Rice Krispie Treats

Low FODMAP rice krispie treats made with butter, real marshmallows, gluten-free crisped rice cereal, and vanilla.

Prep 10 min

Cook 5 min

Serves 12

Gluten-freeNut-free

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons (45g) unsalted butter
• 10 oz (285g) real marshmallows (about 40 large, or 4 heaping cups mini), regular sugar-sweetened kind only
• 6 cups (about 165g) certified gluten-free crisped rice cereal
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
• Pinch of salt

Marshmallows are mostly cane sugar and glucose (corn) syrup, both low-FODMAP. Check the label and skip any that say "sugar-free," "no sugar added," or list sorbitol, maltitol, or xylitol, and avoid ones sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup. Portions here are one bar per serving. If you are stacking sweets across a day, look up each one in the FODMAP Foods app to see how its rating changes with portion size.

Instructions

Prep the pan

1. Line an 8x8 inch (20cm) pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides so you can lift the slab out later.
2. Measure the cereal into a large bowl so it is ready to fold in the moment the marshmallows are melted.

Melt and combine

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Keeping the heat low protects the flavor and stops the sugar from scorching.
2. Add the marshmallows and stir constantly until fully melted and smooth, about 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Take the pan off the heat, then stir in the vanilla and salt.
4. Pour in the crisped rice cereal and fold with a silicone spatula until every piece is coated. Work quickly, since the mixture stiffens as it cools.

Press and set

1. Scrape the mixture into the lined pan. Grease your hands or the back of the spatula lightly with butter and press it into an even layer. Press firmly enough to hold together but not so hard that the bars turn dense.
2. Let the slab cool at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes, then lift it out by the parchment and cut into 12 bars.

Tips & Substitutions

• Skip sugar-free marshmallows. The "sugar-free" versions are sweetened with polyols like sorbitol, maltitol, or xylitol, which are high FODMAP. Use standard sugar-sweetened marshmallows.
• Choose a gluten-free crisped rice. Many mainstream crisped rice cereals list malt flavoring, which comes from barley. A certified gluten-free crisped rice keeps the recipe gluten-free; still check the label for honey or inulin.
• Watch for high-fructose corn syrup. Most marshmallows use plain glucose (corn) syrup, which is fine, but a few use high-fructose corn syrup. Read the ingredient list and pick a brand without it.
• Dairy-free option. Butter is very low in lactose. To leave dairy out, swap in a plain dairy-free spread with no inulin or chicory root.
• Grease your tools. A thin film of butter on your hands, the spatula, and your knife keeps the sticky mixture from dragging and makes clean bars easier to cut.
• Add-ins in check. A handful of dark chocolate chips or a few sprinkles folded in at the end is fine. Keep any high-FODMAP mix-ins out and stick to one bar per serving.

Why This Works

• Rice is naturally low-FODMAP. Crisped rice cereal is essentially puffed and toasted rice, and rice is one of the reliably low-FODMAP grains, so plain crisped rice is low FODMAP at the amount used per bar.
• Marshmallows are sugar and glucose. Cane sugar and glucose syrup are both low-FODMAP, and gelatin adds none. The only real trap is the polyol-sweetened "sugar-free" version, which this recipe avoids.
• Butter is fat, not milk sugar. Butter contains only trace lactose because it is mostly milk fat, so a few tablespoons stay comfortably low-FODMAP.
• No onion, garlic, or wheat. The recipe has no onion, garlic, or wheat ingredients to work around.

Storage

Keep the bars in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. Do not refrigerate them, since the cold firms up the marshmallow and turns the bars hard. To store longer, wrap individual bars and freeze for up to 6 weeks, then thaw at room temperature for about 30 minutes before eating.