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Life doesn’t get much better than a Peanut Butter Pie.
To me, peanut butter is one of the great pleasures of life.
I’m OBSESSED with the stuff. Especially when it’s combined with chocolate… in PIE form.
This isn’t any old peanut butter pie. I mean, just look at it. It’s over the top, messy, and unapologetically sinful in the best possible way.
I’ve accompanied this recipe with a step-by-step video to not only show you how to make this beautiful pie, but to whet your appetite for it.
Because the chocolate + peanut butter flavors truly belong together.
This easy peanut butter pie recipe is that it is a total crowd-pleaser and won’t last long at all. That coupled with the fact that it can be made completely ahead of time makes it a perfect go-to recipe for easy entertaining. Everyone will want seconds of this pie. It’s that good!
How to Make Easy Peanut Butter Pie
How to Make Peanut Butter Pie WITHOUT Cool Whip
My favorite part about this pie recipe is that it’s homemade! We make the filling with a mixture of peanut butter (of course!), cream cheese, heavy cream, and powdered sugar. Whipping the cream, then folding it in with the other beaten ingredients, gives this pie a light, creamy, yet rich texture without any Cool Whip (or any other highly-process whipped topping).
Peanut Butter Pie CRUST Variations!
This recipe calls for a chocolate graham cracker cookie crust, but you could also use:
What Kind of Peanut Butter is Best for Pie?
- Use conventional creamy peanut butter for this recipe, such as Skippy or Jif.
- Any kind of “natural” peanut butter that doesn’t include an added oil to stabilize the mixture will result in a pie filling that will become oily and separated.
- If you must use natural peanut butter, make sure it’s extremely well stirred and smooth before using.
How Much Melted Chocolate + Peanut Butter for Topping?
This is entirely up to you and your taste preferences! Simply melt the peanut butter and chocolate in your microwave and drizzle as much as you’d like over your pie.
How Many Peanut Butter Cups Do I Need?
Use as many or as few as you like – and feel free to customize! If you’d like to add some Reese’s Pieces in there, go right ahead – be as creative and fun as you wish!
Can’t Have Peanuts? Use Almond Butter Instead!
- Use the same amount of almond butter as peanut butter in the recipe.
- Add 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract to the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and almond butter filling (still adding the 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the heavy cream mixture as well).
- For the toppings, skip the Reese’s cups and peanut butter chips and instead garnish with almond butter cups and melted chocolate, or any other toppings of your choice!
How to Serve Peanut Butter Pie
You can actually serve the finished pie frozen or refrigerated, depending on which texture you prefer – or how hot it is outside!
How Long is Peanut Butter Pie Good For?
Store covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
How to Freeze Peanut Butter Pie:
Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to 1 month. Serve frozen, or thaw overnight in the fridge before serving, if preferred.
More Easy Pie Recipes:
For the crust:
-
14
whole chocolate graham crackers (196 grams)
-
1
tablespoon
light brown sugar
-
7
tablespoons
(99 grams) unsalted butter,
melted
For the filling:
-
8
ounces
(227 grams) cream cheese,
at room temperature
-
3/4
cup
(94 grams) powdered sugar plus 2 tablespoons,
divided
-
1
cup
(270 grams) creamy conventional peanut butter
-
1
cup
(240 grams) heavy whipping cream
-
1
teaspoon
vanilla extract
For the topping:
-
Melted peanut butter
-
Melted chocolate
-
Mini Reese’s cups
-
Peanut butter chips
-
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
For the crust:
-
In the bowl of a food processor, process the crackers and sugar until finely ground. Add the butter and pulse until moistened. Use the bottom of a measuring cup, glass, or ramekin to press the crust mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake until fragrant, about 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.
For the filling:
-
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese, 3/4 cup powdered sugar, and the peanut butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
-
In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer with the whisk attachment to whip the heavy cream until thick and light. Add in the remaining 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar and the vanilla extract and continue to whip until stiff peaks form.
-
Gently fold the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture. Pour into the prepared pie shell and freeze for 3 hours or chill in the fridge at least 6 hours.
-
Place your melted peanut butter and melted chocolate in separate resealable bags or piping bags. Snip off a tiny corner of the bag's tip. Squeeze slightly to drizzle the melted peanut butter and melted chocolate over your pie. Top with mini Reese's cups and peanut butter chips. Serve frozen or refrigerated.
-
Store in the fridge, covered, for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Can’t Have Peanuts? Use Almond Butter Instead!
Use the same amount of almond butter as peanut butter in the recipe. Add 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract to the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and almond butter filling (still adding the 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the heavy cream mixture as well). For the toppings, skip the Reese’s cups and peanut butter chips and instead garnish with almond butter cups and melted chocolate, or any other toppings of your choice!
This recipe was originally published in 2015 and was recently updated with new tips & photos. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
April Baking Challenge
This recipe was the April 2022 selection for our monthly baking challenge! Every month you can join the challenge by baking the recipe and snapping a photo for a chance to win prizes! Learn more about my monthly baking challenges here. Check out some of the delicious pies baked by you guys!
A Thanksgiving hit!
This was an easy to make, recipe that looked great and tasted even better. We will definitely be making this again and again!
I actually used powered peanut butter and it was delicious. Less calories too!
This pie is creamy, rich, and delicious. My family ate it all up in a matter of minutes.
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Do you have to use a stand mixer for this recipe? I don’t own one and they are not cheap lol
Delicious I ribboned the chocolate and peanut butter across the top and added the
Minini Reece cups and peanut butter chips around the edge – pretty and yummy
Awesome peanut butter pie! So far everyone has loved this pie. Easy to make and if you don’t want to make the crust you can use graham cracker ready made pie crust or the Oreo pie pie crust. Totally a hit . You will not be disappointed.
Hello Tessa! It looks divine and I have been planning to make this for ages. I think I’ll make this for next Sunday, but I’d like to know if you froze or refrigerated the slice on the pictures? It’s really important to me to get the texture I want. Thanks a lot!
Thank you for not using cool whip!!! can’t wait to make this and will comment on the results!
Would this work without the extra sugar? I find conventional peanut butter already soooooo sweet, I feel like the powdered sugar would be unnecessary (though perhaps it’s needed for the texture?).
. . . and the video you refer to is where?
I have made this pie several times always with rave reviews from the recipients.
no way! She just meant it will keep in the fridge for 3 days. You can eat it as soon as it’s been set in the fridge for 6 hours or in the freezer for 3 hours.
I don’t see the video?
What kind of melted chocolate for the top
You can use any chocolate. It isn’t the biggest part of it, and it won’t change the flavour if you don’t use the best one. The video used either dark or milk chocolate (can’t really tell tho)
I just mixed the first part of the filling (PB, sugar, cream cheese) and it didn’t come out fluffy. I used correct measurements too. Help please!
Do you think we could substitute half and half for the whipping cream? Seems to be all we can get right now. Thanks!
This peanut butter pie recipe has been a new Thanksgiving tradition for me and my family and we look forward to it every year! It’s easy to make (and I manage to mess up recipes no matter how simple they are) and a MUST for chocolate and peanut butter lovers like me!
I just finished making this and it seems that there isn’t enough filling to fill the pie shell in its entirety. All of the measurements were bang on and I used the correct size pie dish of 9 inches… Maybe next time I’ll double the recipe for safe measure?
I wished this woyld have worked better. I am good when it comes to baking and i followed the directions. I should have added the whipping cream, sugar and the vanilla before whipping NOT after tou start to whip. It made the sweetness not incorporate well at all. The peanut butter mixture was too dry and in the end had to add more sweetness. Maybe my ingredients were not as good but it was frustrating becaise i had a small window of time while my husband watched the kids and now i am tempted to toss rhe whole thing.
I can’t find whole chocolate Graham crackers here, does anyone know roughly how many cups of crumbs for the crust?
How do I get your Made Ahead Baking Guide?
Wow, so yummy.
This was so delicious! I did post on Instagram with your hashtag, if you want to see it! We wanted to make it gluten free. Couldn’t find chocolate gf grahams nearby, so we used regular gf grahams and added a thin layer of chocolate ganache on the crust before adding the filling. We just used the pb cups and chips around the edges and skipped the melted pb and only used the chocolate on top. It was a hit! Will definitely make it again. And again. And again. haha. Thanks for the recipe.
I made pie but had problems making it smooth after adding all ingredients.
could you please tell me what “Graham crackers” are. I live in the UK and I don’t think they are available here so would have to get something similar.
Digestive biscuits could work!
Wow this is a very easy recipe with high impact in the taste and looks great for kids of all ages including supposal the grown up ones. ( that pie plate that you used really makes the difference in the visuals )
Thanks Tess just started to follow your recipes really enjoy how you put it all together thanks!
Tom
The make ahead guide link doesn’t appear to be working?
Happy anniversary, Tessa and Jared! Nine years is sure a lot, so congratulation! Keep that fire burning! <3 My husband and I have only been together 5 years (that's both dating AND married). This Peanut Butter Pie looks like a great treat for a holiday with the family – and we have a lot of nieces and nephews who I think would love this!
This looks fabulous, can’t wait to try it. Congratulations on 9 years! We also were high school sweethearts. This May we will be married 40 (holy cow!) years.
I’m not usually the most creative, but the last few years I’ve made every peanut butter pie using Oreo peanut butter cookies. Delish!
How do I get your Made Ahead Baking Guide?
Thanks, Nina
My favorite restaurant stopped serving peanut butter pie. Today I decided I had suffered without it long enough and found this recipe on Pinterest. WOW. It was easy to make. It hasn’t chilled enough yet, but I have the patience of a 3 year old. It’s absolutely divine already. Thank you!
So happy to hear that!!
Hi! Can this just be refrigerated, instead of frozen, to set or is freezing a must? We have ZERO freezer space.
You can refrigerate but I would do it for at least 6 hours to guarantee it’s firmed up!
Seriously this pie is awesome!!!! I think my boyfriend keeps me around just to make it for him! It’s always a huge hit. Love it!
Haha!! I’m so glad you both love it 🙂
It always amazes me the question people ask you. READ people …It’s all right there in front of you. Do you ever tire of the idiots?
Can the crust be done without a food processor?
Sure! You can just crush the crackers with a mallet, rolling pin, heavy pan, etc. or buy pre-ground crumbs 🙂
Did you freeze for 4 hours before you added the toppings? I am confused on that part of the directions . Thanks!
Yep 🙂
I bought Oreo CRUMBS instead of whole crackers … What measurement of crumbs would you say 14 crackers is equal to???
I made this for a family event and it was amazing. Everyone loved it. I used Trader Joe’s dark chocolate peanut butter cups and homemade peanut butter and it was amazing…very rich and not at all too sweet, like other versions I have tried. Thank you for this recipe!
This came out absolutely fantastic! Best peanut butter pie recipe ever!
I made this today and it is delicious! I used a normal pie crust because I like them better than graham cracker crusts. I also added a layer of chocolate ganache to the bottom and drizzled some on top. I used about a cup of chocolate chips, stole three tablespoons from the heavy whipping cream for the filling, and added in 2-3 tablespoons of coffee.
Again, very good pie! I will make this again.
Wonderful, Lindsey! Glad you were able to make the recipe your own.
Hi! I am making this for a crowed – I was wondering if I could make it in a 9×13 pan or if you think the recipe would need to be tweaked at all?
I may be misunderstanding…do you have to let the pie sit for 3 days before serving? Or does it only last 3 days? I’m confused.
It can be stored for up to 3 days. You definitely don’t have to let it sit for 3 days before serving!
Would you suggest serving this frozen or reridgerate? It’s for pi/pie day tomorrow at my hubby’s work. I’m wondering if he should keep it in the fridge or freezer for a couple hours before its served.
Thank you!
Hi Katie! Please refer to the recipe, “Serve frozen or refrigerated. Store in the fridge or freezer, covered, for up to 3 days.” So yes, keep it refrigerated or frozen until ready to serve.
Has anyone tried this with regular graham crackers? I can’t get chocolate ones here in the UK. 🙁
I made this with an oreo crust and I have made this with a vanilla waffer crust! Both are great!
Glad to hear that, Grace!
I have made chocolate graham cracker crusts by adding cocoa powder and sugar to the crust for cheesecakes in the past.
1 1/2 cups graham crackers, 1/3 cup white sugar, 1/3 cup cocoa powder, 1/3 cup butter (melted). This recipe made a really sweet chocolate graham cracker crust. I remember thinking that it was too sugary. But you can try it and modify it to your own taste 🙂
This was was fantastic!! Thank you for sharing!!! 🙂
Must it sit for 3 days?
no way! She just meant it will keep in the fridge for 3 days. You can eat it as soon as it’s been set in the fridge for 6 hours or in the freezer for 3 hours.
I don’t have a good stand mixer for making whipped cream (I don’t have a great hand mixer for that matter!). Could Cool Whip be subbed for the fresh cream?
well dont i feel like a muppet now, I found the recipe lol……Amber this is it:
HOW TO MAKEPeanut Butter Pie
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook: 4 hours 32 minutes
12
Ingredients
For the crust:
14 whole chocolate graham crackers
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
7 tablespoons (3.5 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
For the filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar plus 2 tablespoons, divided
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the topping:
Melted peanut butter
Melted chocolate
Mini Reese’s cups
Peanut butter chips
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
For the crust:
In the bowl of a food processor process the crackers and sugar until finely ground. Add the butter and pulse until moistened. Use the bottom of a measuring cup, glass, or ramekin to press the crust mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake until fragrant, about 12 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.
For the filling:
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese, 3/4 cup powdered sugar, and the peanut butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer with the whisk attachment to whip the heavy cream until thick and light. Add in the remaining 2 tablespoons powdered sugar and the vanilla extract and continue to whip until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture. Pour into the prepared pie shell and freeze for 3 hours. Drizzle with melted peanut butter and melted chocolate. Top with mini Reese’s cups and peanut butter chips. Serve frozen or refrigerated. Store in the fridge or freezer, covered, for up to 3 days.
I am wondering as well about not seeing a recipe…don’t really need a demo as my hobby is baking so I am skilled in that area. Please post the recipe
Where is the recipe!?? I see a video and your story but am desperately searching for the actual recipe lol.. Help!
My favorite restaurant stopped serving peanut butter pie. Today I decided I had suffered without it long enough and found this recipe on Pinterest. WOW. It was easy to make. It hasn’t chilled enough yet, but I have the patience of a 3 year old. It’s absolutely divine already. Thank you!
Yay! This makes me so happy. Thanks for your comment 🙂
Peanut butter and chocolate is my downfall. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if it wouldn’t cause me to gain about 40 pounds overnight. This pie is such a treat. It’s presentation alone is enough to win over any chocolate and peanut butter fan!
OMG, this pie is to die for! Congrats on the move, loved the video! 🙂
ugh, oh my gosh; it looks amazing!! I loved the video!
Count me in on all peanut butter desserts! I am with you, Tessa, in the peanut butter fan club! Not only does this pie look luscious just as it is, but I can easily make this gluten free (when needed) by subbing gluten free grahams or the chocolate cookie outsides from Trader Joe’s gluten free chocolate sandwich cookies!
Oreo makes a gluten free cookie now. Just saw it today.
Now that is my kind of peanut butter pie! The filling is pretty much the same as the one I make but that topping!
This pie looks so good I want to cry. I just moved to another country so this is the best excuse to buy a new pie mold for the kitchen. Can’t wait to give it a try. Thank you!
HEAVENLY pie recipe – sensational! And best of luck to you on the upcoming move!
Totally irresistible Tessa! I mean I just may have to come over for a bite right away!
I made my son a chocolate peanut butter cup ice cream cake for his birthday last year and I’ve been dreaming of it ever since. This takes me right back to those memories.
Looks amazing! Happy Wednesday!