This healthy peanut butter mug cake is the perfect solution to those pesky after dinner sweet cravings. It’s vegan, gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free, and egg free. The best part? It’s hassle free, taking just 2 minutes to make!
My go-to ‘emergency’ healthy dessert!
Please tell me I’m not the only one who needs ‘emergency’ desserts sometimes?
Usually the ‘need’ strikes on random evenings when the day’s jobs are done and I finally get to sit down and chill.
I have my cup of tea and Netflix controller in hand, but there’s something missing…
I need something sweet, and I need it now!
That’s where this wonderful invention called a mug cake comes in.
Like many of us these days I try not to eat too much sugar. So one day I literally threw some peanut butter into a mug with a little coconut flour, date syrup and almond milk and microwaved it. The result was a gooey peanut buttery dessert for one that I’ve since stank out the kitchen (!) with on more occasions than I’d like to admit!
But it’s been worth all the moaning from Mr. Scrummy – who thinks it’s a disgusting idea! This healthy peanut butter mug cake recipe has come to my rescue time after time.
I sincerely hope it becomes one of your go-to ‘emergency’ desserts too, oh fellow peanut butter lovers.
Ingredients for this healthy mug cake:
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- 2 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter (I like to use natural and organic)
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup OR date syrup OR honey (my favourite is date syrup!)
- 2 tablespoons non-dairy milk (I use almond)
- a sprinkle of 70% cocoa or higher chocolate chips
Yep, just 5 ingredients, and that’s including the chocolate chips which strictly speaking you could leave out. Although I don’t recommend it!
And not only does this healthy peanut butter mug contain NO REFINED SUGAR, it’s also accidentally GLUTEN FREE, DAIRY FREE, EGG FREE, AND VEGAN!
How to make a healthy mug cake (peanut butter flavour!)
Grab your favourite mug and add a tablespoon of coconut flour, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, a tablespoon of your favourite healthy sweetener (date syrup, maple syrup, honey…), and 2 tablespoons of almond milk (or other non dairy milk). (photos 1-4)
Give it all a really good stir (make sure you mix in all the sneaky bits of coconut flour at the bottom). (photo 5)
Press a few chocolate chips (or small pieces of chocolate from a bar) into the top. (photo 6)
Microwave for 1 minute. Your cake won’t look like it’s changed or risen very much, but don’t worry – plunge in your spoon and you’ll soon see that it’s cakey, gooey, and totally yummy! (photos 7-8)
Either eat just by itself, or – my favourite – plop a scoop of ice cream, or healthy nice cream (instructions below!) on top!
Pro tips
- You can take this healthy dessert to next-level delicious by throwing a scoop of ice cream on top. But you thought this was supposed to be a healthy dessert, right? No worries, freeze a chopped banana, throw it in a food processor with a tablespoon of cacao/cocoa and a tablespoon of nut butter, and make some healthy ‘nice cream’! (full recipe for nice cream here)
- Try substituting the coconut flour with cacao – or a half-and-half coconut flour and cacao mix. This gives you a deliciously gooey, splodgy chocolate mug cake. Don’t skip adding a scoop of ice cream (nice cream!) on top of this one!
- If you don’t mind de-healthifying (did I just make up a new word?) your mug cake a bit, you can make it with ordinary plain flour and a tablespoon of brown sugar. It’s still a fairly innocent dessert!
If you try this and like it, you might also like this gluten free mug cake for two. It’s packed with banana, almond and white chocolate, and pretty healthy too 😉
More healthier desserts
- 30-minute healthy chocolate cake
- 5-minute chocolate banana ice cream (nice cream!)
- Greek yoghurt blueberry muffins (low sugar recipe)
- Greek yoghurt chocolate chip muffins (low sugar recipe)
- 5-ingredient raw chocolate orange truffles
- Rhubarb and ginger oaty slices
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2-minute peanut butter healthy mug cake
Ingredients (UK/Australia? Click below for grams/ml)
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or date syrup, or honey
- 2 tablespoons almond milk or other non-dairy milk – or ordinary milk
- a few dark chocolate chips or a 10 gram piece of 70% dark chocolate
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients apart from the chocolate chips in a small mug and mix really well with a spoon.
- Press the chocolate into the top of the mixture. Microwave for 1 minute.
- Enjoy immediately either by itself or with a small scoop of ice cream/nice cream on top!
syd says
delicious! i have never made a mug cake but this one has me converted. i used tahini instead of peanut butter (all i had) and rice milk, maple syrup. consistency was great and the tahini balanced out the sweetness nicely.
Helen says
Hi Syd! Thank you so much for the lovely feedback! I used to make one of these almost every evening. I love your idea of using tahini instead! Good to know it still works well. 🙂
Jen says
Amazing! It’s like a super soft, warm peanut butter cookie! I’m new to a gluten free diet and this is my new fave dessert. Thank you!
Helen says
Hi Jen! So glad you enjoyed it as much as I do! I guess it is a bit like a cookie – but tastes even better when you know how healthy it is… Thank you so much for the review and I’m so glad it help you with your new diet.
John says
No baking powder ? No sea salt? Coconut Flour ? (dry sawdust). This is not cake, its heated peanut butter with coconut flour in it. Sludge. At least put a leavening agent in it.
Helen says
Hi John. Did you try it? 🙂
Sarah says
Just made this with 1 T almond butter and an egg! YUMMY! Thank you.
Helen says
Oooh great to hear it still works if you add an egg – thanks for letting me know 🙂
Alisha says
This really is my favourite mug cake/cookie recipe. It tastes so good and is so addictive !!
Helen says
Hi Alisha. So happy you like this! I find it addictive, too. So gooey and satisfying that it’s pretty healthy!
Leanne says
This is by far my favorite mug cake ever! I can’t believe it doesn’t have any sugar, oil, eggs, baking powder etc. And it’s so quick and easy. I followed the recipie exactly, and it was sooo tasty I can’t wait to make it again. Although when I recorded it, it was 405 kcal opposed to what the nutrition info says (not that it mattered, but incase someone else is tacking). And let it sit for 5 minutes, easy to burn your tongue on (haha I couldn’t wait)
Helen says
Hi Leanne! That’s a huge compliment – thank you! Interesting about the calories though – I’ll recalculate but 405 sounds like a lot for such a small amount of ingredients? Sometimes these things can vary according to which source you use, of course. If you like chocolate desserts, may I also suggest trying my 30-minute healthy chocolate cake? My friends tell me they can’t believe it’s a healthy cake!
Phoebe says
This recipe was delicious, it was also very quick and easy. I enjoyed it loads and will make it again too !! I thought it was really yummy and also filled me up quickly too, the ice cream that I put on top made it even better too 🙂
I would definitely recommend this recipe to my friends as I really enjoyed it and think they will too. Thank you for making this recipe. I really appreciate it 🙂
Helen says
Hi Phoebe! Thank you so much for taking the time to review. Now you can see why I got addicted to this and made it every evening for ages!!! At least it’s healthy!
George says
Disappointing. I used plain flour as suggested instead of the coconut flour because I didn’t have any. I am a fan of the quick and easy mug cake desserts and wanted to try something new. The dessert is too sickly, sweet and tasted like I was eating warm peanut butter. Adding a scoop of ice-cream made the dessert just about bearable.
Helen says
Hi George. It might have needed slightly longer in the microwave… or maybe this recipe just isn’t for you. Thanks for the feedback anyway.
Tracy says
Oh wow! This absolutely hit the spot tonight! My hubby thought I’d gone mad when I suggested a dessert this evening (as usually I am so good at denying myself) but he was super impressed a) by how quickly it was made and b) once he learned it was relatively healthy too, he was astounded!!
It tasted so indulgent – yummy!
Thanks for sharing x
Helen says
So glad you enjoyed this, Tracy! I went through a phase of making this almost every evening. Now you’re making me crave it again! I love foods that taste indulgent but aren’t really too bad. Have you tried my 30 minute healthy chocolate cake? Ah-mazing!
Tracy CLEGG says
No….maybe tomorrow’s project!!
Thanks 😊
Helen says
Hi Tracy! Oh go on, make it tomorrow! What do you have to lose? 😉
Patt says
We had all the ingredients in the house–a good start–so tried it last week. I shared the recipe with a gluten-free friend, who tried it with friends and loved it, then took it to our neighbor’s for dessert that night. We all think it’s great. Easy and delicious–who wouldn’t love this?
Helen says
Oh this is so great to hear, Patt! Thank you so much for letting me know! So did you take the batter in a mug around to your neighbour’s raw and then cook it in their microwave? 🙂
Patt Sheldon says
I did. I brought the mugs over before dinner, then cooked them afterwards. They came out drier, but the flavor was there. I mainly wanted to introduce them to it–they husband doesn’t eat gluten and they try to keep their 3-year old away from white sugar, etc–so it was a success. I think next time, I’d make it just before serving.
Helen says
Yes, the coconut flour would absorb quite a lot of the moisture if made too far ahead – I can add that to the recipe notes, so thank you! But what a great idea, Patt! I never thought that this could be a ‘proper’ dessert for more than 1, but why not? You could even make it in separate ramekins rather than mugs! 🙂
Inga says
Hi Helen,
It sounds yummy!
Do you think I could bake it in an oven? If so, for how long?
Thank you very much for your recipes!
Helen says
Hi Inga! I haven’t tried the recipe in the oven, but I think it would work! I can’t guarantee success, but I’d try 10 to 15 minutes at 180C. Check after 10 minutes, then leave for an extra 5 minutes if it still seems REALLY gooey (a little gooey is good! You just don’t want the cake to be too dry…)
Claudia Lamascolo says
my son loves mug cakes and being a single guy on the go so much he never has time to think about desserts except mug kind. I cant wait to show him this one he will love it thanks!
Helen says
Oh I really hope he does like it, Claudia. Thank you for leaving a review!
Liz says
Me, me! I needed an emergency dessert and this yummy pb mug cake hit the spot! So easy and delicious! Thanks for the terrific recipe, Helen!!
Helen says
Thank you so much, Liz! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, and thank you for taking the time to let me know what you thought 🙂