Peanut Butter Frosting

by Michelle Lettrich
Published May 28, 2025

If you can’t resist a spoonful of peanut butter straight from the jar, then this peanut butter frosting recipe is for you. Light, fluffy, and packed with rich, creamy peanut butter flavor, it’s the perfect way to take your cakes, cupcakes, and brownies to the next level. With just a few simple ingredients and five minutes, you’ll have a frosting so good, you might skip the cake altogether.

A pink spatula stirring peanut butter frosting in a glass bowl.

Nearly 15 years ago, I was flipping through cookbooks and found a recipe for dark chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing from Ina Garten’s cookbook, Barefoot Contessa at Home. I immediately fell in love with the frosting – not too stiff or sweet and so full of peanut butter flavor.

It became my go-to choice anytime I wanted to incorporate a peanut butter buttercream frosting component to a recipe; you’ll find it (in varying quantities) in the aforementioned cupcakes, as well as my peanut butter cup cake.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

I have been enamored with this creamy peanut butter frosting for well over a decade, but this is why I think YOU are going to love it, too:

Simple Pantry Ingredients – With only five ingredients (plus salt), you’re likely to already have everything you need on hand; no last-minute rushes to the grocery store.
Super Quick! – This comes together in just five minutes (once the butter is at room temperature), making it an incredibly easy add-on to any cake, dessert, or brownie!
Perfect Consistency – This frosting is super stuff due to too much sugar; it’s a fantastic consistency that makes it a dream to pipe and it spreads beautifully, as well.
Not Too Sweet — Let’s face it, so many frostings can be cloyingly sweet, but this one strikes a wonderful balance of just a little sweet with a big punch of peanut butter flavor, which is naturally a little salty. It’s the perfect combination!

Key Ingredients

As I mentioned above, there is a very short list of ingredients needed for the is frosting, but here are a few quick notes on them:

Ingredients for peanut butter frosting prepped in bowls and labeled.

Peanut Butter – For this recipe, use creamy peanut butter and opt for a standard processed type like Jif or Skippy. I recommend avoiding natural peanut butter, as they are too oily and will affect the consistency of the frosting.
Butter – Use unsalted butter so that we can control the exact amount of salt in the recipe. If all you have is salted butter, then simply omit the salt in the recipe. Also, ensure that the butter is at room temperature before beginning to prepare the recipe; it’s necessary for the frosting to have a creamy texture and the smoothest consistency.
Powdered Sugar – Also known as confectioners’ sugar, this will sweeten the frosting.
Vanilla Extract – You can substitute the same amount of vanilla bean paste if you’d like.
Heavy Cream – This helps to create a luxurious, silky smooth texture.

Step-by-Step Instructions

This easy peanut butter frosting recipe comes together really quickly in only a few short steps (the first step taking the longest!); here is how to make it:

Step #1: Soften the Butter – This is SUPER important! If the butter is not at room temperature, it will not easily incorporate into the sugar and instead of a smooth frosting, you’ll have a lumpy and/or grainy frosting. Leave the butter out of the refrigerator until you see a clear indentation when you press on it with a finger, but it should not totally sink or become mushy (that’s a sign it’s become TOO soft).

A trio of photos showing peanut butter frosting being mixed together in a stand mixer.

Step #2: Mix the Frosting – Place the butter, peanut butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt in a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer) and beat on medium-low speed until everything is well incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the cream, then beat on medium-high or high speed until light and fluffy. You can use it immediately on whatever you’d like!

Chocolate cupcakes topped with a swirl of peanut butter frosting.

Frosting Tips & Tricks

A few notes to help ensure you make the absolute best peanut butter frosting!

The Best Peanut Butter to Use – I mentioned this in the ingredients list above, but it bears repeating that the best peanut butter to use for this frosting is the traditionally processed kind, such as Jif or Skippy.
Adjusting Consistency – I find the thickness of this frosting to be perfect – it’s smooth and pipeable, not too soft, but not stiff and sweet, either. However, if once you are done mixing, you’d like your frosting to be a bit thicker, add more powdered sugar a tablespoon at a time until you reach your desicred consistency. Conversely, if you find the frosting too thick when you’re done, add more cream a tablespoon at a time until you get the consistency you like.
Scaling the Recipe – This recipe, as written, yields enough to generously frost 12 cupcakes. If you plan to fill and frost a cake, I would double the recipe.
Storing and Freezing – You can keep this frosting in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can also freeze leftover frosting in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then re-beat it (with a mixer on medium speed or with a rubber spatula) before using.

How To Use Peanut Butter Frosting

The sky is the limit! Below are some ideas, including some of my favorite ways to use this:

Cakes – I paired this frosting with my favorite chocolate cake recipe to make a decadent peanut butter cup cake. You can also do a simple rustic slathering on top of a single-layer cake (chocolate or vanilla!).
Cupcakes – Pipe or spread this frosting onto your favorite chocolate cupcakes or vanilla cupcakes; it would also be fantastic on mocha cupcakes, apple cupcakes, and banana cupcakes!
Brownies – Whether you throw together your favorite box mix, or make my favorite homemade brownies, a slathering of this frosting would take them over the top!
Cookie Sandwiches – Take a couple of your favorite cookies and spread some of this frosting in the middle for a delicious treat. Some ideas: peanut butter cookies for the ultimate peanut butter dessert, chocolate sandwich cookies for a homemade peanut butter Oreo, and sugar cookies would be an amazing pairing (I even have a chocolate sugar cookie recipe, too!).

Chocolate cupcake topped with peanut butter frosting, with the wrapped pulled away and the cupcake cut in half.

Recipe FAQ

Can I use natural peanut butter?

No, I do not recommend using natural peanut butter, as it is much too oily for this frosting recipe. Stick to the traditionally processed peanut butters, such as Jif or Skippy.

How long does it last?

You can store this frosting in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Before using, let it come to room temperature and use a rubber spatula to mix and lightly beat it to get it back to its original consistency. You can also freeze this frosting (see the Tips & Tricks section above for directions).

Can I make it dairy-free?

You can, but the flavor may be slightly different. You can replace the butter with margarine or shortening (they make butter-flavored shortening now), and the cream with a dairy alternative.

Do I need to refrigerate whatever I use it on?

No, unless the recipe for the baked good states that it requires refrigeration, no you do not need to refrigerate any cakes, cupcaes, brownies, etc. that you have used the frosting on. They can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days.

More Frosting Recipes To Try

If you make this peanut butter frosting recipe and love it, I would so appreciate it if you would take a moment to leave a rating below. Thank you so much! ❤️️