Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
on Apr 17, 2019, Updated May 05, 2026
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These vegan chocolate peanut butter cups are super easy to make with minimal ingredients and taste just like the real thing! You’ll love this simple vegan version of the classic sweet and salty treat.
Features
- dietary features: vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free
- no-bake: easy to make with just 5 simple ingredients, no baking required
- wholesome ingredients: know exactly what went into your healthier homemade dessert
Ingredient Notes
For the Chocolate
- coconut oil – you’ll need this for both the chocolate cups and the filling and it can’t be substituted in this recipe
- maple syrup – used to sweeten both the cups and the filling, I don’t recommend any other sweetener here
- cocoa powder – regular cocoa powder or raw cacao both work great
- peanut butter – any natural peanut butter works, can be subbed with almond butter or for nut-free cups, sunflower seed butter
- nutritional yeast – optional but highly recommended, I know it sounds odd but it’s really what makes this recipe. It adds a salty, nutty flavour and certain texture that makes the cups taste like Reese’s. It’s easy to find in well-stocked grocery stores, health food stores and online.
Step by Step Method
Step 1. Gently mix together the first set of chocolate ingredients: 1/4 cup melted coconut oil, 3 tbsp of maple syrup and 1/4 cup of cocoa powder. It should have a smooth, runny consistency.
Step 2. Spoon the mixture into 12 lined muffin cups (or 24 mini cups) and place the entire tray into the freezer.
Quick Tip: If you don’t have a muffin tin, just use paper or silicone cupcake liners and place them on a plate or tray.
Step 3. While the bottom of the cups are hardening in the freezer, mix together the peanut butter, nutritional yeast, coconut oil and maple syrup for the peanut butter filling.
Step 4. Divide the peanut butter mixture between the cups you created, spreading it around a bit so it’s mostly flat. Pop the whole tray back into the freezer for 20 minutes or so.
Step 4. When your’e ready, mix together the remanning chocolate ingredients as you did in step 1 and spoon the mixture over the cups.
Place back in the freezer until the chocolate has hardened. Once they’re firm, they’re ready to enjoy!
Tips and Notes
- No muffin tin? Silicone or paper liners both work well. If you don’t have a muffin tin, just place them on a plate or tray.
- Peanut-Free and Nut-Free Options: For peanut-free cups, use almond butter instead of peanut butter. For nut-free cups, use sunflower seed butter or Wowbutter instead of peanut butter, or try my tahini cups.
- Storage: Store the finished cups in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. Enjoy straight from the freezer.
- Coconut Oil: The coconut oil cannot be substituted in this recipe as it’s what makes the chocolate harden. If you prefer, you can use melted chocolate chips or dark chocolate instead of making your own chocolate. For further details on using melted chocolate, refer to my chocolate caramel cups.
- For chocolate peanut butter banana cups, add a couple banana slices or spoonful of mashed banana to each cup with the peanut butter.
Related Recipes
- Salted Caramel Tahini Cups
- 2-Ingredient Vegan Chocolate Caramel Cups
- Homemade Snickers
- Homemade Twix Bars
- No-Bake Chocolate Caramel Bars
- Homemade Butterfingers with Corn Flakes
- Homemade Mounds Bars Recipe
- Homemade Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs
Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Ingredients
For the Chocolate
- 2 x 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 2 x 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 2 x 1/4 cup cocoa powder
For the Peanut Butter Filling
- 1 cup natural peanut butter
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp + 2 tsp nutritional yeast
Instructions
- Gently mix together the first set of melted coconut oil, maple syrup and raw cocoa powder in a bowl. It should be smooth and runny.
- Spoon 1/2-1 tbsp into the bottom of a lined muffin tin. Start with about 1/2 tbsp in each, then divide the rest between the 12 if there is extra. You can make 12 large cups or 24 mini cups (start with 1 tsp per cup if doing mini cups). If you don’t have a muffin tin, you can just use paper or silicone cupcake liners on a plate.
- Place the entire tray in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Mix together the ingredients for the peanut butter filling in a bowl. Mix well until it’s smooth and the nutritional yeast is mixed in completely.
- Remove the chocolate cups from the freezer and spoon the peanut butter filling into each cup. It should be about 1 heaping tbsp/cup. Spread about so the filling is somewhat flat.
- Place in the freezer for about 20 minutes to firm.
- When you’re ready, mix together the second set of chocolate ingredients. Once the peanut butter cups are ready, spoon the mixed chocolate ingredients over top of each cup. Tilt the tray left-right-back and forth to help evenly spread the chocolate.
- Place back in the freezer for about 10 minutes or until the chocolate is set and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on August 13, 2013. Updated with new photos and text on April 17, 2019.
Hello!
I was wondering if it’s okay to make this recepies without adding the yeast in it ?
Thank you and have a nice day 🙂
Yes, that will be fine. It’s there for flavour and texture. I’d recommend trying it if you can get a hold of some though!
Oh my gosh…..I just made these and they are so freakin’ good I can’t believe it! Thank you, Deryn for sharing this! I would have never known you could use nutritional yeast in something sweet- I was just googling ‘nutritional yeast recipes’ and this came up. Lucky me!!
I love this recipe! So simple, and it doesn’t require using vegan chocolate chips, which can be expensive. Will definitely be making as a Halloween treat, thanks so much!
What an amazing treat! My children were very pleased to know their mom could make what they called, ” homemade vegan Reese’s cups by mom.” Thanks for the recipe and tempting pics.
Awww, that is so awesome!! I love it!! hehe 🙂 Thanks for letting me know!
These are life changers! Unreal! Im absolutely loving all your recipes!
Awesome!! So glad! These are a good one, aren’t they!! Speaking of which, I think I just might make some right now!! Thanks for the comment 🙂
I made this 4 times already, and my husband loves this treat. Thank you for all your recipes. We have been enjoying many of them.
That’s so awesome!! I love hearing that! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Hi, these look so good & I really want to make them but I am a little confused on the measurements for the chocolate ingredients. What exactly do you mean by 2 x 1/4 cup & 2 x 3 TBS. Thanks
You have to make the chocolate part twice, using 1/4 cup for the first part and 1/4 cup for the second part. Same with the 2 sets of 3 tbsp. If you read through the instructions, it should make more sense. Let me know if that helps! Thanks!
Thanks for this recipe! I used it to make a similar but slightly altered version on my website. Great pictures!
Do you think you can substitute the coconut oil for olive oil? I just want to know if it will work with what I have on hand.
Hi Laura, Unfortunately it won’t work with olive oil. Coconut oil is solid at room temperature or below, making it perfect for this, but olive oil will stay liquid. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Is there anything to substitute for the coconut oil? My son’s allergic to coconut!
Unfortunately not, since it’s needed to solidify the chocolate.
Why not use raw, organic cacao butter instead? Not as healthy as coconut oil but healthier than Reeces!
These look delicious! Can’t wait to try your recipe!
Well I hope you enjoy them! I think it’s a about time I made some more! Thanks for reading 🙂