Everything you love about an ooey-gooey s’mores in bar form! These golden graham cereal bars are an easy no bake dessert that is a great for summer parties, sleepovers, or for an easy weeknight treat to share with your family and friends.
There is just something special about s’mores. The gooey marshmallow and melty chocolate combined with the graham cracker is something to behold. Summertime calls for lots and lots of s’mores goodness. These s’mores bars have all the goodness of a classic s’mores in bar form…which is pretty much pure bliss for those who love a good dessert bars recipe!
S’mores bars are the cooler cousin of rice krispie bars. These cereal bars are one of my favorite easy desserts with few ingredients to make (only 4 ingredients needed!). This s’mores dessert is often requested by my husband and my co-workers love it too.
If you’ve been looking for new desserts to make at home, recipes for easy no bake desserts, and/or kid-friendly dessert ideas, give these s’mores bars a try!
TELL ME ABOUT THIS S’MORES BARS RECIPE
Level of difficulty: Easy. These golden graham cereal bars are one of my favorite quick and easy desserts to make at home! The hardest part is not eating the ingredients while you’re prepping your bars.
Flavor: Graham, marshmallow, and chocolate are all equally predominant flavors in this s’mores dessert bars recipe.
Texture: You get a nice crunch from the graham cereal paired with ooey-gooey marshmallow…very similar to a rice krispie treat.
Time: It will take you about 10 minutes to prepare your cereal bars, then you need to let them set up for about 25 minutes (otherwise it’s a sticky gooey mess…which I’m not opposed to, but they just aren’t really dessert bars yet when you dig in too soon).
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
Graham Cereal: The graham cereal gives you that pop of graham cracker flavor you need for a true s’mores experience, but holds up much better than actual graham crackers for these cereal bars. I use Golden Grahams when making this recipe.
Marshmallows: I usually use the larger jet-puffed marshmallows when making my s’mores bars, but mini marshmallows will work just as well.
Chocolate Chips: I use dark chocolate chips when making this cereal bars recipe, but use whatever type of chocolate you love the most! You could even chop up a chocolate bar you’d usually use for campfire s’mores!
Salted Butter: You need just a little bit of butter to help your marshmallows from just being straight up sticky. The butter really helps to tame the mallows as they heat, in turn making putting your dessert bars together much easier.
Check out a quick story series on these delicious s’mores bars here!
OVERVIEW: HOW to make this golden graham cereal bars RECIPE
- Heat your marshmallows with butter: Place the butter and marshmallows in a large microwave safe bowl, and microwave in 30 second increments. Stir after each 30 second increment to incorporate the butter. Repeat until marshmallows are poofy and melted. This will take approximately 4 rounds (or 2 minutes) to complete, depending on your microwave.
- Stir in your graham cereal: Stir in 5 cups of graham cereal until evenly distributed. If additional cereal is desired to obtain your perfect cereal-to-marshmallow ratio, stir in up to 1 additional cup of cereal.
- Make your bars: Gently press about half of your cereal and marshmallow mixture into a 9×13 pan. Sprinkle half of the chocolate chips over the bottom layer, and gently press the second half of the cereal and marshmallow mixture into your pan. Top with remaining chocolate chips and additional cereal pieces.
- Let your bars set up: Let your s’mores bars set up for 20-30 minutes before cutting.
- Serve and enjoy!
- Store leftovers: Store leftover s’mores bars in an air-tight container on the countertop for up to 3 days (I will be impressed if they last that long!)
FAQS
Do I need to coat my 9×13 pan with anything? When using my glass 9×13 pan, I have never needed to coat my pan for this recipe. However, if you are nervous about your s’mores bars sticking to your pan you have a few options. You can lightly grease your pan with non-stick cooking spray or butter or line it with parchment paper.
Should I use the big marshmallows or the small marshmallows for this recipe? You can use either type of marshmallow for this cereal bars recipe! I generally get the larger jet-puffed marshmallows, but if I have the small style in my cabinet I wouldn’t hesitate using those either.
What type of chocolate should I use for my s’mores bars? You have lots of options here! I like to use dark chocolate chips in my s’mores bars. If you’d prefer milk chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips – go for it! You could also cut up your favorite chocolate bar to put into your s’mores dessert bars too.
LOVE these golden graham cereal bars? YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY:
S’mores Bars
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp salted butter
- 1, 12 oz package jet puffed marshmallows
- 5-6 C graham cereal (Golden Grahams)
- 1 C dark chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
- Place the butter and marshmallows in a large microwave safe bowl, and microwave in 30 second increments. Stir after each 30 second increment to incorporate the butter. Repeat until marshmallows are poofy and melted (approximately 4 rounds / 2 minutes cook time total)
- Stir in 5 cups of graham cereal until evenly distributed. If additional cereal is desired to obtain your perfect cereal-to-marshmallow ratio, stir in up to 1 additional cup of cereal
- Gently press about half of your cereal and marshmallow mixture into a 9×13 pan*
- Sprinkle half of the chocolate chips over the bottom layer, and gently press the second half of the cereal and marshmallow mixture into your pan. Top with remaining chocolate chips and additional cereal pieces
- Let set for 20-30 minutes before cutting
- Serve and enjoy!
- Store leftover s’mores bars in an air-tight container on the countertop for up to 3 days
These are delicious!! My husband and I ate the whole pan in 3 days! I will definitely be making them again!
I’m so glad you that you both liked them so much Sara! Thank you for making my recipe, I appreciate it!