 minutes!
- Inexpensive ingredients. Cereal and marshmallows don't cost much, making this pumpkin treat a delicious and budget-friendly option.
- Cute party food. Need a treat for a Halloween party, or a fun Thanksgiving place setting idea? Your guests will love these pumpkin shaped treats.
Want to make some pumpkin flavored treats? Everyone loves pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting and glazed pumpkin bundt cake!
Ingredient Notes
See ingredient substitutions in the next section. ⬇️
To make this recipe, you'll need:
- crispy rice cereal: Rice Krispies is my go-to, but any brand of crispy cereal is fine!
- marshmallows: mini marshmallows work best because they melt down faster.
- butter: I prefer salted butter, but unsalted works too.
- orange food coloring - Either gel or liquid coloring will work. However, the liquid is cheaper, easier to find, and incorporates well into melted marshmallows.
- green decorating frosting - You can usually find tubes of this in the baking aisle. If not, Amazon sells it. Or, mix up your own with white frosting and food gel coloring.
- thin pretzel sticks
Substitutions and Recipe Variations
- Rice Krispies cereal: Really, any type of crispy cereal should work. Some people like to make marshmallow treats with Fruity Pebbles, or you can break up Chex cereal into smaller pieces.
- butter: Dairy free butter alternatives will work, as will ghee and margarine.
- marshmallows: Marshmallow fluff is a great alternative to marshmallows. According to the brand website, 4 cups of marshmallows is equivalent to a 7-ounce container of marshmallow fluff. Following that conversion, simply use one and a half containers of fluff for this recipe.
To use full size marshmallows, cut them into smaller pieces so they melt without clumping.
How to Make Pumpkin Rice Krispie Treats
Summary only. The complete recipe instructions are in the card at the bottom of this post ⬇️
- Melt the marshmallows and butter.
- Stir the food coloring into the melted marshmallow mixture.
- Stir in the Rice Krispies
- Shape and decorate the pumpkin Rice Krispies treats.
Liz's Tips for the Best Cereal Treats
- Use medium-low heat when melting the marshmallows and butter. It takes a little longer, but if the heat is too high, they can burn.
- Mix the orange food coloring into the melted butter/marshmallow mixture. It's important to do this before adding the cereal.
- Butter your hands before shaping the pumpkins. Rubbing butter on the palms of your hands will help prevent the cereal mixture from sticking to you.
- Use parchment paper to prevent the pumpkins from sticking to the sheet pan.
- Chill your treats in the fridge to help them set up.
Fun Pumpkin Treat Variations
Jack-O-Lanterns: Use black decorating gel to make eyes and a mouth.
Make different shapes. Not all pumpkins look the same! Make tall ones, fat ones, or slanted ones. The options are endless. You can also use different colors and shapes for other holidays, like these Rice Krispie Easter Eggs!
Use other ingredients. Let your imagination take control! Instead of pretzels, use mini Tootsie Rolls or Rolo candies for the stem of the pumpkins. For the leaves, you could use strips of sour apple gummy candy. Drizzle some powdered sugar glaze over the Rice Krispie pumpkins for a little extra shine.
Chocolate pumpkin Rice Krispie treats
I love the combination of chocolate and pumpkin! For a festive Halloween treat, use chocolate Rice Krispies and add ½ teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice to the marshmallow/butter mixture.
Then, form the mixture into pumpkin shapes, just like you would otherwise.
Storing and Freezing
Keep your pumpkin Rice Krispie treats at room temperature, in an airtight container. They usually stay fresh for 2-3 days. I don't recommend refrigerating them; they get kind of clumpy and lose their chewiness.
To help maintain the chewy consistency of the treats, place a slice of bread in the container with them.
Pumpkin Rice Krispie Treats Recipe FAQ
There are a couple of reasons why cereal treats become hard. Measuring the ingredients accurately is always important, because using too much cereal can result in hard treats. Another possible reason is from melting the marshmallows over high heat, which causes the sugars to burn and harden. Lastly, be sure your ingredients are fresh, because stale marshmallows don't melt well.
Rice Krispie Treats can become soggy if exposed to excessive moisture. To prevent sogginess, ensure your marshmallow mixture is properly cooked and allow the treats to cool and set in a dry environment.
Adding too much butter can make them greasy and overly soft.
Pumpkin Rice Krispie Treats
Ingredients
- 5 cups rice krispies cereal
- 10 oz mini marshmallows
- 8 tablespoons butter salted or unsalted
- orange food coloring
- green decorative frosting
- 6 dipping pretzel sticks
Instructions
- In a large saucepan combine the marshmallows and butter and stir over medium heat until the ingredients have melted, stirring consistently.
- Add a 4-5 drops of orange food coloring (or more depending on the desired color) to the pot and stir until it has been fully incorporated.
- Add in your rice Krispies while continuing to stir the marshmallows and butter. Continue to stir until the rice Krispies are completely coated.
- Allow the rice Krispies to cool slightly and spray your hands with nonstick cooking spray. Split the mixture into 6 equal sections and roll each one into a sphere and place them on a sheet pan.
- Place one pretzel in the middle of each sphere to give the appearance of a stem and use the decorative frosting to create a vine on each sphere.
- Allow to cool completely, serve, and enjoy!
Helpful Notes and Tips From Liz
- Use medium-low heat to melt the marshmallows and butter. If the burner is set too high, they can easily burn.
- Stir the orange food coloring into the melted butter/marshmallow mixture before adding the cereal.
- Buttering your hands helps prevent the Rice Krispies mixture from sticking to you.
Nichole
Easy, delicious & a big hit both times I made them.
Kathy Sabatine
I just found your site and after checking it out, it is great. It is evident that you seem to have covered so many areas that could possibly raise questions. The pictures are your wonderful icing on the top of tasty and quick desserts.