Easy Peanut Butter Frosting Recipe

This easy creamy peanut butter frosting recipe calls for just 4 ingredients and takes less than 5 minutes to make! This delicious and flavorful recipe is perfect for topping cakes, cookies, cupcakes, bars, and more! 

I’ve been making my own homemade frostings and icings for years, from cream cheese and butter cream frosting to espresso and dark chocolate frostings. As well as many different icings.

Let’s just say selling sugar cookies to make some extra money when I was younger. And having a brief affair with cupcakes and learning how to pipe frosting. Leaves you with several different frosting and icing recipes. And perhaps I’ll get around to sharing more of them here.

But oddly enough, cake and cookies are actually two of my least favorite things to eat. And these days I rarely eat frosting at all, unless it’s on a donut. And throughout all the years I’ve been baking and frosting, I’ve never run into the need for a peanut butter frosting recipe.

Last summer, however, I finally did. I had seen a cupcake idea somewhere and immediately knew it was something I wanted to try making, even though cake isn’t my favorite and is not my strong suit in the kitchen.

Still I knew it was a recipe that was going to be delicious, and I already had several different ideas for it. The problem was that the whole recipe hinged on one thing. Peanut Butter Frosting. 

Now, aside from the fact that I had already decided I wanted homemade frosting for my cupcakes. I might also mention that peanut butter frosting is not something that is easily found at the grocery store. And well, to make a long story short. I set out to make my own. 

And in the end, we wound up with this delicious peanut butter frosting recipe, which I’m happy to finally be sharing here. Not only is this recipe super easy to make, but it has the perfect amount of sweetness and peanut butter flavor. It’s great for piping and spreading. And perfect for cakes, cupcakes, cookie sandwiches, and more!

How To Make Peanut Butter Frosting

Ingredients 

• ​powdered sugar
• creamy peanut butter, you can use regular peanut butter or natural peanut butter. Just be sure to use creamy peanut butter!
• vanilla extract
• salted butter, softened. You can also use unsalted butter, but I would recommend adding a pinch of sea salt to the frosting then as well. 

Directions

In a large bowl, beat together the soft butter and the peanut butter with an electic hand mixer at medium speed, until smooth and creamy. 

Add the vanilla extract and beat just until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and mix again.

Now add the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup to 1 cup at a time, beating at low speed between each amount of powdered sugar. Making sure it is completely combined before adding more. Once all the sugar has been added, scrape down the sides of the bowl again and mix one last time to make sure everything is combined. 

Use to top any of your favorite cakes, cupcakes, or cookies.

Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Any leftover frosting can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. I would recommend allowing the frosting to warm up to room temperature again, though, before trying to frost or pipe with it. This frosting is the perfect texture for both piping and frosting traditionally.

This peanut butter frosting can also be made in a stand mixer. 

If your frosting is a little too thick for your liking, you can thin it out with a little milk or heavy cream. On the same note, if the frosting is thinner than you would like it to be. You can always add more powdered sugar, about a 1/4 cup at a time, to thicken it up.

If you are using a natural peanut butter, you will probably need more powdered sugar, as natural peanut butters are runnier than traditional peanut butter. 

​This peanut butter frosting is great for pretty much any cake or cupcake recipe. It’s especially good on chocolate cakes. And is the perfect frosting for baking peanut butter cookie sandwiches! 

Looking for recipes to top with peanut butter frosting? Be Sure to check out these!

Loaded Chocolate Cupcakes (with peanut butter frosting)