These vegan 3 ingredient buckeyes are a healthy version of the addictive, classic buckeye candy! A sweet peanut butter ball dipped in rich dark chocolate, made with just 3 ingredients and completely fruit sweetened.
GUYS. I have been trying to get this recipe right for like, over a year now. Today is THE DAY!!! Say hello to vegan 3 ingredient buckeyes, also known as your new obsession.
As a graduate of THE Ohio State University, I take buckeyes seriously. If you aren’t from the midwest, I’ll catch you up real fast – buckeyes are a beloved treat in Ohio. They’re essentially a sweet peanut butter ball dipped in chocolate with some of the peanut butter still showing, so they look like the state nut, a buckeye. Yes, they’re as divine as you imagine.
I’ve been trying to perfect a vegan buckeye recipe for what feels like an eternity. I kept attempting, and they’d be shapeless blobs of peanut butter, I’d get melted chocolate everywhere, I’d express my frustration with a plethora of expletives my mother would NOT approve of (sorry, mom), then I’d give up for another few months.
Well, today I’m pretty happy that I’m a stubborn gal because I made another attempt and FINALLY got it right!
Ingredients for vegan 3 ingredient buckeyes
- Peanut butter: of course we need peanut butter for that rich, sweet center! Make sure to get oil-free, unsweetened peanut butter to avoid added junk and for the best pure, peanut flavor.
- Date sugar: date sugar gives the peanut butter center as well as the chocolate coating natural sweetness.
- Vegan chocolate chips: I used PASCHA 100% unsweetened chocolate chips, but use any vegan chocolate chips you like that melt well.
Tips for making vegan 3 ingredient buckeyes
- Start with the filling. You’ll blend the peanut butter and date sugar first to make the filling, then get a small amount and roll it into a sphere shape with your hands. The dough will be slightly wet and tricky to work with, so don’t worry about getting perfect spheres during this step! Just focus on getting them close to a ball shape and into the freezer quickly.
- Freeze the centers before coating with chocolate. This helps the mixture set up a little so it’s easier to work with, and during this time you can melt the chocolate.
- Coat with chocolate and freeze again to set. After the centers have frozen, you can roll them into a more perfect sphere shape. Next, you’ll stick a toothpick partway through it, dip it carefully into the chocolate, leaving a small circle of peanut butter around the toothpick exposed, then set it on the parchment lined plate/container and remove the toothpick and freeze again.
These vegan 3 ingredient buckeyes are super sweet, melt in your mouth perfection. I hadn’t had one in years, and one taste immediately took me back to childhood and wonderful memories of Ohio State football season with my fam.
I am SO, so happy I finally got these, despite all the photo drama. Seriously, and ESPECIALLY if you’ve never made buckeyes before, you must try these. Also, I love that these represent my alma mater. Equally as delicious as my college experience was amazing!
Xo,
Sara
Vegan 3 Ingredient Buckeyes
Ingredients
- 1 cup oil-free unsweetened peanut butter – I used fresh ground, you want a more stiff peanut butter, do NOT use a super runny natural/store bought peanut butter
- 1 cup date sugar – I used the Date Lady brand, you can get it on Amazon or the Date Lady website – other brands may have a different texture
- 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips + 1 tbsp date sugar – I used PASCHA 100% unsweetened chocolate chips
Instructions
- Prepare a plate/container by lining it with parchment paper.
- In a food processor, blend the peanut butter and date sugar until totally combined.
- Measure out 2 teaspoons for each buckeye, and roll into a sphere shape with your hands. The dough will be slightly wet and tricky to work with, so don't worry about getting perfect spheres during this step! Just focus on getting them close to a ball shape and into the freezer quickly.
- Freeze the peanut butter balls for 2 hours, then get the chocolate ready.
- Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave – I do 20 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until all the chips are melted.
- Stir the date sugar into the melted chocolate.
- Prepare a final plate/container by lining it with parchment paper.
- Take the peanut butter balls out of the freezer. This is the step when you can roll them more into a ball shape, since they'll be a lot more firm from freezing.
- Pick up the peanut butter ball and stick a toothpick partway through it, dip it carefully into the chocolate, leaving a small circle of peanut butter around the toothpick exposed, then set it on the parchment lined plate/container and remove the toothpick.
- Repeat with all the peanut butter balls, and freeze the finished buckeyes for 1 hour to set up.
- Store in the refrigerator.
I haven’t had a buckeye in years! These look delicious. I’m sorry about the photos but really appreciated the life lesson that became part of this post because of it.
Thanks Kristi! Even though this was almost a year ago now I still remember how upsetting that was, luckily I can look back now and laugh and whatever bad feelings are left I can just soothe them with a buckeye????
Chocolate always makes everything better, right? ????