Vegan Peanut Butter Cups (Simple, 5 Ingredient Recipe)
Do you ever crave a sweet treat, but not like, a full-blown dessert? Something small and snackable that won’t completely crash your appetite? As someone who never considered herself a dessert person, I can confirm that this is me on the rare occasion my sweet tooth surfaces. And these vegan peanut butter cups are the perfect way to scratch that itch. Allow me to introduce you to them. They are:
- Stupidly simple, with just 5 ingredients (not including salt) that you probably already have
- Easy to make ahead of time, freeze, and pull out whenever you need a chocolate hit
- Downright cute, and great for entertaining or impressing friends. (They’ll never know how easy they were, I promise. Unless they read this post, in which case, sorry friend. You’re exposed.)
Peanut Butter Cup Ingredients (Plus Substitutions)
Not including salt, these treats only have 5 ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry!
Dark chocolate: Use a really good quality, dairy-free dark chocolate that you like. I’ve also seen brands release plant-based “milk” chocolate options recently, and these would probably work great in this recipe, too. I prefer the slight bitterness of dark chocolate to offset the sweetness.
Coconut oil: It’s important to use “refined” coconut oil for this recipe, because it doesn’t have that characteristic coconutty aroma and taste. The coconut oil helps the chocolate firm up and form that hard outer shell to contain the creamy peanut butter.
Peanut butter: Use creamy, natural peanut butter with no added sugar or oil. You can also substitute almond butter, or to make these nut free, use sunflower butter!
Powdered sugar: Just two tablespoons sweetens up the peanut butter filling and thickens it up into a paste so that it doesn’t spill right out of the peanut butter cups.
Vanilla: A splash in the filling just takes the flavor over the top. I love pairing chocolate with vanilla.
Flaky salt: Optional, but HIGHLY recommended, a dash of flaky salt sprinkled on top of each peanut butter cup gives these treats that salty-sweet hit that makes them so craveable. It also helps balance out the sweetness and richness.
How To Make Vegan Peanut Butter Cups
While this recipe requires very few ingredients, there are a few important techniques that will make sure you get the best (and easiest!) results.
- Line a mini muffin tin with mini cupcake liners. These will create the signature ridges on the outside of the cups, plus make them easier to remove.
- Melt the dark chocolate slowly, either in a double-boiler or in 30-second bursts in the microwave. Stop just before all the chips have melted and stir to melt the rest completely. If you heat the mixture too quickly, the chocolate won’t temper properly and will be dull.
- Whisk in the melted coconut oil.
- Transfer the chocolate to a plastic squeeze bottle.
- Squeeze a small amount of chocolate into each cupcake liner. Pick each liner up and swirl it so that the chocolate coats up the sides.
- Freeze the chocolate while you create the filling. Keep the bottle of chocolate warm by placing it in a bowl of hot water. This will ensure it doesn’t start to harden.
- Combine the peanut butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl until a sticky paste forms.
- Drop about a teaspoon of peanut butter filling into each cup. Use two small spoons or chopsticks to help.
- Top each peanut butter cup with more chocolate, tilting the pan to ensure it spreads evenly.
- Freeze the pan for 15 more minutes or until the chocolate is completely set.
Storage Tips
Once your peanut butter cups are frozen solid, unwrap them and place them in a freezer-safe ziplock bag. They’ll keep for 6 months in the freezer. Thaw them at room temperature 15 minutes before you’re ready to enjoy for the best texture. This is my preferred storage method.
If you’re planning on eating these right away, simply keep them on a platter refrigerated until you’re ready to snack away! I do recommend keeping them refrigerated, as they soften up a lot when left out at room temperature. How much they soften will depend on the chocolate you use as well as the temperature in your home.
More Chocolatey Treats You’ll Love
Try these decadent desserts next:
Vegan Peanut Butter Cups
Equipment
- 1 Mini muffin tin
- 24 Mini cupcake liners
- 1 Plastic squeeze bottle (optional, but recommended)
Ingredients
- 16 oz dark chocolate chips (dairy-free)
- 1 tbsp coconut oil (melted, see note)
- 1/2 C peanut butter (smooth)
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- flaky sea salt (optional, for topping)
Instructions
- Line a mini muffin tin with 24 mini cupcake liners.
- Place the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring well between each one. Stop before all the chips are melted and stir until everything is smooth.
- Whisk in the melted coconut oil.
- Transfer the melted chocolate to a plastic squeeze bottle. If you don't have one, a piping bag or ziplock bag with a corner cut off works, too.
- Squeeze about 1 teaspoon of chocolate into each cup. Pick up each cup and swirl it so that the chocolate runs up the sides. This will help enclose the peanut butter filling.
- Place the pan in the freezer to set while you prepare the filling. To help the rest of the chocolate in the squeeze bottle not set, place it in a bowl of hot water.
- For the filling, combine the peanut butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and sea salt in a mixing bowl until a sticky paste forms.
- Remove the pan from the freezer and spoon in about 1 teaspoon of the peanut butter mixture into each cup.
- Top each cup with enough chocolate to completely cover the peanut butter. Swirl the pan so the chocolate spreads out evenly.
- Return the pan to the freezer to set for about 15 minutes.
- Remove each peanut butter cup from its wrapper and enjoy right away or place in a freezer safe bag for up to 6 months.
