If you’re really into pro cycling, you’ve probably heard about a recipe that everyone in the cycling world has been talking about: rice bars that have nothing to do with the famous rice cakes we made some time ago here. In this case, this carb-loaded treat is particularly light and, above all, super crunchy. There are just three simple ingredients: Krispies® crispy rice cereal, marshmallows and some kind of fat.
These bars, known as Rice Krispies® Treats or Rice Krispies® Squares, were invented almost 100 years ago when two Kellogg’s workers took an old recipe and replaced puffed wheat and molasses with puffed rice and marshmallows. This is how they created the original recipe that you can find here.
The basic recipe for a 25 x 18 cm baking pan would be as follows:
- 200 g of marshmallows
- 100-150 g of Krispies® puffed rice or other crispy cereal; you can also use nuts or seeds.
- 40 g of some kind of fat: butter, margarine, coconut oil, olive oil, sunflower oil etc.
The amount of cereal is not exact as it is a question of volume rather than weight. Puffed rice cereal weight might vary and some are bulkier than others. For example, Rice Krispies® (puffed rice) are smaller than Honey Pops® (puffed corn) or Honey Puffs® (puffed wheat). So if you want to use other brands or other types of puffed cereal, as we are going to do in one of the recipes, keep two things in mind: first, the weight of the cereal should never be equal to or greater than that of marshmallows; second, start with 100 g, mix, and if you see that it needs a little more cereal, go ahead and add it. Finally, before proceeding to the recipes, here is an important tip for handling the mixture: Put a bit of oil or water on the spatula or your hands to prevent the mixture from sticking when spreading and pressing it. You can also use disposable gloves or waxed paper.
In addition to the 25 x 18 cm baking pan, you will need waxed paper (if you don’t have it, grease the baking pan beforehand, do not use aluminum foil), and a spatula or large spoon. Let’s move on to the recipes:
Chocolate flavored crispy rice bars
Ingredients:
- 200 g of marshmallows
- 150 g of chocolate-flavored puffed rice
- 40 g of butter
Instructions:
Prepare the 25 x 18 cm baking pan. If you don’t have waxed paper, grease the baking pan with a little oil or butter.
Melt the butter over low heat and, once melted, add the marshmallows, stirring constantly. Turn off the heat before they are completely melted and then add the puffed rice.
Mix thoroughly until everything is well combined.
Now hurry before the marshmallows get too hard to handle, pour the mixture into the baking pan and use the wet or greased spatula to spread and press it. You can also use your hands, just remember to put a little oil or water on them to prevent the mixture from sticking.
Let it sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour before cutting into portions.
We cut them into 12 portions.
Nutrition information:
Total calories / per serving: 1522 / 126.8 kcal
Total fat / per serving: 35.29 / 2.9 g
Total carbohydrates / per serving: 282 / 23.5 g
Total protein / per serving: 17.79 / 1.48 g
Total salt / per serving: 0.9 / 0.075 g
Fit version of rice bars
These bars are not as crunchy because the puffed rice used in the recipe has nothing but rice in it and is a bit more chewy. This can also be done with other puffed cereal such as: amaranth, quinoa, wheat, etc.
Ingredients:
- 200 g of marshmallows
- 100 g of puffed rice
- 50 g of seeds or chopped nuts (optional)
- 40 g of butter
The instructions are the same as in the previous recipe.
Nutrition information:
Total calories / per serving: 1571 / 130 kcal
Total fat / per serving: 58.95 / 4.9 g
Total carbohydrates / per serving: 240 / 20 g
Total protein / per serving: 26.71 / 2.22 g
Total salt / per serving: 0.2 / 0.01 g
As you can see, the recipe is very simple and open to multiple variations. The only ingredient that must remain unchanged is the marshmallows. You can choose the white-only option, large or small, as well as flavored and colorful editions. You can choose the cereal or nut you like the most and then flavor it with peanut butter, vanilla, Nutella®, spices, dried fruit, cookie butter (biscuit spread), condensed milk, dulce de leche… Feel free to experiment and try different combinations. As for storage, you can keep them in the baking pan in the fridge but they may become less crunchy due to humidity. We recommend dividing them into portions, packing individually in waxed paper and storing a container in the refrigerator. This way, they stay nice and crunchy for 2 weeks.
Give it a try, experiment with ingredients, and share your recipe with our community!
