Vegan Peanut Butter Cups
on Jul 19, 2021, Updated May 17, 2024
These Vegan Peanut Butter Cups are made with simple ingredients and taste better than Reese’s. Easy and delicious vegan dessert!
These vegan peanut butter cups are one of my favorite no bake desserts.
They are naturally gluten free, dairy free, and come together in minutes!
Growing up, my absolute favorite candy was Reese’s cups.
Forget skittles and starbursts, I was always all about that chocolate + peanut butter!
These chocolate peanut butter cups are so simple to make.
They are similar to my healthy no bake peanut butter truffles, but in reese’s cup form.
If you gave me a choice between Reese’s cups and these homemade ones, I would pick the homemade ones every time!
The flavor just cannot even compare.
Vegan Peanut Butter Cup Ingredients
- creamy peanut butter
- coconut oil
- semi sweet vegan chocolate chips
- pure maple syrup
- coconut palm sugar
- vanilla extract
- salt
How to make vegan peanut butter cups
No fancy ingredients or equipment required to make these no bake cups.
All you need is a muffin tin with liners, and a few simple ingredients!
melting the chocolate layer
Step 1: melt your chocolate chips and coconut oil.
You can do this using the stove or the microwave, just watch carefully to make sure the chocolate does not burn.
Step 2: Stir in the salt and vanilla, then measure out a layer into each muffin tin.
Step 3: Freeze the first layer of chocolate for about 10 minutes, or until solid.
Once you pop them in the freezer, that gives you the perfect amount of time to make the peanut butter filling while the chocolate shell hardens.
making the peanut butter filling
Step 4: Whisk together peanut butter, maple syrup, salt, and coconut palm sugar until combined.
Grab a spoon and get ready for adding the next part of your homemade Reese’s cups.
Step 5: Distribute the peanut butter filling evenly into the 12 muffin cups, then distribute the remaining chocolate over the tops.
So easy and really fun to make!
Kids would love helping to make these too.
These look impressive, but are really simple and not time consuming at all.
These last approximately a day in my house if I’m lucky!
You might want to make a double batch if you want any leftover!
The peanut butter filling is so delicious I could eat it off of a spoon!
One thing to note is that this recipe uses all natural peanut butter.
I prefer to buy it this way as it is no added sugar.
If you are looking for a peanut butter that is all natural, just look to be sure the only ingredients on the label are peanuts and salt.
The longer you freeze these, the creamier the peanut butter filling becomes.
It all depends on how soft you like them!
The chocolate shell gets nice and hard, so you might want to store these in the fridge once set, or remove from the freezer for a minute or two before eating.
Or stir them into ice cream with some chocolate syrup for reese’s ice cream!
I personally like mine from the freezer!
I originally published this recipe years ago and every time I make them they are devoured.
They are perfect every time!
If I had my choice, I would have 100 of these in my freezer for every day chocolate emergencies.
I have tried several peanut butter cups that are store bought, and none can even compare to these.
If you love chocolate + peanut butter, you will LOVE these.
They are also fantastic cut up into pieces and served over vanilla ice cream (speaking from experience!)
More vegan desserts
- Vegan Peanut Butter Fudge
- Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Best Vegan Apple Crisp
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Blueberry Peach Crisp
- Homemade Magic Shell
Vegan Peanut Butter Cups
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Layer
- 10 oz semi sweet dairy free chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Peanut Butter Filling
- 3/4 cup all natural peanut butter, chilled in the fridge (the only ingredients should be peanuts and salt)
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon coconut palm sugar
Instructions
- Start by melting the chocolate layer. Add 2 tablespoons of coconut oil to a saucepan and heat on low heat, until melted
- Add 10 oz bag of chocolate chips, stirring on low heat, until melted (can take 5 minutes) *be sure not to burn chocolate and only melt on low* Alternatively you can microwave in small increments and stir until melted, but be careful not to burn the chocolate.
- Once chocolate is melted, add in 1/4 teaspoon sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract and stir to combine
- Once the chocolate mixture is stirred and melted, line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper muffin liners
- Pour 2 teaspoons of chocolate mixture in the bottom of each muffin liner. Once you are done filling each liner, tap the pan down a few times to get the chocolate to sit flat.
- Place muffin tin in freezer for 10-15 minutes, or until chocolate is set
- While chocolate is hardening, make the peanut butter mixture
- Add 3/4 cup of chilled peanut butter (see note above) to a bowl *note – peanut butter should be thick not drippy)
- Add maple syrup, sea salt, and coconut palm sugar and stir with a fork until well combined
- Remove muffin tin from freezer and place distribute the peanut butter mixture on top of each layer of chocolate, flattening it down in the center
- Drizzle remaining chocolate mixture over the tops of each muffin cup, making sure to cover the peanut butter completely
- Freeze for 15 minutes, or until chocolate is set
- Store peanut butter cups in the freezer or fridge. I like to keep mine in a ziploc bag in the freezer
These are a big hit with both my family and my team at work. Every year I learn a little bit more about food allergies or preferences and am always trying to be inclusive and accommodate employees on my team. Being able to make vegan items and gluten free treats that are easy and delicious is a win for me as well. These are super easy and absolutely delicious. I try to make them in smaller muffin tins so that the batch goes further. Of course, everyone eats twice as many.
I love hearing stories like yours. Thank you for being so thoughtful of others!
“*note – peanut butter should be thick not drippy)”
If I will put it in the fridge it will help?
I buy natural peanut butter which contains ONLY roasted peanut butter and it’s very drippy
Yes, I buy the same type of peanut butter and putting it in the fridge upside down first thickens it up, plus you don’t have to stir it!
Thank you!
PS your website does not send an email once you respond to people question
I forgot to ask
1. The peanut butter you are buying doesn’t contain salt, right?
2. Do you think it will work properly with Agave? I don’t have maple left
Thank you
Can you use vegan carob chips ?
You might be able to, but if they are not sweet then it would make a difference in flavor.
Thank you for this amazing recipe! I made these using tiny cupcake liners and molds for bite sized candies for the end of my child’s peanut allergy challenge since Reece’s contain dairy (another serious allergy). Absolutely delicious and very easy to make. And she passed her challenge so we can all eat this recipe ALL the time!
Mel, that is fantastic news! I am so glad she is able to have peanuts again! I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe, love the idea of making them in mini cupcake liners!
I love this recipe…I will always make mine this way. That only thing i would do is melt more chocolate the next time because I didnt have enough at the top
How many calories?
Can I have a link to the mould you used?
I just used a regular muffin tin with muffin liners in it!
How many calories etc are in one of these?
Loved this recipe! I actually only used 3 tablespoons of maple syrup and left out the sugar! For the chocolate chips, I used “Enjoy Life” brand that’s dairy, nut, & soy free!
This is the single best peanut butter cup I have ever tasted. I changed absolutely nothing about the recipe, and everyone who tries them also says they are the best. My boyfriend is the number one fan of Reece’s cups, but even he told me these were BETTER. I have been telling everyone I know to come to your website and try this amazing recipe. Thank you!!!
Thanks so much Nina! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! We love these too – they are quite addictive 🙂