Justin’s was the first candy maker to hit the mainstream with dairy-free peanut butter cups. They’ve since expanded their line to include cashew butter, almond butter, and even crispy peanut butter dark chocolate cups. They do make some milky varieties, but the dark chocolate Justin’s Nut Butter Cups are still vegan and made without dairy … as they always have been! (See our allergen notes below.)
Justin’s Nut Butter Cups include 4 Dairy-Free Dark Chocolate Varieties
I haven’t had great luck with Justin’s Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups. Every time I buy them, the middles are very dry. But I hear the opposite from many loyal customers, and still plan to try some of these other nut butter cups out.
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
These also come in mini peanut butter cups, but the nutrition facts below are for the larger cups.
Ingredients: organic dark chocolate (organic evaporated cane sugar, organic cacao beans*, organic cocoa butter*, organic soya lecithin [emulsifier]), organic peanut butter (organic ground peanut), organic cane sugar, organic peanut flour, organic palm oil, sea salt, organic sunflower lecithin. contain soy and peanuts. they are produced on equipment that also processes tree nuts and milk.
Nutrition (per 2 cups): 220 calories, 14g fat, 20g carbs, 1g fiber, 16g sugars (includes 16g added sugars), 4g protein.*
Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups
Nutrition (per 2 cups): 230 calories, 15g fat, 20g carbs, 1g fiber, 14g sugars (includes 14g added sugars), 3g protein.*
Dark Chocolate Cashew Butter Cups
Nutrition (per 2 cups): 230 calories, 15g fat, 21g carbs, 1g fiber, 14g sugars (includes 14g added sugars), 3g protein.*
Dark Chocolate Crispy Peanut Butter Cups
Nutrition (per 2 cups): 220 calories, 14g fat, 19g carbs, 2g fiber, 15g sugars (includes 13g added sugars), 4g protein.*
More Allergen Notes: Yes, they’ve always been made without dairy.
A misleading practice came into play with some chocolate manufacturers, and Justin’s decided to join in. They shifted from putting a “may contain milk” warning due to potential cross-contamination, to a “contains: milk” warning even though the product is still made without dairy ingredients. From the FAQ’s on Justin’s website:
Even though there are no milk ingredients added to our delicious Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups and the recipe has not changed, we recently changed our label to indicate “contains milk”. Because they are produced on machinery that also processes our Milk and White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, which do contain milk. While there is an extensive sanitation process between each batch, the reason we made this change is two-fold, both deriving from our company’s primary fundamental – safety.
This caused mass confusion among dairy-free consumers, even some with milk allergies, who had been safely consuming their nut butter cups for years. They assumed the company had changed the formula to contain milk, but they hadn’t. Their ingredients and processes were the same!
Fortunately, Justin’s wised up and changed their labels back to industry standard. As before, they do not “contain” milk, but have a ‘may contain’ statement.
The Facts on Justin’s Organic Peanut Butter Cups
Price: $2.49 per 2-cup pack; $6.99 per 4.7-ounce bag of minis
Availability: Justin’s Nut Butter Cups are sold at Kroger stores, Sprouts, Natural Grocers, and other natural food stores in the U.S. You can also order them online from Vitacost or Amazon.
Certifications: Justin’s Dark Chocolate Nut Butter Cups are Certified Organic, Rainforest Alliance Certified, Non-GMO Verified, Certified Gluten Free, and Certified Kosher D (for dairy equipment, not ingredients; see our Understanding Kosher Guide).
Dietary Notes: By ingredients, Justin’s Dark Chocolate Nut Butter Cups are dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, vegan, and vegetarian.*
For More Product Information: Visit the Justin’s website at justins.com.
*Always read the ingredient and nutrition statement prior to consumption. Ingredients, processes, and labeling are subject to change at any time for any company or product. Contact the company to discuss their manufacturing processes if potential allergen cross-contamination is an issue for you. No food product can be guaranteed “safe” for every individual’s needs. You should never rely on ingredient and allergen statements alone if dealing with a severe food allergy.
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Dried out center
I like the flavor of these, and the fact that they’re easy to find. But the peanut butter filling is often very dry and crumbly.
6 Comments
I just got my first taste of these (milk chocolate ones) and although I’m not allergic to peanuts or milk I reacted to /something!/ in it. A read through of the ingredients didn’t appear to include any of my known triggers.
I was wondering if you knew of any ingredients that would be considered unusual for peanut butter cups to contain.
Hi Elisabeth, the milk chocolate ones contain dairy, so they aren’t ones we cover here. You may want to consult a physician on this issue.
The may contain milk label was sufficient, I agree. However, I am very allergic to milk and have eaten these a few times and started to have an allergic reaction. I know the warning signs for an allergic reaction for my body so I can stop the reaction by taking Benadryl; however, certain people may not have any warning signs or may not know them… I personally stopped buying these because of the reactions.
Thank you for sharing this DeAnna!
You DEFINITELY got a bad batch of the peanut butter cups – they’re supposed to be super creamy in the middle, not dried out and almost white-looking. I’ve written to Justin’s about this (I experienced that same horrible luck a few times, when purchasing Justin’s PB cups); and they sent free coupons and said to check how stores are storing the PB cups. So far, I’ve been lucky recently by purchasing GOOD Justin’s pb cups. The peanut butter is so creamy, it’s exceptional. I really wish though there was more quality control, for sure.
Thanks for sharing this Liz. Yes, for some reason I keep getting these batches! I received a sample at a conference once and have tried buying them two separate times. One time they were extremely dry and crumbly. The other two more like pictured above, slightly creamy, but slightly dry. Still a good taste though. They really do need to get that consistency down! I appreciate your feedback that “good” creamy ones exist 🙂