These pretty-in-pink Strawberry Protein Cereal Treats are great for Galentine’s Day gatherings and sneak in a little extra protein. Freeze dried strawberries really bring the flavor to the party along with some gorgeous pink color.
A note on the naming: while I’m calling these “protein cereal treats,” I fully recognize that these are not very high in protein with only 5g protein per bar. I did, however, think it was helpful to note that they have added protein in them so the people who are looking for regular cereal treat recipes don’t come here only to be annoyed that they include protein powder. Cool? Don’t @ me about this, y’all.
find the best
Best Protein Cereal
Turn your favorite protein cereal into marshmallow treats! Get my recommendations here.
Tips for Browning Butter
Taking the extra few minutes to brown the butter for these cereal treats is totally worth it to get that toasty, nutty flavor that you’d otherwise miss out on. If you’ve never done it before, it’s way easier than you think! When you brown butter, you’re really just melting it down and toasting off the milk solids that sit on the bottom of the pan.
For this recipe, I recommend taking the milk solids to a golden brown rather than pushing it to a deeper color because after it’s browned, it’ll still stay on the heat as the marshmallows melt. Taking the browning too far risks burning, so just avoid that all together!
Here are the basics of browning butter:
- Use a pan with a light colored bottom so you can see the browning progress and avoid burning the milk solids.
- Melt unsalted butter over medium heat. Salted butter tends to foam more, making it more difficult to see the browning progress.
- Keep the butter moving either by swirling the pan or using a spatula. As the butter melts and foams, this will be critical so you can monitor the color of the milk solids.
- Once it reaches the desired browning, remove it from heat to prevent burning. In this recipe, we’re actually staying on the heat to melt marshmallows, so don’t go too far with the browning!
Ingredients and Substitutions
Strawberry Protein Cereal Treats
- Cereal – Use your favorite strawberry cereal. When I was testing out protein cereals, I really liked Cheerios Strawberry Protein Cereal and knew I wanted to use it in a recipe! (Not sponsored, btw.)
- Marshmallows – Mini ones are best for quick melting!
- Protein powder – I used a marshmallow flavored whey protein, but a whey/casein blend would work great here too. Use caution with plant based protein powders because they may make the bars dry or cause the marshmallows to seize up.
- Freeze dried strawberries – These get blended up into a powder, so sliced or whole doesn’t really matter. Freeze dried raspberries would be tasty as a substitute, but then you also have to contend with their bigger seeds.
- Butter – Butter is key to keeping the marshmallows from seizing up and staying gooey even after cooling. I recommend unsalted for best browning experience.
- Vanilla – It’s like garlic in Italian cooking, you don’t question it. Measure with your heart.
can i
Add More Protein?
I’ve tried making this recipe with a 2nd scoop of protein during testing, and while I still loved the flavor, the texture of the bars turned out too dense in my opinion. If you want to up the protein content, here are a couple ways to do it:
- Add an extra 1/2 scoop of protein. Don’t go for a full scoop, it’s just too much!
- Use a higher protein cereal as the base. Check out all my recommended protein cereals (and which ones to avoid) here.
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Strawberry Protein Cereal Treats
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cups Strawberry Protein Cheerios, (167 grams)
- 10 oz mini marshmallows
- 1 1/2 cups freeze dried strawberries, (19 grams)
- 1 scoop Ryse Loaded Whey Protein, Jet-Puffed Marshmallow, (34 grams)
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, sliced (2 oz)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Optional: white chocolate for drizzling
Instructions
- Prepare a 9×9" baking pan with parchment paper lining going up all sides. Set aside.
- Add 1 1/2 cups freeze dried strawberries to a food processor and pulse until they form a powder. I like to leave pieces up to 1/8" in diameter in mine.
- In an enameled cast iron dutch oven with a light colored bottom, melt 1/4 cup unsalted butter over medium heat. After the butter melts, it will begin to bubble and get foamy. Using a spatula, move the butter around constantly until the milk solids at the bottom turn golden brown and have a nutty aroma, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add 10 oz mini marshmallows to the browned butter and stir continuously until the marshmallows are melted. Turn off the heat, then add 1 scoop Ryse Loaded Whey Protein, Jet-Puffed Marshmallow and 1 tsp vanilla and strip until the powder is completely absorbed in the marshmallows.
- Add 4 1/2 cups Strawberry Protein Cheerios and freeze dried strawberry powder to the marshmallow mixture. Mix until well combined, then spread evenly in the prepared baking pan. Try to avoid compacting the cereal down into the pan more than necessary to spread it to the edges. Set aside to cool for 20-30 minutes.
- Once the cereal treats have cooled, lift out of the baking pan and cut into 16 squares. If desired, drizzle with melted white chocolate and sprinkle with more freeze dried strawberry powder or sprinkles.
Tips & Tricks
Nutrition Information
