Easy Christmas Tree Rice Krispies Treats

Turn a traditional snack into festive fun with these Easy Christmas Tree Rice Krispies Treats! Get that gorgeous green with matcha powder or food coloring, then decorate like a tree. They’re easy to make, family-friendly, and delicious!

• butter – Yay butter! The base of all great dessert concoctions. If you do have salted butter, you probably don’t need to add any extra.
• mini marshmallows – Like the original Rice Krispie Treats, this version calls for marshmallows, of course!
• matcha powder OR green food coloring – I thoroughly tested both ways of coloring these cereal treat trees. If you like matcha, definitely go that route. If matcha is not your thing and you just want to use green food coloring, that works too, though the color is not quite as vivid.
• puffed rice cereal – You can use classic Rice Krispies cereal, or store brand plain puffed rice cereal. They both work!
• flaky sea salt – This is optional but a tiny hit of salt can help bring all of the other flavors together, especially if you’re using the matcha for coloring.
• white chocolate – I really like how white chocolate balances out the matcha flavor! I personally need matcha to be very sweet to enjoy it, and this helps the treat fit that bill.
• decorations – Any festive decorations will work here. I really like the Christmas sprinkle mix from Trader Joe’s. My local grocery store also stocked a Christmas Tackle Box mix, and it’s super cute!

Related: Looking for more snacks? Browse this list of Make-Ahead Snack Ideas You Can Meal Prep.

• For a cutting board, I recommend this Greener Chef XL Bamboo Cutting Board (affiliate link!). I use mine almost every day! The XL size is perfect and not too huge. I use it for everything except cutting raw meat.
• For your chef’s knife, definitely look into getting yourself a Misen Chef’s Knife (affiliate link!). This is an affordable, all-purpose knife useful for everything, but especially cutting the Rice Krispies Treats into portions.
• For your mixing utensil, I would recommend a silicone spatula. My favorite is this Rubbermaid High Heat Spoon Scraper (affiliate link!). I’ve had it for years and I always give them as gifts! Not joking, it’s an affordable and useful gift!
• For small bowls, these Libbey Small 6.25 ounce Glass Bowls with Lids (affiliate link!) are perfect. I use them for dip cups, but also for holding sprinkles, white chocolate, anything!

Start by preparing the 8×8 pan with a parchment paper or plastic wrap lining in order to make sure the treats don’t stick. Be sure to leave a couple inches of overhang around the edges so it’s easy to grab and remove from the pan later.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, add the butter and mini marshmallows. Use a rubber spatula to stir continuously until the butter and marshmallows melt together and the texture is smooth.

Before adding the cereal, we want to add in the green coloring (it’s easier to disperse the color into the melted mixture first!). Turn off the heat. Add the matcha powder or green food coloring and stir until it has turned a uniform green. Which one you add, and the amount you add, will dictate the final color and flavor you get in the treats.

After the melted marshmallow is green, pour in the puffed cereal and stir until it’s well coated. It may take a minute or two of stirring to coat all the cereal, but just trust the process. Check the bottom of the pan to make sure you’ve mixed it all in. 

Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and use your spatula or another flat utensil to press it down as flat as possible. I’ve heard some people like to spray their hands with nonstick spray and just use their fingers, though I prefer the spatula!

Be sure to get it into the corners and press well so the trees stick together and clean cuts can be made. Once it’s pressed down, stick it in the fridge for about 20 minutes to harden and set.

How to cut the Rice Krispies Treats into triangles:

1. After chilling, remove the pressed crispy rice treat from the pan and place it on a cutting board.
2. Use a large sharp chef’s knife to cut the block down the middle into two evenly sized rectangles.
3. Cut each rectangular block into tree-shaped triangles by alternating cutting directions.
4. You should get 5 trees from each block, plus two half-sized tree scraps from each end.

How to decorate the Christmas Tree Rice Krispies Treats:

Start by melting the chocolate (you can do this while the treats are setting in the fridge). Place the white chocolate in a double boiler or on a warmer in a heat safe container so it can melt, stirring occasionally as it does.

• For white chocolate chips, you may need to stir in about 1 teaspoon of coconut oil to bring it to a drizzling consistency.
• Vanilla melting wafers will work on their own without any additional oil.

For decorating the trees with chocolate, you can use a spoon to drizzle lines across each tree to mimic garlands or tinsel. You can be as neat or quick as you want. It looks good both ways:

• quick drizzles then a dash of sprinkles!
• neat lines across the tree, then add candies to look like string lights.

Be sure to sprinkle your decorations on before the chocolate sets. Again, you can be as neat or quick with the decorations as you want. To help the chocolate set more quickly, you can place the trees in the fridge again, but it’s not required. The chocolate should set as they sit on the counter.

• matcha powder: If you’re a matcha lover, matcha powder will work to color the Rice Krispie Treats.
  • It creates a lovely green forest green color.
  • This creates a matcha flavored Rice Krispie Treat.
  • The white chocolate goes well with the matcha, especially if you reduce to 1 teaspoon. It will still make a nice color.
• green gel food coloring: If you don’t like matcha, food coloring will work too.
  • My brand of gel food coloring gave a light green color after 6 drops of coloring.
  • It did not get much darker when I doubled the amount to 12 drops.
  • You can buy and use natural food coloring as well, but I haven’t tried that yet.
  • The matcha powder (in any amount) gave a much more vivid green color than the food coloring.

• Trust the process! It can take a lot of stirring to completely mix everything.
• Press well and get the corners when flattening the mixture into the pan. You want it to stick together well.
• Don’t take it too seriously. These trees can look a little messy with the white chocolate and it’s totally fine!

1. Make at least 3 batches of green Rice Krispies Treats.
   • You can triple the recipe if you have pans to press them all into, OR
   • Make the batches one after another (chill a batch while you make the next one).
2. Cut all prepared Rice Krispies into trees.
   • Cutting 3 batches will give you 30 trees, plus the end pieces.
   • You could use your hands to press the end pieces into trees as well, or just eat them!
3. Store the prepared trees for up to a day before the decorating party.
   • This can save you time on the day of a party.
   • This way you can focus on melting chocolate, prepping frosting, and getting decorations ready.
4. Set up 5-6 decorating stations.
   • Line each workspace with parchment paper, or use a half sheet pan (affiliate link!) for each station to contain the sprinkles.
   • Be ready with paper towels or washcloths, depending on the age group!
5. Melt the chocolate, then divide into small cups.
   • Individual chocolate cups = no fighting over the chocolate!
   • Remind everyone not to let the chocolate sit for too long or it will begin to harden.
6. Finish each station with sprinkles, festive candies, and a spoon for decorating.
   • You can keep it simple or go all out with a full cookie decorating situation here!
   • More small cups can be helpful for dividing the sprinkles between the group.
7. Let the decorating commence!

• Decorate with whatever you have on hand. If you’ve got leftover Christmas sprinkles or edible decorations, use those! You don’t have to buy something new. Feel free to get creative. Crushed red freeze-dried fruit is another good option!
• Use matcha powder or green food coloring. If you like matcha, definitely use that in your Rice Krispies Treat trees! But if not, green food coloring totally works.
• Add pretzel trunks to the bottom. If you want to add another ingredient and component to the trees, poke a pretzel stick into the bottom for a cute little tree trunk.
• Leave them square and decorate like presents. This idea is from the Rice Krispies box! If you don’t want to dye them green, you can still make fun square treats and decorate them like presents (think bows and sprinkles).

How to store Christmas Tree Rice Krispies Treats:

Store decorated trees in a container with lid on the counter and enjoy within 3 days for best quality. You can also make the trees a day ahead of time and decorate later.

Recipe developed by Rachel Phipps.