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 ⅓ 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.
RECIPE
Vegan Peanut Butter Cups
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 ⅓ 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!
Additional Info
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More chocolate desserts from Simple Green Recipes:
Vegan Flourless Chocolate Cake
I must say these were a delicious treat and no one even guessed they were vegan. The salt on the tops made the feel extra special.
Woohoo! Glad to hear that. Thanks a ton for the comment. 🙂
These vegan peanut butter cups were SO good and one of the easiest things I’ve made in a while. Definitely plan to keep a bag of these in the fridge this summer!
Thanks for the inspiration, Claire, I’m going to do the same! And thanks so much for coming back to comment!
Oh, I love this recipe. It is so easy and delicious. Once finished making these peanut butter cups I couldn’t stop licking the spoon. They were so good! My vegan friend loved them!
I’m so glad to hear that you loved them. That’s great to hear! Thanks a bunch for leaving your feedback.
These turned out delicious. I can’t stop eating them. Peanut butter and chocolate are my favorite combination.
And mine, it’s so addictive! Thanks so much for coming back to comment!
These tasted like a true Reese’s peanut butter cup! I don’t think I will ever need to buy these again, since I can make at home!
Hi Ann, I agree, nothing beats homemade treats! Thanks for your feedback!
Turned out wonderful made with dark chocolate chunks. I did not use coconut oil, but used unrefined coconut sugar. They tasted great.
I’m glad you enjoyed them, Madelyn. Thanks for your feedback! And coconut sugar is a great idea.
These were absolutely delicious! I have a lot of almond butter I need to use soon…do you think almond butter would work as well as the peanut butter?
Hi Kristina, I haven’t tried almond butter in these cups yet. It can work as well if it’s not too thin. Let me know how it turns out if you try it!
These peanut butter cups were so easy to make and they are so delicious! Love having a homemade version around the house!
I agree, they’re super easy, Kim! And I’m super happy to hear that you enjoyed them! Thanks for leaving a comment.
Oh my, these Vegan Peanut Butter cups look amazingly delicious! An awesome idea of combining chocolate with our favorite peanut butter! A perfect treat for everyone, especially for kids! They will gonna love it!
Thank you for stopping by, Jamie. I hope you’ll give them a try.
These vegan peanut butter cups are the perfect treat. My chocoholic hubby would have gone through the whole lot if I hadn’t hidden them from him!
I’m glad you enjoyed them, Jacqueline. They don’t last long here, either 🙂 Thanks for your feedback!
These peanut butter cups are so easy to make. Delicious little treats, they didn’t last long!
Thank you for sharing your review, Colleen! I’m glad the butter cups were a hit!
These are so creative and the combination of Peanut Butter and chocolate sounds super delicious. Perfect for a kids party.
They are super easy to make and delicious, Veena! I hope you’ll get to try them out.
These look incredibly delicious, I can’t believe they’re vegan! Thanks for sharing this, I’ll try them this weekend!
Petro, I’m super glad to hear that you love it! Thank you for letting me know.
These look completely decadent! Move over Reese’s! If I made these for the holidays how long do you think I could store them (assuming I have the willpower to not devour them all myself)?
Hi, Sara, you can store them for 1-2 weeks, mine never last so long ;)) I keep them in the fridge, mainly if it’s hot. Hope it helps! XO