Name: 4th of July Rice Krispie Treats
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 3 tbsp of butter; 20 large marshmallows; 3 cups rice cereal; 2 small drops blue gel food coloring; red and blue sprinkles; star cookie cutter; lollipop sticks

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In this post: 4th of July Rice Krispie Treats are easy to make & taste great. Customize them for Canada Day by changing the food coloring and sprinkles!

I can think of no better way to celebrate the summer holidays than with these 4th of July Rice Krispie Treats! You can also make this delicious dessert for any major holiday just by changing the color of the sprinkles, ribbons, and food coloring. Talk about fun and flexibility! Learn to make these treats for yourself with the step-by-step instructions below.

4th of July rice krispie treats with blue ribbons.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

These 4th of July Rice Krispie Treats:

are quick and easy to make
don’t include hard-to-find ingredients
are adaptable to many common food allergens

What are 4th of July Rice Krispie Treats?

4th of July Rice Krispie Treats are yummy, patriotic desserts that come on a stick! They’re a fun way to celebrate the holiday – the kids will love them! The best part is that you can customize them for any holiday, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, Canada Day, and more.

Rice cereal, marshmallows, butter, food coloring, sprinkles, a star-shaped cookie cutter, and round popsicle sticks on a white surface.

Ingredients

Butter: use the exact measurement or the rice krispies may have a weird texture.
Marshmallows: combined with the butter, these hold the cereal together.
Rice cereal: use any puffed rice cereal.
Blue food coloring: amount depends on how strong you want the color to be.
Sprinkles: red and blue for the 4th of July!
Cookie cutter: star-shaped fits this holiday best.
Lollipop sticks: or wooden skewers.

Substitutions

Butter – substitute the butter for coconut oil, peanut/almond butter, or olive oil.
Marshmallows – try using mini marshmallows – they may melt faster!
Food coloring – instead of blue, try green, purple, or red food coloring!
Sprinkles – substitute red and blue sprinkles for colors that fit your holiday/theme.
Cookie cutter – instead of star-shaped, try circles, squares, hearts, flowers, or Christmas shapes.

How to Make 4th of July Rice Krispie Treats

Coat a square pan generously with butter.
In a saucepan over medium or low heat, melt the butter and then add the marshmallows. Allow them to melt completely then remove the mix from the heat.
Put the marshmallow mix in a bowl. Add the blue gel food coloring and stir until the mixture is completely colored. Mix in the rice krispie cereal.
Pat the cereal treat mixture evenly into your buttered pan. Top with sprinkles and pat down some more (so that the sprinkles stay in place). Allow the cereal treats to cool.
Using a star cookie cutter, cut out cereal treats into the shape of stars (save the scraps and enjoy them!).
Insert a lollipop stick at the bottom and enjoy the festivities!

Serving Suggestions

Add fun ingredients like:

Chocolate drizzle
Other shapes and colors of cereal
Red and blue M&Ms
Fun sprinkle shapes
Coconut shavings

Expert Tips

For the softest, chewiest rice krispie treats make sure you use fresh marshmallows!
Use a smaller pan for thicker rice krispies and a larger pan for thinner rice krispies.
Coat your hands in butter or nonstick cooking oil to press the rice krispie mixture into the pan. This way you won’t get all sticky!
Don’t press the rice krispie treats too firmly or they will be hard when you bite into them.
If you add melted chocolate, place the treats in the fridge for a bit to let the chocolate harden.
Instead of having blue rice krispie treats, you can try making a blue layer, white layer, and red layer!
Customize the treats for your favorite holiday! No reason to only make these yummy desserts on the 4th of July.

Storing Rice Krispie Treats

Room temperature: store the 4th of July Rice Krispie Treats in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Freezer: wrap the individual stars in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.

4th of July rice krispie treats on a wooden table.

FAQs

Why are my rice krispie treats hard?

There are many things you can do to prevent hard rice krispie treats. First, make sure you melt your marshmallows and butter over low-medium heat – NEVER high heat. Another thing to avoid is storing your rice krispie treats in the fridge because this will harden the marshmallows.

Are rice krispie treats gluten-free?

Name-brand rice krispie treats and cereals usually have malt in them, which contains gluten. If you want to make these rice krispie treats gluten-free, make sure you buy gluten-free cereal!

Can you make rice krispie treats in the microwave?

Yes, you can! Just microwave the butter and marshmallows for about 2 minutes and then follow steps 3-6 in this recipe.

How do you cut rice krispie treats?

I have two tips for cutting these 4th of July Rice Krispie Treats:

Let the rice krispies cool completely. They will be less sticky when cool than when warm.
Spray your cookie cutter with cooking spray to prevent any more sticking.

What type of cereal should I use?

Any puffed rice cereal will work, but if you have allergies make sure you buy cereal free from those allergens.

You can use any cookie cutter you have on hand, it doesn’t have to be a star! Or you could simply cut the treats into squares.

How can I keep the rice krispies from sticking to the baking pan?

Before you put the mixture in the pan, butter the pan really well. Alternatives would be parchment paper, cooking spray, or a combination of the two.

Can I make these ahead of time?

Sure! When stored at room temperature, these 4th of July Rice Krispie Treats will taste as good as fresh for 24 hours and still be good for 48 hours after that! (So, a total of three days!)

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