A silky smooth but perfectly pipeable peanut butter frosting that’s the perfect complement to any cake or cupcake. Also great for just eating by the spoonful!
Maybe you guys haven’t noticed, but I’ve been working on bulking up my “Frostings” section on the blog.
In the past, I would share cake or cupcake recipes and tag on my preferred complementary frosting, but I’m a big believer in choices. Maybe you’d rather frost your funfetti cake with chocolate frosting (or even peanut butter frosting) instead of buttercream, right? Well I wanted to have a good variety of options for you to choose from.
So far I’ve shared my favorites of the following:
- Cream cheese frosting (<—- possibly my favorite frosting of all-time)
- Chocolate frosting
- Vanilla buttercream frosting
And today I’m adding peanut butter frosting to the list.
This recipe is super easy to make, and on Monday I’ll be sharing a very complementary and very dark chocolate cupcake recipe with you, but of course you can put it on whatever you want. You can even just eat it by the spoonful, I know I did.
And yet it remains a mystery to me why my cardio sessions aren’t paying off 😭
Anyway, Peanut Butter Frosting requires just 6 ingredients to make. It’s smooth, creamy, and is great for piping on top of cupcakes or decorating a cake.
Tips for Making Peanut Butter Frosting
- While chunky or creamy peanut butter can work in this peanut butter frosting recipe, I don’t recommend using chunky unless you don’t intend to pipe the frosting. The little peanut pieces will clog up your frosting tips in a second.
- I don’t recommend using natural peanut butter (the kind that separates, you know the one that you usually need to stir before using). I haven’t tried it myself but I’m pretty certain that it wouldn’t work too nicely work with this recipe (it would be too oily).
- This peanut butter frosting pipes very nicely as written. However, for a stiffer frosting, you can add an additional ½-1 cup (65-125g) of powdered sugar.
How Many Cupcakes/How Much Cake Will this Peanut Butter Frosting Cover?
- If you’re generously frosting your cupcakes (as seen in my cupcake photo below), then this frosting will handily cover 12-15 cupcakes. If you’re being a bit more modest, it will cover 24 (I covered 24 cupcakes with peanut butter frosting rosettes using the 1M tip).
- This frosting will also cover a 9×13 sheet cake or a round 2-layer 8″ or 9″ cake. Now I’m just thinking about how I want to make a cake with this frosting and then cover it with ganache… Yum!
Enjoy!
Oh, and do you have any requests for other frosting recipes you’d like to see? I’m currently working on caramel but would love any suggestions that you have!
How to Make Peanut Butter Frosting
Peanut Butter Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (245 g) creamy peanut butter
- 3 cups (375 g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Combine butter and peanut butter in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until creamy and well-combined.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, 1 cup (245 g) creamy peanut butter
- Gradually (about ⅓ cup at a time), with mixer on low speed add powdered sugar until completely combined. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so all ingredients are well-combined.3 cups (375 g) powdered sugar
- Stir in vanilla extract and salt.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon salt
- With mixer on low-speed, add milk and stir until well-combined. Gradually increase speed to high and beat for 30 seconds.2 Tablespoons milk
- Spread or pipe frosting onto completely cooled cupcakes or cake.
Notes
Natural Peanut Butter
Since first sharing the recipe I have now tested this recipe with natural peanut butter and it worked just fine, though was a bit gritty.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Lisa
Perfect frosting for chocolate cupcakes then drizzle with chocolate. Made some very happy Buckeyes
Patty
O.M.GOODNESS! This is THE BEST Peanut butter frosting I have EVER MADE OR TASTED!!! Thank You For Sharing! It pipes Like A DREAM!! And Doesn’t Separate! Yummy!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re SO happy you love the frosting, Patty! It’s one of our favorites too 😊 Enjoy!
Lisa
I made this and it came out a bit soft – not as firm as regular icing. Is there something I could have done differently?
Sam
Hi Lisa! You can always add a little more powdered sugar and make sure your butter is soft but not melty soft. I hope this helps and I hope you still enjoyed it! 🙂
Jacquie
Made this recipe last night for my son’s S.O., for the chocolate cupcakes. Was a little concerned b/c some people talked about separation and difficulty spreading. I had ZERO issues! Not only that, it was easy and delicious. She, and everyone else, raved about it. It made enough for over 24 cupcakes, with some left over (hubby saved the rest). Will definitely do it again. Thank you!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy to hear that, Jacquie! Thanks for letting us know how it turned out for you 😊
SAM
Can I substitute
banana extract
For vanilla extract?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
That should work fine. You could also substitute part of the vanilla for the banana 😊 We hope you love it, Sam!
Shelby Brown
Is this buttercream good to keep room temperature?
Sam
Hi Shelby! It should be ok for a few days at room temperature. 🙂
Nicole
Really nice recipe..!
Jodi
Wow, this frosting is great. I made a few changes to it as I didn’t want it to be too sweet on the banana chocolate chip cake I was making since I put a look of chocolate chips in it. I added 2 cups of icing sugar instead of 3, and use Jif crunchy peanut butter which added an awesome crunch to it. There was quite a lot left over which tastes really delicious with raspberry sorbet! It’s like peanut butter and jelly! Thanks so much for this f!antastic recipe!!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad you loved this frosting, Jodi! 😊
Amber T
Hi I doubled the recipe exactly and it came out so tasty but super creamy and able to be piped. I put in fridge and still same. Going to try leaving overnight. Should I remix it with more powdered sugar?
Sam
Hi Amber! I’m assuming you mean it’s not pipe-able? If that’s the case, you may need to add more powdered sugar. 🙂
JM
My youngest daughter used this frosting for a triple layer chocolate cake it was SO GOOD! She made the cake a second time using this frosting and decorated the top to look like a lion for the 4-H cake auction. Thank you for sharing!
Cynthia
Well, this is the best pb frosting recipe, ever!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We are happy you loved it, Cynthia! ❤️
Chrissy
Do you recommend refrigeration if you make it a day ahead?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Chrissy! Yes, we recommend storing the peanut butter icing in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use. We hope you love it! ❤️
Valerie
Does this need refrigerated?
Sam
Hi Valerie! If I am not consuming within 2 days I typically refrigerate.
Leslie Tappe
I just made this frosting and it’s so good! I used it on a pan of Betty Crocker Brownies. It was perfect! I will be making this again.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Leslie! 🙂
Dawn
What kind of Peanut butter do you recommend? I only ever used natural and, your right, it gets very oily. What brand is best?
Sam
Hi Dawn! Since I don’t recommend the natural peanut butter here, pretty much any brand will work. I have lots of success with JIF. 🙂
Margaret
I only have salted butter,Can I use that an leave out the salt?
Sam
Hi Margaret! That will work just fine. 🙂
Natalie
How long will this hold in room temp? or does it have to be in the fridge? Making this a head of time for a camping trip!
Sam
Hi Natalie! It should be ok at room temperature for a couple of days. 🙂
Kristin
Perfect fluffy icing. Makes a ton fir a single batch. Nice for piping.
Katie
Really good recipe, It kind of tastes like the inside of a peanut butter cup! Perfect texture for frosting.
Cindy
Tastes awesome. Easy to make.