| | | |

Rice Krispie Christmas Trees

This post contains affiliate links including Amazon affiliate links.

Rice Krispie Christmas Trees

Are you looking for a fun and easy Christmas snack? These Rice Krispie Christmas Trees are cute and simple to make and require only a few ingredients.

You can even make them in advance and store them in the fridge for later use. They make a great after-school snack and something fun to take to parties.

I love how budget-friendly they are and how effortless they are to make.

Rice Krispie Christmas Trees on a cutting board

Tools to use for this recipe

For this recipe you will need:

Rice Krispie Christmas Trees on a wooden board.

Rice Krispie Christmas Tree Ingredients

Use either unsalted or salted butter. Use your preferred kind of food dye. For example, use gel food dye or natural food dye. To make these treats gluten free use a gluten free brand of rice cereal.

Rice Krispie Christmas Trees ingredients
  • butter
  • mini marshmallows
  • green food coloring
  • Rice Krispies cereal (gluten free brand if you need gluten free)
  • green candy melts
  • Mini Peanut Butter Cups
  • Christmas sprinkles

How to Make Rice Krispie Christmas Treats

Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.

In a large saucepan, add some butter and melt over low heat.

Butter added to a saucepan.
Butter melted in a saucepan.

Next, add the marshmallows, and heat, stirring often, until melted.

Marshmallows added to pot.

Add the food coloring, and stir until the color is combined.

Food coloring added to melted marshmallows.
Green melted marshmallows in a pot.

Add the cereal to the marshmallows and stir to evenly coat.

Rice cereal added to pot.
Rice cereal mixed with marshmallows.

Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish, and press to evenly distribute the cereal mixture to fit the baking pan.

Green rice krispies in a baking dish.

Cover with saran wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour to firm.

Remove from the refrigerator, and lift the entire parchment sheet out of the baking dish, and onto a large cutting board.

To make the trees, use a large knife to make a diagonal cut, then another the opposite way, thus making two trees (see photos) or use tree cookie cutters. Continue cutting out trees (triangle shapes), until you cannot cut anymore. 

Cutting into green rice krispies.
Cutting into gree rice krispies.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the tree cutouts onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.

To make the green swirls on the trees, pour the candy melts into a piping bag (or ziplock bag).

Candy melts in a piping bag

Heat in the microwave for 30-second intervals, until melted. Massage the bag with your hand between each heating session.

Snip the end off the piping bag, and add a small amount to the bottom of each Mini Peanut Butter Cup, then stick one to the bottom of each tree.

Placing green candy melts on chocolate.
Attaching the chocolate to the tree.

Drizzle melted green candy in a back-and-forth motion over the top of each tree.

Decorating the trees.

Add some sprinkles on top of the melted candy for a festive Christmas tree look.

Decorating the trees.

How to store Rice Krispies Treats Christmas Trees

To keep homemade Rice Krispies treats fresh store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. You can microwave them for a few seconds to soften them.

Rice Krispie Christmas Trees on a wooden board.

Gluten Free Christmas Tree Rice Krispies Treats

Kellogg’s Rice Krispies are not gluten free since they contain malt flavoring. Use a gluten free brand of toasted rice cereal. Go here for gluten free rice cereal brand recommendations.

More gluten free Christmas recipes to try

Rice Krispie Christmas Trees on a wooden board.

If you love snacks, here are more desserts and snacks! Make sure to check out my huge collection of gluten free dinner recipes.

If you loved this recipe, I would be really grateful if you can rate the recipe card and share any photos you took on Instagram using #ditchthewheat and tag me in your post or story.

Christmas Rice Krispies Treats Recipe

Yield: 12 Christmas Trees

Rice Krispie Christmas Trees

Rice Krispie Christmas Trees on a cutting board

Are you looking for a fun and easy Christmas snack? These Rice Krispie Christmas Trees are cute and simple to make and require only a few ingredients.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Additional Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 10 oz bag of mini marshmallows
  • 7 drops of green food coloring
  • 6 cups Rice Krispies cereal (gluten free brand if you need gluten free)
  • ½ cup green candy melts
  • Mini Peanut Butter Cups
  • Christmas sprinkles

Instructions

  1. Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
  2. In a large saucepan, add some butter and melt over low heat.
  3. Next, add the marshmallows, and heat, stirring often, until melted.
  4. Add the food coloring, and stir until the color is combined.
  5. Add the cereal to the marshmallows and stir to evenly coat.
  6. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish, and press to evenly distribute the cereal mixture to fit the baking pan.
  7. Cover with saran wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour to firm.
  8. Remove from the refrigerator, and lift the entire parchment sheet out of the baking dish, and onto a large cutting board.
  9. To make the trees, use a large knife to make a diagonal cut, then another the opposite way, thus making two trees (see photos) or use tree cookie cutters. Continue cutting out trees (triangle shapes), until you cannot cut anymore. 
  10. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the tree cutouts onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
  11. To make the green swirls on the trees, pour the candy melts into a piping bag (or ziplock bag), and heat in the microwave for 30-second intervals, until melted. Massage the bag with your hand between each heating session.
  12. Snip the end off the piping bag, and add a small amount to the bottom of each Mini Peanut Butter Cup, then stick one to the bottom of each tree.
  13. Drizzle melted green candy in a back-and-forth motion over the top of each tree.
  14. Add some sprinkles on top of the melted candy for a festive Christmas tree look.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 194Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 119mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 0gSugar: 21gProtein: 1g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

DISCLOSURE: Not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor as a substitute for medical treatment, nor as an alternative to medical advice. Use of recommendations is at the choice and risk of the reader. Ditch the Wheat is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. I only endorse products that I believe in.

Website | + posts

Carol Lovett is the founder of Ditch the Wheat and a Globe and Mail bestselling author of the cookbook, Ditch the Wheat. She has been eating gluten free since 2010. She loves all things food, natural living, and spiritual. She's also a reiki master and crystal healer.

Gluten Free Resources

Do you need help with gluten free meals?
I recommend this meal-planning app. It makes cooking gluten free dinners extremely easy and family-friendly.
What gluten free snacks can I eat?
Lots! I have a ton of practical gluten free snack recipes in my cookbook.
How can I eat dessert on a gluten free diet?
You can 100% eat dessert while eating gluten free. Try my dessert cookbook for easy gluten free dessert recipes.
How do I know what is gluten free and what isn’t?
I have a whole section is it gluten free?
How do I make substitutions?
If you need substitution advice I created a ton of resources here.

Two square white bowls are filled with ground turkey chili with an instant pot in the background.

Instant Pot Turkey Chili

Dairy Free Shrimp Bisque

Dairy Free Shrimp Bisque

Cassava banana muffins in a stack.

Cassava Flour Banana Muffins

A white platter with two skewers of Pinchos de Pollo.

Pinchos de Pollo

A white bowl with a strawberry salad and dressing in a jar with a spoon.

Unlock Endless Salad Ideas With This Genius Mix & Match Cheat Sheet

A plate with a blue rim that is filled with monster energy balls.

No Bake Monster Balls