4th of July Rice Krispie Treats are a festive way to celebrate the patriotic holiday and a must-make dessert to accompany the fireworks display.
These delicious, super-simple red, white and blue cereal treats can be prepared in mere minutes by mixing together cereal, marshmallows, and butter to make a base that is dressed up in the colors that celebrate Independence Day.
Red, White & Blue Rice Krispie Treats
These 4th of July Rice Krispie Treats are a fun and festive twist on the traditional sweet treats and the perfect way to showcase your patriotic pride.
With a few drops of food coloring, this quick and easy recipe uses a microwave to make Rice Krispie Treats in red, white, and blue, then layers them into a pan where the entire top is decorated with star-spangled sprinkles.
This patriotic dessert is crunchy, chewy, and slightly sticky; they make any patriotic party perfectly sweet! Shape them into stars or cut them into squares, there’s no better way to celebrate the fourth than with friends, family, and of course, fun finger food!
For more patriotic party food ideas, check out my favorite Fourth of July Desserts.
Why We Love This Patriotic Rice Krispie Treats Recipe
- Quick and easy to make in 15 minutes.
- Only uses 3 ingredients for the base.
- Fun and festive way to make a nostalgic no-bake treat.
- Delicious dessert doesn’t need to be refrigerated, so they last all day in the summer sun.
- Perfect for Memorial Day Picnics, 4th of July BBQs, Presidents Day or Veterans Day parties, parades, and potlucks.
Ingredients
- Mini Marshmallows
- Rice Cereal
- Butter
- Red Food Dye
- Blue Food Dye
- Patriotic Sprinkles
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Substitutions and Additions
- Pick Your Patriotic Decoration: You can decorate your treats with your favorite mix of red, white, and blue sprinkles, edible glitter, M&M’s, or even melt red and blue candy melts in the microwave and add a drizzle on top for festive color.
- Swap Shapes: Instead of cutting your treats into simple squares, you can use a star-shaped cookie cutter to cut out Rice Krispie stars or roll each color separately into bite-sized balls.
- Ditch The Dye: You can skip dying the layers of your treats and simply decorate the entire top with patriotic colored M&M’s and sprinkles or use the limited edition Rice Krispies with red and blue colors already mixed in the cereal.
Recommended Tools
- 9×13 pan
- Nonstick cooking spray
- Mixing bowl
- Measuring tools
- Spoon or toothpick
- Spatula
How to Make Red White and Blue Rice Krispie Treats
Fourth Of July Rice Krispies Treats are so quick and easy to make and the best way to serve dessert without having to bake. Perfectly portable food to accompany the fireworks.
- Make The Red Mixture: Microwave the marshmallows and butter, about 1 minute and 30 seconds, until smooth and the butter is melted, and then stir in red food coloring. Mix in cereal until fully coated and spread in a layer to cover the bottom of the pan.
- Make The White Mixture: Repeat the first step but skip adding any coloring to it. Spread in a layer to cover the red mixture.
- Make The Blue Mixture: Repeat the first step, but add blue food coloring instead of red. Spread in a layer to cover the white mixture.
- Decorate: Sprinkle patriotic sprinkles over the top, pressing down on the sprinkles so they stick to the top of the treats.
- Serve: Cover and let sit for about 4 hours or until dry. Cut into squares, serve, and enjoy!
Tips
- If your pan tapers (smaller at the bottom, larger at the top) you may need to add more cereal to the upper layers so that it spreads fully over the top without leaving holes.
- If you add too much butter, your Rice Krispie treats will fall apart and not hold together.
- When making the blue mixture, only add about 2 drops of the food coloring to start. It gets bright quickly. Add more as needed.
- Don’t cut the Rice Krispie treats warm. It is much easier to cut them once they have cooled completely.
Storage Tips
- To Store: These Rice Krispie Treats will stay fresh for up to 3 days if stored at room temperature in an airtight container.
- To Freeze: To freeze, wrap each Rice Krispie Treat individually in foil, place in a freezer bag, and freeze for up to 2 months. When ready to enjoy, let them thaw on the counter at room temperature.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store your Rice Krispie Treats in an airtight container for about 2-3 days. It’s best to keep them in a container that will fit all of them without much excess air.
The more open space, the more likely they are to dry out.
Make sure to store them at room temperature and not in the fridge. You can try sticking a piece of sandwich bread into the container to help keep the treats soft.
I prefer the ease of microwaving the marshmallows, but if you would rather use the stove, you absolutely can!
I would still recommend doing the three layers separately, that way you ensure each layer has the same amount of marshmallow coating.
Different brands of marshmallows and cereal will cause the measurements to be off. If your treats are too dry, you can add more melted marshmallows. If they’re too wet, you can add more cereal until the right consistency is reached.
Other Easy 4th of July Recipes
- Firecracker Cupcakes
- Red White and Blue Poke Cake
- 4th of July Red, White and Blue Jello Shots
- Patriotic Chocolate Covered Strawberries
- Red White and Blue Cheesecake Pudding Shots
- 4th of July Fruit and Snack Tray
- 4th of July Trifle
Red, White, and Blue Rice Krispie Treats
Ingredients
- 12 cups Mini Marshmallows
- 9 cups Rice Cereal
- 9 tablespoons Butter
- Red Food Dye
- Blue Food Dye
- Patriotic Sprinkles
- Nonstick Cooking Spray
Instructions
- Spray a 9×13 pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- Place 4 cups of marshmallows and 3 tablespoons of butter in a large mixing bowl. Microwave for about 1 minute and 30 seconds or until the marshmallows are smooth when stirred and the butter has melted.
- Add a bit of the red food coloring using a spoon or toothpick. Quickly stir until no color streaks appear. If it’s not red enough, add a bit more until the correct shade is reached.
- Add 3 cups of the cereal to the bowl and mix until the cereal is fully coated.
- Add the mixture to the greased pan and spread even until it makes a nice even layer, covering the entire bottom of the pan.
- Repeat steps 2-5 for the white layer, but skip adding any coloring to it.
- Repeat steps 2-5 for the blue layer, but only add about 2 drops of the food coloring to start. It gets bright quickly. If you need more, you can add it, but don’t start with more than 2 drops.
- Sprinkle as many patriotic sprinkles over the top as you like, and lightly press down on the sprinkles so they stick to the top of the treats well.
- Cover and let sit for about 4 hours or until dry. Cut into squares and enjoy!
Jenn’s Notes
- To Store: These Rice Krispie Treats will stay fresh for up to 3 days if stored at room temperature in an airtight container.
- To Freeze: To freeze, wrap each Rice Krispie Treat individually in foil, place in a freezer bag, and freeze for up to 2 months. When ready to enjoy, let them thaw on the counter at room temperature.
- I have noticed that different brands of marshmallows and cereal will cause the measurements to be off. So, if your treats are too dry, you’ll want to add more melted marshmallows. If they’re too wet, you’ll just want to add more cereal until the right consistency is reached.
- You can use any sprinkles you like. I loved the stars, personally, but there are a ton of fun sprinkles out there.
- If your pan tapers (smaller at the bottom, larger at the top) you may need to add more cereal to the upper layers so that it spreads fully over the top without leaving holes.
- If you add too much butter, your Rice Krispie treats will fall apart and not hold together.
- When making the blue mixture, only add about 2 drops of the food coloring to start. It gets bright quickly. Add more as needed.
- Don’t cut the Rice Krispie treats warm. It is much easier to cut them once they have cooled completely.
