Anyone who enjoys entertaining or spending time outdoors needs an outdoor living area, and every outdoor living area needs either a fire pit or an outdoor fireplace. Since you probably have one (or both) of these fire features in your backyard, there is perhaps no better way to end a summer night of hanging out with your family and friends than with a round of s’mores.

While you can always make the traditional s’mores that we all grew up enjoying, it is probably time to up your s’mores game with some fun, new takes on this classic favorite.

How to Roast Marshmallows for S’mores

1. Choose a stick or skewer that is long enough to keep your hands away from the fire and that has a wooden handle so that it will not conduct enough heat to burn your hand. You could use an actual stick, as long as it is sturdy and clean, or you can use skewers specifically designed for roasting marshmallows or hotdogs over outdoor fires.

2. Place your marshmallow firmly on the stick. Try to place the stick or skewer through the center of the marshmallow to limit the risk of losing your marshmallow into the fire.

3. Flames may be more exciting, but embers will get the job done and will do it better. If your outdoor fireplace has been burning throughout your dinner party, hopefully it will have burned down enough to have areas of glowing embers when it is time for dessert. Hold your marshmallow several inches over the embers and rotate it often for a perfectly roasted treat.

If you have a gas fire pit or outdoor fireplace where flames are your only option, try to avoid direct contact with the flames.

4. Before popping your marshmallow in your mouth, make sure it has cooled enough to avoid a painful burn. If you are using metal skewers, you will also need to be careful when removing your marshmallows, since metal skewers stay hot after they are removed from the fire.

20 S’mores Recipes

Now that you have your accessories and know how to roast the perfect, s’more-worthy marshmallow, here are 20 recipes for making s’mores over your backyard fire pit or outdoor fireplace. We will, of course, include the classics, but also plenty of simple ways to switch things up for some fun, updated versions.

1. Classic S’mores

There is no better place to start than with the classic s’mores recipe we all know and love.

Here’s is what you need to create one gooey, delicious, classic s’more:

1 graham cracker
1 large marshmallow
¼ to ½ of a HERSHEY’S chocolate bar

Break the graham cracker in half, place ¼ to ½ of a chocolate bar on one half of the graham cracker, roast a marshmallow in your outdoor fireplace, place your roasted marshmallow on top of the chocolate, and top it with the other half of the graham cracker.

The heat from the marshmallow will soften the chocolate to meld all of the ingredients into gooey s’more goodness.

HERSHEY’S chocolate bars are the quintessential chocolate ingredient in classic smores recipes, but you can also use a different chocolate bar to make your s’mores.

2. Chocolate Chip Cookie S’mores

For an easy alternative that gives you even more chocolate, swap out the graham crackers for chocolate chip cookies. You can purchase cookies at the store for convenience, or you can bake cookies earlier in the day for a homemade touch.

2 chocolate chip cookies
1 large marshmallow
¼ to ½ of a chocolate bar

3. Chocolate-Peanut Butter S’mores

Start with the classic s’mores recipe, and then add a scoop of peanut butter on the graham cracker before you add the chocolate.

1 graham cracker
1 large marshmallow
¼ to ½ of a chocolate bar
1 tablespoon peanut butter

4. Chocolate-Nutella S’mores

This one is just like the chocolate-peanut butter s’mores, but with Nutella instead.

1 graham cracker
1 large marshmallow
¼ to ½ of a chocolate bar
1 tablespoon of Nutella (or similar product)

5. Nutella S’mores

Start with the classic s’mores recipe and just swap out the chocolate for Nutella or a similar product.

1 graham cracker
1 large marshmallow
1 tablespoon of Nutella (or similar product)

Spread the Nutella on one half of the graham cracker, top it with a roasted marshmallow and finish the stack with the other half of the graham cracker.

6. Chocolate-Banana S’mores

Change up your s’mores and add a healthy ingredient by including a slice of banana for even more flavor.

1 graham cracker
1 large marshmallow
¼ to ½ of a chocolate bar
1 slice of banana

Stack your chocolate and banana on one half of the graham cracker, add the roasted marshmallow and top it off with the other half of the graham cracker.

7. Peanut Butter & Jelly S’mores

Skip the chocolate on this version to create an even gooier s’more with peanut butter and jelly.

1 graham cracker
1 large marshmallow
1 tablespoon peanut butter
½ to 1 tablespoon jelly

Spread the peanut butter and jelly on one half of the graham cracker, add a roasted marshmallow and top it with the other half of the graham cracker for a campfire-inspired take on PB&J sandwiches.

8. Peanut Butter Cup S’mores

Make this delicious creation simply by swapping out the chocolate bar for a peanut butter cup.

1 graham cracker
1 large marshmallow
1 peanut butter cup

9. Caramel S’mores

This one is a little different, because you will be placing the roasted marshmallow directly on the graham cracker before adding your additional ingredient. After you have placed the marshmallow on the graham cracker, drizzle caramel sauce over the marshmallow, and then place the other half of the graham cracker on top.

1 graham cracker
1 large marshmallow
Drizzle of caramel sauce

10. Chocolate-Caramel S’mores

This version starts with the classic smores recipe, and then adds a drizzle of caramel for a chocolate-caramel-marshmallow delight.

1 graham cracker
1 large marshmallow
¼ to ½ of a chocolate bar
Drizzle of caramel sauce

Start with one half of the graham cracker, place the chocolate on top, add the roasted marshmallow, drizzle the caramel over the marshmallow, and top it with the other half of the graham cracker.

11. Cinnamon S’mores

For a special treat, make the classic smores recipe and simply add cinnamon to the mix for a tasty treat.

1 graham cracker
1 large marshmallow
¼ to ½ of a chocolate bar
Cinnamon

After placing your roasted marshmallow on top of the chocolate, sprinkle the concoction with cinnamon before adding the top graham cracker.

12. Nutter Butter S’mores

Add peanut butter flavor to your smores recipes without adding peanut butter by switching things up with Nutter Butters (or a similar cookie).

1 Nutter Butter
1 large marshmallow
¼ to ½ of a chocolate bar

Take apart the Nutter Butter so that you have two halves of the cookie to use in place of the graham crackers. You can either leave the peanut butter filling in place or remove it before adding the chocolate bar and marshmallow. Add the other half of the Nutter Butter on top to finish off your s’more.

13. Oreo S’mores

This is the same idea as the Nutter Butter s’mores but with even more chocolate instead of peanut butter.

1 Oreo (or similar cream sandwich cookie)
1 large marshmallow
¼ of a chocolate bar

Take apart the cookie so that you have two halves to use (instead of graham crackers). Place the chocolate and roasted marshmallow between the halves of the cookie and enjoy.

14. Chocolate Bark S’mores

Using chocolate bark instead of chocolate bars creates an upscale treat, which might be a fun DIY dessert for your next dinner party.

1 graham cracker
1 large marshmallow
2- to 3-inch piece of chocolate bark

You can either purchase chocolate bark, which is the more convenient option, or you can make your own. Making your own adds as extra step, since you are going to start off with chocolate you could use as-is on your s’mores, but, instead you are going to melt it, add ingredients, spread it, chill it, and slice it before you can use it as bark. Making you own is more work, but it is worth it, since you get to choose what you add to your bark. That might include dried fruit, nuts or shredded coconut.

Once you purchase or make your chocolate bark, simply use the bark in place of the chocolate bar in the classic s’mores recipe.

15. Chocolate-Cayenne S’mores

Add a bit of a kick to your next soiree with chocolate-cayenne s’mores. Just be careful not to overdo it on the cayenne pepper.

1 graham cracker
1 large marshmallow
¼ to ½ of a chocolate bar
Sprinkle of cayenne pepper

Make the classic s’mores recipe, but change it up by sprinkling a bit of cayenne pepper on top of the roasted marshmallow. Start off with just a tiny sprinkle. You can always add more if it is not quite spicy enough, but you will ruin your s’mores if you add too much.

16. Strawberry Compote S’mores

If you are planning an outdoor dinner party or just want to class up your s’mores, try adding strawberry compote. If you would like to make your own compote, you can find lots of recipes online, but it takes about 1.5 hours to make your own, so you might want to just pick some up at the farmers market to save time.

Start with the classic s’mores recipe for this one, and then add a scoop of strawberry compote for an upgrade your guests are sure to appreciate.

1 graham cracker
1 large marshmallow
¼ to ½ of a chocolate bar
1 tablespoon strawberry compote

17. Dark Chocolate S’mores

For a richer flavor and a healthier chocolate choice, swap out your milk chocolate bar for dark chocolate.

1 graham cracker
1 large marshmallow
¼ of a dark chocolate candy bar

Follow the classic recipe and just swap out the chocolate.

18. Snickers S’mores

Get some fun size Snickers bars, cut them in half lengthwise and use them instead of a chocolate bar for a delicious remake of classic s’mores.

1 graham cracker
1 large marshmallow
1 fun size Snickers bar (cut in half lengthwise)

Place your pieces of Snickers next to each other on one half of the graham cracker, top that with a roasted marshmallow, and then place the other half of the graham cracker on top to finish it off.

Snickers candy bars are what we have used when we didn’t have any milk chocolate bars on hand, but you can use any fun size candy bar for this, such as Milky Way or Kit Kat.

19. Shortbread S’mores

If you don’t have any Girl Scout cookies left, you will have to either bake your own shortbread cookies or stop by the grocery store to pick some up, but it will definitely be worth it to try this fun take on traditional s’mores.

2 shortbread cookies
1 large marshmallow
¼ to ½ of a chocolate bar

Use one of your shortbread cookies for the base of your stack. Place your chocolate, then your roasted marshmallow, then top the stack with the second shortbread cookie.

20. Vegan S’mores

There are just three ingredients in classic s’mores and all three of them usually contain animal products. This is not a problem if you and your guests are sitting around your backyard fire pit after barbecued ribs and chicken. But, if you happen to have a vegan guest, they would not be able to partake in the marshmallow-roasting, s’mores-eating fun.

Vegan s’mores are not any more difficult to make than non-vegan s’mores, but they do require some pre-planning, since you will not be able to run to your local grocery store for the ingredients you need. That is, unless your local grocery store is Whole Foods, Sprouts or something similar.

Most graham crackers are made with honey, but you can find honey-free Nabisco’s Original Grahams at most grocery stores. For the chocolate, you are going to need bars that are not made with milk. You may be able to find dark chocolate options at major grocery chains, or you can stop by a health food store, which will probably have both milk (plant based) and dark chocolate options that are suitable for vegans.

The marshmallows are the tricky part, since they are not as easy to find. Order them online or purchase them at a health food store beforehand so that you are not running around the day of your party trying to find them.

Once you have your vegan s’mores ingredients, you can make a vegan version using the classic s’mores recipe.