Pumpkin Rice Krispie Treats

These Pumpkin Rice Krispie Treats are a fun, fast, and super easy Halloween treat that's perfect for Halloween parties! With just 5 ingredients, you can make these rice krispie treat pumpkins in under 30 minutes.

Halloween is such a fun time of year! Since my kids were little, we loved making fun little treats like Frankenstein Rice Krispie Treats and Nutter Butter Ghost Cookies.

Even now that they're teenagers, we still have fun making Halloween cookies and candies. Rice krispies cereal treats are great for any occasion. You can turn them into so many different shapes and colors to fit almost any theme.

These Pumpkin Rice Krispie Treats are fun, easy treats to make for your next Halloween party or any other fall festivities. You can decorate them as much or as little as you want. So you can have silly, fun pumpkin rice krispies for the little ones -- and more "sophisticated" subtly decorated ones for the older kids. 😉

🌟 Why this recipe works

This Halloween recipe is perfect for parties and at-home snacking!

• You only need 5 simple ingredients to make these Halloween rice krispie treats.
• It's an easy recipe to follow and fun treat to make.
• The cute rice krispie pumpkins are fun to decorate with the kids!
• They taste delicious! Not too sweet, and full of that classic rice krispie cereal crunch.
• This is the perfect Thanksgiving dessert with minimal prep time.

🛒 Ingredient notes

You can make this pumpkin rice krispie treats recipe with just 5 ingredients!

• Marshmallows - I've used both the larger marshmallows and the mini marshmallows, and find that they each work well in rice krispie treats. Just be sure to get a 10-ounce package, no matter which size of marshmallows you decide to go with.
• Butter - Use unsalted butter for this recipe.
• Chocolate-covered pretzels - You can use regular mini pretzels, a pretzel stick, mini Tootsie Roll or Tootsie Rolls, or chocolate-covered pretzels to stick on top of each pumpkin to create the pumpkin stem. Add a green M&M or other green candy to create a leaf!
• Orange food coloring - You can use orange food coloring drops or gel to create the orange color that turns these rice krispie balls into pumpkins. I find that it's easier to manage the color when using food gel coloring compared to drops, but either will work. Make these as pastel orange or as bright orange as you like!
• Candy eyeballs - candy eyes are completely optional, but they do add another layer of fun to these cute little Halloween treats!

✅ Step-by-step instructions

Detailed instructions are in the full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here's a visual step-by-step guide with photos to help you make these tasty treats!

First, line a baking sheet with parchment paper or wax paper. Set aside.

Use a knife to cut out "stems" of chocolate-covered pretzels and set aside on a plate.

1. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat.
   
2. Once the butter has melted, add the marshmallows and immediately start stirring with a heatproof spatula.
   

3. Turn down the heat. As the marshmallows begin to melt, add drops of orange food coloring into the mixture, stirring constantly with the heatproof spatula over low heat to incorporate the color and continue melting the marshmallows. Stop adding food coloring once the marshmallows reach your desired color of orange (I usually end up using about 6 drops of food gel coloring).

4. Once the marshmallows have completely melted, remove from heat and pour in the rice krispies. Immediately stir and fold the rice krispies into the melted orange marshmallow mixture with your spatula until all of the cereal is coated and evenly colored.

5. Wearing food safe gloves (I prefer non latex gloves) sprayed with cooking spray (or your hands sprayed with cooking spray), quickly work to form the rice krispie mixture into pumpkin shapes, about the size of tennis balls.

Tip: spray a large cookie/ice cream scoop with cooking spray and use to scoop out the rice krispies into balls.

6. Immediately add the decorations before the marshmallow mixture sets. Place chocolate covered pretzel "stems" to the center of each rice krispie ball, then place one green M & M candy to the side of the stem to resemble the leaf. Add candy eyes to some pumpkins if you like.

7. Set the decorated pumpkin rice krispie treat on the prepared parchment paper or wax paper-lined baking sheet and allow to set.