Rice Krispies Peanut Butter Balls are a quick and easy way to combine the classic flavors of chocolate and peanut butter with a crispy crunch to create one bite-sized tasty treat.
This no-bake recipe comes together in 5 minutes, using only a microwave to make a deliciously sweet and salty snack.
Table of Contents
- No-Bake Rice Krispies Peanut Butter Balls
- Why We Love This Rice Krispies Peanut Butter Balls Recipe
- Ingredients
- Substitutions and Additions
- Recommended Tools
- How to Make Peanut Butter Balls with Rice Krispies
- Tips
- Storage Tips
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Other Easy Dessert Balls Recipes
- Rice Krispies Peanut Butter Balls Recipe
No-Bake Rice Krispies Peanut Butter Balls
These Peanut Butter Balls with Rice Krispies are an easy-to-make mash-up of my Buckeyes and Peanut Butter Truffles meets a Rice Krispie treat. I replace the marshmallow with a mixture of peanut butter, sweetened condensed milk, and powdered sugar.
This super simple recipe can be prepared in mere minutes and makes a creamy, nutty, buttery ball with the perfect amount of crunch.
Each sweet and slightly salty treat is coated in a melted chocolate shell with a texture like my favorite Ferrero Rocher candy, but these have a Rice Krispie crackle in each bite.
For more dessert recipes with the delicious combination of chocolate and peanut butter, try my Buckeye Pie, Peanut Butter Stuffed Brownies, and my Chocolate Peanut Butter Lasagna.
Why We Love This Rice Krispies Peanut Butter Balls Recipe
- Quick and easy to make in 5 minutes.
- No-bake recipe uses simple ingredients.
- Deliciously decadent mini-desserts that are perfectly portioned and portable.
- Taste like a peanut butter truffle with a crispy upgrade.
- Sweet, creamy, and subtly crunchy cluster of peanut butter and cereal coated in chocolate.
- Stay fresh for weeks in the fridge and freeze well for simple snacking.
- Perfect for gift-giving and great addition to any cookie or dessert tray.
Ingredients
- Creamy peanut butter: You need to use creamy peanut butter to help hold the balls together, but you could replace it with almond butter if you wish.
- Crunchy peanut butter: You can replace all the crunchy peanut butter with creamy peanut butter if you desire.
- Salted butter: Feel free to use unsalted butter instead.
- Sweetened and condensed milk
- Powdered sugar
- Salt
- Rice Krispies cereal
- Chocolate candy melts: You can also use semi-sweet chocolate chips instead.
- Optional garnishes: crushed Rice Krispies cereal or chopped salted peanuts
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Substitutions and Additions
- Choose Your Chocolate: Feel free to use your favorite white, milk, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate (or a combination of all three!) to make these no-bake treats. You can use chocolate chips or candy melts.
- Swap The Cereal: You can swap the Rice Krispies cereal with Cocoa Krispies, Cheerios, Cornflakes, and Chex for a similar crispy crunch.
- Try Fun Toppings: Try rolling these balls in different toppings before the chocolate has fully set. You could use sprinkles, nonpareils, coconut flakes, crushed candy bits, chopped nuts, or even add a drizzle of chocolate.
- Customize Your Colors: Coordinate the color of the topping to match a favorite holiday, bridal or baby shower, or even a sports team event. Add rainbow sprinkles for a birthday-themed party; red and green sprinkles for Christmas; pink and red sprinkles for Valentine’s Day; pretty pastel colors for Easter.
Recommended Tools
- Sheet pan
- Parchment paper
- Measuring tools
- Mixing bowls and tools
- 1” cookie scoop
How to Make Peanut Butter Balls with Rice Krispies
This no-bake Rice Krispies Peanut Butter Balls recipe is so quick and easy and requires only a microwave. It’s the best melt-in-your mouth bite-sized candy that makes the perfect grab-and-go snack and is great for gift-giving.
- Make The Mixture: Melt both of the peanut butters and butter together in the microwave in 15-second increments. Add in the sweetened and condensed milk, powdered sugar, and salt and mix. Stir in the Rice Krispies until combined.
Pro Tip: It should be a thick mixture. - Scoop: Scoop the mixture into evenly sized balls and place them on the cookie sheet. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or freeze for 15 minutes or until chilled.
- Coat In Chocolate: Melt the chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 15-30 seconds or until smooth. Dip each ball into the melted chocolate until fully coated. Place the balls onto the sheet pan and garnish with crushed Rice Krispies or salted peanuts before the chocolate dries.
- Serve: Chill until ready to serve. Enjoy!
Tips
- Chilling the balls before dipping them in chocolate is essential or they’ll be too warm and difficult to work with.
- Stick a toothpick in each ball to make dipping easier.
- If you find that the balls aren’t rolling very well and seem to be sticky, add a little more confectioners sugar and crushed cereal.
- I recommend using a cookie scoop to make uniform balls.
Storage Tips
- To Store: These Rice Krispies Peanut Butter Balls can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, for up to 2 weeks.
- To Freeze: You can freeze these balls for several months if they are well wrapped and stored in a freezer-safe container or bag.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can use any kind of nut butter you like. Almond, cashew, and even sunflower butter will work well in this recipe. The only thing to remember is that the nut butter must be creamy enough for your Rice Krispie balls – if it’s too thick or dry, it won’t roll into a ball well. If it’s too runny, it will make your Rice Krispies soggy. Stir your nut butter well before using it.
Once the balls have finished chilling, I like to place a toothpick into each ball and use it to dip the peanut butter balls into the chocolate. Because everything is chilled, the balls hold together enough to give you a good coating.
You can also pour the chocolate directly onto the peanut butter balls. This is best done if you have a metal rack with a sheet pan under it to catch the chocolate.
Set all the balls on the rack, then slowly pour the chocolate over the balls, rotating them with a toothpick to get chocolate on all sides.
If your balls are too crumbly, add a touch more peanut butter. If it is too sticky, add a bit more powdered sugar and cereal. Place the peanut butter balls on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and chill for 30 minutes.
Other Easy Dessert Balls Recipes
- Peanut Butter & Jelly Energy Balls
- Birthday Cake Oreo Balls
- Nutella Truffles
- Pecan Pie Balls
- Easy Monster Cookie Oatmeal Energy Balls
Rice Krispies Peanut Butter Balls
Ingredients
- 1½ cups creamy peanut butter
- ½ cup crunchy peanut butter
- ¼ cup (½ stick) salted butter
- ⅓ cup sweetened and condensed milk
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2¼ cups rice krispies cereal
- 2 cups chocolate candy melts
- Optional garnishes: crushed rice krispies cereal or chopped salted peanuts
Instructions
- Prepare a sheet pan by lining it with parchment paper.
- In a large microwavable bowl, melt both types of peanut butter and the salted butter together by microwaving them in increments of 15 seconds until completely melted and combined.
- Add in the sweetened and condensed milk, powdered sugar, and salt and mix well.
- Stir the rice krispies into the peanut butter mixture until combined. It should be a thick mixture.
- Use a 1” cookie scoop to make evenly sized balls. Place on a cookie sheet and refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes or freeze for 15 minutes or until chilled.
- Once the peanut butter balls have chilled, prepare candy melts. Melt candy melts in the microwave, stirring every 15-30 seconds or until you have a smooth consistency.
- Dip each ball into the melted chocolate until fully coated.
- Place the balls onto the sheet pan and sprinkle the top of each ball with crushed rice krispies or salted peanuts before the chocolate dries.
- Repeat for each ball and chill until ready to serve.
Jenn’s Notes
- To Store: These Rice Krispies Peanut Butter Balls can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, for up to 2 weeks.
- To Freeze: You can freeze these balls for several months if they are well wrapped and stored in a freezer-safe container or bag.
- Chilling the balls before dipping them in chocolate is essential or they’ll be too warm and difficult to work with.
- Stick a toothpick in each ball to make dipping easier.
- If you find that the balls aren’t rolling very well and seem to be sticky, add a little more confectioners sugar and crushed cereal.
- I recommend using a cookie scoop to make uniform balls.
