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These vegan Reeses peanut butter cups taste just like the original Reese’s cups! All you need are 3 simple ingredients and no special equipment. They can be made regular sized or miniature and are the perfect easy no bake treat to satisfy your sweet tooth!
I am a huge fan of peanut butter and chocolate together (vegan peanut butter cookies are a regular weekend bake around here). Growing up, Reese’s cups were one of my favorite chocolate bars that unfortunately for me, were not dairy free.
Now-a-days, there are plenty of dairy free peanut butter cups and alternatives available, but making your own is so easy and way cheaper too!
These vegan Reese’s peanut butter cups are freezer friendly (in fact, I like to eat them cold and straight out of the freezer!), healthier than the store-bought version, and also gluten free and dairy free.
The creamy filling and soft chocolate peanut butter shell are heavenly!
Why These Are The Best Vegan Reeses
- Peanut butter is melted and mixed together with the chocolate coating, making the outer candy shell soft and creamy, and also adding more peanut butter flavor!
- The creamy peanut butter filling is made using just two ingredients: peanut butter and powdered sugar.
- These homemade peanut butter cups require just 3 simple ingredients and can be made using regular creamy peanut butter or natural peanut butter.
- Vegan reeses peanut butter cups are a great allergy-friendly alternative to make for kids at Easter, Halloween, or Christmas.
Ingredients Needed
- Peanut Butter: for the true Reese’s flavor, use regular creamy peanut butter (like Jif, Skippy, or Kraft), but you can also use natural unsweetened peanut butter. For peanut free, you can also use any other kind of nut butter or even sun butter!
- Chocolate Chips: The original Reese’s peanut butter cups are made using milk chocolate, so to get as close to the Reese’s flavor as possible, I used vegan semi sweet chocolate chips. If you prefer dark chocolate chips that works fine too.
- Icing Sugar/Powdered Sugar: this shouldn’t be substituted for granulated sugar, but if you don’t have it or prefer to make these vegan Reeses healthier, you can leave it out. The icing sugar makes the filling sweeter and creamier like the original Reese’s. It also makes it easier to work with and spread when making the peanut butter cups.
Step By Step Instructions
Note: Full ingredient measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this page.
Step One: Line a cupcake tin with 12 cupcake liners and set aside. In a medium sized microwave-safe bowl, add chocolate chips and ¼ cup of peanut butter.
Melt for 15-20 second increments, stirring in between each increment until the chocolate and peanut butter are fully combined and melted.
If the chocolate seems too thick and not pourable, you can add a teaspoon of coconut oil to the mixture and heat it again until combined. You can also melt the mixture in a pan over the stove.
Step Two: Add a ½ Tablespoon of melted chocolate into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Use a small butter knife to “paint” the chocolate up the sides a little bit - this will help to seal the sides of the peanut butter cups.
Place the cupcake tin into the freezer for 5-10 minutes, until it has started to harden.
Step Three: Meanwhile, stir ¾ cup of peanut butter and powdered sugar together in a bowl until combined.
Add a ½ Tablespoon of the peanut butter filling on top of the chocolate in each cupcake liner, leaving room all around the edges so that the top layer of chocolate filling will run down the sides of the liners.
Use a knife to slightly flatten the peanut butter filling as much as you can, to avoid a domed peanut butter cup. Place the cupcake tin into the freezer again for 5-10 minutes until the peanut butter has slightly hardened.
Step Four: Pour a Tablespoon of the melted chocolate over top of the peanut butter so that it pours down the sides of the peanut butter and covers the top.
If your chocolate has cooled too much, you can add ½ teaspoon of coconut oil and reheat again for 15 seconds until it’s pourable again. Sprinkle each peanut butter cup with sea salt if desired.
Place the cupcake tin into the freezer again for 10-20 minutes, or until completely hardened. Enjoy!
FAQs and Expert Tips
Unfortunately not! They contain milk and other non-vegan friendly ingredients, but luckily it’s so easy to make your own!
Definitely! This recipe will make roughly 24 mini vegan Reeses. Instructions for mini Reese’s are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Absolutely! The peanut butter can be replaced with almond butter, cashew butter, or any nut butter of your choice. You can even make these entirely nut free using sunbutter!
Absolutely! I haven’t tried vegan Reese’s with crunchy peanut butter but it would work great if you’d like an added crunch.
Sure! If you don’t follow a vegan or dairy free diet, feel free to substitute the vegan semisweet chocolate chips for regular semisweet or milk chocolate chips.
Expert Tips
Try to spread the chocolate on the bottom layer a little bit up the sides of the vegan peanut butter cups - this will help seal the chocolate all the way around the peanut butter filling.
Keep an eye on the chocolate while heating - it’s very easy to burn chocolate in the microwave or on the stove so keep an eye on it!
Use oil to thin out the chocolate if it seems too thick - If the melted chocolate is too thick, it can be hard to work with, and this will vary between different brands of chocolate chips. If the chocolate seems really thick, add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil (or other neutral oil) into the chocolate, then microwave it for 15 seconds and stir until combined.
Storage and Freezing Instructions
The vegan reeses peanut butter cups can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. Enjoy cold or let the cups come to room temperature to soften up.
More No Bake Recipes You'll Love
If you make this recipe, let me know how it went in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you! You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can check it out!
Vegan Reeses Peanut Butter Cups
Video
Equipment
- 1 Cupcake Baking Tin
- 12 Cupcake Liners (or 24 mini cupcake liners)
Ingredients
Chocolate Coating
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter (or nut butter of choice)
- 1½ cups semisweet chocolate chips (vegan)
- 1-2 teaspoons coconut oil (only as needed) (or other neutral oil)
Peanut Butter Cup Filling
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter (or nut butter of choice)
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- SEE NOTES if making these as mini peanut butter cups* Line a cupcake tin with 12 cupcake liners and set aside. Add chocolate chips and ¼ cup of peanut butter to a microwave-safe bowl. Melt for 15-20 second increments, stopping in between each time to stir the mixture until the chocolate and peanut butter are fully combined and melted. If the chocolate seems too thick and not pourable, you can add a teaspoon of coconut oil to the mixture and heat it again until combined.
- Add a ½ Tablespoon of melted chocolate into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Use a small butter knife to “paint” the chocolate up the sides a little bit - this will help to seal the sides of the peanut butter cups. Place the cupcake tin into the freezer for 5-10 minutes, until it has started to harden.
- Meanwhile, stir ¾ cup of peanut butter and powdered sugar together in a bowl until combined. Add a ½ Tablespoon of the peanut butter filling on top of the chocolate in each cupcake liner, leaving room all around the edges so that the top layer of chocolate filling will run down the sides of the liners.
- Use a knife to slightly flatten the peanut butter filling as much as you can, to avoid a domed peanut butter cup. Place the cupcake tin into the freezer again for 5-10 minutes until the peanut butter has slightly hardened.
- Pour a Tablespoon of the melted chocolate over top of the peanut butter so that it pours down the sides of the peanut butter and covers the top. If your chocolate has cooled too much, you can add ½ teaspoon of coconut oil and reheat again for 15 seconds until it’s pourable again.
- Sprinkle the top of each peanut butter cup with sea salt if desired. Place the cupcake tin into the freezer again for 10-20 minutes, or until hardened. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
The calorie information provided for this recipe is an estimate. The accuracy of the calories listed is not guaranteed.
Sam
I recently had to go gluten free and vegan for health reasons and have been craving sweets like crazy - these did the trick! I made them regular sized and they were PERFECT! I'll be making these all the time
Gabby
Hi Sam! I'm so happy that you loved the recipe! Thanks so much for the review 🙂
Megan
These are so easy to make and absolutely delicious- even better than the store-bought kind! I added sea salt on mine and would definitely recommend it.
Gabby
Hi Megan! I'm so glad to hear that you loved the peanut butter cups! Thanks so much for the review!