These cute pumpkin rice crispy treats are super popular with kids and parents love them because there’s no food coloring!

Pumpkin Rice Krispie Treats for Best Halloween Appetizers on plate

Marshmallow rice crispy treats are a classic snack for kids and such an easy treat to make. When Halloween rolls around, serving these are still popular but make them extra fun by shaping them into pumpkins! Our version for Halloween is rice crispy treats and the added  puree makes them more nutritious. But what makes our pumpkin rice crispy treats so great is that we do not use food coloring to achieve the orange color. The pretzel sticks make super cute stems and for a leaf we couldn’t pass up adding green M&M’s. We know, they probably do have coloring in the M&M’s but you can have them as optional if you are averse to that. Personally we don’t mind the balance. Make the rice crispy balls a little healthier and then have a small extra treat in the green M&M’s.

Pumpkin Rice Krispie Treats for Best Halloween Appetizers step by step

With the video making these super cute Pumpkin Rice Krispie Treats!:

Pumpkin Rice Krispie Treats for Best Halloween Appetizers step by step

Our pumpkin treats are all natural and the color comes from the pumpkin puree. We wanted to give moms a version for rice crispy treats without food coloring. These still taste great and although you’ll get a slightly softer and chewier rice crispy treat, it’s still festive and delicious. Add some holiday spice to these rice crispy treats to make them more flavorful for the season. These are such a fun, delicious and easy way to celebrate Halloween and make your party more festive and colorful!

Pumpkin Rice Krispie Treats for Best Halloween Appetizers on plate

Pumpkin Rice Krispie Treats for Best Halloween Appetizers | @BestRecipeBox

Pumpkin Rice Crispy Treats

For best results use fresh marshmallows. There’s no food coloring in our recipe. The pumpkin puree adds the natural orange color and flavor. But it also makes for a slightly softer and chewier treat. The slight compromise on crispy texture is better than using food coloring! If you use the pumpkin pie spice, it’ll make these treats a slightly brown color. But better flavor!
5 from 8 votes

{click on stars to rate}

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons (45 g) butter
  • 1/4 cup (60 g) pumpkin puree
  • 10 ounces (284 g) JET-PUFFED Marshmallows (1 package)(preferably mini- they melt easier)
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) pumpkin pie spice , optional
  • 6 cups (112 g) Rice Krispies cereal or rice puff cereal
  • Optional , orange or red & yellow food coloring
  • Pretzel sticks , for the pumpkin stems
  • Green M&M’s , Skittles, or similar, for the pumpkin leaves
  • Vegetable oil , for coating your hands when forming pumpkins

Instructions 

  • Heat large saucepan on low heat. Melt the butter and then add the pumpkin puree. Heat until fully warmed and then add marshmallows and optional pumpkin pie spice mix.
    Gently stir until the marshmallows are melted, then remove saucepan from heat.
  • Add rice cereal and stir the whole mixture until all the cereal is coated in the melted marshmallow mixture. Allow the mixture to slightly cool to touch, but not too much or else it’ll be too hard to form the pumpkin shapes.
  • Coat your hands or a large cookie scoop with oil, and then form the rice crispy mixture into balls. Stick a piece of pretzel into the top of the pumpkin crispy treat for the stem. Add a green M&M for the leaf.
    Allow to cool until firm and enjoy!

Nutrition Information per Serving

Calories: 138kcal, Carbohydrates: 27g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 7mg, Sodium: 44mg, Potassium: 21mg, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 880IU, Vitamin C: 0.2mg, Calcium: 4mg, Iron: 0.4mg

This recipe was originally published in 2016 and re-published in 2020 with updated photos.

Other Pumpkin & Halloween Greats!

Click Here for —> More Halloween Recipes:

Click Here for —> Fantastic Holiday Recipes