Vegan Strawberry Rice Crispy Treats (Microwave or Stovetop)

Crispy Rice Cereal - Make sure you are using crispy rice cereal and not "puffed rice" cereal, they are both very different and will not give you the same result.

From Living Vegan for Dummies: "For the cereal, choose one that isn’t fortified with vitamin D3, which usually isn’t vegan because it’s derived from sheep’s wool."

I have found that store brands are sometimes accidentally vegan but if you can't find one, I recommend looking for Nature’s Path Crispy Rice Cereal, which is both vegan and gluten-free.

If you need the squares to be gluten-free, note that some crispy rice cereals contain barley malt extract, which is vegan but not gluten-free. As mentioned above, the Nature's Path brand of crispy rice cereal is vegan and gluten-free.

Vegan Marshmallows - Use either large marshmallows or mini marshmallows. Regular marshmallows contain gelatin, so look for a vegan brand. The most popular is Dandies brand but there are many others. Read this article to find out more: "Are Marshmallows Vegan?"

Freeze-Dried Strawberries - These berries have been dehydrated to remove all of their moisture, and yes, they are real strawberries! You can either buy them whole, sliced, or already in powdered form. Make sure you buy FREEZE-DRIED strawberries and not dried strawberries (dried strawberries still have moisture, and are chewy, like raisins and dates, and will not work in this recipe).

Vegan Butter - Either salted or unsalted vegan butter will work. You can use vegan butter that comes in sticks or vegan margarine that comes in a container.

Variations

• You can vary the type of freeze-dried fruit with dried raspberries or dried blueberries.
• If you prefer plain vegan rice crispy treats, omit the freeze-dried strawberries; the rest of the recipe stays the same.
• If you like, add other mix-ins like chocolate pieces, chocolate chips, pretzels, or crushed sandwich cookies.
• If you'd like the treats to be a little more pink, stir the strawberry powder directly into the melted marshmallows, once incorporated, add the cereal and stir.
• Add a small amount of sprinkles to the top of the treats once you've flattened them into the pan and lightly press them in so they stick. If you're making them for Valentine's Day, heart-shaped, red, white, or pink, sprinkles would be a fun addition! Find vegan sprinkle brands to look for in this article: "Are Sprinkles Vegan? (THESE Brands Are!)."
• Drizzle with or dip in melted chocolate.
• Cut the treats into any shape you'd like instead of squares like circles, stars, flowers, or hearts! Depending on the size of the shape you are using, you may end up with more or less than 12 servings,

Storage

• Place the cereal treats in an airtight container and keep them at room temperature for up to five days.
• You can line the container with parchment paper at the bottom and in between layers to prevent the treats from sticking to each other.
• Don't refrigerate, this will harden them and dry them out.

Want more sweet treats? Have a look through all of my vegan dessert recipes for ideas on what to make next!

Tips for Success

• Measure and have all your ingredients ready to go before starting. This will make the process run smoothly, quickly, and easily.
• Measure your ingredients correctly. I highly recommend using a scale (this is the scale I have) and my weight measurements when making this recipe.
• Make sure to use crispy rice cereal and NOT puffed rice cereal. These are two different things and your results will not be the same.
• If you’d prefer to skip the marshmallow-cutting step, full-sized marshmallows can be replaced with an equal amount of mini vegan marshmallows.
• Don't overheat the marshmallow mixture. Use low heat and take the time to melt them properly, overheating cooks too much moisture out. This will make your treats hard so they won't be soft, pliable, and stretchy. Stop heating once the marshmallows have just melted, there may be a few that have not melted fully, but that's okay, they will melt into the mixture when you stir.
• Work quickly after the cereal and marshmallow mixture is ready. It starts to cool and stiffen quickly, so once it's ready, get it into the pan and flatten it as soon as possible so it's soft and easy to work with!
• Don't slice right away, allow it to cool first. The treats are very sticky when warm, so to avoid a mess, allow them to cool a bit before cutting.
• Read this post from beginning to end before making the recipe, it contains lots of tips and tricks on how to make your strawberry rice crispy treats perfectly, every single time!
• For the very best results, follow the recipe exactly as it’s written!

I hope you check out Living Vegan For Dummies, if not for yourself for someone who is a new vegan, just curious, or is trying to incorporate more vegan recipes into their rotation and/or has a lot of questions about becoming vegan. It's a very handy and useful gift that will be much appreciated.