Instant Pot Peanut Butter Cups are here to save you from eating your way through a bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups ever again! This pressure cooker version is healthy, quick, and easily customized to your personal sweetness preference. Chocolate should be healthy, don't you agree?
Any other recovering Reese's Peanut Butter Cup addicts out there?
Prior to Going Sugar Free a few years ago, Reese's Peanut Butter hearts, eggs, and Christmas trees were my greatest candy weakness.
Can you relate? Soft peanut butter filling wrapped in soft milk chocolate . . . best candy known to man – it's non-debatable.
So what does a sugar free chocolate/peanut butter combo lover do?
She creates her own version that is still creamy, smooth, and heartthrob worthy, without all the sugar! It can be done, I did it, and you're gonna die!
WHY YOU WILL LOVE INSTANT POT DARK CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CUPS
- You choose the chocolate (go team dark!), the peanut butter, and the sweetness level. Yep, it's all about you, you, you!
- These are crazy easy to make! No tempering chocolate, no pouring chocolate into molds, no messy chocolate bowls to clean up . . . full step by step visual coming up below!
- These babies are good for you! Antioxidant rich dark chocolate (I go for 90%), all natural-unsweetened peanut butter (protein!), and just a hint of maple syrup or honey (if you like). That's all!
- Flaky sea salt topping! Salt and chocolate just go together – you don't get that on store bought peanut butter cups.
- Kids and anti-dark chocolate husbands alike love these! Also, my sisters, they begged for more of these! My mom . . . well she gagged, but we're going to accept that she was the minority in this poll since she considers 30% to be dark chocolate. Love you mom 🙂
HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY, HOMEMADE PEANUT BUTTER CUPS IN THE PRESSURE COOKER
- Break squares of chocolate into silicone muffin liners
- Place liners on top of a trivet inside the pot and pressure cook
- Mix peanut butter and oat flour together (add maple syrup or honey to sweeten, if desired)
- When the chocolate is melted, add a scoop of peanut butter to the center
- Use a spoon or toothpick to gently cover it with chocolate
- Chill, remove from liner, devour!
SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR DETAILED COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST HEALTHY PEANUT BUTTER CUPS
- I've been making my own chocolates using this similar method for three years now so believe me when I say that Lindt Excellence is the best chocolate bar to use for this technique. It melts into a perfect puddle while other brands will often get soft, but don't melt completely. If you decide to use a different brand (or try chocolate chips) just be aware that you'll need to smooth it out a bit after it pressure cooks and if might be a tad lumpy (albeit, still delicious!)
- The oat flour called for in the peanut butter mixture can be swapped with coconut flour or almond flour. I don't suggest using wheat flour however, since eating raw flour is discouraged. To make your own oat flour, simply throw some oats into the blender or food processer and blend until they are a powder.
- The flour gives the peanut butter extra body and creaminess. Without it, the peanut butter filling tends to be quite runny when you bite into the peanut butter cups. However, If you are using thicker peanut butter (like the no-stir or fresh ground variety) you may not need to add the flour.
- I like my peanut butter cups with 90% chocolate bars and unsweetened peanut butter. If you want them sweeter, use lower percentage chocolate and/or add maple syrup or honey to the peanut butter filling.
HOW TO STORE AND FREEZE LEFTOVER PEANUT BUTTER CUPS
- Store: Place leftover peanut butter cups in a sealed container for up to 3 days. The longer they sit, the chocolate loses it's creaminess. Consider storing them in the freezer for longer storage.
- Freeze: Wrap peanut butter cups in plastic wrap and place inside a ziplock or sealed container. To eat, let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes before biting into it.
VARIATIONS OF PEANUT BUTTER CUPS
- Crunchy Peanut Butter Cups: Use crunchy peanut butter or stir chopped peanuts into the peanut butter mixture.
- Almond Butter Cups: Swap the peanut butter for almond butter.
- Caramel Cups: Replace the peanut butter with slices of date rolls. To do this, placed a slice of date roll between the chocolate squares before pressure cooking.
If you've dreamt of a life where you can say “I just ate my way through a bag of peanut butter cups” and it's actually a good thing, well then my friend, YOU HAVE ARRIVED.
Whip yourself up a batch of these beauties and report back on what you think! If you come up with any new filling ideas, I would also love to hear it!
MORE INSTANT POT HEALTHY DESSERT RECIPES
- Instant Pot Homemade Chocolates (more flavor ideas!)
- Instant Pot Caramel Apple Pie
- Instant Pot Poached Pears
- Instant Pot Hasselback Apples
TOOLS/INGREDIENTS USED TO MAKE INSTANT POT HEALTHY PEANUT BUTTER CUPS
PrintHealthy Instant Pot Peanut Butter Cups
Healthy, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups made easy in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 7 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Scale
Ingredients
- 14 squares from a Lindt Excellence Chocolate Bar (anything from 70-90% cacao)
- 3 tablespoons creamy natural peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon oat flour
- Optional: 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Arrange 7 silicone muffin liners on a trivet or silicone tray. Place 2 squares of chocolate in each liner.
- Add 1 cup of water to the pressure cooker pot and place tray of chocolates inside.
- Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position. Cook at high pressure for 2 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk to combine the peanut butter and oat flour. Add maple syrup if desired for a sweeter filling. The filling will still be sticky, but thick enough that it doesn’t run off a spoon. Add extra oat flour if needed to get the right consistency.
- When pressure cooking is complete, use a quick release.
- Remove tray from the pot and set on the counter.
- Add a heaping teaspoon of peanut butter to the center of each chocolate and use a small spoon or toothpick to cover it with chocolate.
- Add a pinch of flaky sea salt to the top of each chocolate. Note: If you want to see the salt, wait until the top is beginning to set. If the chocolate is still liquid, the salt will melt into the chocolate and disappear.
- Chill in the fridge for 10-15 minutes until solid.
- Remove from liners and enjoy!
Notes
- Make your own oat flour by blending oats in a blender until it looks like flour. Store leftovers in a sealed bag or container.
- Coconut flour or almond flour will also work. Don’t use regular wheat flour since eating raw flour is discouraged.
- The Lindt Excellence bars melt perfectly! If you use other brands of chocolate, be aware that they might not completely melt in the molds. I’ve tested Lindt Excellence bars 70 – 90% cacao and they all work great. Each Lindt bar contains 10 squares of chocolate.
- Crunchy peanut butter or almond butter can be substituted for the creamy peanut butter.
- The maple syrup is optional if you’d like a sweeter filling. It tastes amazing without it too!
Keywords: instant pot dessert, healthy peanut butter cup, healthy dessert
Marci,
Are you using the standard size silicone muffin liners or are you using mini ones?
Gail, standard. But now I want to try minis!
Amazon has Mirenlife brand minis—24 for $12 dollars. I’m ordering mine now. How shall we adjust the recipe?
Gail, I would think 1 square of chocolate would be plenty. Use the same cook time.
A million stars for the idea. I haven’t tried it yet because I’ve been looking thru your website as I sit in bed in my pj’s since 8:30 this morning (it’s now 9am). I even shared the Squacho Cheese sauce recipe with a friend. The only flaw I can detect here is you did not offer the variation of caramel (dates) & pb TOGETHER! As soon as these lazy bones get out of bed I’m making these! Now where did I store those silicone cupcake molds I never use….
★★★★★
Oh Dana, what a wonderful comment! I think we are food soul mates 🙂 I’m having squacho nachos tomorrow in fact! Let me know what you think of them!
Huge hit! Made these for my coworkers (twice now) while I am in self isolation at home. Could only get 70% bars so used one square with just under 1 level tbsp choc chips (I weighed it to determine the equivalent to a square). I had Blue Menu Crunchy peanut butter (a Canadian Loblaws brand) and coconut flour. Sea salt… Mmm Mmm…the crowning touch. I didn’t add syrup and we found they were marvelous without!
I am excited to keep trying with different chocolate concoctions! Thank you for this!!
★★★★★
Shelley, I’ve eaten these dozens of times and your description is still making my mouth water! I’m so glad you love them!
Do you have a natural peanut butter you recommend? Thanks!
Maria, I always buy my PB and AB from Thrive Market, but from a regular grocery store, I use Adams.
Could you weigh the Chocolate? How many ounces of chocolate is used?
Thank you!!!
Karie, Okay, so I looked at a bar of Lindt and the entire thing is 3.5 oz, so for each cup that would be 0.7 oz of chocolate. Does that help?
You’re in serious trouble because “I’m” in serious trouble with this recipe ❤️ I can total make this a Keto treat! Will definitely try it with the Lilly’s chips I have on hand while I wait for my Lindt order to arrive. Yes, I ordered it before I finished reading your post 🤣. Thank you and stay healthy and safe ❤️
Tracy, No trouble here! These are treats to make you feel good mind, body, and soul 🙂
If I use chocolate chips how much would I use?
Carmen, I would guess just shy of 2 tablespoons would work!