These no bake Keto Peanut Butter Balls are an easy and delicious low carb treat for peanut butter lovers. Dipped in sugar free chocolate, they can easily be made into keto buckeyes too! 2g net carbs per serving.
I am so excited to be re-introducing these keto peanut butter balls. Yes, full on, giddy excitement. Is that weird? Does that show me to be the foodie dork that I really am?
Well I’ve made my peace with that, because I am a total foodie dork. And I fully embrace my dorkiness.
Like many of you, I am a diehard peanut butter lover. And I love easy recipes like Keto Peanut Butter Mousse and Keto Peanut Butter Fudge. But these keto peanut butter balls have been one of my favorites for a long time.
They’ve been on my site for over 10 years now! You just know they’ve got to be good.
What’s in a name?
You may be finding the various names for these little treats a bit confusing. I don’t blame you.
I originally called them Keto Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Truffles, because the center reminded me so much of cookie dough. But it’s a long and cumbersome name and not one that is familiar to many people. So I shortened it to peanut butter balls.
But they can also be made into keto buckeyes. What’s a buckeye you ask? Well, the folks in Ohio can tell you. It’s their state tree and it has little nuts that have a dark outer skin with a beige eye in the center.
The only real difference between buckeye candies and peanut butter balls is how far you dip them into chocolate. For this batch of keto peanut butter balls, I dipped some all the way in and left some with the classic eye in the center.
Two keto candies for the price of one!
How to make Keto Peanut Butter Balls
These are so easy to make and require no baking. They’re a popular holiday treat so grab your kids or a friend, and let’s get started!
- Melt the butter and peanut butter. You can do this in the microwave in a bowl, or you can do it in a pan over very low heat.
- Stir in the sweetener and vanilla. You do need a powdered sweetener for this recipe, to give them peanut butter balls the right consistency. Granular sweeteners will be gritty and liquid sweeteners won’t give them enough bulk.
- Stir in the peanut flour. Peanut flour gives these keto buckeyes the right flavor and consistency. You need to work it in until the dough resembles a stiff cookie dough. If it seems too sticky to roll into balls, add a bit more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.
See the FAQ section for more information about peanut flour. - Roll into balls and freeze. They are much easier to dip in chocolate when frozen.
- Melt the chocolate. I always recommend melting double boiler style with a bit of cocoa butter to thin it out a bit.
- Dip the peanut butter balls. You can drop them in and toss them around with a fork, to cover completely, or you can use a thin skewer to dip them only most of the way, for buckeyes.
- Let the chocolate set. Because these keto peanut butter balls are frozen, the chocolate will set quickly. If you plan to garnish with chopped peanuts, do it right away after dipping.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, for the most part it’s the same thing. However, some peanut butter powders have added sugars so make sure you read the labels carefully.
This is a little trickier. The advantage to using peanut flour is that it’s very dry and powdery and creates a thick dough, whereas almond flour is more coarse and contains more fat. So you may find that you need some coconut flour to create the right consistency.
Peanut flour also provides much of the peanut butter flavor, so you may find that more mild when using almond flour.
Absolutely! Just swap coconut oil for the butter and away you go.
You certainly can. I do find that sugar free milk chocolate and white chocolate are more finicky when melting so stay nearby, keep your heat very low, and stir constantly.
Storage information
Unless you live in a very hot climate, the peanut butter balls are fine on the counter in a covered container for up to 5 days. They will last in the fridge for 10 days.
You can also keep the un-dipped peanut butter balls in the freezer for several months and dip them whenever you are ready. The dipped balls can be stored in the freezer as well, but the chocolate may take on a bit of a greyish, dull appearance.
More delicious keto truffle recipes
- Lemon Cake Balls
- Keto Chocolate Truffles
- Sugar Free Keto Pecan Pie Truffles
- Samoa Truffles
- Keto German Chocolate Truffles
- The Best Keto Rum Balls
Keto Peanut Butter Balls
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Cookie Dough:
- 5 tablespoon butter
- ¼ cup peanut butter
- ⅓ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup lightly roasted peanut flour
Chocolate Coating:
- 3 ounces sugar-free dark chocolate chopped
- ½ ounce cocoa butter or ½ tablespoon coconut oil
- 2 tablespoon finely chopped salted peanuts optional
Instructions
Cookie Dough
- Line a large baking sheet with waxed paper or parchment paper.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter and peanut butter together. Stir in the sweetener and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Add the peanut flour and stir until a stiff dough forms. Add more flour if your dough seems too sticky to roll into balls.
- Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place on the prepared baking sheet. Freeze until firm, about 1 hour
Chocolate Coating
- Place the chocolate and cocoa butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir until melted and smooth.
- Drop the frozen peanut butter balls in chocolate and use a fork to roll around to coat. Lift out and tap the fork firmly against the side of the the bowl to remove excess chocolate.
- If making buckeyes, use a small skewer to dip the peanut butter balls most of the way into the chocolate, swirling to coat. Leave just the very top of the ball uncoated.
- Place back on the baking sheet and sprinkle with chopped peanuts, if desired. The chocolate will set quickly if the dough balls are frozen so sprinkle each truffle right after dipping in chocolate.
Alice says
OMG Carolyn, how did I miss these. I’m making them right now!!!!!
Oh, I live in Ohio!! Lol
Shelley Muhlestein says
I love this recipe! I have probably made these 5 or 6 times since I started eating keto earlier this year. You just can’t beat the combination of peanut butter and chocolate. Thanks for the delicious recipe.
Christine says
Delicious!!!
Sarah says
These are maybe my favorite of your chocolate/pb recipes! I love them. And when I make them I cannot eat just 2! Great in the freezer, and they are a fun holiday tray addition. Thank you!!
Carolyn says
Thanks, Sarah!
Jessica says
This is exactly what I was looking for! I’ve also wondered and plotted to use peanut flour because of the amazing consistency when it’s mixed with liquid. Thank you for another great recipe!
Rachel says
These are the perfect little snack! I use Justin’s almond butter instead of peanut butter because that’s what we keep on hand and use either swerve or lakanto, whichever we have open at the time. Oh and I don’t top with peanuts. I usually keep a batch in the fridge and pop one in my mouth after dinner!
Sue says
what else can you use in place of defatted peanut flour? Can you use PB2?
Carolyn says
Yes, that works too!
Karri Stoerp says
does the flour have to be defatted? I have peanut flour, but does not state it is defatted
Carolyn says
What brand is it? What fat content? If it’s just ground peanuts, it will be more coarse and it won’t make very nice truffles. But if it says it’s roasted and about 12% fat, then it is somewhat defatted and will be very fine and powdery and perfect for these.
Veronique says
What would be a good sub for peanut flour as I cant find that in South Africa at the moment?
Carolyn says
Try using defatted almond flour or coconut flour. You won’t need as much coconut flour as peanut flour so add just a little at a time until you get that doughy consistency that isn’t sticky at all, and you can still roll it into balls.
Dee Gee Johnson says
Absolutely delicious! Thanks so much.
Vickie says
This is one of my favorite snacks!! It’s so easy to make and so yummy. I ran into a problem and I am hoping you or other readers can help me out. I normally use my homemade sugar-free chocolate to make the chocolate coating. This last batch I made, I ran out of my homemade sugar-free chocolate, so I used Lily’s baking chocolate chips and added 1 tbsp butter per the recipe. However, the mixture turned out really thick like peanut butter. I melt them using the typical double boiler method. What did I do wrong?? Help!
Carolyn says
You didn’t do anything wrong. It does melt more thickly. Try using cocoa butter.
TINA Wonderling says
can you use almond or cocnut clour? cant fint the peanut flour in my area
chrissy Cipolla says
Made these yesterday – OMG The Best Thing Ever !!!!
Just like a reece peanut butter cup !
Def will make these over an over again !!!
Carolyn says
Glad you liked them!
TINA WONDERLING says
did you use peanut flour? I cant find any around here and wondered if almond flour would work
Carolyn says
You really need the peanut flour but it can be purchased online. Or some people use the powdered peanut butter like PB2.
Bree says
I am doing KETO and have been looking for something yummy to snack on – these look perfect!
Stacie Hamilton says
These sound delicious! I don’t need gluten free or low carb, but I’m certain that I need these!!
Emily Hill says
You had me at peanut butter. And truffles. YUM!
Tara says
I totally need these in my life — RIGHT NOW!!!
Jessica says
These look so delicious! I’ve been on the hunt for a dessert that’s both low carb and gluten free – I’ll have to give these a try this week!
Belenda says
BUCKEYES!! This is the perfect consistency of my beloved buckeyes! I need to play with the sugar sub (cooling effect is pretty strong), but the consistency is perfect! You’ve mastered it and I couldn’t be happier! I used a SF Lakanto sugar and it too had too much of that cooking aftertaste. So I added Giradelis 99% chocolate plus a punch of salt. That helped knock it down to acceptable. Will just use 85% chocolate next time with the cocoa butter. To finish off as Buckeyes, after partially freezing, I dipped with a toothpick stuck in the top, leaving the peanut butter “Buckeye” top. Sooo pretty! I’ll have to hide these! I have waited at least 7 years for this perfect consistency! Thank you so much!
Carolyn says
So glad it lived up to your hopes!
Rachel says
Hey there! I would like to make these truffles as part of my husband’s Christmas gift, and I was wondering if I could use an 85% extra dark chocolate bar instead of the Lily’s stevia sweetened bar? The 85% chocolate bar would be easier for me to obtain at this point. Thanks!
Carolyn says
Yes, that should be fine. I’d still melt it with some coconut oil or cocoa butter to make it thin enough to dip.