Vanilla Tahini Rice Crispy Treats – a twist on the cereal snack favorite with savory tahini, sweet vanilla, a pinch of salt, and a yummy sprinkling of chocolate chips!
THIS POST IS SPONSORED BY NIELSEN-MASSEY.
As far as sticky-fingered cereal snacks go, this version is straight up CLASS.
I mean we’ve got crunchy brown rice cereal sweetly sticky-ed together sans marshmallows, a savory compliment from tahini, a big pinch of salt, and pure vanilla extract. Oh and we can’t forget the teensy chocolate chips sprinkled throughout. Very adult.
Okay so maybe not the most mature form, but compared to the one-note sweetness of your typical rice crispy treat these are truly next level on flavor.
For a minute I almost wished I hadn’t added the chocolate chips because the flavor of the crispy treats alone is so unique and interesting and SERIOUSLY good. But chocolate chip regret is not an actual thing.
I don’t know about you, but as a kid I LOVED rice crispy treats but HATED making them. A giant (yet always too small) bowl full of melted marshmallows hot enough to burn your hands that’s quickly cooling into glue while you try to stir a ridiculous number of measured-ish cups of cereal into. Thanks, but no thanks (jk 100% worth it).
These Vanilla Tahini Rice Crispy Treats will not burn your fingers or trigger anxiety while making, HOORAH. Easy to mix with just six ingredients:
- brown rice cereal (the crispy kind, not puffs)
- tahini a.k.a. sesame seed butter
- honey or brown rice syrup (maple syrup isn’t quite sticky enough)
- pure vanilla extract
- salt
- chocolate chips (optional)
Simple stuff, amiright?
With simple ingredient lists like this, ingredient quality matters even more. Which is why we love Nielsen-Massey because they are not messing around when it comes to vanilla extract. All Nielsen-Massey products are all natural, GMO-free, certified gluten-free, and allergy friendly. And their new No Sugar Added Pure Vanilla Extract makes me especially happy because it is made with just the essentials – water, alcohol, vanilla beans. And premium hand-selected vanilla beans too, that are treated with the utmost care so they gift us and our cereal treats with all their sweet delicious flavor.
Yup, this is the real deal GOOD vanilla stuff.
These crispy bars are no-bake (I mean duh…if you ever come across a baked rice crispy treat recipe RUN, because someone is messing with you). So all you gotta do is mix, smush into a pan, and refrigerate for a few hours. Which obviously means freeze for less than a few hours because rice crispy treats are delicious and patience is overrated.
The crunch. The sweet/savory/salty flavor. The sticky finger-licking afterwards.
So much to look forward to!
If you give these Vanilla Tahini Rice Crispy Treats, I want to see! Tag me @feastingonfruit and @nielsenmassey on Instagram, and follow Nielsen-Massey on Facebook and Pinterest for more recipe inspiration.
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Vanilla Tahini Rice Crispy Treats – a twist on the cereal snack favorite with savory tahini, sweet vanilla, a pinch of salt, and a yummy sprinkling of chocolate chips!
Ingredients
- 4 cups (140g) crispy rice cereal
- 2/3 cup (170g) tahini (can sub nut/seed butter of choice)
- 1/2 cup honey or brown rice syrup
- 1 tbsp Nielsen-Massey No Sugar Added Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup (60g) mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a small bowl, melt the tahini and sweetener (about 30 seconds in the microwave).
- Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Pour on top of the cereal, add salt, and mix until evenly coated.
- Stir in the chocolate chips. Make sure the mixture is not too hot or they will melt.
- Press into a square pan that is lined with parchment paper or lightly oiled.
- Refrigerate for 3-4 hours until firm (or freeze to speed things up!)
- Slice into bars and enjoy!
- Keep leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 square
- Calories: 147
- Sugar: 11g
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Carbohydrates: 20g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
Keywords: vegan, gluten-free, kids, snacks, no bake, easy, recipe, cereal
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Thank you Nielsen-Massey for sponsoring this post!
Oh my these look perfect! I 100% agree that chocolate chip regret is impossible – the little nuggets seem to be sneaking their way into all my food these days…
Hahaha those minis are especially sneaky😉 And I had half a bag left after making these, so I can definitely relate🍫🍫 Happy new week to you, Shivani!
Those are yummy looking treats! I wonder if maple syrup would be a suitable alternative to rice syrup? or is it not sticky enough?
You can use maple syrup, I tested a batch with that, but it’s not as sticky so they fall apart more easily. But if you freeze them it helps!
I have to say yet again, your videos are absolutely delightful. I aspire to this!
Aw thank you so much for the kind words Marni❤️
I usually dislike Rice Krispy Treats, but I think I’ll be giving these a chance. With peanut butter, though. Tahini is very well, but pb is my jam (pun intended). And chocolate chips, of course.
Oooh I love that idea! And with the chocolate chips, the peanut butter will be delish😋 Enjoy!
Oh, I can’t wait to try these! I just bought tahini this weekend since I made some granola bars yesterday and have the whole rest of the jar to use. I think I’ll try half cashew butter and half tahini since Olivia hates tahini since it is so strong, haha. I don’t have any brown rice syrup. I’m curious if coconut nectar would work since it’s super thick too, hmmm, might be an experiment to try! I totally know what you mean about the marshmallow original version. While I admit they are easily one of my all-time favorite treats, I mean, they are out-of-this world delicious, but I remember making them and you got like 2 seconds to mix it all up before it’s impossible to press into the pan, LOL. But like you said, totally worth it! So far from healthy but so delicious. These are a much healthier version, definitely need to try them out. My mouth is watering from your yummy treats post this week! Chocolate chips will most definitely not be optional for me OR Olivia here, hahaha!
I used to hate tahini too, so I get where she’s coming from. It is a really strong bitter flavor, but with sweet stuff to balance…GAH i love it these days😋 Oooh I’ve never tried crispy treats with coconut nectar, but I imagine that would work very well. I still have a weakness for anything involving marshmallows, but this version is much easier to mix🤗 And well not pure sugar lol😆
These look so yummy! Definitely gonna try them out 😛 Does the consistency of the tahini make a big difference? I just bought a jar of tahini but it’s unlike the ones we usually find in supermarkets as I got it from a middle eastern grocer and it’s not as thick/sticky. It’s slightly more runny and thin! Will i still be able to make these bars with them?
Hmm mine was pretty runny, like you could pour it right out of the jar without a spoon, so should be fine! Hope they turn out perfect 🙂
Let this be a lesson to me: DO. NOT. MESS WITH NATALIE’S RECIPES. Rule number 1: Every ingredient is important. Rule number 2: The ratios are there for a reason. Rule number 3: Do NOT think you can come up with clever substitutions. Failure to comply may result in ugly, disappointing cakes that do not slightly resemble those in the gorgeous pictures and videos. THIS recipe is the BEST rice crispy cake recipe! NOT any of my (3) attempts to merge several of your recipes, and not even your (also delicious) date-sweetened version can top it. This held together beautifully, stayed crisp (thanks to me using TOASTED rice puffs on attempt 3!) and tasted divine (if devilishly moreish). That tahini-honey-salt combo just WORKS. What was I even thinking trying to tweak it?? Hats off to you, this stuff is what crispy rice cereal is made for.
★★★★★
Hahaha!! I feel like I need to just copy/paste this disclaimer at the top of every post, it would save me a lot of time trying to help people troubleshoot😂😂 I’m glad you finally found the TOASTY kind of rice cereal and they turned out so well! I think I prefer these to the date sweetened ones too😋 You are the best, much love!
Hi there. Do you taste the tahini in the recipe. Trying to make this for my kids.
Thanks
You do taste it, yes. I would try almond or cashew butter for a more mild kid-friendly version 🙂
Super easy to make – we put the mixture into muffin cases to save on having to cut them later on! Tastes great😋
Oh I love the muffin idea! Hope you enjoy them Daisy 🙂
I accidently used half honey half maple syrup. I hope they come out ok. Im thinking if toppibg with melted chocolate/coconut oil so maybe they will stick together better.
The honey will be fine!! I’ve made them that way before, even with all honey 🙂