These easy Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups are the perfect thing to cure your sweet tooth. Enjoy as an easy dessert or an afternoon treat!
If you’ve been craving a vegan Reese’s peanut butter cup, but not the animal-derived ingredients they’re made with, I’ve got you covered!
This recipe uses just 6 simple ingredients and 5 steps for the best vegan peanut butter cups you’ve ever tried.
The flavor of these is not exactly like a Reese’s because, of course, vegan peanut butter cups use dark chocolate vs the milk chocolate found in traditional Reese’s.
But beyond that, these are an amazing way to enjoy vegan Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups!
What I love about vegan dark chocolate peanut butter cups is that they’re sweet but not overly sweet. It’s one of the reasons I’ve always preferred dark chocolate over milk chocolate, even before becoming vegan. The maple syrup adds just the perfect amount of sweetness and compliments the yummy peanut butter.
I love to keep a bowl of these in the fridge or freezer to grab whenever that craving strikes.
They’re also an ideal edible gift, especially if you know someone who LOVES Reese’s. I like to make an extra batch or two around the holidays to share!
Why You’ll Love These Easy Vegan Peanut Butter Cups
- They’re basically vegan Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups – so you can enjoy your favorite treat once more!
- They’re naturally gluten-free
- Decadence in every bite with rich dark chocolate
- Make with creamy or crunchy peanut butter – your choice!
- Perfectly bite-sized for whenever the chocolate craving hits
What You’ll Need
These easy vegan peanut butter cups use only a handful of ingredients, and you don’t need any fancy equipment. We use a silicon mini muffin tray for ours, but you can use any muffin/cupcake tray, molds, or cupcake liners you have handy. Just be aware the quantity you can make with this recipe may vary if you use a bigger mold.
- Peanut butter
- Dairy-free dark chocolate
- Coconut oil
- Vanilla extract
- Maple syrup
- Salt
How To Make Homemade Vegan Peanut Butter Cups
Melt the dark chocolate and 1 tsp of coconut oil in a microwave for 45 seconds, or slowly on the stove in a double boiler. Be careful not to boil it!
Place ½ tbsp of melted chocolate into each of your 12 small silicone molds.
Pop the tray into the refrigerator for 20 minutes or until the chocolate has hardened up.
While the chocolate is cooling you can make the peanut butter filling.
Mix the peanut butter, coconut oil, vanilla extract and maple syrup until combined.
Add 1 tsp of the peanut filling in each chocolate cup.
Cover your peanut butter filling with melted chocolate, to the top of the mold – or enough to create a level top.
Refrigerate for half an hour or until the peanut butter cups are hard enough to transfer to a plate.
Keep them in the fridge for up to 10 days.
Tips for The Best Vegan Peanut Butter Cups
- When melting chocolate, be sure to use dry utensils to avoid seizing the chocolate.
- Melt chocolate on low heat and/or in short increments. Using a double boiler (bain-marie) works well.
- Use high-quality dark chocolate.
- Creamy or crunchy peanut butter works, use your preference!
- Do NOT skip the coconut oil! It may seem like an insignificant amount but it’s very important in the melting of the chocolate and achieving the right texture.
Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups Variations
- Top your vegan peanut butter cups with chopped peanuts, a little sea salt, pistachios, or even freeze dried berries for something a little different
- Play with shapes! There’s no reason you have to stick with circles for your homemade peanut butter cups. Why not buy a love heart-shaped silicon mold and make a cute valentines gift, or these adorable little bunny-shaped molds for easter?
- Try making these with almond butter instead of peanut butter for a subtle flavor difference.
How To Store These Vegan Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
These store easily in an airtight container for up to 10 days in the fridge. You can also freeze vegan peanut butter cups in airtight containers for a few months. Perfect for just grabbing one or two from the freezer for dessert or when the sweet tooth strikes!
Unfortunately, they are prone to melting if left out too long. So they’re best served cold or cool.
Other Vegan Chocolate Recipes:
Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
These easy Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups are the perfect thing to cure your sweet tooth. Enjoy as an easy dessert or an afternoon treat!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1 cup dark chocolate
- 2 x 1 tsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
Melt the dark chocolate and 1 tsp of coconut oil in a microwave for 45 seconds, or slowly on the stove in a double boiler. Be careful not to boil it!
Place ½ tbsp of melted chocolate into each of your 12 small silicone molds.
Pop the tray into the refrigerator for 20 minutes or until the chocolate has hardened up.
While the chocolate is cooling you can make the peanut butter filling. Mix the peanut butter, remaining coconut oil, vanilla extract and maple syrup until combined.
Add 1 tsp of the peanut filling to each chocolate cup.
Cover your peanut butter filling with melted chocolate, to the top of the mold – or enough to create a level top.
Refrigerate for half an hour or until the peanut butter cups are hard enough to transfer to a plate.
Keep them in the fridge for up to 10 days.
Notes
You can top these peanut butter cups with crushed roasted peanuts, sea salt, or edible decorations!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 178Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 153mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 2gSugar: 11gProtein: 3g
Nutrition information should be considered as an estimation only.