Vegan Peanut Butter Balls Covered in Chocolate. (2024)

Best vegan peanut butter balls, also referred to as buckeyes, feature a creamy peanut butter filling dipped in dark chocolate. This recipe makes a satisfying treat perfect for holiday parties and all-year snacking!

If you love vegan chocolate treats, be sure to make these vegan truffles. They’re so easy to make and delicious, too.

This is a family favorite recipe that I veganized because it just had to be done. I call them the best peanut butter balls because, well, they are the best!

This recipe is definitely a holiday favorite. Not only can you serve them on your dessert table, but these make a wonderful addition to treat bags to share with friends, family, neighbors, workmates, etc.

Key Ingredients

You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe, including substitution ideas:

• Peanut butter— I prefer to use creamy-style peanut butter.
• Vegan Butter — If using storebought, I recommend Earth Balanace buttery sticks, or make your own homemade vegan butter.
• Powdered sugar
• Chocolate Chips — I recommend using dairy-free chocolate chips to keep this recipe vegan and dairy-free.
• Coconut oil — For minimal coconut flavor, use refined coconut oil.
• Peanut butter— I prefer to use creamy-style peanut butter.
• Vegan Butter — If using storebought, I recommend Earth Balanace buttery sticks, or make your own homemade vegan butter.
• Powdered sugar
• Chocolate Chips — I recommend using dairy-free chocolate chips to keep this recipe vegan and dairy-free.
• Coconut oil — For minimal coconut flavor, use refined coconut oil.

Ingredient Spotlight

What Peanut Butter is Best for Peanut Butter Balls?

There are three basic types of peanut butter: 1) Natural (the kind that has to be stirred, 2) Creamy, and 3) Crunchy. Some types of peanut butter work better for different recipes. For this recipe, I recommend using creamy peanut butter that doesn’t require stirring before using it. When the oil separates so easily as with natural peanut butter, you can be left with peanut butter balls that are too soft. hom*ogenized peanut butter works best for this recipe.

How to Make Peanut Butter Balls

1. Make the peanut butter filling by stirring the softened ingredients together.
2. Place the filling in the fridge to firm it up.
3. Roll peanut butter filling into balls.
4. Melt the chocolate with the coconut oil. Then dip the balls in the melted chocolate.
5. Place dipped peanut butter balls on a tray lined with waxed paper and allow the chocolate to set.

Here are more detailed step-by-step instructions.

Step One: Make Peanut Butter Filling

Add the peanut butter and the vegan butter in a microwave-safe mixing bowl. Heat it for one minute to get the peanut butter softer so it’s easy to stir. Add the powdered sugar and stir to combine.

Step Two: Chill the Filling

Place the bowl in the fridge to firm the peanut butter up. The filling needs to be firmer for shaping into balls.

Step Three: Make Balls

Once the filling has firmed up, make them into balls. I was able to make around 120 balls from this recipe. It depends on the size you make them and possibly how much of the batter you eat as you’re making them. It’s very tempting!

Place the balls on the tray and return the tray to the fridge to firm them up again.

Step Four: Melt Chocolate

Combine the chocolate with coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 1 minute. Leave it sitting in the microwave for another minute before using oven mitts to remove it. Stir in the melted chocolate. If it’s not entirely melted, return it to the microwave and heat for 30 seconds.

Step Five: Dip

Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Either use a fork or stab the peanut butter ball with a toothpick to dip the balls in the melted chocolate. Transfer dipped balls to the tray with waxed paper.

To make vegan buckeyes, leave one side of the peanut butter balls bare, without chocolate.

Once all the balls have been dipped, place the tray in the fridge to allow the chocolate to set.

Time-Saving Ideas

Making chocolate peanut butter balls is a multi-step process, which can seem time-consuming, but there are ways to make them faster.

Here are some of my favorite tips for making easy peanut butter balls:

• Refrigerate the filling to firm it up.
• Use a cookie scoop to create evenly sized balls.
• Divide the scooped batter — my cookie dough scoop creates approximately 1″ balls, so I divide that ball in half to create smaller balls.
• Transfer rolled balls to the freezer for about 20 minutes.
• Use a microwave to melt the chocolate in a pyrex measuring cup.
• Drop peanut butter balls, one at a time, in the melted chocolate and use a fork or a toothpick to remove the ball from the chocolate, tapping it gently to remove excess chocolate.
• Place the pan in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour or in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes. The chocolate-covered peanut butter balls should come off the waxed paper easily. If they don’t, then place them back in the freezer or the fridge to allow the chocolate to set.
• Transfer the finished balls to a sealed container or freezer bag.

Following these steps can help streamline the process of making your vegan peanut butter truffles so you can share them with others even faster.

Frequently-Asked Questions

Vegan Holiday Treats

That’s it for these vegan chocolate peanut butter balls. Enjoy!

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This post was originally published in 2020 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2021.