Healthy Copycat Homemade Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Balls

These peanut butter energy balls are a dream come true for the health conscious Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup lover (me). It’s a nourishing blend of only five clean ingredients. These even have the same texture as a ‘real’ Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.

This nut butter ball recipe is nourishing and delicious. These will fulfill the craving for Reese’s Cups when you’re eating healthy.

Download the recipe here!

Why Are Reese’s Cups Unhealthy?

Empty calories and inflammatory are the first two things that come to mind. The ingredients in a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup are:

Peanuts
Sugars
Processed chocolate (no nutritional value)
Soy lecithin (often GMO, with heavy pesticide application)
Mixed vegetable oils, including palm oil (refined oils are inflammatory because they oxidize easily and contain high amounts of omega 6 fatty acids)
PGPR (a food additive in cheap chocolate)
TBHQ (chemical preservative banned in Japan and other countries, potentially harmful to human health)
Artificial flavors (vanillin)

My copycat Reese’s cup recipe uses only five, clean ingredients. The simple and clean ingredients make these a great nourishing snack or dessert option. They’re also lower glycemic for better blood sugar control, gluten free, soy free and have no refined sugar (except for potential sugar in the chocolate).

How To Make Homemade Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

The Flavor

Obviously the base is peanut butter, but not just any peanut butter. The original Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup has some texture, and isn’t super smooth or runny, so I avoid using completely smooth (more processed) peanut butter. Since classic Reese’s cups contain added sugar, I make them healthier with a natural sweetener.

The Texture

You need something to firm it up. I see too often that copycat Reese’s Cup recipes have runny peanut butter in the middle, almost like a caramel filled chocolate. I feel passionate about the center being firmer like the ‘real’ thing!

The Shape

You can definitely make this recipe into disk shapes like the original Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, or have them set in a small cupcake cup for the classic ridges. You can even shape these into egg shapes for Easter, like the Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs. But, in an effort to make things easier, I roll the peanut butter mixture into balls and set them on parchment paper.

The Chocolate

The original Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup is a Hershey product, so I’d imagine it’s coated in Hershey milk chocolate. Instead you can use a cleaner milk chocolate like Equal Exchange, Alter Eco, Whole Food’s or Trader Joe’s brands or Lily’s, or use dark chocolate if you prefer. I used Alter Eco milk chocolate when I made these, and it didn’t fully harden at room temperature, but it didn’t bother us.