Home » Desserts » No Bake » Easy Vegan Buckeye Recipe (Only 4 Ingredients! Healthy!)
A healthier take on classic peanut butter buckeyes recipe! These easy vegan buckeyes are made with only 4 ingredients, these healthy vegan buckeyes are an easy, no bake, low sugar, fun dairy free dessert for the holidays!
One of my all-time favorite treats growing up was when my grandma made us peanut butter buckeyes (lately, she’s been making quite an appearance on my Instagram stories!). These and maple sugar candies were always found in abundance whenever my sister, brother, and I visited our grandma’s!
It’s actually quite funny because I think buckeyes are really a midwestern tradition (originally from Ohio), and we grew up in Connecticut…and her side of the family is from Italy…so riddle me that!
Wherever these delicious candies are from, I can tell you, they’re downright addictive.
Basically, vegan peanut butter buckeyes are big balls of sweetened peanut butter lightly dipped in a smooth and melty chocolate. I mean, how could you nottt fall in love with this combo?
Okay, okay, this is coming from the kid who literally as dessert, would take a big glob of peanut butter on a plate, sprinkle it with chocolate chips, and meticulously spoon away the perfect ratio of chocolate to peanut butter in every bite.
You could say I like peanut butter and chocolate.
So this healthier version of a childhood favorite chocolate candy? Yeah, I’m down for this!
What are peanut butter buckeyes?
So oddly enough, I didn’t realize that buckeyes weren’t all that common of a treat! They were a major part of my childhood, but when I told Jared that I was making them, he looked at me like, “You’re making eyes?!”
He was a little freaked out to say the least. But no, these are not because of eyes.
So the recipe, peanut butter buckeyes, was actually created based off of the look of an actual buckeye, which is a nut from the buckeye tree (a very common species of tree in the midwest).
Basically, peanut butter buckeyes look just like the actual buckeye nut!
Now for what peanut butter buckeyes are: peanut butter dough rolled into a ball and dipped in chocolate! These buckeye candy are no-bake and naturally gluten free too. Meaning, they’re the perfect easy treat for all eaters!
You can think of them like the ball form of a Reese’s peanut butter cup 😉
Vegan peanut butter buckeye ingredients
So a traditional peanut butter buckeye recipe calls for butter, sometimes cream cheese (my grandma’s favorite addition!), and powdered sugar.
We’ve not only veganized the recipe, but also simplified it a ton so that these vegan buckeyes taste just like your classic peanut butter buckeye recipe.
All you’ll need are these easy ingredients:
- Creamy peanut butter: You want to make sure that your peanut butter is super smooth, creamy, and drippy. This helps ensure that the peanut butter cookie dough will mix more easily.
- Coconut flour: I have not tried this with almondflour nor oat flour, but my guess is that it would not work. Coconut flour is needed to absorb the liquid, and only a small amount is used so that it can form the dough.
- Maple syrup: You can use coconut sugar, but I prefer maple syrup, as it’s a liquid, and it helps the cookie dough to mix more easily.
- Vegan chocolate: I recommend Pascha Chocolate for the best vegan chocolate!
Only 4 simple ingredients are needed for these easy peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate! No vegan butter, no coconut oil. Just really easy ingredients!
How to make healthy peanut butter buckeyes (overview)
For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe.
With simple ingredients, you can guarantee that making these healthy buckeyes will also be easy.
To make vegan peanut butter buckeyes:
- Mix the ingredients together.
- Combine the creamy peanut butter with the coconut flour and maple syrup (or coconut sugar). This will create a really thick peanut butter dough that we then mold into balls that eventually end up to be the buckeyes.
- Scoop the peanut butter cookie dough into dough balls.
I use a 1.5 tbsp scoop, but you can use smaller if needed. You’ll have more buckeyes!
- Freeze the peanut butter balls.
This helps the chocolate layer instantly hardens when the peanut butter ball is dipped. I like to use a toothpick here and then smooth over where the toothpick hole was.
- Dip the peanut butter balls into the melted chocolate.
Use a toothpick here, and quickly transfer them to a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet.
- Freeze the peanut butter buckeyes again!
Only for a few minutes, just until the chocolate sets. Then you can fully enjoy!
Can I use cashew butter or almond butter instead?
If you don’t like peanut butter, you can use cashew butter or almond butter instead. You won’t have the classic peanut butter-chocolate flavor, which these candy are known for. However, it will still be a delicious dessert! This will also help to make these buckeyes Paleo if desired.
Tips & tricks for making buckeye balls
Use creamy peanut butter:
Though I’m obsessed with crunchy peanut butter, use a creamy unsalted, all natural peanut butter here. You can also even make your own creamy peanut butter!
For refined sugar free, maple syrup or coconut sugar work well
If you want more of a consistent tan color, use maple syrup. The coconut sugar will show specks of a slightly darker tan, like the photos, but they’re still absolutely delicious.
Use a toothpick to dip the peanut butter balls into the chocolate.
It will be a really messy situation if you just use your fingers or even a spoon to dip the buckeyes into the chocolate. I recommend using a toothpick to easily dip the peanut butter balls into the melted chocolate then transfer them onto the parchment paper.
For the perfect round buckeye candy:
Sometimes, if we dip it too much in chocolate, you’ll end up with that pool of chocolate on the bottom. To make sure that these vegan buckeyes are round and perfect, simply use a spoon to gently smooth off any excess chocolate after you’ve dipped the buckeye into the chocolate. Then gently press the buckeye off of the toothpick.
Use your finger to smooth over the hole on top of the buckeye.
After you dip the buckeyes into the chocolate and press them off of the toothpick, you’ll notice that there’s a hole on top of the buckeye. Simply use your index finger to smooth over the hole. That simple!
How to store peanut butter buckeyes:
I recommend storing these buckeyes in the freezer for up to 1 month. You can store them in the fridge for up to a week, but they definitely will be softer. I personally believe the freezer is the best route!
This healthy buckeye recipe truly brings me back to childhood, and it doesn’t even taste different from the original. Maybe it’s because anything chocolate and peanut butter is a pure bliss combination, maybe I’m magic, we don’t know!
Make these buckeyes for a fun meal prep dessert recipe or snack, to pack in your kiddos’ lunches, or bring them to a party!
That’s what’s really cool about these, you can easily scale up this recipe to fit a crowd (hint hint: back to school parties, football tailgates, fun and healthy Halloween treats 😉 See, I got you covered!).
Whatever you do, I just hope you enjoy each blissful bite, because you deserve to enjoy food, family, friends, and every single thing about life!
If you try out these buckeyes, let me know in the comments below, and as always, I love to see your beautiful recreations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there 🙂
Happy buckeye candy making!!
More vegan peanut butter chocolate recipes for you to love:
Peanut Butter Granola Bars
Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Chocolate Peanut Butter Nice Cream
Classic Peanut Butter Blossoms
Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
Peanut Butter Cookie Skillet
Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies
Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!
If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!
Easy Vegan Buckeyes (Only 4 Ingredients! Healthy!)
5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star5 from 3 reviews
- Author: thebananadiaries
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 90
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: 18 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Freezing
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A healthier take on classic peanut butter buckeyes recipe! These easy vegan buckeyes are made with only 4 ingredients, these healthy vegan buckeyes are an easy, no bake, low sugar, fun dairy free dessert for the holidays!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2/3 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter, coconut flour, and maple syrup until it becomes a thick batter. If you need an extra sprinkle of coconut flour, add it in until the dough becomes thick enough to roll into balls.
- Use a cookie scoop or your hands to form 1-tbsp sized peanut butter balls and place them onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.
- Once all of the batter is finished, place the peanut butter balls into the freezer to set for 1 hour.
- When ready to dip the peanut butter balls into chocolate, melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowlbefore removing the peanut butter balls from the freezer.
- When the chocolate is melted, remove the peanut butter balls from the freezer and use a toothpick to press into the top of a peanut butter ball. Dip the peanut butter ball into the chocolate just enough to leave part of the peanut butter showing. Allow the chocolate to set and drip any extras back into the chocolate bowl. Place the peanut butter buckeye back onto the parchment paper and repeat for the remaining peanut butter balls.
- Place the buckeyes back into the freezer to set for 30 minutes. Then remove and enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 buckeye
- Calories: 183
- Sugar: 14.6 g
- Sodium: 67.3 mg
- Fat: 11.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 18.5 g
- Fiber: 2.7 g
- Protein: 4.7 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
