Pistachio Halvah Rice Krispies Treats
Updated May 28, 2025

- Total Time
- About 2½ hours
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 25 minutes, plus at least 2 hours’ setting
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- ½cup/113 grams unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1(10-ounce/ 283-gram) bag mini marshmallows
- ⅓cup/100 grams sweetened condensed milk
- 2tablespoons tahini, well stirred
- 2tablespoons pistachio butter (preferably unsweetened)
- 1tablespoon vanilla bean paste or extract
- 1½teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- 6cups/160 grams Rice Krispies cereal
- 4ounces/113 grams store-bought or homemade pistachio or sesame halvah, crumbled and divided
- ½cup/67 grams shelled roasted pistachios, coarsely chopped and divided
- 2tablespoons white sesame seeds, lightly toasted and divided
Preparation
- Step 1
Line an 8-inch square metal or glass pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.
- Step 2
Melt butter in a large Dutch oven or other heavy bottomed pot over medium. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with heatproof flexible spatula, until butter foams, settles and then turns dark brown, about 5 minutes.
- Step 3
Add marshmallows and stir vigorously until melted and smooth, about 2 minutes. Add condensed milk, tahini, pistachio butter, vanilla and salt; stir well until incorporated and mixture is smooth, about 1 minute.
- Step 4
Remove pan from heat and stir in cereal, half of the crumbled halvah, half the pistachios and half the sesame seeds, scraping bottom of pot and folding until cereal is well coated.
- Step 5
Scrape into prepared pan and smooth top with spatula. Immediately sprinkle remaining pistachios, sesame seeds and halva on top, covering the surface evenly. Press down lightly with spatula to help adhere. (For best texture, do not compact or press down too firmly.)
- Step 6
Cover loosely and set aside at room temperature until set, at least 2 hours and up to 24.
- Step 7
Just before serving, using the parchment paper sling, lift treats out of the pan. Peel away the parchment from underneath and discard. Place the treats on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut into 6 to 8 pieces. Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to four days.
Private Notes
Comments
@Marc g. I’m wondering if it’s the same as pistachio cream or pistachio spread? My grocery store has both, but not butter…
@louis Yes! I usually buy Italian pistachio paste. I look for one that has the prettiest green color and no added sugar.
@Suz- I just asked my husband “who is this person who still has Rice Krispie treats around on day 3?” Mythical, no doubt.
These are so delicious! I made them without pistachio butter, as I had none. Used all Tahini. Just yummy.
*Dynamite* recipe. Made it several times. Guests and friends are crazy about it. However, having laughed at other commenters who insist on messing with any and all NYT recipes, I've found that: * It's OK to skip the pistachio butter/cream ($$$!!). Hard to source where I live and no difference discernible. Works fine to use 4T tahini total & no pistachio butter. * The condensed milk is overly sweet and gooey here (IMHO). It's great without that cloying, over-the-top sweetness.
We doubled the tahini instead of adding the pistachio butter - delicious and no problems. Well, they were a bit stickier than my usual recipe, but I'm blaming that on the sweetened condensed milk, which I dint really think this recipe needs. I also cut the salt to 1 tsp and still found it too salty. But that's a lot of complaining for something we really enjoyed and will likely make again with our own tweaks.