Gluten-free Christmas rice crispy squares recipe, anyone? No-bake and probably the easiest yet most indulgent festive treat you’ll find. Yep – the KitKat Santas and festive friends you see on top are Coeliac-friendly and wheat-free too.

Gluten-free Christmas rice crispy squares recipe – yup, no need for any gluten-free flour and no need to turn the oven on! Best of all, you only need 6 simple ingredients and an optional crushed candy cane topping.

I think we all know by know that I have a few too many bags of KitKat Festive Friends/Santas in my house.

(well, I did before making tons of Christmas recipes with them)

But considering they’re the ONLY KitKat product I’ve ever seen that’s gluten-free (apart from the suspiciously similar Easter bunnies), I think that’s ok, right?

And why should rice crispy squares be left out of getting the full festive treatment this year? They definitely can’t hide from my festive baking wrath – almost wrote ‘wreath’, but festive puns are always welcome, I guess.

So here’s a few reasons you need to make this if you weren’t convinced already:

Why make my gluten-free Christmas rice crispy squares?

This is completely no-bake – that means no gluten-free flour required and no need to switch the oven on.
The taste is out of this world – the perfect treat for all chocoholics at Christmas that’s incredibly easy to make.
Nobody would ever know they’re gluten-free – muggles won’t know the difference!
KitKat Santas and Festive Friends are gluten-free (linked in FAQ section) so celebrate that fact by making these!
This is a fool-proof recipe – you absolutely cannot fail with this one and it’s 100% beginner friendly.

So what do my gluten-free Christmas rice crispy squares taste like?

The base is perfectly bound with that unmistakable rice crispy cake texture – crunchy, crispy with sticky marshmallow, all flavoured with melted milk chocolate.

The top layer is a double-chocolate, marbled blend of milk and white chocolate, with my ultimate festive obsession: KitKat Festive Friends and Santas.

Then, optionally sprinkle on some crushed candy cane for the ultimate finish!

Here’s everything you’ll need for this recipe, keep scrolling until you see the recipe card for the measurements and method ??

Gluten-free Christmas rice crispy squares recipe: Ingredients

gluten-free rice crispy cereal
butter
marshmallows
milk chocolate
white chocolate
Kit Kat Santas and Kit Kat Festive Friends
candy canes, crushed (optional)

So I thought I’d kick things off with a little frequently asked questions section – if you just want the recipe, then keep scrolling.

But I’ve thrown in some tips here that will be really helpful if this is your first time making this, or you want to adapt it. So here they are!

Gluten-free Christmas rice crispy squares recipe: Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make this recipe gluten-free?

It is gluten-free, though nobody would know just by tasting it – trust me!

Bear in mind that minimising cross-contamination is hugely important if you’re Coeliac or making this for someone who is. Here’s some tips from Coeliac UK on minimising the risk of cross contamination.

Also, make sure that all ingredients used don’t have any gluten-containing ingredients. Then make sure that they also don’t have a ‘may contain’ warning for gluten, wheat, rye, barley, oats (which aren’t gf), spelt and khorasan wheat (aka Kamut).

Here’s some more info from Coeliac UK on identifying safe gluten-free products.

Can I make your gluten-free Christmas rice crispy squares recipe dairy free?

Yes, you can easily make this dairy-free with a few simple swaps:

Start by swapping the milk and white chocolate to dairy-free milk/white chocolate.
Then, ensure you use Stork hard margarine instead of butter – don’t use spreadable dairy-free margarine for this one!
Instead of using KitKat Festive Friends for the topping, you can easily swap them for a dairy-free alternative, like these dairy-free Santa bars.

That’s it!

Can I make your gluten-free Christmas rice crispy squares recipe vegan?

Yep, follow the advice to make this dairy-free, then you’ll just need to make one more simple swap – the marshmallows.

Fortunately you can easily buy gluten-free AND vegan marshmallows online from Amazon.

These are a little expensive, so you can always pop into Marks and Spencer who now do Plant Kitchen vegan marshmallows, I believe!

Is your gluten-free Christmas rice crispy squares recipe low FODMAP?

Unfortunately, this recipe contains a lot of dairy, so you won’t be able to attempt this until you’ve successfully reintroduced dairy.

Are KitKat festive friends gluten-free?

Yes! They even state it on the front of the packet. See the photo above for what they look like or you can check them out here and read the ingredients for yourself.

You can find them down the seasonal Christmas aisle with all the other festive chocolate and treats in any supermarket. I bought them in Tesco.

Which rice crispies are gluten-free?

Believe it or not, rice crispies aren’t always 100% free from gluten because they often contain barley malt extract.

Some of these barley-containing products USED to be certified by Coeliac UK because they contain less than 20 parts per million of gluten, which according to Coeliac UK, that makes them safe for people with Coeliac disease.

However, Coeliac UK recently changed their stance on this and will no longer be recommending them for a gluten-free diet.

So here’s a list of all the rice crispies which are still safe for us to eat, that are free from barley entirely.

Nestle GoFree Rice Pops (free from barley)
Tesco Free From Rice Snaps (free from barley)
Asda Free From Rice Snaps Cereal
Sainsburys Free From Rice Pops

Can I make this without the marshmallows?

Sadly not as the marshmallows are what binds the rice crispy cake together and gives it a lovely, sticky finish and sweet flavour.

Plus, for example, unlike using honey as a binder, marshmallows will bind the cocoa pops together without having to bake them.

Can I use a food processor or stand mixer to make this?

Both are total overkill for this recipe, especially since a food processor would blend the cocoa pops instead of mixing them!

I’d definitely advise making this purely by hand to avoid crushing the cocoa pops as they’re being mixed. So get a good silicone spatula or wooden spoon and get mixing!

Do I need any special equipment to make your gluten-free Christmas rice crispy squares recipe?

As I mentioned, you should definitely make this recipe by hand, so you certainly don’t need any crazy appliances or anything like that.

What you will need however is a 9″ square baking tin – here’s the one I use. Apart from that, you’ll just need a little baking paper too!

Do I need weighing scales to make your gluten-free Christmas rice crispy squares?

In short… yes, yes and yes! And I wouldn’t advise attempting any my recipes without them.

A lot of work went into fine tuning ratios and quantities and for me, baking is all about consistency and precision. I want you to make this recipe and for it to turn out EXACTLY like mine did.

I’d recommending using digital cooking scales like these so you know you’re getting an accurate measurement and replicating my recipe as accurately as poss.

How can I tell when my gluten-free Christmas rice crispy squares are ready to cut?

Until the marshmallow and butter have had time to set in the fridge, the bars will be loose and sticky.

Once they’ve had long enough in the fridge, they should be solid and sturdy, ready to be cut into bars. If you get them out too early, simply pop them back into the fridge for a little longer.

How long can I keep my gluten-free Christmas rice crispy squares for?

I’ve kept them for about 4-5 days in an air-tight container with no problems. If you need to keep them any longer than that, I’d highly recommend freezing them (see advice below for doing that).

Can I freeze my gluten-free Christmas rice crispy squares?

Of course! I’ve frozen them for up to 2-3 months no problem. Slice them up before freezing – that way you can simply defrost slices as and when you need them.

Plus, they’ll thaw a lot quicker. When you want to eat one, each slice should take around 3 hours to defrost at room temperature. You’d never know they were frozen!

Gluten-free Christmas rice crispy squares recipe: Method

Oh and here’s a printable version of my gluten-free Christmas rice crispy squares recipe. Please remember to give it 5 stars if you tried it and enjoyed it as it helps people know it’s worth trying too! ⭐️