Easy Strawberry Cereal Treats (No-Bake Recipe)

Strawberry Cereal Treats

These strawberry cereal treats made with Hershey’s Strawberry and Creme bars, Very Berry Cheerios, and freeze dried strawberry powder

(Affiliate)

to enhance the melty marshmallow base are a surefire hit for Valentine’s Day treats. That little burst of strawberry flavor and lovely pink flavor is what sets these apart from standard Rice Krispie Treats. Add a little extra Valentine’s flair with a heart cookie cutter, and you’ve got an easy no bake strawberry recipe for Vday.

Active time	Total time	Yield	Difficulty
5 min	20 min	30 hearts	Easy

this …

I’m always looking for ways to make seasonal Rice Krispie Treats. With just a few minutes of work and no need to turn on the oven, it’s easy to see why people love making them. See my chocolate rice krispie treats and my peanut butter rice krispie treats for variations on the same idea.

This batch is made flat in a sheet tray instead of the usual high sided cake pan. This opens up a whole load of possibilities for cutting out cereal treats with cookie cutters for other holidays!

Let’s make a batch!

Strawberry cereal treats are for you if…

1. You love the classics: Classic Rice Krispie treats are a classic because they’re so good and so easy to make! Adding a different cereal and some big strawberry flavor is a way to shake things up.
2. You’re short on time and you signed up to bring a dessert to your Galentine’s potluck: We’ve all been there; we all have hectic lives, and sometimes a no-bake treat is the way to still make something for a potluck without having to overspend on a pricey bakery dessert.
3. You want to make an easy Valentine’s dessert with your kids: This is a recipe I’d even make with littles in the kitchen. No bake treats are a great place for young kids to start in the kitchen!

What kinds of strawberry cereal can I use?

• Strawberry Krispies: For extra pretty pink color
• Very Berry Cheerios: Adds a nice oaty crunch.
• Special K Red Berries: Special K makes awesome cereal treats, and the big freeze dried strawberry slices are gorgeous in these bars.
• Honey Bunches of Oats Strawberries: Use if you want some granola crunch to your bars.
• Strawberry Vanilla Chex: for bi-color bars with that lovely Chex crunch.

Step by Step instructions

1. Melt: Place the butter, marshmallows, and strawberry white chocolate bars in a large heavy bottomed pot. Melt everything over low heat so as not to scorch the marshmallows. Stir them periodically with a baking spatula

   (Affiliate)

   .
2. Chop: While the marshmallow base is melting, chop the cream covered strawberries in half if using.
3. Prep the pan: Spray a sheet tray with cooking spray, and then line it with a piece of parchment

   (Affiliate)

   . Spritz a little more cooking spray on top of the parchment

   (Affiliate)

   .
4. Stir: When the marshmallows are melted, stir in the cereal and freeze dried strawberry powder

   (Affiliate)

   if using. Stir to coat everything well.
5. Scoop and press: Scoop out the coated cereal into the pan. Cut a piece of plastic wrap and spray it with a little cooking spray. Place the plastic wrap oiled side down onto the cereal. Use your hand to flatten and smooth the cereal into the edges of the pan.
6. Top: If you’re using them, scatter and press the Tru Frü creme strawberries

   (Affiliate)

   into the surface of the bars.
7. Freeze: Freeze the tray for 5 minutes.
8. Cut: Spray your heart cutter with a little cooking spray and then use it to cut out heart shapes from the pan. Rotate the cutter 90 degrees with every cut to minimize the waste.

Storing your bars

Room temperature: Bars can be kept at room temperature for up to 5 days in an airtight container. For best results, wrap the bars individually in plastic wrap. Make sure the bars are cool before wrapping or storing them to keep out moisture.

Can I freeze them?: Yes, though I’d individually wrap them in plastic before placing them in a larger plastic bag to keep them from sticking together. Frozen bars are best eaten within 6 weeks.

Tips for the best strawberry cereal treats

1. Melt over low: Be sure to melt the marshmallows over low heat so they don’t scorch.
2. Don’t overpack the cereal: Do press the cereal into the edges of the pan, but avoid squashing it down too much to keep the bars lighter and less dense.
3. Don’t freeze the bars too long: The freezer is a great tool to cool down the bars quickly, but if you leave them in there too long, the bars will be difficult to cut. 5 minutes gives you enough time for the bars to hold their shape and still be easy to cut.

Easy Strawberry Cereal Treats (No-Bake Recipe)

---

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

• Author: Elizabeth Farr
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 30 hearts depending on the cutter used 1x

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Description

Add some Valentine’s flair to the classic Rice Krispie treat with strawberry cereal and crème covered freeze dried strawberries.  Cut the bars into little hearts for a celebratory look Cupid himself would approve.

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Strawberry cereal treats

• Cooking spray for the pan
• 8 cups Strawberry cereal (288 g): Very Berry Cheerios or one of the other options below
• 10 ounce bag mini marshmallows (284 g)
• 1 stick butter (113 g)
• 2 Hershey’s Strawberry and Creme bars or 3 ounces white chocolate (85 g)
• 1 Tablespoon freeze dried strawberry powder

  (Affiliate)

   (optional for extra strawberry flavor) (6 g)
• 1 bag Tru Frü creme strawberries

  (Affiliate)

   (optional for a pop of color) (119 g)

Equipment needed

• Heart shaped cookie cutter–about 3″ across
• Sheet tray
• Parchment
• Plastic wrap
• Baking spatula

  (Affiliate)

 

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

Melt the marshmallow base

1. Spritz a half sheet pan with a little cooking spray.  Then line the bottom of the pan with a sheet of parchment.  Spray the top of the parchment as well.
2. Melt the butter, white chocolate, and marshmallows in a large pot over low heat, stirring occasionally.  It’s important to keep the heat low so that the marshmallows don’t burn.  Cover the pan with a lid or a sheet tray to help melt the marshmallows a little more efficiently.
3. While the marshmallows are melting, chop the crème covered strawberries in half if using.
4. Turn off the heat once the marshmallows are completely melted and smooth.

Make the bars

1. Stir the cereal and freeze dried strawberry powder

   (Affiliate)

   into the marshmallow goo, stirring well to coat the cereal.
2. Quickly scrape the coated cereal into the prepared pan.  Smooth the mixture into the pan as best you can, and then take a piece of oiled plastic wrap, placing it on top of the bars.  Use the wrap to lightly press the mixture into the corners of the pan.  Scatter the cut freeze dried strawberries over the top and press them into the top of the cereal.
3. Freeze the pan for no more than 5 minutes.  Use a heart cutter to cut out heart shapes from the cereal.  Rotate the cutter 90 degrees with every cut to minimize the waste.  It is possible to press the edges of scraps together to cut a few more hearts, but keep the scraps flat.
4. Cool the bars completely before storing to prevent condensation that will stale the cereal.

Notes

Other strawberry cereal to use: Strawberry Rice Krispies, Special K Red Berries, Strawberry Vanilla Chex, Honey Bunches of Oats Strawberries

Storage:

1.     Room temperature: Bars can be kept at room temperature for up to 5 days in an airtight container. For best results, wrap the bars individually in plastic wrap. Make sure the bars are cool before wrapping or storing them to keep out moisture.

2.     Can I freeze them?: Yes, though I’d individually wrap them in plastic before placing them in a larger plastic bag to keep them from sticking together. Frozen bars are best eaten within 6 weeks.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 5 minutes
• Category: Bar cookies
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American