There’s nothing like a classic Reese’s peanut butter cup. The combination of peanut butter and chocolate with sugary sweetness balancing the flavors is such a heavenly treat. Unfortunately, as with most commercial candies, health was an afterthought when they picked the ingredients.

This is why it is best to make them yourself to get your chocolate peanut butter fix. All it takes is three ingredient substitutions and a few simple steps to make crave-worthy keto peanut butter cups.

The Problem with Store-bought Keto Peanut Butter Cups

Though there are several store-bought “keto-approved” or “healthy” peanut butter cup products, they also have several flaws.

Atkins Peanut Butter Cups, for example, use maltitol as their primary sweetener and ingredient. Since maltitol has a similar glycemic index as an apple and is composed of 67% net carbs, we recommend avoiding any product that uses it on keto.

You may also come across SlimFast Keto Peanut Butter Cups. At first, their ingredients and carb counts look good, but many keto dieters find that the texture, flavor, and quality of ingredients fall short (especially when you consider the cost).

All in all, I’ve yet to find a keto peanut butter cup product with high-quality ingredients at a reasonable price. Since it is easy to make them yourself, homemade is the way to go.

How to Make Keto Peanut Butter Cups: 3 Ingredient Swaps and 3 Simple Steps

The three ingredient substitutions you’ll make with this recipe are

Sweetened peanut butter → Sugar-free natural peanut butter (with only peanuts and salt)
Milk chocolate → sugar-free chocolate (we prefer choczero, but chocorite, lily’s, or making your own low-carb chocolate is an option)
Sugar → Keto-friendly powdered sweetener

(And don’t forget about the sugar-free vanilla extract and butter to boost the flavor even further.)

In principle, bringing these keto ingredients together will only take three steps:

Mix together the peanut butter filling ingredients, over low heat, until smooth.
Melt the chocolate.
Layer them together and cool.

Whether you decide to create a chocolate peanut butter sandwich or go with a simple chocolate top, make sure to let each layer cool in the fridge until it is slightly firm. Otherwise, your chocolate and peanut butter layers may mix together a bit.

Keto-friendly and Allergen-free “Peanut” Butter Cups (and Other Low Carb Alternatives)

This recipe is also easy to adjust depending on your specific food allergies or sensitivities. Here are some substitutions you can make for the most common allergens:

To avoid the peanuts — Use any other keto-friendly nut or seed butter. Almond butter and sunflower seed butter are great options for this recipe and can lower the carb counts even further.
To avoid all nuts — Sunflower seed butter will be the best peanut butter substitute.
To avoid the dairy — use coconut oil or cocoa butter instead of the butter.

If you’d like to change the recipe even more, check out our guide to keto fat bombs for some inspiration.

How to Store Your Keto Peanut Butter Cups

These keto peanut butter cups can be stored in the fridge or freezer in an airtight container. They will last 3-4 weeks in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer.

Keep in mind that the chocolate will get hard when it’s chilled. To soften the chocolate, bring the peanut butter cups to room temperature slowly (to avoid condensation and preserve texture). However, if you prefer a chilled peanut butter cup, feel free to skip the thawing process altogether.

Yields 8 Keto Peanut Butter Cups

The Preparation

1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup stevia/erythritol blend, powdered
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounce low-carb milk chocolate

The Execution

1. Prep and measure all ingredients out for ease of use.

2. Line a cupcake tray with parchment paper liners. Alternatively, you can use silicone cupcake molds.

3. Add the butter, powdered stevia/erythritol blend (you can powder it using a small blender or coffee grinder), peanut butter, and vanilla extract to a pan.

4. Heat the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is smooth and has no lumps.

5. Evenly distribute the peanut butter mixture between the cupcake tray liners. Place in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to slightly firm up.

6. In a microwave-safe container, melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30-second intervals until smooth and glossy.

7. Evenly distribute a thin chocolate layer to the top of each peanut butter layer.

8. Place the cupcake tray into the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until set completely. These will last several weeks stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

Makes a total of 8 Keto Peanut Butter Cups. Each peanut butter cup comes out to be 205 calories, 19.3g fats, 3.4g net carbs, and 4.1g protein.

NUTRITION	CALORIES	FAT	CARBS	FIBER	NET CARBS	PROTEIN
1/4 cup butter	407	46	0	0	0	0.5
1/3 cup stevia/erythritol blend	26	0	0	0	0	0
1/2 cup peanut butter	760	64	28	12.04	15.96	32
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract	6.2	0	0.3	0	0.3	0
4 ounce low-carb milk chocolate	440	44	66	55	11	0
Totals	1639.2	154	94.3	67.04	27.26	32.5
Per Serving (/8)	204.9	19.3	11.8	8.4	3.4	4.1