This peanut butter keto mug cake takes only minutes to make! It’s tender and lightly sweetened, and makes a wonderful easy breakfast or dessert.
Sometimes I create recipes with a specific outcome in mind. And sometimes I throw together some ingredients on a whim and hope for the best. This keto mug cake recipe falls into the latter category!
But while it was rather slapdash in its creation, it quickly became a fan favorite recipe. And a family favorite too! I often whip these little keto cakes up when we need a quick treat.
You know that I take peanut butter and chocolate very seriously. And many of my recipes are quick and easy, like Keto Peanut Butter Bars and easy Peanut Butter Protein Balls. So you can rest assured that these easy mug cakes are good stuff!
Why you will love this recipe
Mug cakes have appeal because they are so easy to make. But they can also have a bit of an odd texture from the fast cooking method. They tend to end up a bit spongy.
These keto peanut butter mug cakes differ in that regard. There is something about the addition of peanut butter that gives them a proper cake texture. And yet they take only about 5 minutes to make.
They really are super family friendly and since this recipe makes six, you can feed the littles and yourself. You can also scale the recipe back and make only three servings, which is more appropriate for those who live alone or are doing keto alone.
And these easy cakes store quite nicely. I do recommend cooking them all at once, as the batter thickens if it sits too long. But you can store the finished keto mug cakes in fridge and re-warm them easily when you want another serving.
Reader Reviews
“These are the Creme de la Creme of mug cakes….my all time favorite (and I am beginning to be way too familiar with mug cakes). But the peanut butter adds some density so that these are not just fluff on a spoon. There is just the right amount of substance….and the flavor is FABULOUS. Caroline, you are amazing. You obviously put a lot of testing into your recipes because they are the gold standard in my opinion. thank you for putting food worth eating on our low carb table.” — Deborah
“I was skeptical to try this because I am in South Africa and we have limited choice of ingredients. Well, they cam out perfectly and I am so happy I made the effort, thank you! It was so easy to make and I will definitely make it again!”– Linda
“Wow! Easy and delicious ! I’m addicted! I don’t usually like the texture of mug cakes, but these are wonderful. Thanks again for another winner!”– Joan
Ingredients needed
- Peanut butter: I recommend a good natural peanut butter like Santa Cruz. But you can use any nut butter here if you are allergic to peanuts.
- Butter: I like to use salted butter because the salt brings out a little flavor. You can also use coconut oil if you want to be dairy-free.
- Almond flour: As always, the finer your almond flour, the better the texture of your cakes. I have been using Blue Diamond lately and find it works quite well.
- Sweetener: Use your favorite granular sweetener. I really like the flavor that Swerve Brown adds here, but you can also use allulose or BochaSweet.
- Dark chocolate chips: Both ChocZero or Lily’s work nicely in this mug cake recipe. You can also skip the chips to save on a few carbs, if you like.
- Kitchen staples: Eggs, baking powder, and vanilla extract.
Step-by-step directions
1. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the peanut butter and butter together in short bursts, stirring until smooth.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, and baking powder.
3. Stir in the eggs, vanilla extract, peanut butter mixture, and water until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
4. Divide among 6 ramekins or mugs and microwave each for about 1 minute, until puffed and set. Serve warm.
Expert tips
Peanut butter tends to thicken cake batters the longer it sits, so you need to work relatively quickly on this one. Try to get it into the mugs as soon as it’s all mixed together and then cook them straight away.
Several readers have asked if they can prepare the batter and then refrigerate the cakes until they are ready to make them. This doesn’t work well because the batter can thicken and the cakes won’t rise properly. You are better off cooking all of the cakes and then re-warming it when you are ready to eat.
We like to eat them right out of the mugs but if you want to remove them, be sure to grease your mugs or ramekins very well.
Oven Baked Method: If you prefer to make these in your oven, try baking them at 350ºF for 12 to 15 minutes.
Nut-Free Version: You can make these with sunflower butter and sunflower seed flour. But you will want to replace 1 tablespoon of the water with some lemon juice to offset the green reaction that occurs between sunflower seeds and baking powder.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cover extra mug cakes tightly and store at room temperature for 1 day. You can also store them in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To reheat, place it in the microwave for 15-20 seconds until just warm.
You can also freeze extra mug cakes. Wrap them tightly in plastic wrap or foil and freeze for 3-6 months. If freezing, it is best to remove them from the mug first, then wrap and freeze.
This keto mug cake recipe has 6.7g of carbs and 3g of fiber per serving. That comes to 3.7g net carbs per mug cake.
More keto mug cake recipes
Peanut Butter Keto Mug Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup peanut butter
- ¼ cup butter
- ⅔ cup almond flour
- ⅓ cup Swerve Sweetener
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup water
- 3 tablespoon dark chocolate chips, sugar-free
Instructions
- In a microwave safe bowl, melt the peanut butter and butter together in short bursts, stirring until smooth.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, and baking powder.
- Stir in the eggs, vanilla extract, peanut butter mixture, and water until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Divide among 6 ramekins or mugs and microwave each for about 1 minute, until puffed and set. Serve warm.
Rita says
Oh Wow!! I whipped this up in no time and they turned out fantastic! A yummy treat for breakfast. Next time I am going to add sugar free peanut butter chips as more peanut butter is a winner in my book!!!!
Melissa R Silvers says
This really takes care of a peanut butter craving. So delicious. I have to freeze some or they will disappear too quickly
Rita Green says
yum
Sigi says
This worked really well baked in the oven. I wanted something I could do in next to no time to have something a bit naughty on my 14+hr day tomorrow for New Zealand election day, were I will work issuing and counting votes.
I love it to find all sorts of variations re ingredients and methods to suit our needs. You rock Caroline!
Carolyn says
Great to hear!
Gretchen Birdwell says
Caroline,
Delicious! Hubs couldn’t believe it is a Keto recipe and that I made it so quickly after our lunch.
Easy to make – had all ingredients on hand. Thank you for sharing your talent!
Carolyn says
Great to hear!
Toni says
very good, easy. always a winner. i love it for breakfast with coffee.
Debs says
Loved this recipe. Even in Scotland, where is it hard to get some ingredients, this worked a treat. Thank you so much. I cooked them all and just reheated from the fridge.
It would be great if the recipes stated net carbs per serving.
flora nodine says
This was a good recipe…I used Splenda Stevia because that is what I had.
sandra says
Is the carb 6.7 g including fibre or net carb is actually 3.7 g per muffin ( total carb – fibre ). thank you
Carolyn says
6.7g is total carbs. 3.7g is net.
Michelle says
Can you make the recipe and just make 1 ramekin and save the rest for later use?
Carolyn says
The batter thickens a lot so I would cook them all and then refrigerate those and re-warm them.
Julie says
I just made a single one and will make a full batch in the oven later today after a a birthday cake fail from a mix. I can’t have a lot of sweeteners besides Splenda but so many recipes use too much and it tastes horrible. I used some packets of splenda and soy nut butter and it was amazing! For people with the chocolate chips sinking just put them on top last and they float. So thrilled that my Christmas tradition of leftover birthday cake was saved by this recipe. Any other recipes that use a small amount of sweetener (and no coconut flour)??
Irma Furnish says
This looks yummy! What size mug/ramekin is best to use?
Carolyn says
It should be at least 4 ounces… 6 is better, just in case of spillover.
Rasha says
I love all your recipes I can’t wait for the new one .If I want to use oven instead microwave could I ?
Carolyn says
Yes. Try 350 for 15 min or so… then check on it every few minutes after that.
Martine says
This was quite good, 5 stars for eliciting praise from my extremely fussy husband who declared it “definitely hit the spot”.
Diana M. says
Oh my goodness! This is so delicious!! I am usually not a fan of almond flour recipes, but this one was moist and yummy, not coarse and gritty (which has been my experience with almond flour recipes in the past). Who does not love the perfect pairing of chocolate and peanut butter??? My picky hubby has been keto for two months and the recipe received his seal of approval and that is saying a lot! Thank you, Carolyn. I just bought your keto baking cookbook and I cannot wait to try more of your recipes!! Thank you for bringing normalcy back into our lives…
Cheryl says
Delicious! Saving this one for sure!!
Gina says
How long would I need to cook if I put twice the amount of a normal mug into a large mug? So divested out into three instead of six.
Carolyn says
You will need to experiment.
Sarah a Taylor says
Hi,just wanted to let you know that in the video,it shows you putting one egg in the bowl for peanut butter cake,and the instructions say to put two eggs,which one is right?
Carolyn says
The video is a half batch. So they are both right.
Carrie says
Can I use chunky peanut butter ?
Carolyn says
I can’t see why not.
Dawna says
This looks yummy. Making it is easy. When hubby throws out the dreaded in hungry words I think I’ll make this. Anymore I love easy and these recipes help me get b call on the horse. Thank you.