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.
Teresa
Hi do you think buttermilk would work with this recipe. I would like to make it but only have buttermilk. Thank you for your time.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
That should be fine since it’s such a small amount. Enjoy, Teresa!
Ashley
This is my new go-to recipe for peanut butter frosting but I seem to have made an error in its consistency. It was suuuuuuper creamy and fell off the cake (two stacked 8″ rounds which, it was also my first time stacking) and I wasn’t sure what I did wrong. I was afraid of adding too much powdered sugar and making it too sweet?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Ashley! Unfortunately the powdered sugar is what helps to give the frosting its structure, so if you reduced it, you will have a runny frosting 🙁
Kathy
HI! So I used Earth Balance, and otherwise followed the recipe exactly. My frosting is not fluffy at all; it turned into peanut butter fudge. How did you get yours to work out so well?
LeChef
Earth Balance is not butter so it will not behave like butter. You could get away with it in some recipes, but not when it’s a main ingredient. I’d suggest try again using the best quality butter you can find.
Grace
Hi there! Do you think this could be used with a chocolate hazelnut butter? It’s not nutella, so it’s not super sugary.
Thanks!
Sam
Hi Grace! Honestly I haven’t tried it so I don’t know. Sometimes those kinds of products can be pretty oily and separate a bit too much.
Grace
Hi, just to follow up; I used Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Almond butter instead of peanut butter and it worked well! I made 1.5x the recipe since I had a bigger cake and didn’t want to run out.
I did end up using less than 1.5x powdered sugar as the nut butter I used was pretty thick. Overall I really liked it! Thanks for the recipe!
Sam
I’m so glad it turned out! Thank you for the feedback! 🙂
Maggie
This frosting is perfect. Just. Perfect.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you think so, Maggie 🥰 Thanks for your review!
Wendy C Benton
Does this have to go in the fridge after prepared?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Wendy! It will be fine out of the fridge ☺️
Rose
Can you use salted butter?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Yes, just omit the salt 🙂
Michele
Hi- what size pipping bag would you recommend? Thanks
Sam
Hi Michele! I typically use an 18 inch piping bag. 🙂
axl
i did and yes rose u can.
Joann
Made 1&1/2 X the recipe for a 3 layer devils food cake with the frosting between each layer. Frosting was smooth creamy and easy to spread. Simply delicious!
Thanks
Connie B
The very best peanut butter frosting I’ve ever had!
Bruce
I made Peanut Butter Bites again, using your Peanut Butter Blondie Bars recipe, baked in a mini-muffin tin. Instead of ganache on top, I used your peanut butter frosting for a double treat. The frosting is fluffy and smooth, and not too sweet like American buttercream usually is. Total success, as always!
Michelle
I just made this frosting late tonight for our July 4th family gathering. It turned out delicious. I’m serving my frosting on a double stacked chocolate cake. I know everyone will love it. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe.
Lisa
Can this frosting be frozen?
Sam
Hi Lisa! I think it will do just fine in the freezer. 🙂
Marjorie
This is the BEST peanut utyer I’ve ever tasted. Made it today for the second time. Follow the recipe exactly, and you will get that fluffiness you want. 💝
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you love it, Marjorie! Thanks for your review ❤
Ben
Made it with half the sugar, still delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
Millie
Super tasty and easy for my chocolate and peanut butter loving son who just turned 21. However, I put the cake in the fridge overnight and the frosting is hard! Is this frosting able to be out of the fridge? Thanks!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Millie! The frosting will soften as it sits out of the fridge and should hold up for several days at room temperature. We hope your son loves the cake! 🙂
Ally
Curious if a vegan butter and almond milk can be used in this recipe? I’ve made vegan buttercream frosting…so I feel like it would work ok? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Ally! Honestly, I haven’t tried it. I think it could work here though. Let me know how it goes. 🙂
Ally
Happy to report that the vegan butter and almond milk subs worked great! Thanks for a great recipe.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Wonderful! Thanks for letting us know, Ally 😊
Gerri Wright
That icing on a chocolate cake with peanut butter cups chuncked on top was delicious.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad you liked it!
Candy Eddlemon
My peanut butter frosting was very thick. I added extra milk and it was still thick. What did I do wrong?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Candy! This is a thicker frosting, but if you see it’s becoming too thick for your liking you can stop adding the powdered sugar at your desired consistency. It sounds like you may have just added a little too much 🙂
Kelly
Hi! Could I use shortening instead of butter? Or a combination of the two? I typically use a 50/50 butter/shortening blend in my frostings. Thanks!
Sam
Hi Kelly! I haven’t tried it, but I think the shortening could work here.
Jerri
I made this frosting yesterday to go on my chocolate cake with chocolate ganache top and drizzle. The key to silky frosting is to whip that butter and peanut butter until super soft and smooth and add your sugar 1/2 or 2/3 cup at a time while blending then whip it for another minute. My cake sold for $225.00 at church today. Thanks for the recipe.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Wonderful! We’re so glad it turned out so well for you, Jerri!
Vic
My family for generations has served a Spice cake with peanut butter frosting at family gatherings, birthdays holidays, pretty much any occasion that someone can use to make it. The recipes are either nonexistent or different between families. I made this today for a Memorial Day picnic our family has had every year for as long as I can remember. It was such a hit!!! Aunts,uncles,cousins and friends raved about it. This is now and forever my go to peanut butter frosting recipe.creamy, not grainy or overpowering. The perfect way to carry on our tradition !🥰
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy our recipe enabled you to carry on your family’s tradition, Vic! We’ll have to try that combination sometime 😊
Marie
Made this for Father’s Day and everyone enjoyed it on my chocolate cake that was asked for. Perfect consistency and not too sweet. Delicious.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
What a great combination, Marie! We’re so happy it was a hit ❤