This post may contain references to products from one or more of our advertisers. Oh Sweet Basil may receive compensation when you click on links to such products.
Brown butter dulce de leche Rice Krispie treats start as a classic Rice Krispie treat and get taken way over the top. The nutty richness of brown butter, the creamy sweetness of dulce de leche, and that signature crispy crunch come together in one seriously addictive dessert.
I’ll go ahead and say it…this might just be the best Rice Krispie treat of your life.
Scroll down to our **new video** to watch how to brown the butter and layer the dulce de leche for the ultimate Rice Krispie treats.
Table of Contents
- How This Recipe Came to Be
- Ingredients for Stuffed Rice Krispie Treats
- How to Brown Butter
- Can I Use Regular Butter Instead?
- Why You’ll Love These Homemade Rice Krispie Treats
- Storing Rice Krispie Treats
- More Rice Krispie Treat Recipes to Try:
- Watch How This Recipe is Made…
- Brown Butter Dulce de Leche Rice Krispie Treats Recipe
How This Recipe Came to Be
Kerri here! This recipe came to life after a trip to a dessert bar shop here in Utah, where one bite of their brown butter Rice Krispie treat had me hooked. I knew instantly that nutty, toasty flavor was the secret, and my brain immediately went to, What if we added dulce de leche? Because around here, if dulce de leche is an option, we’re absolutely using it.
After a little experimenting, these Rice Krispie treats became layered with gooey dulce de leche and built on Carrian’s classic RKT base recipe. She tested them, photographed them, and confirmed what I already knew—they’re next-level good. She even tried a cinnamon sugar Rice Krispies version and now swears by it (which I clearly need to try ASAP).
These dulce de leche Rice Krispie treats have been a hit everywhere I’ve taken them. Every single time, someone asks for the recipe—and now I can just send a link instead of trying to explain how to recreate all that gooey goodness. Trust me, once you try them, you’ll understand the obsession.
Ingredients for Stuffed Rice Krispie Treats
You only need 6 ingredients and about 10 minutes to have these brown butter Rice Krispie treats ready to go! Here is what you will need…
- Butter: Butter is browned to add rich, nutty flavor and depth that takes these Rice Krispie treats far beyond the classic version.
- Vanilla Extract: A splash of vanilla enhances the sweetness and rounds out the flavors, adding warmth to the marshmallow mixture.
- Mini Marshmallows: Mini marshmallows melt quickly and evenly, creating that perfectly gooey texture we all love in Rice Krispie treats.
- Rice Krispies Cereal: The crisp rice cereal provides the signature crunch and structure that balances all the gooey goodness.
- Sea Salt: The little hint of saltiness is critical to the flavor. It enhances all the flavors and adds contrast to all the sweetness.
- Dulce de Leche: Creamy, rich dulce de leche adds layers of caramel-like sweetness and turns these into truly next-level Rice Krispie treats. You can definitely make you’re own if you want to!
How to Brown Butter
Browned butter is just butter that has been melted and cooked slightly. It has a delicious nutty flavor. It is super easy to make.
Cut your room temperature butter into similar sized pieces so that it melts evenly. I like to use a light colored pan so I can see the color of the butter and watch it change. Place the pan over medium heat. Stir the butter around to keep it moving while it melts.
As it melts, you will start to see foam and sizzling around the edge and brown flecks will appear on the bottom of the pan. Remove it from the heat immediately. It should be very fragrant. You have made browned butter!
Browned butter can become burned butter very quickly, so remove it from the heat as soon as you see the brown flecks.
Can I Use Regular Butter Instead?
Yes, for sure! If you don’t want that brown butter flavor (we probably can’t be friends…haha…jk!), just add the marshmallows to the butter as soon as it’s melted.
Tips for the Best Rice Krispie Treats
- Line your pan with a parchment paper or a foil sling so the RKTs are easy to pull out of the pan when they cool.
- Don’t skimp on the marshmallows or butter. The ratio of butter to gooey marshmallow is perfection and shouldn’t be changed. The result is a soft and chewy and heavenly Rice Krispies treat.
- Don’t over cook the marshmallows. If they cook too long, they start to crystallize and then when they cool, they will be very hard. Cook over low heat…low and slow! You can also melt the marshmallows in the microwave using 1 minute intervals and stirring in between each 1 minute.
- Use a huge mixing bowl and a wooden spoon to stir everything together. A large bowl gives you plenty of room to get everything combined well.
- Don’t skip the extra marshmallows added in at the end. They create little pockets of chewy goodness that you don’t want to miss!
- I like to spray the bottom of a measuring cup or a rubber spatula with cooking spray to gently press the mixture into the pan. There is no sticking and it makes that step super easy. I also saw a video of someone using the wrapper from the butter to press the mixture in by hand which I thought was genius!
- I like to use a dough scraper to cut the Rice Krispie treats easily and evenly.
Why You’ll Love These Homemade Rice Krispie Treats
Ok, first of all, that brown butter flavor is heaven on earth! I just can’t get enough of it!
The ratio of marshmallow and butter to cereal is perfect and the RKTs are soft and chewy.
The layer of dulce de leche adds a creaminess and comforting caramel flavor that contrasts the crunchy cereal beautifully.
This is a no bake dessert that takes 10 minutes to make. You can’t get much better than that! It’s the waiting for it to cool that is the hardest part!
This recipe doubles to a 9×13 pan perfectly! And they are great for feeding a crowd!
Storing Rice Krispie Treats
These gourmet Rice Krispie treats should be stored in an airtight container. They will keep at room temperature for 4-5 days or they can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.
These brown butter dulce de leche Rice Krispie treats are proof that a classic dessert can still surprise you. With nutty brown butter, gooey layers of dulce de leche, and that familiar crispy crunch, they’re over-the-top in the best way. Whether you’re making them for a party, gifting, or just because, don’t be surprised when everyone asks for the recipe.
More Rice Krispie Treat Recipes to Try:
- Fruity Pebbles Rice Krispie Treats
- Reese’s Rice Krispies Treats
- Biscoff Rice Krispies
- Churro Rice Krispies
- Rice Krispie Treat in a Mug
- Scotcheroos Rice Krispy Treats
- Milky Way Krispies
Watch How This Recipe is Made…
Brown Butter Dulce de Leche Rice Krispie Treats
Ingredients
- 5 Tablespoons Butter
- ¼ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 10 Cups Mini Marshmallows, divided
- 6 Cups Rice Krispies Cereal, cinnamon sugar flavored, see note
- ½ teaspoon Sea Salt, fine grain
- ½ Can Dulce de Leche
Instructions
- Spray a 9×9-inch pan with non-stick spray and line it with a foil or parchment paper sling. Spray again.
- Place a large pot on the stove over medium heat, add your butter and let it melt and then brown. *See notes below for browning butter.5 Tablespoons Butter
- Once the butter is browned, remove from the heat and add the salt and 8 cups of mini marshmallows. Stir until everything is completely melted and smooth. If you need to put it back on the heat to finish melting the marshmallows, that is fine. You just don't want the browned butter to burn.½ teaspoon Sea Salt, 10 Cups Mini Marshmallows
- Once it is smooth, add vanilla and stir again.¼ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Measure out the rice krispies cereal in a large bowl. Pour the melted marshmallows over the rice krispies and mix well.6 Cups Rice Krispies Cereal
- Add in the remaining marshmallows while still warm.10 Cups Mini Marshmallows
- Lightly press about half of the rice krispies mixture into your prepared pan (see note). Flatten it down so it is even in the pan and then spread the dulce de leche all over the rice krispies in an even layer.½ Can Dulce de Leche
- Top with the rest of the rice krispies mixture and lightly press it around until it is evenly spread into the pan. Let it set at room temperature until cooled.
Recipe Notes
- We made this batch with Cinnamon Sugar Rice Krispies and it was amazing. If you can’t find them at the store, you could add 1/4 – 1/3 cup of cinnamon sugar.
- Browning butter: Place a light colored pan over medium heat and add room temperature butter. Stir it gently as it melts. It will begin to foam and sizzle and then you will see little brown fleck forming on the bottom of the pan. As soon as you see those flecks, remove the pan from the heat.
- Using a spoon with a little butter on it will help you press the rice krispies into the pan without it sticking all over your hands.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The comments aren’t wrong, these are amazing and a HUGE crowd pleaser! I took these to a get together tonight and come home with none! I also don’t know how much of my butter was brown butter because I got too nervous I was going to burn it and removed it before it turned brown but they turned out amazing. I also forgot about the cinnamon sugar and ended up just sprinkling a bit on top at the end. Did. Not. Disappoint!
Hi Amy! Aren’t they divine?!? You’ll get more comfortable with brown butter the more often you do it. I was terrified the first time I did it! Thank you so much for taking time to leave us a comment!
Could I replace marshmallows with marshmallow puff?
These are incredible! By far the best RKTs I’ve ever had. My family said the same! I used regular Rice Krispies and added a couple shakes of ground cinnamon just before mixing the marshmallow mix and Rice Krispies together. I also used your Homemade Dulce De Leche recipe, and it turned out perfectly. Thank you for sharing this!
You’ve made my day Hillary! Thank you so much for the feedback! Now I need to go make myself a batch because….yummmmmm!
Thank you for the easy recipe with notes. We made these last night and the treats came out fine. Unfortunately, I would skip the Dulce de Leche next time…. just didn’t do it for us. Otherwise the recipe is great for brown butter RKT! From the photos, I thought the Dulce de Leche would set into the rice crispy, instead it just creates an oozy separate layer.
Also, we had to melt the Dulce de leche slightly to pour it. Warming it may be a missed step on the instructions. It also wasn’t very easy to put a second layer of rice crispies over the Dulce de Leche. The mug trick was helpful, thank you. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the feedback Anisa! The dulce de leche is optional, but it should be very spreadable at room temperature. It’s about the consistency of peanut butter at room temperature. Then the top layer of rice krispies just lays right on top. It sounds like maybe the dulce was too cold to begin with or too hard. I would actually recommend not warming up the dulce de leche before adding it.
Hi! This looks delicious! I have a quick question though. For the marshmellow amount – it’s listed in the ingredients list as 10 cups divided. So to me, I was thinking that meant 5 cups and 5 cups. In the instructions, you have 10 cups listed under both marshmellow steps. I just want to make sure – do I use 10 cups for each marshmellow step (20 cups in total)? Thank you!
Hi Emily! You’re going to LOVE these!! You will need 10 cups total. In step 3, you’ll melt 8 cups of marshmallows then in step 6, you’ll add the remaining 2 cups of whole marshmallows. Enjoy!
Hello,
I would like to make this recipe which looks incredibly good. I’m French and in France we don’t often use cups for grinding.
Could you please give me the quantity by weight?
Thank you !!!
Hello Elodie! On the recipe card, there is a “metric” button that you can click on to switch everything to grams. It’s just to the right of the word “Ingredients” about the little ad that pops up.
So darn good and I don’t even care about regular RKS. I used Dulce de Leche toast crunch cereal in place of the sugar cinnamon rice RK.
Oooohhh…I need to try it with that cereal! Thanks for taking time to leave a comment!
I love this and especially that you added the ingredients under each instruction. So very helpful! Thanks for a superb recipe that we all enjoy!
Thank you so much MiMi!! It is one of our absolute favorites!!
THESE ARE SOOOO GOOD !!! I didn’t have cinnamon sugar Rice Krispies so i used original and sprinkled cinnamon and sugar over it all when I mixed the marshmallows. We devoured this dish!
Yes Tanya!! Thank you so much! Aren’t they HEAVEN?! Sprinkling cinnamon sugar on top is a perfect idea!
Aside from this recipe, everything I’ve read says to use a 1:1 ratio for the marshmallows and krispies. I went ahead and followed this recipe because it sounded so good! My RKTs ended up having too many marshmallows resulting in it being very sticky. Still tasted good though lol! I’ll try it again with 8 cups of both rice krispies and marshmallows hopefully resulting in a better mix.
Hi Hannah! We like ours extra soft and gooey, but after they cool to room temperature, they are perfect! You are welcome to reduce the marshmallows!
Made these recently and decided to make them for a Christmas cookie exchange because they are that good! I added 1 tsp cinnamon instead of the sugar, and also added about 1/8 of a can of evaporated milk. Literally the best things on earth 😂 thanks for the recipe!! It made it in my notebook.
Hi Jess! Aren’t they heavenly?! I’ve never heard of adding evaporated milk to rice krispies! Did you add it to the marshmallows or mix it with the dulce de leche? Thank you so much for the feedback!
Just made them! I bought ingredients from Aldi and they didn’t have dulce de leche so I made my own with sweetened condensed milk in my instant pot. Had salted butter on hand so I just left out the salt in the recipe. I also made in a 9×13 pan so they are thinner. Was hard to spread out but they turned out AMAZING! My boyfriend’s words were “to die for”… Going to bring some to people at work tomorrow. I know they will love them. Thanks so much!
Yessssssss Julia!! Thank you so much for taking time to leave a comment and way to improvise with the ingredients! Now you have me thinking I need to make these this weekend. They really are to die for!