These Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cups can be made in about 5 minutes with only 4 ingredients and they take peanut butter cups to another level!
I got the idea to make them while standing in line at Target one day. Glancing over at the candy bar section in the checkout line, I noticed this Reese's Peanut Butter Cup product I had never seen before:
After I saw it, I thought how easy it would be to add chocolate chips to my Healthy Peanut Butter Cup recipe, so that's what I did. Never mind that I just looked back at the photo above and realized they are actually tiny pieces of cookies and not chocolate chips 🙁
But it's ok, because they are really, really good with the chocolate chips and they still have a nice crunch to them!
It's the same recipe as my Healthy Peanut Butter Cup recipe with the addition of mini-chocolate chips. So it's still really easy to make and only needs just a few ingredients. I love to use these easy silicone muffin cups - they pop right out, are reusable and easy to clean.
It you take a look at the ingredient list for the store-bought product shown above, you can see that it's not good:
S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) Reese's Crunchy Cookie Peanut Butter Cups Ingredients:
Ingredients: Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Chocolate, Nonfat Milk, Milk Fat, Lactose, Soy Lecithin, PGPR), Peanuts, Sugar, Dextrose, Cornstarch, Salt, Cocoa Processed with Alkali, Vegetable Oil (Canola Oil, Palm Oil, Palm Kernel Oil), Modified Cornstarch, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Soy Lecithin, Artificial Flavor, TBHQ (Preservative), Citric Acid
It contains refined sugar (including high fructose corn syrup), preservatives and GMO ingredients (soy, corn). And it's also not vegan (milk).
But you don't have to worry about any of the bad ingredients shown above, or GMO's, because this version is made with clean, real food ingredients and is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, no-cook and contains no refined sugar.
5 Fast Facts About Peanuts (Peanut Butter):*
- excellent source of vitamin E
- high in folate
- contains tryptophan which helps fight depression
- good source of fiber
- excellent source of vegan protein
5 Fast Facts About Maple Syrup:*
- contains manganese and zinc
- super high in antioxidants
- helps with inflammation
- ¼ cup contains more calcium than the same amount of milk
- ¼ cup contains more potassium than a banana
5 Fast Facts About Coconut Oil:*
- super high in lauric acid
- rich in antioxidants
- contains natural microbial and anti-bacterial agents
- helps to improve metabolism
- improves cholesterol levels
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cups
Equipment
Ingredients
For the peanut butter bottoms:
- ½ cup organic peanut butter
- ⅛ cup organic maple syrup
- ⅛ cup organic coconut oil
For the add-in:
- ½ cup Enjoy Life mini-chocolate chips
For the chocolate topping:
- ½ cup Enjoy Life mini-chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon organic coconut oil
Instructions
Prepare the peanut butter bottoms:
- Add all ingredients for the peanut butter bottoms to a small bowl and stir until it's creamy and smooth.
- Stir in the add-in chocolate chips until they are evenly distributed.
- Divide the peanut butter bottom mixture evenly between (4) standard size muffin cups. Set aside.
Prepare the chocolate topping:
- Add all ingredients for the chocolate topping to a small saucepan and melt on lowest heat until it's creamy and smooth.
- Divide the chocolate topping mixture evenly between the (4) muffin cups and add it on top of the peanut butter bottoms.
Assembly:
- Transfer the muffin cups to the freezer for approximately 30-60 minutes, or until they harden.
- When ready to serve, set the on the countertop for about 5 minutes so they can soften slightly.
- Store in an air-tight BPA-free container in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to serve because they will get soft if left out at room temperature.
- Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
The recipe and photographs for "Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cups" by Karielyn Tillman of The Healthy Family and Home™ website are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 International License and cannot be used without my written permission.
Recipe Roundups: Food Bloggers are always welcome to use a photo and a link back to my original post to share on recipe roundups without requesting permission.Nutrition Information
Copyright Notice
The instructions, notes, and photographs for this recipe by Karielyn Tillman of The Healthy Family and Home™ website are copyrighted material. This copyrighted work is protected and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 International License and the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) and cannot be legally used without my written permission.
Want More Healthy Gluten-Free Vegan Dessert Recipes?
Check out these:
- Gluten-Free Vegan Cashew Butter Cups
- Lemon Meltaway Balls
- Gluten-Free Vegan Valentine's Day Puppy Chow
- or my Clean Eating Cookbook with 3 entire chapters of healthy, clean eating recipes just like this one that you will love!
Did You Make This Recipe?
I'd love to hear about it! Please give it a rating and leave a comment below...it would make my day! 🙂
Jordan McGregor says
The fact that these only take 5 minutes to make is a miracle for me and my schedule! Sometimes it is just plain difficult to find time in a day to make something like this. Have you tried using any other natural sweeteners on this recipe? I am just wondering if it would make a big difference to use something like agave. Thanks for sharing Karielyn!
Karielyn says
Hi there Jordan! I am all about quick + easy so pretty much all of my recipes will have minimal ingredients and easy instructions. It's mostly because I'm lazy lol!
You could use any organic liquid sweetener in this recipe, including agave if that's your sweetener of preference.
Thanks and I hope you enjoy the recipe! 🙂