Just four ingredients and less than 30 minutes to make these Peanut Butter & Jelly Chocolate Cups! A healthy snack or dessert with ways to make vegan friendly and paleo, too.
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I’ll send it to your inbox.
Looking for another peanut butter cup recipe? Try my classic homemade version!
It’s peanut butter jelly time!
In chocolate buttercup style form.
Think peanut butter and jelly sandwiches sandwiched between layers of chocolate.
And everyone always loves these when I make them!
Why You Should Make These
Because making homemade peanut butter cups is just too easy! And if you love the PB&J combo, you’ll love these.
Made with simple ingredients everyone will enjoy.
Not to mention you’ll have dessert ready in less than 30 minutes.
You Just Need 4 ingredients!
The list of ingredients you need is very simple.
- dark chocolate chips – use a paleo friendly brand or vegan friendly like Enjoy Life. You can also use chocolate bars (I like Theo) and melt them down. You just need at least 10 ounces for nine cups. Quality chocolate matters! I really don’t recommend store-bought brands for these.
- coconut oil – this helps smooth out the chocolate for melting and creates a better consistency.
- favorite jam / jelly / preserves – Strawberry jam, raspberry jam, whatever you like! Really anything will work here. If you’re feeling up for making your own jam, try my strawberry chia seed jam found here.
- natural peanut butter – I personally opt for an all-natural nothing added kind of creamy peanut butter, but whatever you have on hand is fine. If you avoid peanut butter for whatever reason, you can definitely swap in almond butter or cashew butter as well.
Recommended Equipment
- 12-cup muffin pan
- cupcake liners, muffin liners or silicone liners
- tablespoons and teaspoons
Find the full detailed instructions with measurements in the recipe card below, at the end of this post.
Making PB&J Cups is super easy
You won’t believe
- how quickly this easy recipe comes together
- how crazy people are about them!
I first made a rendition of this recipe several years back using almond butter. I remember Drew devouring them, my brother-in-law also loving them, and our friends asking me countless times to make them again.
A quick, healthy dessert that everyone loves? HECK YES.
These peanut butter jelly cups can do no wrong. They are definitely one of our favorite recipes around here.
Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1 – Prepare pan and ingredients
Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners and get all of your ingredients together: peanut butter measured out, jam, and melted chocolate prepared.
Note: If you have any fun silicone molds, you can also use those! You can also use a mini muffin tin, but note the amounts listed for the filling will be different.
Step 2 – melt chocolate
Be sure to melt the chocolate carefully. I microwave in microwave safe bowl in 20 second increments on half power. You can also use a small saucepan on the stovetop. Whichever method you prefer, watch carefully. Using a higher quality chocolate is best (i.e. avoid store bought brands for this recipe.)
Add about one tablespoon of chocolate to each liner, brushing up the side of the liner a little using the back of a spoon or mini pastry brush – this will be the bottom layer of the peanut butter cup.
Step 3 – add PB & J filling
Next you’ll add the filling – about 1/2 tablespoon of peanut butter and 1 teaspoon of jam to each cup.
Step 4 – top with melted chocolate
Top with another tablespoon of the remaining melted chocolate, evenly covering the filling. Feel free to sprinkle with a little sea salt here on top of the chocolate before it sets!
Step 5 – chill to set
You can pop these in the fridge to set and they’re ready in about 20 minutes!
FAQs about this recipe
Can I use almond butter? – Yes, yes of course. Or cashew butter. Or sun butter. Or a blend!
Are these paleo? – Because we’re using peanut butter, this recipe is technically not paleo. BUT, if you use almond butter or cashew butter (or seed butter) then they become a paleo friendly treat.
Is this recipe vegan? – That depends on the chocolate you use. Make sure you’re getting a dairy-free and vegan friendly chocolate. Lily’s, Enjoy Life, and Theo are all options I love for this.
Do I have to use coconut oil? – the coconut oil helps smooth the chocolate out when melting. It also sets with the chocolate when chilled. I *think* another oil would be okay if you can’t do coconut, but I haven’t tested this myself.
How do I store these peanut butter & jelly cups? – I would store in the fridge in an airtight container, if you can, but they can be set at room temperature for a few hours before enjoying (as long as your environment isn’t super hot).
More Buttercup Recipes
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and review letting me know! It helps others learn about the recipe too and I truly appreciate your feedback. Xx Ashley
Peanut Butter & Jelly Cups
Ingredients
- 10 ounces quality dark chocolate, your favorite vegan friendly brand
- 1 ½ tablespoons coconut oil
- ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons jam or jelly, try my homemade chia jam!
Instructions
- Line a 12-cup muffin pan with 9 liners; set aside.
- Melt chocolate: add chocolate to microwave safe bowl (I used chips, but chop chocolate into small pieces if using bar). Microwave on 50% power in 30 second increments, stirring between. Once chocolate is just about melted, stir in coconut oil and microwave again until fully melted and chocolate is smooth. You can also use stovetop on very low heat.
- Make Cups: add about 1 tablespoon of melted chocolate into liner, brushing up side of liner with back of spoon. Do all nine cups before moving on. Now add about ½ tablespoon of peanut butter onto chocolate, and 1 teaspoon of jam. Cover with another tablespoon melted chocolate, moving the chocolate with the back of the spoon until fully coated. Place pan in fridge to set chocolate, about 15 minutes or until chocolate has completely set.
- Enjoy!
Leave a Reply