Peanut butter chips substitutes
Peanut butter chips substitutes — 6 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Also called peanut butter morsels, peanut butter baking chips, Reese's peanut butter chips
Use Chopped peanut butter cups
1 cup for every 1 cup peanut butter chips
Use chopped peanut butter cups, 1 cup for every 1 cup of chips, frozen for 20 minutes before chopping so they cut cleanly. They keep the peanut flavor but add milk chocolate and melt into softer pockets than chips do. If the peanut flavor matters less than how the cookie bakes, butterscotch chips at the same amount behave almost exactly like peanut butter chips. For a recipe that melts the chips, use white chocolate chips with a little peanut butter stirred in.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- The tweak —
- Freeze the cups for 20 minutes, chop them into pieces about ¼ inch across, and fold them in at the very end so they stay in pieces.
- Best for —
- cookies
Updated 8 Oct 2026 · no sponsored swaps
But first: what are the peanut butter chips doing?
Pick your caseAre the chips folded in whole, or melted?
Any chip-sized piece works. Chopped peanut butter cups keep the peanut flavor; butterscotch chips keep the shape and the bake. Use 1 cup for every 1 cup of chips.
Notes on chopped peanut butter cups, butterscotch chips or peanut butter candy pieces
1 cup per cup
You need something that melts smooth and sets firm. Use butterscotch chips, or melt 1 cup white chocolate chips with ¼ cup creamy peanut butter. Candy pieces and peanut butter cups will not melt into a smooth coating.
Notes on butterscotch chips or homemade peanut butter chips
1 cup per cup
The peanut flavor is already there, so pick for contrast. Chocolate chips are the usual choice, and chopped peanuts add crunch.
Notes on semisweet chocolate chips or chopped roasted peanuts
1 cup per cup
Use butterscotch chips or chocolate chips at the same amount and read the label for a peanut or shared-equipment statement. Every other option on this page contains peanuts.
Notes on butterscotch chips or semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup per cup
Peanut butter chips do two things. In a cookie or brownie they are a mix-in: sweet, salty pockets of peanut flavor that soften in the oven but keep their shape, because the fat in them is firm at room temperature. In bars, fudge and candy they are melted, and that same firm fat is what lets the mixture set hard again. Soft peanut butter can give the flavor but not the shape or the set.
Every option, one card
Ranked · per 1 cup peanut butter chips| # | Substitute | Instead of 1 cup peanut butter chips | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chopped peanut butter cupscookies | 1 cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Butterscotch chipscookies where the chip shape matters | 1 cupYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 3 | Homemade peanut butter chipscookies | 1 cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Peanut butter candy piecescookies | 1 cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| 5 | Semisweet chocolate chipscookies | 1 cupYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 6 | Chopped roasted peanutscookies that already have chocolate chips | ½ cupYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| Not a swap | Peanut butter stirred into the dough | not a swapNot for this | Not for this |
Chopped peanut butter cups
peanut plus milk chocolate
The only common candy that carries a real peanut butter filling, so it is the closest match on flavor in cookies, brownies and bars.
- Best for
- cookies, brownies and blondies, bar cookies, topping a cake or ice cream
- Texture
- softer, melted pockets
- Prep
- Freeze the cups for 20 minutes, chop them into pieces about ¼ inch across, and fold them in at the very end so they stay in pieces.
- Suits
- vegetarian
- Contains
- peanuts, dairy, soy
The filling is soft and the coating is milk chocolate, so the pieces melt into pockets instead of holding a chip shape, and the cookie tastes of chocolate as well as peanut. They do not melt into a smooth coating, so do not use them where the recipe melts the chips.
Butterscotch chips
butterscotch, no peanut
Made the same way as peanut butter chips, from sugar and a firm vegetable fat, so they bake and melt the same. The flavor is brown sugar and butter, not peanut.
- Best for
- cookies where the chip shape matters, melting for bars and fudge, oatmeal cookies, peanut-free baking
- Texture
- same
- Suits
- vegetarian
- Contains
- dairy, soy
This is the pick when the recipe depends on how the chip behaves. It is sweeter than a peanut butter chip and has no salt or nut flavor. Most brands contain no peanuts, but check the label for a shared-equipment statement if you are baking for someone with an allergy.
Homemade peanut butter chips
close, a little sweeter
White chocolate chips melted with creamy peanut butter, chilled hard and chopped. It tastes like the real thing and takes about 30 minutes, most of it waiting.
- Best for
- cookies, melting for drizzle or coating, bars, muffins
- Texture
- softer, melts sooner
- Prep
- Melt 1 cup white chocolate chips with ¼ cup creamy peanut butter, spread it ¼ inch thick on parchment, freeze until hard, then chop. Adjust the peanut butter to taste next time.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegetarian
- Contains
- peanuts, dairy, soy
Peanut butter softens the white chocolate, so the pieces melt faster in the oven than store-bought chips and leave flatter pools. Keep them in the freezer until the moment they go into the dough. Use regular creamy peanut butter; the natural kind that separates makes the pieces oily.
Peanut butter candy pieces
peanut, sweeter
Candy-coated peanut butter pieces such as Reese's Pieces keep the peanut flavor and hold their shape in the oven.
- Best for
- cookies, trail mix and snack bars, decorating the tops of cookies
- Texture
- crisp shell
- Suits
- vegetarian
- Contains
- peanuts, dairy, soy
The sugar shell stays crisp and shows orange, yellow and brown in the finished cookie. They do not melt smooth, so they are for folding in only.
Semisweet chocolate chips
chocolate, no peanut
The chip most kitchens already have. It bakes and melts the same way and turns the recipe into a chocolate chip version of itself.
- Best for
- cookies, brownies, melting for a topping, pancakes and muffins
- Texture
- same
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegetarian
- Contains
- dairy, soy
No peanut flavor at all. In a recipe that already has peanut butter in the dough, this is a good trade. In a plain dough, the result is a chocolate chip cookie.
Chopped roasted peanuts
roasted peanut, less sweet
Real peanut flavor and crunch, with none of the sweetness or melt of a chip.
- Best for
- cookies that already have chocolate chips, granola bars, topping brownies
- Texture
- crunchy, no melt
- Prep
- Use salted roasted peanuts, chopped roughly, and start with half the volume of chips the recipe calls for.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free
- Contains
- peanuts
Peanuts add crunch where chips add soft sweet pockets, so the cookie is less sweet and drier to eat. They cannot be melted. Pair them with chocolate or butterscotch chips to make up the sweetness.
Peanut butter stirred into the dough
peanut through the whole dough
Spooning peanut butter into the dough in place of the chips changes the dough itself.
- Best for
- nothing in place of chips
- Texture
- greasy, crumbly
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
Peanut butter is about half fat and it blends into the dough instead of staying in pieces. A cup of it makes the cookies greasy and crumbly and they spread differently. If you want peanut flavor through the dough, use a recipe written as a peanut butter cookie.
Don’t swap it here
2 cases- Fudge, candy bark or a set topping written for melted peanut butter chips, made with plain peanut butter instead.Melt butterscotch chips, or white chocolate chips with ¼ cup peanut butter per cup of chips.
- SafetyBaking for a person with a peanut allergy using any peanut-based option here.Use butterscotch or chocolate chips and check the label for peanut warnings.
Questions
5 questionsWhat is the best substitute for peanut butter chips in cookies?
Chopped peanut butter cups, 1 cup for every 1 cup of chips, if you want the peanut flavor. Freeze them for 20 minutes first so they chop cleanly. If you only need a chip that bakes the same way, butterscotch chips or chocolate chips work at the same amount.
Can I use peanut butter instead of peanut butter chips?
Not as a direct swap. Peanut butter blends into the dough, adds a lot of fat and never forms pieces. You can turn it into chips by melting ¼ cup creamy peanut butter with 1 cup white chocolate chips, freezing the mixture in a thin sheet and chopping it.
Can I use butterscotch chips instead of peanut butter chips?
Yes, cup for cup. They are made the same way, so they hold their shape in cookies and melt smooth for bars and fudge. The flavor is brown sugar and butter with no peanut, and they are a little sweeter.
Are peanut butter chips just peanut butter?
No. They are mostly sugar and a firm vegetable fat, flavored with partially defatted peanut flour, plus milk solids and salt. That firm fat is why they hold a chip shape in the oven and set hard after melting, which peanut butter does not.
How many peanut butter chips are in a bag?
A standard 10-ounce bag holds about 1 2/3 cups. One cup of chips weighs about 6 ounces.
Tips for substituting peanut butter chips
5 tips- A 10-ounce bag of peanut butter chips holds about 1 2/3 cups, and 1 cup of chips weighs about 6 ounces. Use those figures when a recipe calls for a bag and you are measuring a substitute.
- Freeze peanut butter cups for 20 minutes before chopping. At room temperature the filling smears on the knife and the pieces clump in the dough.
- Chill dough made with soft substitutes for 30 minutes before baking. Chopped candy and homemade chips melt sooner than store-bought chips, and cold dough keeps them from running out the sides.
- Melt chips gently: 30-second bursts in the microwave at half power, stirring each time. Peanut butter chips and butterscotch chips scorch and turn grainy faster than chocolate.
- Peanut butter chips are saltier than chocolate or white chips. When you swap in a sweeter chip, a pinch of flaky salt on top of each cookie brings the balance back.