These delicious mini Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups satisfy any chocolate craving. They're easy to make, plus they are refined sugar-free, gluten-free, and can be whipped up in less than 30 minutes!
I fancied up these mini chocolate peanut butter cups by topping them with a mixture of sea salt and pink pitaya powder. These sweet and salty little bites are perfect for Valentine's Day, any sweet celebration, or just because!
I've always loved Reese's peanut butter cups ever since I was a child; they were my favorite candy. This homemade version tastes even better. If you love chocolate and peanut butter, you're going to love these vegan Reese's in mini form!
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Ingredients
These are the ingredients you'll need to make these vegan chocolate peanut butter cups:
- Vegan semi-sweet mini chocolate chips (dairy-free) - to ensure it's vegan, check the ingredients list for milk fat, milk solids, or dairy butter (cocoa butter is okay and is vegan). If you don't have the minis, you can use regular vegan chocolate chips, or a chopped up vegan chocolate bar (no milk products/dairy).
- Virgin coconut oil - to mix with the chocolate chips for smoothness and ease of spreading
- Natural peanut butter - preferably unsalted. If using salted peanut butter, don't add salt to the filling. The brand I use is a nice consistency, not runny and not thick. If your natural peanut butter is runny, place it in the fridge to thicken it. You can put a brand new jar of peanut butter on the counter, upside down, to get it to mix.
- Maple syrup - a natural sweetener for the filling; make sure it's pure and not a blended syrup
- Nutritional yeast (optional) - adds a savory and umami flavor, plus it adds texture
- Vanilla extract - vanilla and chocolate go so well together!
- Fine sea salt - add if your peanut butter is not salted or add to taste
- Coarse sea salt - to combine with pink pitaya powder to sprinkle on top of the cups. Fine sea salt also works, which is what I have pictured.
- Pink pitaya powder - 100% pure red dragon fruit powder, optional. It's non-GMO, gluten-free, and has no added sugar, additives, or preservatives. It's completely natural, fun to add, and is a vibrant shade of pink!
Equipment
- mini muffin tin - 24 well. If you don't have mini muffin tins you can use a regular muffin tin with regular size liners.
- 16 mini muffin liners - you can get them in bright foil colors
- Spatula
- teaspoon - any small spoon is helpful
- small saucepan
- heat-proof bowl (stainless steel works well)
- small mixing bowl
How to make mini vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
It's easy to make these mini vegan chocolate peanut butter cups. Here's how to do it, even if it is your first time!
- Line your muffin tins with mini muffin or cupcake liners and set them aside.
- Make the peanut butter filling. In a small bowl, mix the natural peanut butter, maple syrup, nutritional yeast, vanilla extract, and fine sea salt.
- Melt the chocolate. If you have a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil in it. If you don't have a double boiler, you can make one. See my tips below.
- Place the chocolate chips with coconut oil in the bowl and frequently stir with a spatula. Remove from heat before all the chips have melted and continue stirring on the countertop, to avoid burning the chocolate.
- Assemble the cups
Spoon 1 scant teaspoon of melted chocolate into each liner. Gently spread it to the edges of the liner with your spoon.
Follow with one teaspoon of peanut butter mixture rolled in a ball and then flattened into a disc.
Top with one teaspoon of melted chocolate, gently spreading it to the edges of the liner.
Combine fine or coarse sea salt and the pink pitaya powder. Sprinkle a small amount on top of peanut butter cups; I highly recommend this. Place in the fridge for 20 minutes. Enjoy!
How to melt the chocolate
You can melt the chocolate in a double boiler if you have one. If you don't, here's what to do.
Make a double boiler: Place a heat-safe bowl such as stainless steel over a small saucepan with high sides that has been filled with about an inch of water, and then bring that to a low boil.
Choose a bowl that will sit nicely on top of the saucepan. You don't want the base of the bowl to be touching the boiling water; you want to melt the chocolate, not cook it or burn it. Make sure the bowl isn't in contact with the boiling water.
When using a double boiler, stir the chocolate frequently. Take it off the heat when it's nearly melted.
An alternative: If you don't want to make a double boiler, you can melt the chocolate on low heat in a small enameled cast-iron saucepan like this one. It's important to use the lowest heat setting and to stir occasionally. Take it off the heat when almost all of the chocolate has melted.
Variations
Add cocoa nibs for variety in texture.
If you cannot obtain vegan mini chocolate chips, use regular vegan chocolate chips or vegan semi-sweet chocolate (chopped).
If you don't have maple syrup, you can use icing (confectioner's) sugar, but then they won't be refined sugar-free.
Stir chopped mini vegan peanut butter chocolate cups into vegan ice cream with some melted chocolate for a decadent treat!
Expert tips
Be sure to use enough chocolate on top to cover the peanut butter filling properly and seal off the sides. I recommend using a scant teaspoon for the base layer and a slightly more generous teaspoon for the top layer.
If the chocolate starts getting stiff while it's cooling off and hard to spread, heat it again over the double boiler.
Storage
These peanut butter cups can be stored for up to 3 to 5 days in the fridge.
Store for up to 6 months in the freezer in a sealed container.
Related recipes
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did! If you make this recipe, please take a moment to ★★★★★ star-rate it and leave a comment below. Also, follow me on Instagram and Facebook, and share your creation with me! Tag me @resplendentkitchen and hashtag #resplendentkitchenrecipes.
Recipe
Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups (mini)
Equipment
- mini muffin tin - 24 well, or two 12-well muffin tins
- 16 mini muffin liners
- Spatula
- teaspoon
- heat-proof bowl (stainless steel works well)
- small mixing bowl
Ingredients
For the peanut butter cups
- ½ cup organic creamy light roasted peanut butter preferably unsalted
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 10 oz vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon virgin coconut oil
For the topping
- ½ tablespoon coarse sea salt
- 1/16 teaspoon pink pitaya powder optional
Instructions
- Line 2 mini muffin tins with 16 liners.
- Combine natural peanut butter, maple syrup, nutritional yeast, vanilla extract, and fine sea salt.
- Melt the chocolate chips with coconut oil in a double boiler on low heat, stirring frequently. Remove from heat before all the chips have melted and continue stirring on the countertop. Let cool briefly.
- Spoon 1 scant teaspoon of melted chocolate into each liner, gently spreading it with a spoon to the edges. Follow with 1 teaspoon of peanut butter mixture rolled in a ball and then flattened into a small disc. Top with 1 teaspoon of melted chocolate, gently spread it to the edges of the liner.
- Combine coarse sea salt and pink pitaya powder. Sprinkle a small amount on top of peanut butter cups before placing in fridge for 20 minutes. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Resplendent Kitchen offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site as a courtesy. Although resplendentkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information from online calculators, these figures are estimates.
Kayla
These vegan chocolate peanut butter cups are delicious! So easy to make and so yummy!
Emily
Thank you for your review, Kayla! I'm so glad to hear that this recipe was a hit!
Natalia
These sound delicious!! I’ve printed the recipe! I wanted to thank you, Emily, for adding the nutritional values to your recipes. It is most helpful to those of us watching sugar, fat and carbs!
Emily
Hi Natalia, thank you for your review and feedback. I'm so glad to hear that the nutritional values are helpful!
Choclette
I love the flavour of Reese's peanut butter cups, but find them far too sweet. Love your vegan recipe, they sound so much nicer. Completely intrigued by the addition of nutritional yeast. Not sure why I should find it so surprising when I've used Marmite with chocolate on several occasions.
Emily
Thank you for your review, Choclette! I'm so glad to hear that my recipe has intrigued you! The nutritional yeast is there for umami and to add a bit of texture. I'll have to try Marmite combined with chocolate, that sounds interesting!
Erica
Oooo! Chocolate and peanut butter! Is there any other perfect combination? I'll have to make this soon. Beautiful pics!
Emily
Thank you, Erica! So good, I hope you try these soon!
Holly
Yum! These will be perfect for Halloween!
Emily
Holly, thank you for the review! I'm so glad to hear these will be perfect for Halloween. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them!
Aleisha
These are SO good!! 🙌
Emily
Thank you so much, Aleisha!
Stef
These look phenomenal! Thanks for sharing!
Emily
Thank you for your comment, Stef!
Marinela
These mini chocolate peanut butter cups make the yummiest sweet treat for any occasion. Great for parties and family gatherings. What a lovely vegan dessert idea! Thanks!
Emily
Hi Marinela, thanks for taking the time to review our Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups! I hope you enjoy them!
Anaiah
Yum! These vegan chocolate peanut butter cups are the perfect guilt-free snack. I'll be making this often and taking some to work with me. They are so delicious!
Emily
Thank you for your review, Anaiah! I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed the recipe! Here's to making our workdays a little sweeter!
Andrea
I'm so excited to try these! My brother is now a vegan, and I know he'd love these. That pink powder is so pretty!
Emily
Thanks so much, Andrea!
Anjali
These were so delicious and so much better than regular Reese's peanut butter cups!!
Emily
Thank you for the review and feedback, Anjali! I'm so glad to hear that my recipe was a hit with you!
Emily
Thanks for such an awesome vegan recipe! I can't wait to make these again for Valentine's Day!
Emily
Thanks for the kind words, Emily! I am glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Nadja
These chocolate peanut butter cups were delicious and so easy to make. I was wondering about the nutritional yeast flavor but complemented it fabulously. I'm saving this recipe to make again for Galentine's day.
Emily
Hi Nadja, thank you for trying out this recipe. I love hearing that it was easy to make and delicious!