Lucky Charms Treats

Name: Lucky Charms Treats
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 6 Tablespoons salted butter; 10 oz mini marshmallows; ½ teaspoon vanilla extract; 8 cups Lucky Charms cereal; 2 oz white chocolate bar (finely chopped (for topping, optional))

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Lucky Charms Treats are the more colorful, marshmallow-infused version of Rice Krispie treats. My recipe stays soft and chewy for days, and it takes just 15 minutes to make!

Two lucky charms treats stacked on top of each other.

Lucky Charms Cereal Bars

If you’re a fan of Rice Krispie treats but want to switch things up a bit, try Lucky Charms treats! Soft, gooey, and so colorful, these cereal bars are as fun to eat as they are to make. Only 5 ingredients, 15 minutes from start to finish, and no oven required!

This is just a cute and simple recipe that I wanted to share before St. Patrick’s day, since it also serves as a subtle nod to the holiday (like my mint chocolate cookies!). I love this recipe in particular because it’s quick to make and feels so nostalgic. It would also make a perfect back to school snack!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Stays soft and chewy. While some cereal bars are prone to being stiff, dry, and stale, ours stay soft. The key to this is to not overcook the marshmallow and to gently press the cereal mixture into the pan. If you do it too firmly, your treats will be dense.
Unlike most recipes, I use a splash of vanilla extract in my recipe. This adds an extra special touch and depth of flavor everyone loves!
Can be made even more festive and fun with sprinkles or special edition cereals.
Great for parties and making in advance! They stay fresh for up to five days and don’t need to be refrigerated.

What You Need

My recipe requires just four ingredients (five if you include the white chocolate drizzle!).

Overhead view of ingredients including lucky charms cereal, marshmallows, and more.

Lucky Charms cereal. Obviously the classic cereal is the norm, but feel free to use the chocolate version or any other special edition cereals. Oh, and if you are making these treats for St. Patrick’s Day, the limited edition St. Patrick’s Day cereal would be adorable!
Mini marshmallows. Use plain marshmallows (not the colored, fruity, or flavored kind). If you can only find normal sized marshmallows, they’ll work as well, they just take longer to melt.
Butter. Make sure to use salted butter here to help balance out all the sweetness in these treats. This is a rare recipe where I prefer to use salted butter than add the salt, I just think it works best for distributing the flavor.
Vanilla. This adds a nice depth of flavor.
White chocolate. If you’d like, you can melt some white chocolate to drizzle over the top of your bars before cutting them. This is completely optional, but I like the extra flavor and decoration it adds!

SAM’S TIP: When it comes to recipes with so few ingredients, the quality of each one can really make a difference. Just like with my cookies and cream Rice Krispie treats, lemon meltaways, and shortbread cookies, European butter is a worthwhile splurge here. It has a richer flavor and will make your treats taste totally gourmet!

This is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

How to Make Lucky Charms Treats

Overhead view of a mixture of lucky charms cereal and melted marshmallow in a glass casserole dish.

Melt the butter over low heat.
Stir in the marshmallows and vanilla until melted (do not crank up the temperature, this will make your cereal bars dry and crisp instead of soft and chewy!), then remove from heat.
Add the cereal and stir to coat.
Spread into a buttered 9×13″ pan, then gently press into the pan. Don’t be too firm with this step, or your bars will end up dense and tough.
Let cool completely, then drizzle with white chocolate before (or after) cutting, if desired.

SAM’S TIP: Sometimes I like to fish through the box and pull out extra charm marshmallows to scatter on top the treats after I spread them into the pan (or you can buy the bags of just the charm marshmallows for this, if your store has those!). This is obviously optional, but who doesn’t love extra marshmallows? And they look pretty too!

Overhead view of marshmallow cereal bars made with Lucky Charms cereal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are my Lucky Charms treats hard?

This can happen if you press the marshmallow/cereal mixture too firmly into the pan. Be gentle during this step, and you’ll have nice and chewy results!

Note this can also happen if you heat the marshmallows on too high of a heat, so keep it on low the whole time.

How should I store them?

These treats will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for five days. I haven’t tried freezing them, but I suspect the marshmallows would not thaw well. If you do try this, then please let me know how it goes for you!

Can I halve this recipe?

Yes! If you only want a half batch, then you can cut all ingredients in half and use a 9×9 or 8×8 pan.

Plate of cereal bars made with Lucky Charms cereal.

Love cereal treats? Try my s’mores cereal bars or puppy chow next!

Enjoy!

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