Our keto peanut butter cups recipe requires only three simple ingredients and ten minutes of hands-on time. These low-carb treats satisfy your sweet tooth so you can indulge in the perfect creamy peanut butter and chocolate experience while staying on the keto diet.
By using real food and dairy-free ingredients without preservatives or added sugar, these sweet treats are way better than Reese’s cups. Great for kids and adults alike looking for a satisfying, low-carb, and no-bake treat.
Table of Contents (click to view)
Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Cups Recipe
Hat’s off to Tasty for giving me the original recipe inspiration. I love the shortcut and tested this a few times at family gatherings. While everyone loved it, I wanted a keto peanut butter cup recipe to enjoy myself.
I’m pretty sure a king-size package of Reese’s cups was one of the last “treats” I had after cleaning up my diet in 2008. It took a lot of perseverance to reform my old habits, but living without sugar and building a healthy relationship with food is entirely worth the struggle.
After a long road, I overcame my obsession with sweets and no longer battle with an inner cookie monster who wants to consume the entire batch all at once.
After all, food is for nourishment, not entertainment. I eat to live but don’t live to eat. Furthermore, breaking the sugar addiction is so liberating. Now, I’ll never look back!
Healthier homemade treats like these keto fat bombs are free from artificial flavors, preservatives, and added sugar.
They are great all year long and a terrific edible holiday gift idea. Read my collection of gifts for keto dieters if you need more ideas for friends and family.
If you would rather buy a keto-friendly treat than make it yourself, I suggest Lakanto Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups. If you know you’ll love them, select the subscribe option and save on repeat purchases! Also, use the coupon code PRIMALEDGEHEALTH at checkout for a discount.
How to Make Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Cups
Gather three ingredients and prep keto peanut butter cups recipe in 20 minutes or less. The hardest part is waiting for them to set in the fridge.
Ingredients
- Sweetener – My choice is powdered erythritol over granular because the granular product tends to leave an undesirable gritty texture. To keep this dessert keto, use low-carb sweeteners only. It will provide sweetness without significant carbohydrates.
- Natural peanut butter – Creamy peanut butter is the way to go if you want to replicate a traditional Reese’s cup.
- Chocolate – I use cacao paste, which is 100% pure chocolate and similar to baker’s chocolate. You can use either one or substitute it with a keto chocolate bar from brands like Lakanto or Lily’s.
Meal Prep Tip
Freeze whatever you aren’t going to eat right now, and you’ll have a yummy single serving treat ready to eat when you want it later.
Substitutions and Variations
Once you have the basics for this keto peanut butter cup recipe, you can experiment with other flavors and textures.
- Use chunky peanut butter for a little crunch.
- Out of chocolate bar? No problem. Use an equivalent amount of keto chocolate chips instead.
- Tone down the sweetness. You can decrease the sweetener to two tablespoons, especially if your sugar-free chocolate is sweetened. Adjust to personal tastes and preferences.
- No powdered sweetener? Follow my friend’s tutorial at Better Than Bread Keto to make powdered erythritol using granular sweetener.
- Elevate with salt. Sprinkle just a touch of sea salt on top of the chocolate to enhance the chocolate flavor and give it that fancy appeal.
A great thing about this recipe is that if you make it as written in the recipe card, it is naturally sugar-free, dairy-free, and gluten-free. If you have additional specific dietary needs, consider these modifications to make this recipe suitable for any of these wellness diets:
- Keto diet – This is a naturally keto homemade peanut butter cups recipe that is suitable for anyone following a low-carb diet.
- Low-oxalate diet – chocolate is not recommended on a low-oxalate diet.
- Paleo diet – The recipe, as written, is paleo-friendly, however, you may want to avoid erythritol and use stevia or monk fruit if you are on strict paleo.
Unfortunately, using chocolate, sweeteners, and peanut butter (legumes) makes this recipe unsuitable for Whole30 and GAPS.
Step-By-Step Directions
Follow the easy directions for keto-friendly peanut butter cups, and you can’t go wrong!
Step 1: Melt chocolate
Use a double boiler method to melt chocolate. Fill a small saucepan with two inches of water and bring the water to a gentle simmer on the stovetop. Place a heatproof bowl over the saucepan, ensuring the bowl’s bottom doesn’t touch the water.
Add the chocolate pieces to the bowl and stir gently as it melts. Continue stirring until all the chocolate is smooth and melted.
Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30-second increments, stirring well after each increment.
Step 2: Fill molds
Place a cupcake liner in each of the six muffin cups. Scoop 1½ tablespoons of melted chocolate and place in the bottom of each liner. Use the back of your spoon and spread the chocolate all the way out to the edge of the liner. You want it to fill the whole space.
Pop the muffin tray in the freezer for ten minutes until the chocolate sets up a little. Chilling the chocolate beforehand keeps the peanut butter layer in the center, preventing it from sinking into the chocolate bottom.
If the chocolate is semi-firm, it will give enough support to hold the peanut butter up and layer nicely.
Step 3: Prepare filling
While the chocolate chills, mix the powdered erythritol and peanut butter in a small bowl until smooth.
Using a tablespoon, scoop a generous amount of peanut butter mixture and roll it in your hands to form a 1-inch ball. Then, press the peanut butter filling flat between the palms of your hands. Place this disc over the first chocolate layer and repeat for each muffin cup.
Step 4: Add final layer
Divide the remaining melted chocolate between all six cups by drizzling it over the peanut butter. Cover thoroughly and use the back of the spoon, as needed, to move the chocolate around until lit reaches out to all sides.
Step 5: Chill
Transfer the tray to the refrigerator and chill for at least one hour for the best results.
Serve immediately or store in the fridge for 3-5 days in an airtight container. These freeze well, so you can place them in a freezer bag and store them frozen for up to three months.
Good luck not eating them before that time, though! These are way too good to sit in the freezer for three months. Store with or without the muffin liners; it doesn’t make a difference.
Nutritional Info for Low Carb Peanut Butter Cups
This keto chocolate peanut butter cups recipe yields six full-sized cups. You can use a mini muffin pan and make smaller 12 peanut butter cups.
Each full-size serving contains:
- 239 g calories
- 8 g protein
- 22 g fat
- 11 g total carbs
- 5 g fiber
- 6 g net carbs
Please note that the nutritional value will change if you substitute ingredients. Use a nutrition app to recalculate and reflect your changes.
Homemade Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Cups FAQ
According to Hershey’s gluten-free list, aside from the seasonal shaped items like Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs and unwrapped minis, all other Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are 100% gluten-free.
For reference, here’s a link to their gluten-free list. You can also search by product name or use the “gluten-free” filter to view a collection.
The USDA notes 515 calories in 100 grams of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups or about 210 calories per package (2 cups). I think a better question to ask in relation to a keto diet is how many carbs are in Reese’s peanut butter cup. This brings us to the next question.
There are 12 grams of carb per Peanut Butter Cup with 10 of those grams coming from sugar. That’s too many for a keto diet. However, with this homemade version, you can enjoy the chocolate peanut butter taste while eating real, unprocessed foods at the same time. It’s a win-win.
If you like, you can check the listing with the FDA directly and view the nutrient profile for yourself.
The first ingredient in “sugar-free” Reese’s cups is Maltitol, followed by peanuts, chocolate, cocoa butter, lactitol, cellulose gel, polydextrose, vegetable oil, peanut oil, palm kernel oil, and milk fat. The list continues on for two and a half more rows with various processed and artificial ingredients. Compare that list to my 3 ingredient recipe below and, in my opinion, there’s a clear winner. The homemade version is better for you and probably cheaper too.
More Keto Chocolate Recipes
I have a great round-up of 24 Guilt-Free Keto Chocolate Recipes and many more types of homemade keto candies.
There, you will find refreshing peppermint patties and luscious chocolate pudding. Or you can treat yourself to keto ice cream (made in a mason jar, no less!) and chocolate mousse on a hot day.
And if you prefer a baked treat, you will love this simple chocolate cake with coconut flour and these flourless brownies.
With simple ingredient swaps and recipe modifications, it is still possible for you to enjoy a sweet treat on a low-carb diet.
Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Cups Recipe
Equipment
- 1 6-cup muffin pan
- 6 cupcake liners
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp powdered erythritol sifted
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup chocolate melted, see note
Instructions
- Place a cupcake liner in each of the 6 muffin wells.
- Scoop 1½ tablespoons of melted chocolate and place in the bottom of each liner. Use the back of your spoon and spread the chocolate all the way out to the edge of the liner, you want it to fill the whole space.
- Pop the tray in the freezer for 10 minutes until the chocolate sets up a little.
- While the chocolate chills, mix the powdered erythritol and peanut butter in a small bowl until smooth.
- Using a tablespoon, scoop a generous amount of peanut butter and roll it in your hands to form a 1-inch ball. Then, press it flat between the palms of your hands. Place this disc over the first chocolate layer and repeat for each cup.
- Divide the remaining melted chocolate between all 6 cups by drizzling it over the peanut butter. Cover thoroughly and use the back of the spoon, as needed, to move the chocolate around until lit reaches out to all the sides.
- Transfer the tray to the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour.
- Serve immediately or store in the fridge for 3-5 days in an airtight container.
Notes
Nutrition & Macros
To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in a given recipe, please calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients and amounts used, using your preferred nutrition calculator. Under no circumstances shall the this website and the author be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on the given nutritional information.
Looking for more peanut buttery goodness? Try this Keto Peanut Butter Cheesecake recipe from Tasteaholics.
If there’s still peanut butter to spare, try these Keto Peanut Butter Cookies from Sugar-Free Londoner.
This post was originally published on March 13, 2019 and later updated with new tips and images.