Cool and creamy peanut butter pie with chocolate crust! This EASY no-bake treat is the perfect way to beat the summer heat!
Looking for more no-bake desserts? Check out my popular recipes for No Bake Peanut Butter Bars, No Bake Churro Krispie Bars, and No Bake Cheesecake. And if it’s pie you want, then Blueberry Pie, Coconut Cream Pie, or Apple Pie should do the trick!
Why This Recipe Works
No-bake — I know it’s right there in the description but I feel like I can’t emphasize this enough. Do you know what a blessing it is to not have to turn the oven on in the summer? (Or ever?) Mix the ingredients together, pour into a premade crust, and pop in the freezer — that’s it! The only thing you have to be sure to do is freeze it four hours before you want to devour it.
So yummy — Is it the chocolate crust? The peanut butter? The whipped topping? Cream cheese? Vanilla? All of it? I’d say it’s all of it. You can’t go wrong with this no-bake Peanut Butter Pie, truly. You might want to go ahead and make two though because you’ll be sad if there are no leftovers.
Pre-made ingredients — Starting with the chocolate crust and finishing with the peanut topping, it really is just a matter of mixing together, freezing and enjoying. So simple, so easy, so delicious. Cool treat — On the hottest of days what kind of dessert do you crave? For me, it’s something cold, preferably ice cream. This no-bake peanut butter pie tastes just like ice cream honestly. Sweet, cool, so satisfying.
Ingredients
It’s a grab-n-go kind of ingredients list for this no-bake peanut butter pie.
- Chocolate pie crust — I always find these crusts right next to the graham cracker crusts in the baking aisle.
- Half and half — The trick to an extra-creamy peanut butter pie is using half and half. You can use milk if you want but I prefer fat free half and half, actually.
- Sugar — I use regular refined sugar. Any brand is fine.
- Vanilla — Just a hint of vanilla for extra flavor. I do prefer to use pure vanilla extract rather than imitation but you can use whatever you have.
- Creamy peanut butter — For creamy consistency use creamy peanut butter. I’ve not used chunky peanut butter so I can’t really say if it’ll work or not. If you use it, let me know how it turns out!
- Cream cheese — Any cream cheese is okay here. I used fat free but you can use the full-fat cream cheese block.
- Frozen Cool Whip — Use Cool Whip or a generic whipped topping, whatever you prefer, just make sure it’s not frozen when you add it to the peanut butter pie.
- Peanuts Roughly Chopped — These are optional but I like to have some rough chopped peanuts on top of this pie for extra crunch.
- Chocolate Shavings — Another optional topping I like to add to this dessert. If you don’t have shavings, you can just use chocolate chips (mini work best).
Here’s How You Make It
- First, get out a large bowl and beat the half and half (or milk) with the sugar for 1-2 minutes. To this mixture, add the vanilla and the peanut butter and mix it until it’s smooth. Then pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes. (photos 1-2)
- Next, whip the cream cheese until it’s fluffy, and then add it to the chilled peanut butter mixture from Step 1 til just incorporated. Add the whipped cream topping in and mix until smooth. (Optional: add 1/4 roughly chopped peanuts.) (photos 3-5)
- Pour the mixture into the pie crust and freeze, uncovered, for 4 hours or overnight. (photo 6)
- Top the frozen pie with the remaining chopped peanuts and chocolate shavings if desired. Transfer to the fridge to thaw for about 30 minutes before serving. (see below)
Expert Tips and Tricks
- This frozen peanut butter pie will keep in the freezer for up to 1 week. Be sure to cover tightly.
- If you don’t like or can’t find a chocolate pie crust, you can substitute graham cracker crusts or make your own.
- If you want to make the pie really fancy and over-the-top, I sometimes add mini Reese’s cups, mini chocolate chips and drizzles of both peanut butter and chocolate over the top of the pie.
As the name suggests, peanut butter pie has to have peanut butter in it. But to make it “pie” it also often contains cream cheese, powdered sugar, and heavy cream. The ingredients are all whipped together and put into a crust, then frozen to set up. There are many variations on this pie, but I’ve found this recipe to be my all-time favorite.
The ready-made chocolate pie crusts I purchase have a crumbly texture, as though they’re made from chocolate graham crackers or chocolate wafer cookies (like the top and bottom of an Oreo). There’s a binding ingredient, likely butter or oil and a few other ingredients.
Some recipes for making your own at home call for flour, cocoa powder, sugar, butter, salt, and cold water.
More Summer Dessert Recipes
- Strawberry Shortcakes
- No Bake Cheesecake
- Chocolate Zucchini Cake
- Pineapple Upside Down Cake
- Cookies n Cream Pudding Pops
- No Churn Fudge Ripple Chocolate Ice Cream
Did you make this recipe? FANTASTIC! Please rate the recipe below and be sure to tag me on social when you share a photo of your CDLC creation – I love seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
No Bake Frozen Peanut Butter Pie
Ingredients
- 1 chocolate pie crust - (usually found near the graham crackers in your grocery store)
- 1 ¼ cups half and half - or milk (I used fat free half and half)
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ⅔ cup creamy peanut butter
- 4 ounces cream cheese - (I used fat free), softened
- 1 8-ounce container frozen cool whip - thawed
- optional: 1/2 cup peanuts roughly chopped (divided), chocolate shavings
Instructions
- In a large bowl beat half and half (or milk) with the sugar 1-2 minutes. Add vanilla and peanut butter and mix until smooth. Chill 30 minutes.
- Whip cream cheese until fluffy. Add cream cheese to chilled peanut butter mixture from Step 1. Add whipped cream and mix until smooth. (Optional: add 1/4 roughly chopped peanuts.) Pour mixture into pie crust. Freeze uncovered 4 hours or overnight. Top frozen pie with remaining chopped peanuts and chocolate shavings if desired. Transfer to fridge to thaw about 30 minutes before serving.
it looks delicious!
I usually have whipping cream but not half n half. can I use a mixture of w cream and milk to simulate h n h? and it calls for 8 oz cool whip not 18 oz? Thanks
I usually have whipping cream but not half n half. can I use a mixture of w cream and milk to simulate h n h? and it calls for 8 oz cool whip not 18 oz? and can I just refrigerate and skip freezing?Thanks
You could potentially use the mixture of milk and whipping cream… I haven’t tried that before, so I can’t say for sure! I do recommend freezing, however 🙂