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
hi, out of curiosity can the powder sugar be substituted for regular granulated sugar? If it can’t, why? I’m no cook so tips!
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Lisa! You can use granulated sugar when the recipe calls for powdered sugar in certain situations, however for this one I do not recommend it. This Peanut Butter Frosting uses powdered sugar because it dissolves easily and provides a smooth consistency. Let me know how it turns out. I hope that you enjoy it! 🙂
Lisa Ramos
I just made edible heaven lol, it came out that delicious and fluffy, I used it on top of a chocolate cake, mmmmmm finger licking, thank you so much!!!!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the peanut butter icing, Lisa! So yummy! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Susan
Can you use natural peanut butter, like Laura Scudders creamy peanut butter?
Sam
Hi Susan! I haven’t tried it, but I’m not sure how it would work due to the way the oil separates. 🙁
Kayla
Made this for my husbands work pot luck and he said my cupcakes were gone instantly including someone saying “this is the best frosting I have ever had!” And I couldn’t agree more. Thanks for sharing!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed the peanut butter frosting so much, Kayla! 🙂
Diana
This is the BEST ever peanut butter frosting! I made brownies and wanted a peanut butter frosting to put on them. Saw the recipe and tried it. I followed the recipe exactly as written. It is perfect, not too sweet and a wonderful peanut butter flavor. My husband loved them. Further confirmation on how wonderful this frosting is, I take treats to work quite frequently and I baked brownies again and frosted them with this peanut butter frosting and took them to work. Everyone and I mean everyone LOVED the brownies with this frosting. All of them said the peanut butter frosting was amazing and wanted the recipe. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Sam
Thank you so much, Diana! I am so glad everyone enjoyed the frosting so much. 🙂
Renea King
Does this frosting stay sturdy for awhile or does it melt fast?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Renea! If you’re asking if the peanut butter frosting withstands the heat, it does not, unfortunately.
Sara
I was just wondering if I could make this frosting in advance? Just a day in advance?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Sara! Yes, you can make it a day in advance. I would just store it in an airtight container. Enjoy the peanut butter frosting! 🙂
Mary Hilton
This was a big hit when I made it for my mother-in-law. She had a tradition of a always making her sons a spice cake with peanut butter frosting. I wanted to surprise her with a cake for HER birthday but no one else in the family knew her recipe.
I found this one and she was THRILLED! So was the rest of my family. This is definitely a keeper. Thanks so much for sharing!
Sam
I am so happy to hear the peanut butter frosting was such a success for you! Thank you so much for commenting, Mary! 🙂
Susan
Can this be made in advance, refrigerated then brought to room temp before icing?
Sam
Definitely! Store in an airtight container in the fridge, and then once you’ve brought it back to room temperature I would stir it again before icing. Enjoy!
Lydia Meadows
Would this be good on brownies??
Sam
I love a peanut butter chocolate combination, so certainly! 🙂
Laura
I made this icing yesterday to top a chocolate cake for my brother-in-law’ s birthday cake. It was a big hit, everyone loved the cake, so smooth and delicious. The only thing that I change in this recipe was I only added 2 cups of powdered sugar not the 3 cups in this recipe, 3 cups of powdered sugar would of been to sweet for us. It was delicious, Thank you for the recipe.
Sam
Thank you for the feedback, Laura! I am so glad everyone enjoyed the frosting. 🙂
Judy
Also made this cake with 2 cups of powdered sugar. The frosting is delish!! Thanks for post!!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Judy! 🙂
Andrea
Have you used peanut butter powder instead? If so, what would you change in the recipe?
Sam
Hi Andrea! I have not tried it, but I am not so sure this recipe would turn out if you used it. I’m sorry. 🙁
Jody
Tried it great great Recipe added my own touch with reese’s cups mixed in thank’s
Sam
Love the additions! Glad you enjoyed, Jody!
Tina
Just made it! Came out terrific
Sam
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Tina! 🙂
Lisa
This is the second time I’ve made this and it comes out perfect every time! So creamy and delicious.
Thanks so much!
Sam
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the frosting! Thank you for commenting, Lisa, I appreciate it! 🙂
DKNY
LOVE THIS RECIPE! It’s creamy, it tastes like a peanut butter cookie. We use it on cake, cupcakes, cookies. We’ve even dolloped Hershey kisses with it as part of a dessert platter.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoy the frosting so much! I bet it’s awesome on top of chocolate kisses. 🙂
Nancy
Always sift confectioners sugar if you plan to pipe frosting. Those tiny sugar balls jam tips if you don’t.
Zoe
I just made this – I used no stir peanut butter and followed the recipe to the letter. I ended up with a broken (separated) mess unfortunately. In an attempt to remedy this, I added around 2C more powdered sugar until it thickened significantly and then slowly thinned it again with milk. It’s a bit better now, but still not smooth in any sense of the word. I was going to use it to ice a cake, but I’m not sure how it’ll look/hold up. Do you have any ideas for me?
Sam
Hi Zoe! I’m so sorry that happened. What brand of peanut butter did you use?
Josh
This frosting is sooo delicious! I used it for a cheesecake. I searched for quite awhile for how a cheesecake would do if u layered frosting with it. Got no answers. Gave it a try with this amazing frosting and OMG it was a HIT!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed the frosting so much, Josh! 🙂
Christy
This is the BEST PEANUT BUTTER I ING EVER!!!! Each time I make it , my husband wants a bowl of it. I am actually making a bowl of it for a friend’s birthday! All she wants is the icing!!! Thank you so much for this recipe! I like using crunchy PB. Nice having a little texture
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoys the frosting, Christy! My husband is the same way! 😂 I can’t make it if he’s around or it disappears! I haven’t tried it with crunchy peanut butter but it sounds delicious! 🙂