These keto peanut butter cups feature a sugar free chocolate shell and a rich, creamy peanut butter center. They’re delicious and easy, so whip up a batch today!
Eat them plain or use them as garnish on keto peanut butter pie. Sweet and delicious.
Peanut butter is my Achilles heel. It’s my weakness, my downfall, my greatest temptation. And peanut butter cups have long been one of my favorite candies.
Thank heavens for these keto peanut butter cups so I can indulge without risk. I’ve been making these sugar free treats for about as long as I’ve been low carb. And they’ve saved me many a time when I needed a sweet bite to keep me on track.
My kids love them too and since they’re so easy to make. Along with my keto peanut butter fudge, we have them around almost constantly.
Why make your own keto peanut butter cups?
I created this recipe back in 2012 because I had no other option. At that time, you couldn’t buy good quality sugar free peanut butter cups like Lily’s or ChocZero. And I do believe I may have been the first person to make them.
But now that there are several good storebought options, why bother making your own? I have two reasons for you: cost and availability.
The pre-packaged cups cost about $1 per cup. My recipe makes 16 to 18 cups and comes out to less than 60 cents per cup!
Additionally, not everyone has access to Lily’s or ChocZero, whereas almost all of us can get our hands on some sugar free chocolate, peanut butter, and a little sweetener.
And I am one of those weirdos who takes pleasure in making things from scratch. If you are too, then I highly recommend having some fun with this.
How to make keto peanut butter cups
You will need:
- Candy molds – I recommend these ones because they are the exact same size as the storebought keto peanut butter cups.
- Sugar free chocolate
- Cocoa butter or coconut oil
- Peanut butter
- Butter
- Powdered or liquid sweetener
- Vanilla extract
Method
- Melt the chocolate. As always, I recommend doing this double boiler style to avoid seizing. Adding a little cocoa butter or coconut oil also helps thin the chocolate coating.
- Coat the candy molds. You want to use a little over half the chocolate to coat the bottom and sides of each cup.
- Freeze the molds. You want that first later of chocolate to firm up properly.
- Make the peanut butter filling. Simply melt some peanut butter and butter together, stir in some sweetener, and fill each cup almost to the top.
- Freeze the molds again to firm up the filling.
- Top with the remaining chocolate. Then freeze or refrigerate until firm.
Frequently Asked Questions
You bet! Any nut or seed butter will work here, including my Homemade Keto Nutella.
The filling for these keto peanut butter cups can be made with any sweetener, but it’s important to use powdered or liquid sweeteners to avoid grittiness.
That’s an easy switch. Be sure to use keto dark chocolate and swap the butter for coconut oil or palm shortening.
Yes but I want to caution you that the white chocolate doesn’t always melt that well and can seize very easily. Watch it carefully and stir constantly.
Yes you can. If you are using standard muffin cups, they will be larger and you will likely get only 12 cups. Only coat the sides with chocolate about 1/4 of the way up.
You can do that too but I recommend placing them into a muffin tin so that they hold their shape.
I have a solution for that! I used to make these keto peanut butter cups with a chocolate shell made from scratch. I have provided those directions in the recipe notes.
Storage instructions
I recommend storing these keto peanut butter cups in the fridge in a covered container, but letting them come to room temperature before serving.
Have some fun baking with keto peanut butter cups
Obviously, you can just eat them as is, but it’s fun to add them to other keto recipes too. Why not try:
- Keto Peanut Butter Cup Poke Cake
- Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Pizza
- Keto Peanut Butter Cup Stuffed Brownies
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Fudge
Keto Peanut Butter Cups Recipe
Ingredients
Chocolate Coating:
- 6 ounces (170.1 g) sugar free dark chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 ounce (14.17 g) cocoa butter, (or 2 tsp coconut oil)
Peanut Butter Filling:
- 1/2 cup (129 g) peanut butter
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup (45.5 g) powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a heatproof bowl set over barely simmering water, melt the chocolate and cocoa butter together, stirring until smooth.
- Use the back of a small spoon to spread a little over half of the chocolate mixture on the bottom and up the sides of the candy molds. Freeze 10 minutes.
- In a microwave safe bowl, melt the peanut butter and butter together on high in 30 second increments, stirring until smoth. Whisk in the powdered sweetener and vanilla extract.
- Remove the chocolate cups from freezer and fill almost to the top with the peanut butter mixture, leaving enough space to cover with remaining chocolate. Return to freezer for another 10 minutes or so.
- Rewarm the remaining chocolate gently over low heat and stir until smooth. Spread over the peanut butter filling to the sides of each cup. Chill until set, 20 minutes.
Notes
-
¼ cup butter
-
3 oz unsweetened chocolate
-
1/4 cup powdered Swerve
-
2 tbsp cocoa powder
-
1/2 tsp vanilla extractIn a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter, unsweetened chocolate and sweetener together, stirring until smooth. Stir in the cocoa powder and vanilla.Let cool 5 to 10 minutes, until somewhat thickened, the proceed as directed.
Nutrition
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Could you melt the chocolate and coconut oil in the microwave?
These came out great and were easy to make. I love ChocZero pb cups so much but I can munch away $5.00 a day on those no problem. So I made a batch of these with the CZ white and milk chocolate chips, and used a mix of allulose and monk fruit I powdered in a blender as the pb sweetener. Love love love the taste and that I don’t have to spend so much to feed my pb addiction. Thanks!
I was soooo happy to come across this recipe. Reese’s used to be my favorite candy. While they certainly aren’t the same, they do hit the spot when I’m craving candy. I used standard silicone cupcake liners and because I was lazy, I didn’t do the bottom layer of chocolate. They still turned out great! You do have to eat them while they’re still a bit chilled or they start to melt. But usually it’s gone before that happens!
I am so glad!
Oh my dear Canadian, I just love you and your recipes. Thank you, thank you. Claudette another Canadian.
Could I use Lily’s milk chocolate chips instead of dark chocolate? My kids are not a fan of dark chocolate.
Absolutely!
Hi Carolyn
Can I use peanut butter powder mixed with a bit of coconut oil and nut milk for the peanut butter in this recipe?
I guess so? Not really sure, as I don’t use PB powder that way.
Hi Carolyn, I love, love these peanut butter cups. I make them often and just because we,re talking about the ‘sugar’ issue, is there a replacement that you might suggest for the sugar in this recipe. ( it is powdered swerve so I was thinking no but just thought I would ask. I have a lot of sugars at home….Bocasweet, chicory root, allulose. But don’t know of many or any alternatives for confectioners sugar.
Thanks for all that you do!🤗🤗
You could try grinding the allulose or BochaSweet in a blender to powder it a bit. Both of these sweeteners tend to dissolve more easily than granular Swerve so it might not be as gritty as you think!
Bocha Sweet has a powdered sweetener available.
Thank you for including this recipe. I can’t wait to make these for my husband. However, I’m new at candy making. What type or size molds did you use for this recipe?
Palksky Chocolate Almond Peanut Butter Cup Mold – (3PCS) 9 Cup Bite Size Fat Bombs Snack Baking Pan/Mini Silicone Cookie Candy Mold for Brownie, Jello, truffle at Amazon.com.
If one tsp of swerve = 3gr carbs 3/4 cup would be alot of carbs for a keto recipe please correct me if I’m wrong ???? referring to peanut butter fudge
You are correct EXCEPT for the fact that Swerve is mostly erythritol, which has zero carb impact. It doesn’t raise blood sugar and the body doesn’t treat it like a carb. Thus it should be discounted entirely. Please do a little google research and you will find this to be true. And as someone who tests her blood sugar daily, I can verify.