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.
Maggie
Fabulous and very peanut buttery!!!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Maggie! 🙂
Krysia
Simply delicious! I put this on top of a chocolate cake and it was just like a Reese’s combo. I especially like that it incorporates a protein. Thanks for the simple & yummy recipe.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Jennifer Johnson
Fantastic recipe, thank you for sharing it!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Jennifer! 🙂
Kate
This looks so good! Unfortunately I cannot have diary so would I be able to substitute diary free butter and almond milk instead of the listed ingredients? Thank you!
Sam
Hi Kate! Unfortunately I don’t know exactly how that would turn out, but I would love to know how it does if you try it. 🙂
Rachel
Was a little unsure while mixing it, but it came out wonderfully light and fluffy and tasted delicious! I made an 8-inch 2 layer cake and had icing to spare (should have put more in the middle). Will definitely save this for later. Thanks so much!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Rachel! 🙂
Kimberly J Nolan
Omg this is the best peanut butter frosting I’ve ever made. I didn’t have unsalted butter so I reduced the salt to 1/4 tsp. I also love peanut butter so added an extra 1/2 to 3/4 cup. It was really good as written but for me pushed it up to Amazing. This is my new go too!!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Kimberly! 🙂
Danielle
Just made this for the first time and it is amazing! It piped onto my chocolate cupcakes so nicely!!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Danielle! 🙂
Jen
Oh my word. Just made this, it’s incredible. Put it on a chocolate cake and topped with some Heath candy bits for a Father’s Day great for my hubby. He’s gonna love it!
Sam
I hope he loves it! 🙂
Carol T
The best peanut butter frosting I’ve made to date. Perfection! Made exactly as written and turned out great. I wouldn’t change a thing. Thanks so much.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Carol! 🙂
Kelli
Can you use butter with salt and skip the added salt?
Sam
Hi Kelli! I have a post on substituting salted for unsalted butter that may be very helpful for many different recipes. 🙂
Ann
I am making this to fill a devil’s food cake. Does the icing need to be refrigerated? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Ann! It doesn’t really need to refrigerated unless you aren’t going to use it for a while. I would say if it hasn’t been used within a couple of days then you should refrigerate it. 🙂
Jessica perkins
Amazing! I used this recipe to the exact and it was more then enough of what I needed. The taste also amazing thank you for this!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Jessica! 🙂
Wendy Gallagher
So dang delicious
Sam
Thank you so much, Wendy! I am so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Danielle
I’ve tried to make it twice but it keeps coming out oily and not something I can put on a cake. I’ve tried adding more powered sugar and less milk but no difference. Do you have to use a certain butter??
Sam
Hi Danielle, are you using natural peanut butter by chance? That could cause it to come out oily. You also want to use real butter (sticks, not the spreadable kind) and not margarine. I hope that helps but am happy to try and help troubleshoot!
Jen harrison
It tasted delicious but instead of smooth peanut butter I used crunchy peanut butter and it was also very 😊
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Jen! 🙂
Elissa Dougherty
5 Star! Now, I accidentally used 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) instead of the full 1 cup (2 sticks) and then realized it after about 2 cups of powdered sugar was put in – so I stopped the powdered sugar there – but added same ingredients for all other items. SO GOOD!
Sam
So glad you enjoyed, Elissa!! Thank you so much for commenting! 🙂
Nikki
this recipe is amazing. it was soooo yummy. Thank you for making this recipe.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Nikki! 🙂
Candy Lowel
Do you think I should try that?
Sam
Hi Candy! I would recommend sticking to the recipe as is. 🙂