These quick and easy Vegan Peanut Butter Cups are creamy, chocolatey and made with a few healthy ingredients! Love the combination of peanut butter and chocolate? Then, these bite-size sweet treats are just for you!

Vegan Peanut Butter Cups

Hi there! You may be wondering if peanut butter cups are vegan. And the answer is pretty simple. Yes, they are, as long as they have no dairy in it. In fact, to make vegan peanut butter can’t be easier. It calls for just 5 basic ingredients and the only one that might contain dairy is the chocolate.

Making vegan peanut butter cups, easy, right? Just choose non-dairy chocolate and that’s it. As for the peanut butter, almost all peanut butter is vegan. Just check it doesn’t contain any honey, to be on the safe side.

Ingredients for the Vegan Peanut Butter Cups

Chocolate. I use non dairy semi-sweet or dark chocolate bars and chop it into small chunks. I’m a chocolate lover and, as you can imagine, I never run out of chocolate bars. Chocolate chips are also a great option too, since they’re very convenient. They come in little pieces so don’t need to chop and they melt evenly. Feel free to use any chocolate you like.

Coconut Oil. The coconut oil is optional, you can totally make the recipe without it. I use it to harden the chocolate faster.

Vanilla Extract. Optional too, although I always add it as it enhances the chocolate flavor.

Organic Sugar. Cane sugar or coconut sugar are my go-to organic types of sugar. I also add some maple or agave syrup, they add such a unique flavor to these peanut butter cups.

Peanut Butter. The majority of peanut butters are vegan. They are made from peanuts, salt and oil. The healthiest peanut butters are the “all natural” variety and they only contain peanuts and salt.

How to Make Peanut Butter Cups

Chop the chocolate if you’re using chocolate bars. Try to chop it in small, uniform pieces, it will melt faster and more evenly. I use a chef’s knife, more useful here than a serrated knife.

Melt 1/3 of the chocolate. In a glass or ceramic bowl, microwave the chocolate at 50% power for 1 minute. Remove and give it a stir. Then, keep heating the chocolate for 30 seconds at a time, until almost melted, stirring after each time. Chocolate burns easily, so it’s safer to melt it slowly.

While the chocolate is melting, prepare the cup liners and the muffin pan. Fill the base of your cup liners with the chocolate. Let it set until the chocolate is firm. To speed the process you can place the liners into the fridge or freezer until hardened.

Prepare the peanut butter filling by mixing the peanut butter, the sugar and the maple syrup. Stir well to combine. All natural peanut butter tends to be a bit runnier, the solids naturally separate from the oil. You can stir to mix the oil back in, and refrigerate the peanut butter for half an hour before using it.

Add around a table spoon of peanut butter mixture to each cup liner and. Then melt the rest of the chocolate, cover the peanut butter with it and chill 20 minutes to firm up.

Wait until the chocolate is set to remove the peanut butter cups from the liners.

How to Store Peanut Butter Cups

I never have this problem unless I double the recipe 😉 They are gone in the blink of an eye!

Anyway, if you are making them in advance or just want to store some leftovers, keep them in the fridge. You can store them refrigerated for up to two weeks in an airtight container.

Making a double batch and freeze half the peanut butter cups is a great way to have a healthy bite-size dessert every time you crave for a chocolate treat. They will last for up to 3 months in the freezer.

Vegan Peanut Butter Cups

Yield: 9 cups

These quick and easy Vegan Peanut Butter Cups are creamy, chocolatey and made with a few healthy ingredients! Love the combination of peanut butter and chocolate? Then, these bite-size sweet treats are just for you!

Ingredients

2 cups (12 ounces) chocolate chunks or chocolate chips
2 teaspoons coconut oil
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon coconut sugar
1 tablespoon maple or agave syrup
½ cup all natural peanut butter

Instructions

First, cut the chocolate into small and even pieces. The smaller the faster it will melt.
In a microwave-safe bowl, melt 1/3 of the chocolate. Microwave it at 50% power for one minute. Stir and repeat. Microwave the chocolate for 30 seconds at a time, until looking almost melted. Give it a final stir until smooth. Chocolate burns easily, so it’s safer to melt it at low heat and stir after each 30-second interval.
Then, line a muffin pan with cupcake liners. Pour around one tablespoon of chocolate in each liner. Let it harden in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the peanut butter mixture. Add the peanut butter, sugar and maple syrup to a bowl and stir well to combine.
Remove the muffin pan from the freezer and place 1 tablespoon of peanut butter mixture in the center of each cup liner.
Melt the rest of the chocolate and pour around 1 tablespoon over each cup, or enough to completely cover the peanut butter layer.
Refrigerate the cups until set, store in an airtight container, and enjoy!