Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Peanut Clusters

Dark chocolate peanut clusters sprinkled with coarse sea salt Save to Pinterest
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Introduction

One of my favorite movie theater candies is chocolate covered peanuts. It’s a classic — give me a box and I would almost eat the whole thing. So what’s a girl to do without her favorite movie snack? That’s where these come in.

These dark chocolate sea salt peanut clusters combine roasted peanuts with melted sugar-free dark chocolate, a little liquid stevia, and coarse sea salt. They set in mini muffin cups, so the portions stay neat and are easy to remove from the pan.

The recipe uses four ingredients and does not require an oven. Melt, stir, portion, salt, and chill the clusters until firm.

Tools You Need

  • Microwave
  • Microwave-safe bowl
  • Spoon
  • Mini muffin pan
  • Mini muffin cups

A mini muffin pan helps keep the clusters evenly sized. If you do not have one, spoon the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet instead.

Key Ingredients

Roasted peanuts provide the crunch. Lily’s dark chocolate chips form the coating, while liquid stevia adds sweetness to taste.

Sprinkle coarse sea salt over the clusters while the chocolate is still soft so the salt adheres.

How to Make Dark Chocolate Peanut Clusters

The recipe card below has it step by step, and there is not much to it. The one place to slow down is the chocolate.

It melts in the microwave in short bursts, stirred every 30 seconds, for no more than 2 minutes in all. Stop as soon as it is smooth; heating it past that point is how it scorches or seizes.

From there it moves quickly. The salt needs to go on while the chocolate is still soft, so have it ready before you start spooning, and then 5 to 10 minutes in the freezer is all the clusters need to firm up.

Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Peanut Clusters

Prep Time
10 minutes
Additional Time
10 minutes
Total Time
20 minutes
Yield
20 clusters
Course
Dessert
Cuisine
American
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Ingredients

All Ingredients

Nutrition Facts

20 servings per recipe
Trans Fat 0g 0% 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0% 0mg 0%
Sugar Alcohols 0g 0% 0g 0%
Allulose 0g 0% 0g 0%

About these numbers: We are home cooks, not certified nutritionists. Nutrition is shared as a courtesy. We pick a representative product for each ingredient, and our recipe system works out the totals from the amounts in this recipe, so please treat them as a helpful estimate rather than a guarantee. The brands you buy, any swaps you make, and how generously you portion the recipe will all move these numbers.

Directions

  1. Prepare the pan

    Line a mini muffin pan with mini muffin cups.

  2. Melt the chocolate

    Place the dark chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for up to 2 minutes total, stopping to stir every 30 seconds, until fully melted.

  3. Coat the peanuts

    Stir the peanuts into the melted chocolate until evenly coated.

  5. Add the stevia

    Mix in the liquid stevia.

  6. Portion the clusters

    Spoon the chocolate-peanut mixture into the prepared muffin cups.

  7. Add the sea salt

    Sprinkle the clusters with coarse sea salt while the chocolate is still soft.

  8. Chill until firm

    Freeze for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the clusters are firm.

  9. Store

    Transfer leftover clusters to an airtight container and keep refrigerated.

Notes

Recipe Notes

  • Add the coarse sea salt immediately after portioning so it sticks to the melted chocolate.
  • A parchment-lined baking sheet can be used instead of a mini muffin pan, though the clusters will be less uniform.
  • Keep the finished clusters in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
  • We use Lily’s dark chocolate chips here. They melt down thin enough to coat a cup of peanuts without any oil added, and they are dark enough that the 15 drops of stevia are doing real work rather than making candy out of already-sweet chocolate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use other nuts instead of peanuts?

Roasted peanuts are what the four ounces of chocolate is measured against. A bigger nut — pecan halves, whole almonds — means fewer pieces in the same cup and more chocolate on each one, so you get thicker clusters and fewer of them than the twenty here. Use the same cup measure and expect the count to move; no adjusted amount for another nut is given here.

How should I store dark chocolate peanut clusters?

Keep the clusters in an airtight container in the refrigerator so the chocolate remains firm.

Do I need a mini muffin pan?

No. A mini muffin pan keeps the portions neat and evenly sized, but you can spoon the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet instead.

Can I use a different chocolate?

The recipe is written around Lily’s dark chocolate chips, and the four ounces and the 15 drops of stevia are both pitched at how dark and how thin they melt. A sweeter chip means the stevia is doing less, and a thicker-melting one needs more stirring to coat a full cup of peanuts. Read the label on whatever you use and taste the chocolate before the peanuts go in; no adjusted amounts for another product are given here.

Can I leave out the liquid stevia?

The liquid stevia is added for sweetness. Leaving it out will make the result depend entirely on the sweetness and bitterness of the chocolate chips you use.

Why is my chocolate burning or clumping?

Microwave the chocolate in short intervals and stir every 30 seconds. Stop heating once the chips are smooth; continued heating can scorch or seize the chocolate.

Wrap Up

Have you tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog? Please rate it below and let us know what you think in the comments! We love hearing from you — and tell us what your favorite movie theater snack is while you’re there.

You can also share it on Instagram using the hashtag #buttertogetherkitchen and we may feature you on our page.

Updated — August 17, 2026: We rewrote the article with complete melting and portioning directions, ingredient guidance, storage notes, and answers to common questions.