This delicious Instant Pot Peanut Butter Lava Cake recipe is for mini lava cakes that are filled with peanut butter instead of chocolate. This healthier dessert is made with honey (you could also use maple syrup), dark chocolate chips, and brown rice flour (making it gluten free). This recipe isn’t dairy free because of the butter and dark chocolate chips it includes.
These lava cakes are so easy to make in the Instant Pot, and will be a new favorite dessert with your family and friends. It’s the perfect dessert for any peanut butter fan, as well as when you’re craving something sweet but want to stay away from highly processed foods.
Don’t wait for special occasions to make this delicious dessert! They’re not difficult to make, and you make easily stick them in the pot while you’re family is eating dinner.

How to make Instant Pot Peanut Butter Lava Cakes
- In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine butter and dark chocolate (you can use semi sweet if you’re not concerned about the extra sugar). Melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments until the butter and chocolate are melted (stir to see if they’re melting). This will take about 1 minute.
- Using a bowl, mix together butter and chocolate with an electric mixer.
- Add eggs, coconut milk, brown rice flour (you could also use whole wheat flour), salt, honey, baking powder, and cocoa powder (everything except the peanut butter). Mix the batter until smooth.
- Lightly spray each cup of your silicone egg bite mold with non-stick spray. Once the cups are greased, fill each cup halfway with batter.
- Add a teaspoon of peanut butter to the center of each cup, then fill the cups with the remaining cake mix. Each cup should be 3/4 of the way full.
- Cover the silicone mold with foil and place the mold on a trivet.
- Add 1 cup water to the bottom of the Instant Pot insert. Place trivet at the bottom of the pot using the handles to slowly lower the lava cakes into the Instant Pot.
- Close the lid and turn the pressure valve to Sealing. Cook the lava cakes on high pressure using the Manual or Pressure Cook button for 5 minutes. (the cooking time might have to be adjusted next time you make these, so take notes on how they come out!)
- As soon as the Instant Pot beeps that the timer is done, quick release the pressure and remove the lava cakes from the Instant Pot. Manually releasing the pressure means that you move the pressure valve from Sealing to Venting with your finger or the end of a wooden spoon. Steam will immediately release out of the valve.
- While the cakes are still hot, remove the foil and carefully run a spoon around the edge of each cup to loosen the cakes.
- Place a plate over the top of the lava cakes and then flip them upside down to remove the cakes.
- Sprinkle with powdered stevia (optional) and serve immediately with a side of coconut whipped cream and raspberries.

Recipe Tips
Ideally, these cakes will pop out of the molds fully intact and have a perfect peanut butter lava center. This doesn’t always happen, and to be honest it take a little bit of practice and getting to know your pot. Here are some tips.
- I highly recommend making these before serving them to company to make sure your cooking times are perfect, as some Instant Pots cook differently. If it’s your first time making these it might be stressful to do with a dinner party going on. Want to get it perfect, but don’t have time to troubleshoot? Use a small Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup in the middle instead of real peanut butter :)
- Looking for other options to top these with? Try powdered sugar, caramel sauce, melted chocolate sauce, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or even creamy peanut butter.
- As you can see in my pictures, it’s tricky to get the lava cakes all to turn out perfect. Lots of spray oil helps (I usually use coconut oil spray), as does not waiting for them to cool before you remove them from the molds.
- I like to make these while we are eating dinner. Even if one breaks, a broken chocolate cake looks much more beautiful when it’s right out of the pressure cooker and still warm.
How to Make Coconut Whipped Cream
*Note: Stick your can of coconut cream in the fridge as soon as you get home from the store so you can use it for this whipped cream recipe!
- Open the can of coconut cream and separate the milk from the cream. The cream should be hard and the milk watery.
- Place the cream in a chilled bowl. Add the Stevia.
- Whip the coconut cream with a hand mixer for 1-2 minutes until the coconut cream is soft and has a whipped cream like texture.
- Store in the fridge until ready to use, but use the same day. The coconut whipped cream will not keep in the fridge for longer than a day.
- I love this whipped cream dispenser for my homemade whipped cream–it’s so easy to use and I love the way it looks (especially when company comes over!). The presentation of a dessert isn’t super important to me, but I feel like this whipped cream dispenser is easy and fun to use. You could easily make raspberry whipped cream or any other flavor–key lime is so delicious.

Troubleshooting tips:
If your Instant Pot lava cakes are too gooey or look as if they’re overcooked, it could be because of several reasons:
- If your lava cakes are too gooey, you should cook them for a minute longer next time you make them. Right now, put the cakes back into the pot and close the lid for 1-2 minutes. Don’t turn the pot on–it should still come to pressure quickly and finish cooking your lava cakes.
- If your lava cakes are overcooked, pull them out of the molds as soon as you can and eat them immediately. Five minutes in the pressure cooker was perfect for my cakes, so I don’t think you’ll have this problem. If this is an issue, reduce the cook time by one minute next time you make them. Remember, each pot is slightly different, and elevation plays a part in this too.
Healthy Eating Plans
21 Day Fix/Portion Fix:
- One cake is considered a treat swap on the Fix.
Weight Watchers:
- Each cake (without toppings) is 8 Blue Plan Points | 8 Green Plan Points | 8 Purple Plan Points
2B Mindset:
- One cake is considered a silly carb–track it and see.
More healthy recipes made in egg bite molds:
- Starbucks Egg Bites
- Mini Meatloaf
- Teriyaki Meatballs
- Key Lime Custard Bites
- Egg White Bites
- Lasagna Stacks
- Dairy Free Egg Bites
Instant Pot Peanut Butter Lava Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp butter or ghee
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate pieces
- 2 eggs
- 4 tbsp coconut milk or almond milk
- 1/3 cup brown rice flour or whole wheat flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 7 tsp peanut butter 1 tsp per lava cake
Optional toppings:
- coconut whip cream
- Stevia powdered
- raspberries
Ingredients for coconut whipped cream:
- 1 can coconut milk canned, refrigerated so that it is cold
- 1 tsp Stevia optional
Instructions
- In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine butter and dark chocolate (you can use semi sweet if you're not concerned about the extra sugar). Melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments until the butter and chocolate are melted (stir to see if they're melting). This will take about 1 minute.
- Using a bowl, mix together butter and chocolate with an electric mixer.
- Add eggs, coconut milk, brown rice flour (you could also use whole wheat flour), salt, honey, baking powder, and cocoa powder (everything except the peanut butter). Mix the batter until smooth.
- Lightly spray each cup of your silicone egg bite mold with non-stick spray. Once the cups are greased, fill each cup halfway with batter.
- Add a teaspoon of peanut butter to the center of each cup, then fill the cups with the remaining cake mix. Each cup should be 3/4 of the way full.
- Cover the silicone mold with foil and place the mold on a trivet.
- Add 1 cup water to the bottom of the Instant Pot insert. Place trivet at the bottom of the pot using the handles to slowly lower the lava cakes into the Instant Pot.
- Close the lid and turn the pressure valve to Sealing. Cook the lava cakes on high pressure using the Manual or Pressure Cook button for 5 minutes. (the cooking time might have to be adjusted next time you make these, so take notes on how they come out!)
- As soon as the Instant Pot beeps that the timer is done, quick release the pressure and remove the lava cakes from the Instant Pot. Manually releasing the pressure means that you move the pressure valve from Sealing to Venting with your finger or the end of a wooden spoon. Steam will immediately release out of the valve.
- While the cakes are still hot, remove the foil and carefully run a spoon around the edge of each cup to loosen the cakes.
- Place a plate over the top of the lava cakes and then flip them upside down to remove the cakes.
- Sprinkle with powdered stevia (optional) and serve immediately with a side of coconut whipped cream and raspberries.
Coconut Whipped Cream Directions:
- Open the can of coconut cream and separate the milk from the cream. The cream should be hard and the milk watery.
- Place the cream in a chilled bowl. Add the Stevia.
- Whip the coconut cream with a hand mixer for 1-2 minutes until the coconut cream is soft and has a whipped cream like texture.
- Store in the fridge until ready to use, but use the same day. The coconut whipped cream will not keep in the fridge for longer than a day.
Video
Notes
- I highly recommend making these before serving them to company to make sure your cooking times are perfect, as some Instant Pots cook differently. If it’s your first time making these it might be stressful to do with a dinner party going on. Want to get it perfect, but don’t have time to troubleshoot? Use a small Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup in the middle instead of real peanut butter :)
- Looking for other options to top these with? Try powdered sugar, caramel sauce, melted chocolate sauce, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or even creamy peanut butter.
- As you can see in my pictures, it’s tricky to get the lava cakes all to turn out perfect. Lots of spray oil helps (I usually use coconut oil spray), as does not waiting for them to cool before you remove them from the molds.
- I like to make these while we are eating dinner. Even if one breaks, a broken chocolate cake looks much more beautiful when it’s right out of the pressure cooker and still warm.
- If your lava cakes are too gooey, you should cook them for a minute longer next time you make them. Right now, put the cakes back into the pot and close the lid for 1-2 minutes. Don’t turn the pot on–it should still come to pressure quickly and finish cooking your lava cakes.
- If your lava cakes are overcooked, pull them out of the molds as soon as you can and eat them immediately. Five minutes in the pressure cooker was perfect for my cakes, so I don’t think you’ll have this problem. If this is an issue, reduce the cook time by one minute next time you make them. Remember, each pot is slightly different, and elevation plays a part in this too.
- One cake is considered a treat swap on the Fix.
- Each cake (without toppings) is 8 Blue Plan Points | 8 Green Plan Points | 8 Purple Plan Points
- One cake is considered a silly carb–track it and see.
I am so in love with these cakes! Delicious!!!
is it 215 calories for one bite or two?
If you make 7 bites, it’s 215 for one.
I am in love with this recipe! Thank you for such an awesome (and healthy!) treat for my family.
I need to start making more desserts in my Instant Pot, and this looks like the perfect recipe to start with! Thanks so much for sharing!
Those look crazy delicious! Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi, my daughter has a peanut allergy. Do you think sun butter would work?
Thanks,
Kara
Yes!
Do you think almond milk would work instead of coconut?
Yes!
I just made this keto by using coconut flour, Lilly’s dark chocolate chips, sugar free all natural PB, as well as Walden farms maple syrup instead of honey. They came out AMAZZZZZZING
Did you use the same amount of coconut flour? I have whole wheat and Coconut(which I’d like to try) but I don’t have brown rice flour, I also have blanched super fine almond flour… I might just go ahead and try it, but if you see this please let me know ;) Thanks!
I’d use whole wheat in place of brown rice! :)
I went ahead and used the coconut flour, I used the same amount, and the batter seemed a little dry so I added an extra tbsp of coconut milk. I also used Erythritol instead of honey to make it less calorie dense. They turned out GREAT!! Thanks! Really enjoyed the little lava cakes.
Can I use whole wheat flour instead?
That should be fine!
How long and at what temp would they go in the oven?
I haven’t made these in the oven yet!
Did you eventually try them in the oven? I’d like to know too as I don’t own an Instant Pot.
I don’t have an Instant Pot. How long would I bake them in the oven, and at 350 degrees?
Hi Bonnie! I’ve never made these in the oven, but I’d test them at 350 degrees, checking after 10 minutes or so. I’d rely more on what the top looks like to see when they’re done instead of sticking a toothpick in them, as you want the center to be gooey :)
Love your recipes…
Thank you Carolyn! <3
Cooking these for 5 minutes did essentially nothing to mine… they were still completely gooey. I’m on my 4th repressurizing and recooking attempt… I did double the recipe and stacked two molds on top of each other, but I’m going on cooking these suckers for half an hour… did I do something wrong?
Cooking two trays instead of one can cause a bit of an issue. I think that’s it :-/ It takes a long time for two trays to cook through.
I don’t have some of these ingredients. Think I could use regular milk and flour?
Regular flour would be ok, I haven’t tried them with regular milk but I’d assume it’s ok too!