These Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Treats are a game changer. They’re your favorite childhood treat elevated a notch or two by adding melted caramel and sea salt. They’re phenomenal and I dare you to eat just one!

♡ 12 DAYS OF SUGAR – DAY 3 ♡

I don’t even know how to put into words how much I love these Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Treats. They have changed my life and now I want to eat them every. single. day.

My Uncle Jim (who happens to be a fantastic baker and treat connoisseur) raved about these beauties several months ago. I’m kicking myself for waiting so long to make them. After sinking my teeth into one of these, I could clearly see why he loves them so much.

They’re your childhood favorite treat taken to a whole new sophisticated level.

Browned butter, marshmallows, caramel, sea salt . . . it’s just a winning combination of ingredients!

I had to give most of the pan away because I wanted to inhale the entire pan. I know I say that about a lot of things and I mean it every time, but I am not joking when I say I wanted to AND could have eaten the entire pan.

These are soft, gooey, sweet, salty and seriously one of the best Rice Krispie treats you will ever eat. I think they might be my all time favorite version of this childhood classic. I have several versions of Rice Krispie treats here on my site, but these are currently my favorite!

The combination of the sweet and salty is spot on. You guys, I really can’t even adequately explain how much I love these!

Lineup of ingredients:

Caramels – I use Werther’s soft caramels, but you could also use Kraft caramels. You also can use Peter’s Caramel block and cut off enough for 1 cup of caramel. The Peter’s Caramel is available at Orson Gygi’s and on Amazon.

Butter – I always use salted butter, but unsalted is fine too. Use what you like.

Marshmallows – add sweetness and helps everything stick together.

Rice Krispies Cereal – adds texture and crunch and obviously the main ingredient.

Sea salt – adds a delicious saltiness to these treats and offsets the sweetness. You can use coarse or fine sea salt. I use Redmond’s Real fine sea salt.

A few helpful tips when making these treats. . .

Make sure you have all of your ingredients measured out and ready to go before you start. This will help things flow much easier when you’re making these treats.

Melt the caramels first and set aside. Once the butter has browned and you add the marshmallows to it, you need the caramel to be melted and ready to be added immediately. If you have to take time to melt it at that point, the butter/marshmallow mixture will begin to cool down and the caramel won’t mix in as easily.

The butter/marshmallow mixture will still look slightly separated when you add the caramel to it. Don’t worry, it sill still be just fine and everything will come together.

If you’re worried about these being too salty, then start with 1 teaspoon of salt and add more if needed. I use the full 2 teaspoons and love the amount of saltiness.

You can add a splash of milk or cream to the caramels you melt to drizzle on top which will make the caramel a little easier to drizzle.

You’re gonna love these!

Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Treats

Author: Jodi
Total Time: 23 minute
Yield: 16 to 20 1x

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Units Scale

40 Werther’s soft caramels, divided
1 cup butter
7 1/2 cups marshmallows, separated
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1 to 2 teaspoons sea salt (I use 2 teaspoons)

Instructions

Melt 32 of the caramels in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave in 30-60 second increments, stirring well after each until smooth and melted. Set aside.
Brown the butter by placing it in a large pot and melt it over medium heat, swirling or stirring it in the pan frequently. Once the butter has completely melted it will begin to foam. Continue swirling/stirring it over medium heat until it turns a golden amber color. Remove from heat.
Add 5 1/2 cups of the marshmallows and the melted caramel to the browned butter. Continue to stir until the marshmallow begin to melt and the mixture is mostly combined (it won’t be a smooth mixture, there will still be some butter and caramel not fully incorporated).
Pour Rice Krispies into the marshmallow mixture and begin folding together. When it’s almost combined sprinkle the sea salt on top and add the remaining 2 cups of the marshmallows and continue folding until combined.
Pour mixture into a 9 x 13 baking dish and press down gently.
Melt the remaining 8 caramels and drizzle over the top. Allow to cool and then into squares and enjoy!

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 5 to 6 minutes

Recipe Source: Adapted slightly from Orson Gygis

Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Treats