How to make the best creamy peanut butter frosting. This homemade buttercream is perfect on cakes, cupcakes and brownies.

This easy peanut butter frosting recipe has become one of our staple recipes. We make it several times a month…and there is never any left over. It’s rich and sweet and good enough to eat with a spoon. Just try to stay away from it. Or don’t and slather it over a chocolate cake, chocolate cupcakes or sheet cake.

We happened upon this peanut butter frosting recipe by mistake. About 7 years ago we made brownies. They were UGLY and needed a covering. This recipe was on Allrecipes.com and 100% did the trick. That was 6 years ago and we’ve been enjoying it ever since.

How to Make the Best Peanut Butter Frosting

We find it easiest to use a stand mixer when making buttercreams. Whipping the frosting makes it light and fluffy. With a stand mixer you can just set it and let it go. If you don’t have a stand mixer, use an electric hand mixer.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and peanut butter for 2 minutes. *For the best texture, make sure the butter is at room temperature, but not melted.*
Add 1 cup of powdered sugar (confectioner’s sugar) and mix until blended. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
Add 2 tablespoons of heavy cream and beat until completely blended. You can use milk, but heavy cream gives it the best texture.
Add in the remaining cup of powdered sugar. Beat for 1 minute.
Test the frosting and if you need another tablespoon or two of heavy cream to make the frosting spreadable, add it in.
Beat for 2-3 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy.

Peanut Butter Frosting on chocolate cake

How do you thicken the frosting?

So what happens if you add too much milk in? Add a tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar. If needed you could also add in a touch more peanut butter until it is at the desired consistency.

Does this frosting need to be refrigerated?

This frosting is safe to leave at room temperature for 2-3 days. After that the frosting should be refrigerated or frozen.

Peanut Butter Frosting techniques with a knife

Can you color peanut butter frosting?

Officially, yes. You can color peanut butter frosting but since it already has a yellow/tanish tone you may have a hard time getting the color you’d like. One option is to refrigerate the frosted cake, then make a small amount of vanilla buttercream. Color that the exact color you’d like and put a very thin layer of frosting on the outside of the cake. Then you would still have peanut butter flavor.

Can you pipe this frosting?

Yes! Be sure to add the milk slowly. If the frosting is too runny it won’t hold a shape. But as you can see below, peanut butter frosting will hold shape.

What to Put Peanut Butter Frosting On