Low carb peanut butter and jam? Heck yeah! These tasty peanut butter cups are full of healthy keto fats and taste like biting into your favourite sandwich.
Like many people in North America, I have had a long standing love affair with peanut butter and jam. Notice I don’t say jelly. I am not a jelly person, I am jam all the way. I be jammin’, my friends. Give me the flesh and the seeds of the fruit, mash it all in there and mix it all together. Don’t you dare strain it and make it all clear and lacking in any real substance. Sorry, I digress. Apparently I feel very strongly on the jam vs. jelly issue. But yes, I have always loved the sweet salty combo of peanut butter and jam together and the very taste brings back strong childhood memories. But PB & J sandwiches are a thing of the past for me. What’s a low carb girl to do? You make your own keto-friendly version, of course.
I long ago realized how good coconut oil and peanut butter tasted when mixed together, and that’s what the shells of these tasty keto treats are made from. I don’t find I even need to sweeten it much…a few tablespoons of powdered Swerve are enough for me. Bonus that they are totally dairy-free as well and may appeal to many of you with dairy intolerances. The filling was a bit harder to nail down. On the first go round, I tried a chia raspberry jam but it wasn’t sturdy enough. You bit into it and the jam filling splooshed out everywhere. So then I went with a little grassfed gelatin…not too much or the center becomes too gummy. It worked beautifully and had a very jam-like consistency once the cups were chilled and set.
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If you have any experience at all with a ketogenic diet, then I think you know where I am going with this. Fat Bombs. Yep, keto peanut butter and jam fat bombs. I hate the term “fat bomb”, have I ever told you that? It just sounds repulsive and it’s hard for the rest of the world to understand what we Ketonians are doing. It’s off-putting…descriptive certainly, but off-putting. I don’t know who made it up (Dana Carpender, maybe?) and I get it. We need to up our fats sometimes and we need a tasty way to do it. But I much prefer to call them “cups” or something that sounds a wee bit more enticing, even to the non-keto population.
Plus you catch more flies with the proverbial honey, right? I like the idea that I am putting tasty treats out there that might be enticing to the general population, encouraging them to click over to this low carb blog and see that we too enjoy delicious foods. As I said frequently on my book tour for The Everyday Ketogenic Kitchen, it’s all part of my evil plan. I probably shouldn’t be telling you my evil plan, as I am giving myself away for the evil mastermind that I am. Nonetheless, here it is. Make these low carb, high fat recipes SO good that the rest of the world can’t resist. Because once they taste it, once they see how good and non-restrictive a keto diet actually is, they might just open their minds. And that’s when they realize that they can do this. They can make this leap, and enjoy wonderful food while also reaping the health benefits.
Bam. Done. Welcome to the dark side. Where we have peanut butter and jam.
Low carb peanut butter and jam? Heck yeah! These tasty peanut butter cups are full of healthy keto fats and taste like biting into your favourite sandwich.
- 3/4 cup raspberries
- 1/4 cup water
- 6 to 8 tbsp powdered Swerve Sweetener divided
- 1 tsp grassfed gelatin
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 3/4 cup coconut oil
- Line a muffin pan with 12 silicone or parchment paper liners.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the raspberries and water. Bring to a boil and the reduce the heat and simmer 5 minutes. Mash the berries with a fork.
- Stir in 2 to 4 tbsp of the powdered sweetener, depending on how sweet you like it. Whisk in the grassfed gelatin and let cool while preparing the peanut butter mixture.
- In a microwave safe bowl, combine the peanut butter and coconut oil. Cook on high for 30 to 60 seconds, until melted. Whisk in 2 to 4 tbsp of the powdered sweetener, depending on how sweet you like it (I only use 2 tbsp).
- Divide half of the peanut butter mixture among the 12 cups and set in the freezer to firm up, about 15 minutes. Divide the raspberry mixture among the cups and top with the remaining peanut butter mixture.
- Refrigerate until firm. Keep refrigerated.
Belenda says
They sound amazing! I think I’ll take it one step further and dip in chocolate.
Jkim says
This is one of your more delightful posts. And the recipe sounds wonderful, too!
Carolyn says
Thank you!
Maryam says
These sound delicious! Any substitute for the gelatin for someone who is vegetarian?
Carolyn says
You could try the chia. It makes it a bit goopy and it squishes out when you bite into them but it’s still tasty.
Chad Mercer says
How would you go about using chia? Do you have another recipe that explains how to use it?
Carolyn says
Search my blog for Chia Jam and you will find it. It works quite well but is a little more gushy.
Claira says
Chia seeds absorb moisture and they can work as a gelatin.
Claira says
They can act like a gelatin because they bind.
Tamera Alexander says
Love your humor, Caroline. And so appreciate your work. You were one of the first Keto blogs I found in June 2016 when I adopted this lifestyle—and I’ve never looked back. I just made your easy peanut butter cups two days ago. Again! They. Are. Fabulous. These look yummy too. Do you think this would work with strawberries? Raspberries are good friends but strawberries are BFFs (in limited consumption, I know). Any changes or tweaks needed, you think?
Carolyn says
Yep, strawberries should be fine.
Karen says
Duuuuuude. Scrumptious. (I am on team JAM, also. Jelly is just gross!)
Christine says
Can butter be used instead of coconut oil?
Carolyn says
They will be softer but as long as you keep them in the fridge, they might be okay.
Christine says
Thank you!
AmyLynn says
Made these today with Almond butter and strawberries. They are sooo good!!! Thank you so much for finding ways to make a low carb diet so tasty!!
Barbara says
Omg! These are so good I can’t believe it. Made them just as you said. Only problem is I’m going to have a hard time staying out of them. Next time I might make them in the mini muffin pan so I can just pop them in my mouth. 🙂 Thank you so much for another great recipe.
Roxana Lopez says
I really need to try these! I do love PB&J. Just one observation, the nutrition label does not include fats. I’m guessing these are great little fat bombs, though.
Carolyn says
Yes it does. It says 21g of fat. Read where it says “Total Fat”
Jenny says
Could frozen berries be used? Obviously, they would need to be cooked longer, but do you think it would alter how they’d turn out in the end? Thanks!
Carolyn says
Frozen work just fine.
Vicki K says
My market had nice blackberries so I used those. They came out great!
Wendy says
This was so yummy! Have tried many of your recipes. All totally delicious. Only 6 weeks keto, but you make it possible for me to stick with it. 🙂
Tracie says
This may be a stupid question but I’m a newbie … do these need to remain cold to hold together? Or could they be picnic food? Thanks!
Carolyn says
They need to stay refrigerated.
Rachel Moore says
Question; I ten not to like using muffin tray liners, Since the peanut butter and oil usually don’t stick would it work to put the PB directly into a muffin tray and get them out cold that way?
Carolyn says
They need to be popped out so I am doubtful.
Laurel says
I successfully completed two batches liner-free just this afternoon! I rubbed each cup with a little plain coconut oil before I filled them, and I froze them solid before I flipped the whole pan over and dumped them out.
They do take several tries, don’t be afraid to drop the pan hard, but eventually all of mine popped out clean and in good shape!
We just started Keto this week and I’m desperately missing sweets, sandwhiches, and struggling to eat enough fats. Definitely think these guys are going to help!
Gail Shendelman says
Just discovered your webpage/cookbook and I am excited! Made the garlic knots (O.M.G.) and these PB&J cups – but didn’t like the coconut oil text/taste. A little is good – a lot, well, not so much. They were greasy and had a weird texture. So I made them again using cream cheese in place of the coconut oil. Wow – what a great texture and taste.
I have much to learn – including how and when to use “fat bombs”. Would this still be considered “healthy” using cream cheese instead of the coconut oil? Or maybe I should go 50/50 next time if the coconut oil is necessary for it to be considered healthy.
Thanks for any advice you can give – I appreciate it!
PS the PB mixture wasn’t pourable – it was moldable. So for the top layer, I flattened balls of the remaining PB dough and placed it on top. Voila!
Carolyn says
It may be the brand of coconut oil you’re using. If you want the fat without cream cheese, try using some cocoa butter in place of some of the coconut oil. That might help. It’s the solid part of chocolate. Personally, I LOVE the taste of the coconut oil just with the peanut butter but to each his own. Your version sounds good too. It’s certainly still healthy.
Janie says
Can I just put grape jam in them? Can wait to try them.
Carolyn says
Grape jam isn’t low carb but do as you wish.
Elodia says
Sounds good, but what kind of sweetener is that your using. I’m not a sweetener person, so don’t know what that is. Is it like sweet and low? Or the powdered surgery?
Carolyn says
No, it’s powdered Swerve, an erythritol based sweetener. All natural and MUCH healthier than Sweet & Low.
Maddy says
Yum! Do you use normal peanut butter or one without sugar and salt like a 100% peanut one? Thanks?
Carolyn says
I use Justin’s, which has salt but no sugar.
Jill says
Thank you so much for this recipe. Even though I do not have a sweet tooth I love peanut butter and this recipe is the perfect fat bomb for me. Delicious!
Wally says
What about the sugar in the raspberries? Is it bad to pair it with the fat?
Carolyn says
The small amount of sugar from the berries is not an issue.
Dawn says
Can I uses MCT oil instead of coconut oil?
Carolyn says
I don’t think so. It needs to be an oil that is firm and solid when refrigerated.
Alpha says
Thank you for the delicious recipe! I tweaked it just a bit. I didn’t have any gelatin or chia seeds so I used about 1 tsp or so of guar gum. It worked perfectly — thickened the raspberry just enough for a jelly-like consistency. I also did what another poster tried out — I added cream cheese instead of coconut oil. For some reason I can’t do too much coconut oil in my fat bombs. Mixing the two made a cookie dough-like consistency. I just dropped about 2 tbsp (1 for top and 1 for bottom) into silicone muffin liners and patted them down like making cookies. The next time I make them I’ll only do 2/3 cup cream cheese and 1/3 cup coconut oil and hope it makes the mixture a little thinner.
To top it off, I also added melted chocolate (90% dark with 1 tbsp coconut oil) on top of the raspberry. It all turned out wonderfully tasty!!
Carolyn says
Sounds delicious to me!
Carol J says
a gelatin question..I have unflavored gelatin,not grass fed, can this be used?
Carolyn says
Yes…but what brand is it? Knox? If so, it needs to be treated a little differently. I think you have to sprinkle over some cold water and let it bloom first and then warm it up to activate it. I’d also only use half an envelope of it.
Karen says
I can’t thank you enough for this post! I’m constantly craving PB&J and this really hit the spot! I like to review recipes and put my own spin on them. So I have noted your blog post and a thanks to you in my review. I will definitely be checking your blog for other recipes and fun stuff and hope you get even more traffic from me blogging about your recipe.
Pamea says
What brand of gelatin do you recommend ? Can you give me some option
thank you
Carolyn says
This is the one I usually use… https://amzn.to/2GRlWL2
Diana Brantley says
Can I sub butter for the coconut oil? I am allergic to coconut.
Carolyn says
It will be too soft. Better to do some butter and some cocoa butter to make them more firm.