PB Cups with Vegan Nutella Recipe
Today we are making a Peanut Butter & Vegan Nutella Cups Recipe! Nutella + PB = my childhood sandwich dreams. Biting into a sandwich full of creamy, chocolate-y, peanut buttery, sugary delight. I was pretty immune to the PB&J trend that went on during grade school, where kids brought in Dempster’s white bread packed in little boxes, and I would bring in spinach wraps with mayo and egg. Weird combination, but I did enjoy my spinach wraps … Fast forward to the end of the day, when I’d hop on the school bus and trade leftover snacks with the other kids on there.
I remember once arguing with one of the kids on the bus because I wanted to trade his pizza pocket for my honey buns (shoutout to Little Debbies Honey Buns. If you know, you know). I ended up scoring the pizza pocket, but I then went home (and this next snack was a daily occurence) to have my PB&Nutella sandwich. Why didn’t I bring it for lunch? One word: allergies.
So instead, it had become my after school go-to favorite way of eating Nutella. I would medium-toast my bread, smear on the layers, and settle down comfortably to watch the 3PM afternoon talk shows, some Ellen, or re-runs of Arthur. Reminiscing can only bring you so far though! I have now recreated this combination as a snack cup, so you can taste the magic too. Plus, none of the dairy or extra processed sugar ingredients that go into store-bought Nutella.
What’s in Nutella Anyways?
Traditional Nutella that we grew up eating has quite a few ingredients (and so much sugar!) that I wouldn’t want to be eating every day on a plant-based diet. The ingredient list includes, in order from most to least: Sugar, palm oil, skim milk powder, cocoa powder, soy lecithin, vanilla. To make a healthier alternative vegan Nutella recipe, I decided to buy hazelnut butter for the homemade base of natural ingredients.
Alternatively, you can make your own at home from raw hazelnuts, as given below in the recipe card. Then, I mixed in maple syrup for sweetener and melted chocolate chips for the chocolate flavor, rather than cocoa powder. Chocolate also adds the fat from the cacao butter, so it was ideal here!
Why You’ll Love This PB & Vegan Nutella Cups Recipe
Sweet Homemade Dairy-Free Nutella: This recipe is like eating a peanut butter & Nutella sandwich, but in the form of a peanut butter cup! The crunchy base of oats is sweet and salty with the peanuts, and the top layer is sugary and nutty Nutella with the main ingredients of maple syrup, roasted hazelnuts and chocolate.
It’s like eating a Granola Reese’s Nutella Peanut Butter Cup! The homemade vegan Nutella recipe on top makes the perfect combination twist versus using regular chocolate in a peanut butter cup.
Substitutions
Dry Oats: Use rolled oats, which are bigger than quick-cooking. You can also substitute quick-cooking oats, although the texture will be different.
Chocolate Chips: Use dark chocolate chips instead of semisweet chips. You can also get a chocolate bar to melt instead. Make sure to check the ingredient label to make sure the chocolate does not contain any dairy ingredients (so it is vegan).
To keep it refined sugar-free, there are healthier options for chocolate chips in the natural aisle of the grocery store. These are usually sweetened with healthier sugars rather than white sugar.
Coconut Oil: Use refined coconut oil, not virgin or extra-virgin. You can substitute with food-grade cacao butter or semisweet vegan chocolate instead. The coconut oil helps the cups to stabilize. The other options are high in fats and can also do the same job.
Maple Syrup: Use 100% pure maple syrup. Grade A is the lightest type and it has the least amount of molasses flavor. You can use agave syrup as a liquid sweetener instead.
Peanut Butter: Use creamy, natural peanut butter. The only ingredient on the label should be peanuts! I do not recommend to use a peanut butter that has other ingredients added. Usually, conventional peanut butter brands have added oils and sugars, which is not refined sugar-free. The added oils in these brands will also change the proportions of ingredients to use in the base layer as compared to pure peanut butter.
Hazelnut Butter: You can make your own hazelnut butter at home instead of buying it pre-made. I haven’t usually found this in the grocery store. If it is, it’s usually in the natural section next to the alternative nut butters, like almond butter. To make hazelnut butter at home, use raw hazelnuts and follow the steps in the recipe card below.
More Sweet Treats You’ll Love
Raw Chocolate Bars: No bake, raw, rich chocolate energy bars using raw cacao powder and a ton of colorful add-ins, such as pumpkin seeds and goji berries!
Peanut Butter Easter Eggs: Reminiscent of Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs, these Easter Eggs use a peanut butter and icing sugar filling for a melt-in-your-mouth feel, coated with chocolate!
Chocolate Rice Krispies: This is a vegan version of Rice Krispies snacks, using vegan marshmallows and a chocolate twist!
Copycat Costco Brownie Bites: Ever had one-bite brownies from Costco? This recipe is a healthy brownie remake using almond flour!
Cookie Dough Bites: Dates, cashews and chocolate chips make these no-bake cookie dough energy bites!
No Bake Peanut Butter Fudge Cups
If you make these Peanut Butter & Vegan Nutella Cups Recipe, then leave a comment and star rating! Don’t forget to tag your photos @peanut_palate on Instagram. Enjoy!
Peanut Butter & Vegan Nutella Cups Recipe
Equipment
- Cupcake Tray
- Food Processor // if making homemade hazelnut butter
Ingredients
For the Base Layer
- ½ cup dry rolled oats
- 2 tsp refined coconut oil melted
- ¼ cup natural creamy peanut butter
- 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
- ⅛ tsp vanilla extract
- pinch pink salt
For the Top Layer
- ⅓ cup vegan semisweet chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp hazelnut butter
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup add 1 tbsp more if desired
- pinch pink salt
Instructions
If Making Homemade Hazelnut Butter
- If making the hazelnut butter at home versus buying the pre-made butter, start out with a half cup of raw hazelnuts. This will make more than the amount of hazelnut butter needed. A half cup or more is ideal for blending – otherwise, if there aren't enough hazelnuts to blend, it will not blend properly.
- Turn the oven on to 350 F. Spread the raw hazelnuts in a single layer on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Once the oven is ready, roast them for about 9 minutes, stirring them halfway through.
- Remove them from the oven once done. Wait for them to cool down, then using a clean kitchen towel, rub the hazelnuts together until the brown skin comes off. Once the skin is off the majority of the hazelnuts (some will still stick), then add them all to a food processor. A blender is not recommended to make homemade nut butter because there is less surface area to blend as compared to a food processor.
- Blend for 5-6 minutes until the hazelnuts reach a creamy consistency. The natural oils will start to come out after a few minutes to make it creamy.
For the Base Layer
- Mix all the ingredients for this together until it forms a sticky mixture. Take 3 cupcake liners in a cupcake tray and pat down the crust – make it thick, like in the photo. Place this in the freezer for 15 minutes.
For the Top Layer
- Melt all ingredients together over low heat in a small saucepan on the stove. Once melted, take the crust out of the freezer, and pour over top.
- Place the cups back in the freezer for 3-4 hours, or until the chocolate tops are hardened.
- Enjoy!
Notes
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Storage
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
