5-Ingredient Healthier Peanut Butter Cups
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Published Oct 25, 2019, Updated Oct 06, 2023
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Make healthier peanut butter cups using just 5 simple ingredients — dark chocolate chips, peanut butter, coconut oil, honey and sea salt.
Hi, my name is Brittany and I’m obsessed with the combination of peanut butter and chocolate. I’m honestly shocked every time I meet someone who doesn’t feel the same about the chocolate and peanut butter. If you are one of those people, you can skip right past this recipe! This is for the fans!
Reese’s peanut butter cups have been my favorite candy for as long as I can remember. Isaac loves them too so I decided to take a stab at making homemade peanut butter cups that are a tad healthier. Why it’s taken me this long to try making my own peanut butter cups? I’m not sure. Turns out it’s the easiest thing ever and only requires just five simple ingredients: chocolate chips, coconut oil, peanut butter, honey and sea salt.
Ingredients in Homemade Peanut Butter Cups
- chocolate chips – I like dark chocolate chips, but traditional milk chocolate chips would be great as well. For cups that are lower in sugar and calories, use Lily’s Sweet chocolate chips (semi-sweet or dark chocolate). They’re sweetened with stevia and if you use these chips, the cups will only have 6 grams of sugar per serving. For a vegan version, use dairy-free chocolate chips. I like the Enjoy Life brand.
- coconut oil – melting the chocolate with coconut oil helps the chocolate harden and act more like a shell.
- peanut butter – I prefer natural peanut butter but you can use any nut or seed butter you like! I’ve tried different flavors of peanut butter and they are delicious with fun flavors! I want to try these with my pumpkin almond butter or cinnamon vanilla peanut butter too.
- honey or maple syrup – this sweetens the peanut butter layer and makes these homemade peanut butter cups taste like the real deal. I really like the taste of them with honey but for a vegan version you can use maple syrup or agave.
- sea salt – this ingredient is optional, but if your peanut butter isn’t salted, I highly recommend adding a pinch of sea salt to the peanut butter mixture or sprinkling flaked sea salt on top of the cups.
How to Make Homemade Peanut Butter Cups
Start by lining a muffin tin with 10-12 paper or silicone liners. Cover the bottom of each liner with melted chocolate. Place the tray in the freezer so the chocolate can set.
Make the peanut butter layer by heating peanut butter, honey and coconut oil together. Pour over chocolate and place back in the freezer to set.
Spoon the remaining chocolate over each cup, making sure the peanut butter layer is completely covered. Place back in the freezer for 30 minutes to 1 hour to set completely and enjoy! My mouth is watering just typing out this recipe.
One tip: Be sure to keep your peanut butter cups in the fridge or freezer for storing. They melt easily because of the coconut oil.
Some Other Peanut Butter Chocolate Treats to Try
- Healthy No Bake Cookies
- Healthy Peanut Butter Balls
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bites
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Balls
- Healthier Butterfingers
Want More Simple Desserts?
- 4-Ingredient Samoas
- Snickers Stuffed Dates
- Healthy Twix Bars
- Healthy Almond Joy Bars
- Trail Mix Coconut Butter Cups
- Healthy Cookie Dough Bites
- Chocolate Frosted Baked Donuts (Entenmann’s Copycat)
- Date Mounds Bars
Be sure to check out all of the dessert recipes on EBF!
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
5-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cups
Ingredients
Chocolate Layer
- 1 cup chocolate chips, use dairy-free for vegan cups*
- 1 Tablespoon melted coconut oil
Peanut Butter Layer
- ½ cup natural peanut butter
- ¼ cup honey, use maple syrup for vegan cups
- 2 Tablespoons melted coconut oil
- pinch of sea salt, if peanut butter isn’t salted
Instructions
- Line a muffin tin with paper or silicone liners. The recipe should make about 10-12 pb cups depending on how thick you make your layers.
- Melt chocolate chips and coconut oil for 1 minute in the microwave, stir and continue heating on 30 second intervals, until chocolate chips have melted and chocolate is smooth.
- Using a spoon pour enough chocolate (about 1-2 teaspoons) to cover the bottom of the liner into each liner. Place tray into the freezer for about 5-10 minutes for the chocolate to set.
- In another bowl, add peanut butter, honey, coconut oil and sea salt (if using). Microwave for about 15 – 20 seconds or until mixture is slightly melted and pourable. Stir to combine.
- Remove cups from the freezer and pour peanut butter mixture evenly over each cup. Place back in the freezer to set for about 5 minutes.
- Pour remaining chocolate over each cup, using just enough to completely cover the peanut butter layer. At this point you can also sprinkle flaked sea salt on top of the chocolate if you want!
- Place tin back in the freezer for about 30 minutes to an hour to set completely. Remove from freezer and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Store leftovers in the fridge. They should last at least 5-7 days. For longer storage, store cups in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Video
Notes
- For cups that are lower in sugar (and calories), use Lily’s Sweet chocolate chips (semi-sweet or dark chocolate. They’re sweetened with stevia. If you use these chips, the cups will only have 6 grams of sugar per serving.
- For vegan peanut butter cups, just be sure to use dairy-free chocolate chips (like Enjoy Life) and use maple syrup or agave instead of honey.
- Because these peanut butter cups are made with coconut oil, they must be stored in the fridge or freezer and kept cold or they will melt. If you keep them in the freezer, take them out 5-10 minutes before serving because they’ll be pretty hard.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Holy moly these were good!!!! Such a rich and indulgent treat, but also low-guilt 😃 I used crunchy PB and topped each with some bee pollen for a little extra vitamins and nutrients.
Yum this sounds delicious! I am so glad that you are loving this low-guilt treat and the bee pollen sounds like a delicious addition, Paul. Thanks so much for coming back and sharing our review & star rating, I really appreciate it!
LOVE this recipe.
I’m so glad you loved this recipe, Kate. Thanks for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
WAY better than regular peanut butter cups and I’m not a vegan eater. These are AMAZING!!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Cindy! Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
Delicious 🤤. I did not put the coconut oil in Oats/ peanut butter because I did not have enough . Only in the chocolate 🍫 it was still delish !!!
That’s great, Beth! Thanks so much for trying this recipe out. I appreciate your comment and review!
My favorite PB cup recipe! The consistency reminds me of Justin’s, but better and w/o additives. Tip – I like to swirl the bottom layer or chocolate to come up approx 1/4 of an inch on the sides so that the peanut butter is covered.
Yay! I’m so glad you love these, Jade! Swirling the bottom layer is a great tip, thanks for sharing!
I read all the comments and didn’t find the answer to my question. So with the coconut oil, refined? or unrefined? Coconut smell or free of coconut fragrance?
Hi, Colleen. You can use either. Refined coconut oil has a milder scent and flavor if you prefer!
These things are incredible. I’ve made them in my college dorm room twice and they’ve turned out great both times.
Woo! I’m so glad to hear that, Jay! Thanks for making them and coming back to leave a review and star rating. I appreciate it so much!
For step 8, do you need to store them in the cupcake tin or can you remove them?
Hi, Gina. For step 8 you can remove them from the muffin tin and store them in an air tight container. A stasher bag or even tupperware should do the trick! Just keep in mind these peanut butter cups are made with coconut oil and they must be stored in the fridge or freezer or they will melt.
Tried them, loved them.
I couldnt use honey because veganism, but with agave syrup or similar the results turned out pretty much the same.
I suggest to add some crunchy texture to one of the layers. Cocoa nibs, puffed amaranth,.. anything small and crispy adds a nice layer of chew and crunch to the already excellent melty experience.
Happy to hear you enjoyed these peanut butter cups! I love the suggestion about adding the crunchy texture. I will definitely have to to try that out. Thanks for the review!
I was just wondering could you use sunflower oil with the reshape???
The coconut oil is used to help thin the chocolate out and it also hardens up in the freezer, so I’m not sure how sunflower oil would work, but you could definitely try it!
Does it taste like coconut though?
Hi, Sofia! I don’t think so, they’re perfectly peanut buttery and chocolatey! Let me know what you think if you make them.