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Old fashioned peanut butter pie is made from scratch using creamy peanut butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and heavy cream.
The ingredients are whipped together and poured into a flaky pie crust to create a silky peanut butter dessert that will have everyone begging for more!
Are you ready for a luscious ... creamy ... dreamy pie that literally melts in your mouth??
You've come to the right place! This peanut butter pie is everything that you've been wanting and more!
With every bite, you'll be amazed at the light and delicate peanut butter filling, with just the right amount of sweetness.
Whether you bake your own pie crust or use a pre-made crust, you're going to love how easy it is to put a spectacular dessert together in a jiffy! (pun intended ...)
Ingredients needed
- Peanut Butter: Use either creamy peanut butter or natural peanut butter. See recipe notes for tips on working with natural peanut butter!
- Heavy Cream: Homemade whipped cream is always better in my opinion, but cool whip topping works great too! We like to add cream of tartar to our whipped cream because it helps to stabilize it so it will hold up better.
- Cream Cheese: Use full-fat cream cheese for the best flavor.
- Powdered Sugar: Powdered sugar dissolves more easily into the batter than granulated sugar.
- Toppings: We are keeping it simple with chopped peanuts and flaky sea salt.
- Pie Crust: A baked, sourdough pie crust or an all butter pie crust is very easy to make and gives the pie such a delicious texture. A store-bought pie crust can be used if you're in a pinch for time.
Step by step instructions
Step 1: Bake a 9" pie crust and let cool completely.
Step 2: In a medium sized mixing bowl, beat 1 ½ cups of heavy whipping cream with the cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Place in fridge to chill.
Step 3: In a large mixing bowl beat the cream cheese, creamy peanut butter and powdered sugar with an electric hand mixer until smooth.
Step 4: Gently fold half of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture.
Step 5: Fold the remaining whipped cream into the filling.
Step 6: Pour the peanut butter pie filling into the prepared pie crust, smooth the top and sprinkle with chopped peanuts and sea salt. Chill for 3 hours or until set.
Peanut butter pie variations
- Create a chocolate peanut butter pie with a chocolate cookie crust! Use a food processor to crush 25 whole oreo sandwich cookies with 4 tablespoons of melted butter. Press the mixture into a 9" pie plate and let chill in fridge to set.
- Cut Reese's peanut butter cups and/or snickers bars into large pieces and arrange on top of the pie. Drizzle with melted chocolate.
- Spread a layer of strawberry jam on the crust before pouring the filling for a peanut butter and jelly pie!
- A graham cracker crust can be used in place of a flaky pie crust.
How to store and freeze leftovers
This pie stays fresh covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can even make it ahead of time and freeze for later!
To freeze, place the pie in the freezer until frozen solid, a few hours. Wrap the pie in three layers of plastic wrap and one layer of foil. Put the pie back into the freezer for up to 3 months.
Let the pie set at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before serving.
Tips for making the best peanut butter pie even easier
- For a no-bake peanut butter pie, use a pre-made, baked 9" pie crust.
- Homemade whipped cream can be replaced with an 8 oz. container of frozen whipped topping. Let thaw before using.
More delicious, easy to make dessert recipes
Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Pie
INGREDIENTS
- 1 (9") baked pie crust (homemade or store-bought)
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 4 oz. cream cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar (optional)
- 2 tablespoons chopped peanuts
- ¼ teaspoon flakey sea salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Pie Crust
- Prepare the pie crust dough according to directions, roll the dough to a â…›" thickness and place in a 9" pie plate. (If the crust seems too soft, let it chill in the fridge for 30 minutes before proceeding to the next step.)
- Preheat your oven to 375°F. Place a piece of parchment paper onto the center of the unbaked pie crust and fill with pie weights.
- Bake the crust for 20 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and carefully lift out the paper and weights. Prick the bottom of the crust using a fork to prevent bubbles, return to the oven for an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until the crust is golden all over. Remove and let cool completely.
Peanut Butter Filling
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, beat 1 ½ cups of heavy whipping cream with 1 teaspoon cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Place in the fridge to keep cold.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter and powdered sugar until smooth. (See notes.)
- Use a large spatula to gently fold half of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture. Fold in the remaining whipped cream and pour the filling into the prepared pie crust.
- Smooth the top of the filling and sprinkle with chopped peanuts and flaked sea salt. Chill for at least 3 hours to set the center.
NOTES
- If using natural peanut butter, add up to 6 tablespoons of heavy cream to thin the peanut butter mixture to a thick brownie batter consistency, before folding in the whipped cream.
- Substitute the homemade pie crust with a 9" pre-made pie crust.
- Homemade whipped cream can be replaced with an 8 oz. container of frozen whipped topping. Let thaw in fridge before using.
- A cup of dried beans can be used for pie weights.
- To Store: Keep covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- To Freeze: Keep frozen for up to 3 months wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.
PREVIOUS
Diana says
This is excellent! Great for a summer dessert! I used a homemade chocolate Graham cracker crust.
Rose says
It was Yummy I doubled the filling and made 2 I used a graham crust
Jamie says
Looks delicious! Did you use salted or unsalted peanut butter?
Amy says
You can use either, but I prefer to use a peanut butter that's made with only peanuts and salt. I think salt brings out the flavor of the pie!
Christine Snyder says
Yes.
So delicious!! I would just double the filling for a thicker filling, and I didn't add the peanuts and salt on top. So yummy!!!
Myron King says
Made this the other night with this recipe and it turned out really good I added a little extra peanut butter with honey and cut back on the heavy cream also used chocolate grahams crust mmmmmmmmmmmmm good thanx
Beth says
So delicious! Definitely the closest I have found to the peanut butter pie my mother used to make. I used a walnut pie crust by Diamond available at my grocery store. Really good, adds a nice crunch to the texture of the pie without overpowering the flavor. I think this would also be wonderful with a pretzel crust!
Jenny Hawk says
Do you sell a cookbook!? Your recipes are excellent! The sourdough recipes are perfect!
Amy says
Hi Jenny! This is something we have been trying to do for a little while. It's a lot tougher than I thought it would be. Hopefully we will have it figured out this year. Thank you!! 🙂
A.U. says
Made this for my husband for Christmas dessert (peanut butter pie is his favorite!). I used crushed butterfingers on top instead of peanuts. It was a hit! Thanks for the great recipe!!
Jim D says
Looks like a great recipe. We will make and give you a score. Merry Christmas. Admire your lifestyle and work. Truly an inspiration to city folk.
Tasha says
I have tried out a few different peanut butter pies and so glad I found your recipe! The filling is perfect and I'm so excited to bring the pies (I doubled the recipe and made two) to my family's Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. I topped one of the pies with chopped up butterfinger bars just for fun. I'm glad you recommended cream of tartar for the whipped cream since I made the pies today and will be waiting until tomorrow to serve them, I think they will hold up just fine in the fridge, as long as I can keep my hubby away! We both practically licked the bowl clean after I scooped the filling into the crusts!
Amy says
Hi Tasha! Chopped butterfingers sound amazing!!
Jayson Ausburn says
We have made this recipe several times and it has turned out very good every time. We have used peanut butter and cashew butter and both were very good. We are planning to make it with cookie butter next time.