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. 😉
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🌟 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.
- In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat.
- 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.
👩🏻🍳 Recipe FAQs
The key is to not overmix both the melted marshmallows and when mixing the rice krispie treats into the melted marshmallows. Only stir the marshmallows until they are just melted, then mix in the rice krispies and stir them in gently just until all of the rice krispies are coated. If you keep mixing longer, then you run the risk of the marshmallows hardening up.
Yes, you can use a 10-ounce bag of mini marshmallows instead of a 10-ounce bag of regular sized marshmallows. The importance is the amount of marshmallows (10 ounces) and that you use fresh marshmallows; don’t use marshmallows from a bag that is already opened.
These are best enjoyed soon after they are made, but you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to four or five days. After a few days, these crispy treats will start to lose their crunch.
If you want the mini pumpkins to have the same flavor as pumpkin pie, mix in some pumpkin pie spice with the crispy rice cereal.
🍽 Serving ideas
These pumpkin rice krispies treats look great on any Halloween snacks table! Make them along with Frankenstein Rice Krispie Treats, Nutter Butter Ghost Cookies, Halloween Pinwheel Cookies, and Easy Monster Halloween Bark.
Want more green, orange, and purple Halloween-related treats? Try this easy yet impressive Green Velvet Cake or these brightly colored purple Ube Cookies!
If you’re making these as a fun dessert to enjoy with a fall dinner, try serving it after Vegan Pumpkin Soup, Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes, and Instant Pot Pork Chops and Rice.
🍳 Kitchen tools and equipment
Ready to make this recipe? Here are the kitchen tools and equipment you’ll need:
- Dutch oven or large pot to melt the marshmallows.
- Baking sheet lined with parchment paper or wax paper to place the treats while they set.
🎃 More Halloween recipes
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to leave a 5-Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card, and if you really loved it, please leave a comment further down on the page. Thank you!
Pumpkin Rice Krispie Treats
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 package (10 ounces) marshmallows
- orange food coloring
- 6 cups rice krispie cereal
- optional decorations: chocolate covered pretzels, green M & M candies, candy eyes
Instructions
- 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.
- Place the rice krispies cereal in a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a saucepan or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat.
- Once the butter has melted, add the marshmallows and immediately start stirring with a heatproof spatula. Turn down the heat. As the marshmallows begin to melt, add drops one by one into the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly with the heatproof spatula 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).
- 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.
- Wearing food safe gloves sprayed with cooking spray (or your hands sprayed with cooking spray), quickly work to form round rice krispie balls, about the size of tennis balls.
- 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. Set the decorated pumpkin rice krispie treat on the prepared parchment paper or wax paper-lined baking sheet and allow to set.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
🎃 Halloween Printables
Throwing a Halloween party? Check out our Ultimate Bundle of Halloween printables!
The Halloween printables bundle includes:
- Halloween party invitation design
- Halloween bingo cards + call-out cards
- Lunchbox laughs with Halloween-themed jokes
- Halloween word search
- Halloween favor bag fold-over tags
- Trick-or-treating scavenger hunt
- Halloween candy wrappers
