Brown Butter Potato Chip Rice Krispie Treats

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Buckle up; these aren’t your average rice krispie treats.

I had no idea these Brown Butter Potato Chip Rice Krispie Treats would become the dessert everyone couldn’t stop raving about. I made a pan of them for our Fourth of July party to have alongside Smash Burger Tacos, thinking they’d be a fun twist on a nostalgic little dessert.

And soon I lost count of how many people went back for seconds, sneaking another square off the platter. Before the night was over, I had multiple people asking, “Okay…when are you sharing this recipe?” That was all the convincing I needed.

Things started with brown butter because I have a tiny gripe with classic rice krispie treats: they’re usually a little one-note: too sweet and need some depth, some personality. Making brown butter only takes a few extra minutes, but it completely transforms the flavor, adding warm, nutty, almost caramel-like notes that make these so much more addicting.

And then came potato chips! Because salty sweet always wins.

The salty crunch cuts through the sweetness in the best possible way. I tested the ratio of cereal to chips several times because I wanted the potato chips to shine without taking over. The balance is exactly where I wanted it.

But my favorite trick is what makes these unbelievably gooey.

After the marshmallows have melted into the browned butter, I add the cereal along with a second bag of marshmallows. Instead of melting completely, they soften just enough to create little pockets of stretchy, fluffy marshmallow throughout the treats. Every bite pulls apart into those gooey ribbons that make homemade Rice Krispie treats so irresistible.

The result is everything I want in a dessert: buttery, salty, sweet, deeply flavorful, and perfectly chewy with that soft, pull-apart texture. They’re nostalgic enough to remind you of the treats you grew up with, but just different enough that everyone will ask, “Wait…what’s in these?”

❤️ Enjoy! – Amanda

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Gooey Potato Chip Rice Krispie Treats

These ooey gooey Potato Chip Rice Krispie Treats are the ultimate upgrade to a classic. Nutty brown butter gives them incredible flavor, and salty potato chips keep them from being too sweet! An extra bag of marshmallows makes them super chewy and irresistible. Easy to make in 15 minutes and guaranteed to disappear at every party, picnic, or potluck.

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Prep Time :5 minutes minutes

Cook Time :10 minutes minutes

Yield: 24 bars

Author: Amanda Paa

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Equipment

• 9×13 inch baking pan

Ingredients

• 8 cups rice crispy cereal*
• 3 cups coarsely crushed potato chips
• 14 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 (10 ounce) bags mini marshmallows
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Instructions 

• Line a 9×13 inch pan with parchment paper. (I spray it with a bit of oil then add parchment so the parchment sticks.)
• Add rice krispies and marshmallows to a large bowl, set aside.
• Put a large stockpot or dutch oven on the stove and turn heat to medium. Add butter and cook for several minutes to brown the butter. Stir as you go – it will go from simmering to bubbling to foaming, and you will begin to see brown flecks on the edges of the pan and the bottom. It will smell nutty and delicious.
• Once you can see a good amount of brown specks, turn off heat and immediately add one bag of marshmallows. Stir continuously to fully melt marshmallows and incorporate butter, scraping the brown bits off the bottom too.
• Stir in vanilla. Add potato chips/rice krispies and 2nd bag of marshmallows. Stir well, folding up from the bottom of the pot to incorporate all of the buttery melted marshmallow mixture.
• Use a spatula to scrape everything from the pot into your lined pan. Spray your hands with oil, or spray the back of a spatula with oil, and evenly push the treats out to the corners.
• Press down to make them an even layer, but don't press down so hard you are crushing everything. You want to be gently firm – not so firm that the bars get too compacted, which reduces their chewiness and they'll scrape the roof of your mouth from being too crunchy. Let cool a bit, then slice and serve.

Notes

* Aldi’s Crispy Rice Cereal is gluten-free for those that are looking, that’s what I use!