Protein Peanut Butter Cups

Bite taken out of the top peanut butter protein cup, 3 stacked on each other.

Protein peanut butter cups have a creamy center and are easy to make. Made with 5 simple ingredients, the creamy peanut butter filling paired with dark chocolate are the ultimate dessert or healthy snack. This recipe is vegan, dairy free and gluten free.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword peanut butter protein cups, protein peanut butter cups

Prep Time 5

Rest in Freezer 30

Total Time 35

Servings

Calories 152kcal

Author Samantha Rowland

Ingredients

3/4 cup dairy free chocolate chips
1 tbsp peanut butter
pinch flaky salt

Protein Peanut Butter Filling

1/2 cup peanut butter
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 serving vegan protein powder vanilla

Instructions

Add the chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon peanut butter to a microwave safe bowl. Microwave the chocolate for 1 minute, stir then add 15-30 more seconds. Stir well until the chocolate is melted.
Make the protein peanut butter filling. Combine the peanut butter, maple syrup and protein powder in a bowl. Stir well until the protein powder is completely dissolved and incorporated.
Add liners to the muffin tin (I recommend silicone liners).
Add 1 teaspoon of melted chocolate to the bottom of each muffin tin.
Spoon out about 1 tablespoon of the peanut butter filling. Roll into a ball and press into a disk. Add each peanut butter disk to the melted chocolate in the muffin tin.
Top the peanut butter disk with 1 teaspoon of melted chocolate and spread the chocolate out over the peanut butter. Sprinkle the peanut butter cups with flaky salt.
Place the peanut butter protein cups in the freezer and store for 30 minutes (or more).
Once the chocolate has set, remove the peanut butter cups from the silicone liners and store in a freezer safe bag or container.

Notes

Top tips

If you store the protein peanut butter cups in the freezer, allow them to sit out on the counter for 5-10 minutes before enjoying. The peanut butter center is hard to bite through when frozen.
Use silicone muffin liners. They are reusable and the peanut butter protein cups slip right out of them.
If you are going to top these with flaky salt, add the salt before you put them in the freezer or it won’t stick.

What is the best protein powder to use

For this recipe, I used a vegan protein powder (pea protein). I like how the protein powder makes the peanut butter a little thicker, mimicking Reese's cups.

You could also use collagen peptides, whey protein or beef isolate but you will want to also add 2-3 tablespoons of oat flour or 1-2 tablespoons coconut flour to the mixture as well to get the same texture.

Nutrition