Grain Free “Rice” Crispy Treats | Paleo & AIP
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These “rice” crispy treats aren’t made with rice at all, but they still bring you back to the memories of the real thing! They’re grain free, gluten free, paleo and even AIP compliant.
When I asked some of my readers on Instagram what they’d like to see for the Halloween season, rice crispy treats kept coming up. And for good reason. Let’s be honest… those things are delicious! My mom would often buy boxes of rice crispy treats to keep at home, and it was the ultimate treat. I loved how sweet, crispy, and fun these little bars were. But the question was, how the heck do you make this paleo or AIP? I didn’t know, but I knew I had to try until I finally came up with these paleo and AIP “rice” crispy treats!
So, no there’s no actual rice in these little dessert bars. It’s made with toasted coconut flakes and marshmallow. Essentially, these are just big fluffy marshmallows filled with toasted coconut. Call them what you want, but for our purposes, these are as close are rice crispy treats are you’re gonna get!
Technically, you could use a coconut based cereal if you’re feeling fancy. However, my goal with my recipes to use accessible ingredients rather than send everyone on a wild goose chase to find the perfect cereal. But if you have a cereal you’d rather use, go for it! As long as the measurements match, it should work.
Also, I know that not everyone eats coconut and the question may arise as to whether or not these could be made coconut free. The answer is that I have not found a coconut free way to replicate this. I’m always open to hearing other ideas, but I have not tested another way that I can recommend.
The Ingredients You’ll Need For The Grain Free Rice Crispy Treats
Toasted coconut flakes
This is the rice substitute for these “rice” crispy treats. You can buy pre-toasted coconut flakes like this or simply toast your own in the oven like this.
Honey
Honey is the main ingredient for marshmallows. You can technically use maple syrup as well, but the color will be different.
Gelatin
Gelatin is one of the key ingredients that hold the marshmallows together. I use Vital Proteins. You cannot sub collagen for this recipe.
Coconut oil
This helps to keep the marshmallow from sticking to the pan.
Optional additions…
These have a ton of flavor on their own, but you can add some flair by adding vanilla, cinnamon, or even a pumpkin spice blend!
Grain Free “Rice” Crispy Treats | Paleo & AIP
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 9 bars 1x
Description
These grain free rice crispy treats are close to the real thing!
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 3 tbsp gelatin
- 1 cup honey
- 4 cups toasted coconut flakes (you’ll need 2 bags if your use this brand)
- 2–3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
Instructions
- Prepare an 8×8″ (or slightly larger) baking pan by lining with parchment paper and coating generously in coconut oil. Set aside.
- Pour 1/2 cup of water into a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over top. Stir gently to ensure the gelatin is combined. Set aside to allow to harden.
- Using a medium-sized pot slowly heat the honey combined with the other 1/2 cup of water. Slowly bring the temperature to 235-240 F degrees on low heat. Remove from heat immediately once the mixture comes to temperature.
- Begin whisking the gelatin mixture either with an electric hand mixer or in a stand mixer. Slowly add in the honey mixture and keep whisking for 10-12 minutes. The marshmallow mixture should be lukewarm, thick, and marshmallow peaks should start to form.
- Stir in the toasted coconut flakes and mix until thoroughly combined.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and place in the fridge to harden for at least 4 hours.
- After the marshmallow solidifies, carefully remove from the pan and place on a cutting board. Generously grease a sharp knife with coconut oil and slice the treats in 9 bars (or more for smaller treats). The bars will be hard to slice, so add more coconut oil as needed, and use a slow sawing motion with the knife. Note that the bars will be soft (like a marshmallow) and the “crispy” element comes from the toasted coconut.
- Store in the fridge and enjoy!
Notes
All nutritional information are estimations and will vary.
To have less sugar per serving, slice the bars into smaller bite sized pieces.
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Category: Dessert
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 427
- Fat: 20.8g
- Carbohydrates: 63.8g
- Fiber: 3.6g
- Protein: 4.1g
Keywords: rice crispy, grain free, marshmallows
AIP
Low Carb
Paleo
Whole30
Which vital proteins do you use for this recipe?
You’d use the green can 🙂
What! You’re a genius. Thanks so much can’t wait to try these!
Thank you so much Sheryl!!!
These look amazing! Toasting coconut for these as I type! 🙂
Can’t wait to try these!
I made these but thinking I didn’t put enough coconut flakes, because they can out spongy. Are yours like that or did they come out crisp.
★★★★★
Hi Donna! The bars are essentially homemade marshmallow filled with coconut flakes, so the base will have marshmallow texture. The “crisp” element is from the toasted coconut 🙂
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How much sugar is their per serving? A whole cup of honey is a lot of sugar..
1 cup of honey is the standard for making marshmallows, so you can’t really cut down on the sugar to properly make marshmallow. You can just have smaller servings at a time 🙂
It would be about 35 grams of sugar per serving
These are delicious! Excellent directions and very easy to make. Thank you for sharing!!!
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Lauren!! So happy you liked it!!
Michelle can you use maple syrup instead of Honey?
You likely can… the base of this recipe is really just a marshmallow recipe, so I would look up how to make marshmallows with maple syrup just to make sure the ratios are right 🙂
Do you think you could sub maple syrup instead of honey?
You likely can… the base of this recipe is really just a marshmallow recipe, so I would look up how to make marshmallows with maple syrup just to make sure the ratios are right ????
Can I substitute something for the vital proteins?
Marshmallows need gelatin for texture or they won’t really work at all. There are other ingredients that you can use to make vegan marshmallows, but gelatin is needed if you’re going to keep it AIP compliant.
This would have been a great recipe if the marshmallow part turned out. I stood with a hand mixer for 25 min to just get white thick liquid. I followed the directions exactly.
★★
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Can I use eggs instead of the gelatin? If so, what would be the appropriate amount? Thanks!
Eggs wouldn’t work in this particular recipe, but I would look up how to make vegan marshmallows for a better swap 🙂
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You should call these “no rice” crispy treats. Hahahaha. They look delicious
I have no kitchen thermometer, any hints in how to tell when the honey mix is right?
I honestly wouldn’t do it without a thermometer… it’s such a slight window for the marshmallows to really set well, so it’s hard to really judge without a thermometer. They’re pretty cheap and I use my thermometer daily in the kitchen, so it’s definitely a useful tool 🙂
I must have done something dreadfully wrong but I don’t know what! My bars never hardened, the marshmallow remained bouncy when I pushed on it. The flavor was good, the taste of the toasted coconut cut through the maple flavor of the maple syrup I used. BUT, the texture? Eww. I need advice on what could have gone wrong.
★★
The texture of them is definitely more like a marshmallow. The coconut isn’t actually “crisp” like cereal, so it leans more marshmallowy!
Yum! Can’t wait to try these out! I’m thinking about taking half the marshmallow and using some puffed quinoa and seeing if it’s works too. Have you tried that yet? Worth a test. I’ll let you know. Although I’m a sucker for toasted coconut anything!