A super fun no-bake Thanksgiving dessert the kids will love helping you make – or just enjoy tearing apart! Today’s Rice Krispie Turkey recipe is surprisngly simple to make and makes a fun centrepiece to your Thanksgiving dessert table.

Rice Krispie Turkey Recipe

One of my biggest struggles when my extended family gets together over the holidays is ensuring that I have enough options for the picky eaters, while also ensuring that everyone’s Thanksgiving favorites are on the menu.

Last year, it was very obvious that the majority of my nieces and nephews were not a fan of pies – while the grown-ups would riot if I tried to host Thanksgiving without having pecan pie, apple pie and pumpkin pie!

So, my daughter and I decided to whip up this fun no-bake Rice Krispie turkey as a kid-friendly dessert that we’re pretty confident all of the kids will go crazy for! Plus, it was an easy way to involve her in the Thanksgiving preparations.

While it might look tricky, a Rice Krispie Turkey is super simple to make and can be made at least 2 days ahead of time. Giving me plenty of time to shift focus onto the other desserts and many, many side dishes that are on on the menu.

For these pictures, I just stuffed the turkey with some leftover Halloween candy but for Thanksgiving I will actually be stuffing it with Reese’s Pieces.

If desired, you can make your turkey look “golden brown” by dusting with a bit of cinnamon sugar or use cocoa pebbles instead of Rice Krispies for a chocolate-y take that also looks oven roasted.

If you want to take this Rice Krispie Turkey a bit further, instead of the paper turkey booties you can make white chocolate turkey bones as shown in this Rice Krispie Turkey Legs recipe on The Suburban Soapbox.

If you’re having a hard time getting all of the turkey pieces to stick together, you can temporarily use balls of foil to press them together or toothpicks, but be sure to remove the toothpicks fully before serving – using fancier toothpicks instead of plain will help make them easier to spot.

Rice Krispie Turkey Ingredients

• Rice Krispies cereal
• Mini Marshmallows
• Butter
• Candy for “stuffing”

Scroll down to the printable recipe card for full measurements.

Tip: swap out the rice krispies for cocoa pebbles for a chocolate flavor and “oven roasted” look – or make two turkeys to provide options.

Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful

• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• Mixing Bowl
• Spatula
• Wax paper
• Tin Foil

Optional Materials for Turkey Leg Covers:

• White paper
• Scissors
• Tape

How to Make a Rice Krispie Turkey

In a large microwavable bowl, melt marshmallows and butter in 30-second increments, stirring in between until just slightly lumpy. Continue stirring until lumps are all melted. 

Pour rice Krispies into the marshmallow mix and stir until all the cereal is coated. 

On a sheet pan lined with wax paper, form two medium-sized egg shapes for the legs, and one large flat oval to form the base of the turkey. 

Wad up a large ball of tin foil and add a layer of rice Krispies over the top of it. Make sure to leave a big enough opening that you can remove the tin foil later. Move pan to the freezer for about 20 minutes so the top layer sets. Before the remaining mixture does. If it’s still warm when you remove the foil, it will collapse on itself. 

Once chilled, remove the foil. Form the wings and the rest of the body. You’ll use the legs to help prop up the body. (If needed, you can also place a smaller ball of foil at the opening to help hold it up and then freeze the turkey to set.) 

Fill the turkey with candy stuffing.

Optional: Cut two 8.5” x 2” rectangles out of paper. Fold each in half length-wise and cut slits all along the fold. Open up and fold the other direction to create the frills and tape into a ring to slide over the ends of each leg. 

Pin this Fun No-Bake Rice Krispie Turkey Recipe for an Easy Thanksgiving Dessert even the pickiest eaters will enjoy:

Grab your free printable recipe card for our Rice Krispie Turkey recipe here:

I hope your family loves this easy Rice Krispie turkey recipe as much as mine does!

For more decadent no-bake desserts, check out our full no-bake dessert recipe collection here:

For more decadent desserts, check out our full dessert recipe collection here: