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These salted chocolate peanut butter oat cups are super easy to make, made with feel-good ingredients, and always SO tasty!
Say hello to the super-simple salted peanut butter oat cups I’ve been loving lately! ♡
I honestly hesitated to even share this “recipe,” since these tasty little treats are super basic and easy to make. But after enjoying dozens of them during pregnancy (in my never-ending quest to find new ways to eat more protein), I thought some of you might enjoy them too. So here we are!
They are made with a simple base of peanut butter and oats, sweetened with however much honey that you prefer. Then when topped with a spoonful of melted chocolate, chilled in the freezer until solid, and finished off with a pinch of flaky sea salt, these oat cups turn into the most irresistible sweet treat. And all the better — a sweet treat made with whole, protein-packed, easy-to-grab pantry ingredients that you can feel great about enjoying!
Feel free to tinker around the recipe, of course, and swap in whatever kind of nut (or seed) butter you might prefer. And if you don’t happen to have oats on hand, you could also play around with using puffed rice cereal, puffed quinoa, or other crunchy cereals as a base. But however you make these cups, there’s basically no going wrong with this salty chocolate-peanut butter combo here. So have fun and enjoy them!
Salted Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Cups | 1-Minute Video
Salted Peanut Butter Oat Cups Ingredients:
Before we get to the full recipe listed below, here are a few notes about the ingredients you will need to make these salted peanut butter oat cups:
Peanut butter: I used homemade natural peanut butter (made with 100% peanuts) for this recipe, which my husband loves making so we always have on hand, but any type of creamy peanut butter that you have on hand will do.
Honey: I prefer not to add too much honey to these oat cups, since the peanut butter and chocolate are already quite sweet. But feel free to add however much you prefer. (Just give the oat mixture a quick taste before adding it to the pan to see if you would like to add more honey.)
Oats: You will need old-fashioned (rolled) oats for this recipe. If you are making it gluten-free, be sure to double-check the brand to be sure that the oats are certified gf.
Dark chocolate: You can use any type of dark chocolate that you prefer for this recipe, which we will roughly chop and then melt in a saucepan (or in the microwave) with a tablespoon of oil (any neutral-flavored oil that you prefer).
Flaky sea salt: And finally, I love finishing these oat cups with a pinch of flaky sea salt on top.
I also highly recommend making these oat cups in a silicone muffin pan, which is definitely the easiest option when it comes to popping the frozen oat cups out of the pan. That said, any non-stick muffin pan will also work. You may just need to carefully run the bottom of the pan under a stream of warm water to help release the cups from the pan.
Possible Variations:
Here are a few other fun variations that you can try with this recipe…
Use a different nut or seed butter: Just swap in any other favorite nut butter or seed butter if you would like, in place of the peanut butter.
Use puffed rice or quinoa: If you would like to give these more of a crispy texture, feel free to swap puffed rice or quinoa in place of the oats. (Or you could do a 50/50 blend of oats and puffed cereal.)
Add miso: Add two tablespoons of miso paste to the peanut butter mixture to give these oat cups a delicious extra hint of salty-savory-umami flavor.
Stir everything together: If you prefer not to have the chocolate layer on top, feel free to just stir the melted chocolate mixture directly into the oat-and-PB mixture.
More Chocolate Peanut Butter Treats:
Can’t get enough of that irresistible chocolate + peanut butter combo? Here are a few more recipes to try…
Prep the oat mixture. Heat the peanut butter and honey in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until warm but not hot. (You can also do this in the microwave if you prefer.) Add the oats to the peanut butter mixture and stir until combined.
Press into baking cups. Portion the oat mixture evenly into a silicone* or non-stick 12-cup muffin pan (approximately 1/3 cup of the oat mixture per baking cup). Then use a spoon to press the oat mixture firmly into each baking cup.
Add the chocolate. Rinse out the saucepan, then return it to the burner. Add the dark chocolate and coconut oil to the saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Remove pan from heat. Spoon approximately 1 tablespoon of chocolate on top of each oat cup, spreading the chocolate so that it covers the top of each baking cup.*
Freeze. Transfer the pan to the freezer and chill for at least 1 hour, or until the oat mixture is firm.
Serve. Pop out however many oat cups you would like to serve, sprinkle each with a pinch of flaky sea salt, then serve immediately and enjoy! Store any remaining oat cups in the freezer until ready to serve.
Chocolate drizzle: If you would like an extra chocolate drizzle on top of each oat cup, as shown in the photos above, let the first round of chocolate topping on the oat cups chill in the freezer until hardened. Then remove the pan and drizzle a bit of extra melted chocolate on top of each oat cup and chill again until frozen. This step is totally optional, so feel free to skip it to save some time.
Prep time: Prep time listed does not include the time required to chill the oat cups. This may vary depending on the temperature of your freezer, and also how much patience you have for the oat cups to chill. ;)
I’m worried the oats are going to be tough or taste raw. Should they soak a bit in the mixture of peanut butter and honey for a bit before adding the chocolate?
AdventuressAli —
I’m thinking rhe same thing. Letting oats soak for an hour is usually better. I think I’ll try this.
Thanks for sharing! I’m glad you posted this recipe since we’re trying to eat a little better around here. This was the perfect bite of sweetness! This reminded me of your energy balls which we also love!
I used chunky sort of almond butter and needed about a cup instead of 3/4 cup. I also upped the honey to 1/2 cup. I guess I could have just used less oats, but more is more right? :)
Thank you Ally for doing the leg work in making wonderful recipes like this one!
I’ve not seen a recipe lately that has gotten me as excited as this has! Looks like they’d be addictive ?
Sue —
These are incredible. The oats are perfect, I wasn’t sure if they would flake off, but they expand and stick together in the freezer. Just the right amount of chocolate. They are so good. Perfection. I used Avocado oil instead.
Hermione —
So sad about these…I only added 2 cups of oats and they were just still pretty dry and crumbly…?! They have so much potential though😍
Maybe if the oats were soaked, or you added much more honey and PB they’d be better…
Was so excited to try but obviously not my lucky day! I’ll try again someday with different ingredient amounts.
Just made these, super easy, had everything in pantry. I found them a touch dry, so next time I’ll do more peanut butter. I liked the sweetness, but if you have a sweet tooth you might want to add more sweetness. This recipe is a keeper. Thanks.
Quick and easy and turned out great! I followed the recipe except used semi-sweet chocolate chips since that’s what I had on hand. I used a nonstick muffin tin, half with cupcake papers and half without. These were extremely easy to remove both ways – I thought they were fun in the cupcake papers but it’s not necessary in the nonstick, very easy to pop them out with a knife. Will definitely make again!
Linda Howland —
Wondering If we need to cook the oats or the quinoa if using?
Definitely needs more p. butter and honey to hold together.
Lynne —
Agreed! Mine are falling apart and I’m gonna throw all the ingredients back in the saucepan and going to mix it all up again. Such a waste of time. It’s delicious and simple enough but completely fell apart.
Diana Raley —
Sounds wonderful I’ll make some tonight
Barbara Olm —
I was using less honey so I added more pb but still too dry. I had to drizzle in some water a couple of times until it started to come together. Also helped by mixing it with my hands.
These are fantastic! I’m obsessed after the first batch! Love that they are nutritious and hearty with the PB and oats, yet the chocolate makes them almost decadent, so good!
These are completely and utterly addictive. They held to gather fine, but I am upping the pb and honey a tad for next time. Trying it with a rice crispy sub, for the non oat loving child. Will report back on that. SO. GOOD. Thank you!!!!
These are excellent! I’ve made 4 batches since first seeing this post about a month ago. The first time I made as directed, then I put my spin on the recipe. I only tweaked it a little by adding a mashed banana to the peanut butter and honey for a little more moisture. Then I made them bite size by using mini muffin tin. Then I topped them off with melted Lilly’s Sugar Free chocolate chips, chopped pecans and of course the se salt. DELICIOUS! Thank you so much for a somewhat guilt free snack. ?
I agree they look good but unfortunately they are very dry and crumbly.
The proportion of pb and honey is way off for the amount of oats.
They went in the compost
These look amazing. Anyway you can post the nutritional information, I just know a couple of people that I would love to share this to they actually look at the different calorie count K calories, etc.
I made these but found after I added the oats it seemed like 2 cups were enough so I didn’t add the third. Probably a good idea as I have read a few comments where people said they were too dry. Look great. Can’t wait to try!
I made these for dinner guests. They were a hit. Used the option to substitute 2 cups of Rice Krispies for some of the oats. I am glad I did. I liked the texture with the blend because the oats are pretty chewy. Easy to make and a crows pleaser. I will make these again.
Hey, I’m Ali!
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I’m worried the oats are going to be tough or taste raw. Should they soak a bit in the mixture of peanut butter and honey for a bit before adding the chocolate?
I’m thinking rhe same thing. Letting oats soak for an hour is usually better. I think I’ll try this.
And maybe add some caramel too
Oooh. These look amazing, thank you!
Could you use cupcake liners? I don’t have a silicone pan.
I’ve made in a standard cupcake tin and just used nonstick spray before adding the mix – it’s worked perfectly each time.
I would love an update on how little Teo is doing, and how his parents are doing!
Can’t wait to try these.
Thanks for sharing! I’m glad you posted this recipe since we’re trying to eat a little better around here. This was the perfect bite of sweetness! This reminded me of your energy balls which we also love!
Should the quinoa be cooked first?
Such a yummy little treat!
I used chunky sort of almond butter and needed about a cup instead of 3/4 cup. I also upped the honey to 1/2 cup. I guess I could have just used less oats, but more is more right? :)
Thank you Ally for doing the leg work in making wonderful recipes like this one!
I’ve not seen a recipe lately that has gotten me as excited as this has! Looks like they’d be addictive ?
These are incredible. The oats are perfect, I wasn’t sure if they would flake off, but they expand and stick together in the freezer. Just the right amount of chocolate. They are so good. Perfection. I used Avocado oil instead.
So sad about these…I only added 2 cups of oats and they were just still pretty dry and crumbly…?! They have so much potential though😍
Maybe if the oats were soaked, or you added much more honey and PB they’d be better…
Was so excited to try but obviously not my lucky day! I’ll try again someday with different ingredient amounts.
Do you think you could substitute maple syrup instead of honey?
Just made these, super easy, had everything in pantry. I found them a touch dry, so next time I’ll do more peanut butter. I liked the sweetness, but if you have a sweet tooth you might want to add more sweetness. This recipe is a keeper. Thanks.
Quick and easy and turned out great! I followed the recipe except used semi-sweet chocolate chips since that’s what I had on hand. I used a nonstick muffin tin, half with cupcake papers and half without. These were extremely easy to remove both ways – I thought they were fun in the cupcake papers but it’s not necessary in the nonstick, very easy to pop them out with a knife. Will definitely make again!
Wondering If we need to cook the oats or the quinoa if using?
These are sooooo good!
Made these last night just after seeing your post. So good!
So easy and the perfect amount of sweetness!
Definitely needs more p. butter and honey to hold together.
Agreed! Mine are falling apart and I’m gonna throw all the ingredients back in the saucepan and going to mix it all up again. Such a waste of time. It’s delicious and simple enough but completely fell apart.
Sounds wonderful I’ll make some tonight
I was using less honey so I added more pb but still too dry. I had to drizzle in some water a couple of times until it started to come together. Also helped by mixing it with my hands.
Omg, these are so addicting! I love them!
Can I use instant or quick oats instead?
Super simple and very delicious! Great with my afternoon cup of tea!
These are fantastic! I’m obsessed after the first batch! Love that they are nutritious and hearty with the PB and oats, yet the chocolate makes them almost decadent, so good!
These things give a serious case of happy mouth!
These are great — was looking for a low fodmap treat so I used maple syrup in place of honey. Thanks, will definitely keep this recipe on hand.
These are completely and utterly addictive. They held to gather fine, but I am upping the pb and honey a tad for next time. Trying it with a rice crispy sub, for the non oat loving child. Will report back on that. SO. GOOD. Thank you!!!!
These are excellent! I’ve made 4 batches since first seeing this post about a month ago. The first time I made as directed, then I put my spin on the recipe. I only tweaked it a little by adding a mashed banana to the peanut butter and honey for a little more moisture. Then I made them bite size by using mini muffin tin. Then I topped them off with melted Lilly’s Sugar Free chocolate chips, chopped pecans and of course the se salt. DELICIOUS! Thank you so much for a somewhat guilt free snack. ?
I agree they look good but unfortunately they are very dry and crumbly.
The proportion of pb and honey is way off for the amount of oats.
They went in the compost
So easy and really delicious. Added a drizzle of white chocolate over the dark chocolate. YUMMY!! Will definitely make these again.
These look amazing. Anyway you can post the nutritional information, I just know a couple of people that I would love to share this to they actually look at the different calorie count K calories, etc.
I made these but found after I added the oats it seemed like 2 cups were enough so I didn’t add the third. Probably a good idea as I have read a few comments where people said they were too dry. Look great. Can’t wait to try!
Added tbs of chia seeds as well – perfect for a late night sweet tooth
Thanks
I made these for dinner guests. They were a hit. Used the option to substitute 2 cups of Rice Krispies for some of the oats. I am glad I did. I liked the texture with the blend because the oats are pretty chewy. Easy to make and a crows pleaser. I will make these again.