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.
Ashlyn Gonzalez
What should I do if my frostings a bit runny?
Sam
Hi Ashlyn! A little more powdered sugar should help thicken it up. 🙂
Nadia Williams
Amazing… I made this for my snicker cupcake, people asked me how did I get the recipe for Reese’s peanut butter….definitely 5 stars
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Too funny! We are so happy the frosting was such a hit. Those cupcakes sound amazing!
Charles McNair
I would like a recipe for cooked vanilla icing. my mom always used it on her mayonnaise cake! It was delicious ! I am going to make your peanut frosting for my Chocolate cake for Christmas Eve🎄🎄🎅🤶🦌⛄
Sam
Hi Charles! You can use my ermine frosting. 🙂
Stella
This frosting is positively delicious! I’ve made this several times now and it’s always great. Definitely makes more than described, though. Super easy and scrumptious!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you liked it, Stella! We always eat any leftovers by the spoonful 😋
Carinna
I literally giggled when I tasted this ‼️😩 it’s seriously so good it puts you in a good mood 😁 made this for my husbands birthday he wanted a peanut butter frosting & im so happy I came here ❤️🔥
Cathy A Scalzo
Absolutely delicious and creamy, I recommend this easy recipe to anyone who loves peanut butter.
Cheryl Phillips
My husband and family love this frosting!
Colleen F
Peanut allergies in the family, and I’ve just discovered Sunbutter, made with sunflower seeds. They have a creamy version, so I’m going to try to use your recipe with that. Hope it turns out well; they sure do miss their peanut butter!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Definitely let us know how it turns out for you, Colleen! Toasted soybutter is another peanut-free alternative you might want to try 😊
Samantha
First, I’d like to say how much I LOVE this recipe. I’ve made it dozens of times and it never fails. But what I’m really here to share is that I tested it with a 1:1 sub of cookie butter for the peanut butter and it was positively perfect. Maybe even better than the original! Go try it!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoy it so much, Samantha! Thank you so much for your feedback using cookie butter! That sounds delicious and I’ll have to give it a try. 🙂
Belinda
I made this for a peanut butter cake and it is delicious! It made more than I needed for a 9×13 cake so I pulled some double chocolate chip cookie dough from the freezer, made small flat cookies and sandwiched them with the leftover frosting in between. They were a big hit!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Yum, that sounds amazing! Thanks for using our recipe, Belinda 🥰
Shelly
very easy tastes Amazing great balance of flavor AAaaa ++++
Be Kind
Where you wrote the recipe was amazing eat. Each step told you what to do, but also had the measurement right there in the step. I love that because you don’t have to keep looking back to the list of ingredients.
Bravo
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy it is helpful! 😊
Melissa
I love your recipes for this reason. (Ingredients included in directions.)
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
It’s a game changer for sure! 🥰
Jazmin Ruiz
very peanut buttery and delicious
Kathy Sinanansingh
great recipie tried and super love!!! Easy to make just wish my piping skills were better. What tip did you use for your cupcake in picture and how? I put 2 mini Reece cups on top super cute….kathy
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We are so happy you enjoyed it, Kathy! We used the Wilton 1M tip for these pictures. If you watch the video, you can see how Sam pipes the frosting. Our snickerdoodle cupcakes video is also helpful for demonstrating this. It just takes some practice; you can always practice on a paper plate first and then scrape the icing back in the piping bag 😊
John Kelly
Today was my grandson’s birthday. We were planning to have him and my daughter over for dinner. Last week my wife broke her ankle and so the cooking a baking duties fell to me. I was instructed that a chocolate box cake would be fine, but my wife and I wanted to do something special for the frosting. She found this recipe. I made it. It was a hit! He loved it. This is the second one of your recipes that is a family favorite, along with the blueberry muffins. Thank you so much!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy it was a hit, John! Wishing your wife a speedy recovery 🥰
Amy
This is the first and only frosting I’ve ever made! My dad loves peanut butter and I wanted to make him these dog cupcakes I saw online but use this frosting. My 2 year old nephew will love them because they look just like their puppy HOWEVER now I don’t know… can I leave them out in Tupperware overnight or do I have to refrigerate them because of the milk?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
That sounds so cute, Amy! You can leave the frosting at room temperature for a few days 😊
Ruthann
Turned out perfect! So happy with the results!
Hazel Carestia
I made this for a cake. it turned out creamy and fluffy. it was good. thank you
Nicole
It was sooooo good!! Thank you!!!
Tracey Mullin
Just made this recipe and it was amazing! I am looking for a recipe for cookie butter buttercream and wondering if you’ve ever tested this recipe with cookie butter? If so, would it be a 1:1 swap with the peanut butter?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you enjoyed it, Tracey! Unfortunately, we haven’t tried this recipe with cookie butter, so we can’t say how it would go. We have had issues with cookie butter making things grainy and separating, so we’d honestly be hesitant to try it.
Angela Di
My son wanted a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting and decorated with pb buttons.
this was perfect! so light and fluffy!! and it made so much more than I needed for a 9×13 inch cake!!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you enjoyed it, Angela! Thanks for trying our recipe 🩷