This chocolaty peanut buttery goodness is the perfect sweet treat for warm summer nights, holiday parties, or birthday surprises. It’s easy to make ahead and tastes great chilled and frozen!
There’s something about the combination of chocolate and peanut butter that never goes out of style. Rich, creamy, and perfectly sweet, this no-bake chocolate peanut butter pie is one of those desserts my family loves to see on the table.
The best part is how incredibly easy it is to make!
With just a handful of simple ingredients and no oven required, it’s the perfect dessert for busy days, hot summer afternoons, holiday gatherings, or anytime you’re craving an effortless homemade treat.
You can make it a day or two in advance and keep it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve… or freeze it for an even longer make-ahead option.
Whether you’re feeding your family, bringing dessert to a potluck, or simply treating yourself, this creamy chocolate peanut butter pie is guaranteed to disappear quickly!
We Love Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
Chocolate + peanut butter has always been Dave’s favorite dessert combination… and several of our children are following in his footsteps.
I often make this pie for birthday desserts (instead of a more traditional cake) and we always enjoy it at least a couple of times every summer as it’s a perfect warm-weather treat.
This is one of those desserts that looks fancy and complicated but only actually takes about 10 minutes to put together — maybe 20 if you make everything totally from scratch.
I love how thick and rich the peanut butter layer is, how creamy the chocolate layer is, the fluffy whipped cream, and the crunchy topping. Everything just works together.
Ingredients for Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 pre-made graham cracker crust
- 5 T. butter
- 1/2 c. peanut butter
- 1 c. powdered sugar
- 1 package (3.4 oz) instant chocolate pudding mix
- 1 c. cold milk
- 2 c. Cool Whip (or make your own whipped cream)
- chopped chocolate candies for garnish (optional)
- chopped nuts for garnish (optional)
Ingredient Substitutions
There are so many ways to tweak this recipe… here are a few ideas.
Make your own graham cracker crust (it’s super easy, but it will take 5-7 minutes to bake).
Make an Oreo crust (or buy one) for a more chocolaty flavor.
Use crunchy peanut butter for more texture (or add chopped peanuts to the creamy peanut butter)
Use vanilla or butterscotch pudding for a different flavor (we definitely prefer chocolate pudding).
Make your own whipped cream — maybe even add in a bit of cocoa powder for chocolate whipped cream.
Use a variety of candies and/or nuts for the topping.
How to Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
1. In a medium bowl, microwave butter and peanut butter until melted.
2. Stir in powdered sugar (it will be very thick).
3. Gently spread / press peanut butter into prepared crust.
4. In the same bowl, whisk chocolate pudding mix with cold milk.
5. Immediately pour on top of peanut butter layer.
6. Spread Cool Whip (or your own whipped cream) on top of the pudding layer.
7. Sprinkle candies and nuts on top of Cool Whip.
8. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or until ‘set’.
9. Eat and Enjoy!
Frozen Pie?!?
If you’d like more of an ice cream pie consistency, you can also freeze this pie overnight. Pull it out of the freezer about 30 minutes before serving so it melts enough to cut it.
This recipe easily serves 8, with smaller slices (it’s very rich).
If you’d like to make this dessert for a crowd, you can double the recipe and make it in a 9′ x 13′ pan (you’ll need to make a homemade graham cracker crust).
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie (no-bake)
This chocolaty peanut buttery goodness is the perfect sweet treat for warm summer nights, holiday parties, or birthday surprises. It’s easy to make ahead and tastes great chilled and frozen!
Ingredients
- 1 pre-made graham cracker crust
- 5 T. butter
- 1/2 c. peanut butter
- 1 c. powdered sugar
- 1 package (3.4 oz) instant chocolate pudding mix
- 1 c. cold milk
- 2 c. Cool Whip (or make your own whipped cream)
- chopped chocolate candies for garnish (optional)
- chopped nuts for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, microwave butter and peanut butter until melted.
- Stir in powdered sugar (mixture will be very thick).
- Gently spread / press into prepared pie crust.
- In the same bowl, whisk the chocolate pudding mix with cold milk.
- Immediately pour on top of the peanut butter layer.
- Spread Cool Whip (or your own whipped cream) on top of the pudding layer.
- Sprinkle candies and nuts on top of Cool Whip.
- Refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or until ‘set’.
- Eat and enjoy!
Notes
If you’d like more of an ice cream pie consistency, you can also freeze this pie overnight. Pull it out of the freezer about 30 minutes before serving so it melts enough to cut it.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1 sliceAmount Per Serving Calories 235Total Fat 9gSaturated Fat 3gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 7mgSodium 194mgCarbohydrates 35gFiber 1gSugar 19gProtein 3g
What are your favorite no-bake dessert recipes?
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Pascale says
I absolutely love what you wrote about admiring vs. acquiring. This has been true for me for as long as I can remember. Even as a teenager, I was happy as a clam with just one second-hand purse, never feeling the need to accumulate what my peers had. Decades later, at 60 years old, that contentment remains. My life is beautifully minimal, usually consisting of just one or two of any item. Over the years, as I developed sensitivities, I naturally let go of jewelry, makeup, nail polish, and fragrance. I don’t even own a hair dryer—and I don’t miss a single one of these things. Life is incredibly freeing when you step out of the cycle of acquiring.
Andrea says
Thanks for sharing this! I know everyone is different, but I agree how freeing life is when we stop worrying and obsessing over getting and having more.
Laura Dawson says
Love, love, love this pie, Andrea! I’ve been making it for my daughter-in-law’s birthday in June for over 10 years now. It’s just about time to teach my granddaughters how to make it! Thanks.
Andrea says
Almost all my kids (and Dave) request this for their birthday desserts. It’s so easy and yummy!! Glad you are all enjoying it now too!
Gretchen Tischler says
Made this for Thanksgiving yesterday and it was a HUGE hit!!!! Thanks for sharing.
Andrea says
yay — thanks so much for sharing your success, Gretchen! A few others have emailed about making this pie for Thanksgiving this year — it’s so satisfying when simple recipes go over so well! Glad you enjoyed this pie! (We also enjoyed it for Nora’s birthday last week!)
Anne says
I’m a new reader – found you from Money Saving Mom. I made this yesterday because it looked delicious and I found a gluten free ‘graham’ pie crust (my husband has a gluten allergy and we think our toddler might, too). I also used almond milk because I can’t drink diary milk anymore and it worked well, too. We moved a month ago from out-of-state and I forgot to buy powdered sugar but the peanut butter layer was still awesome! I had to proactively freeze half of it so we wouldn’t eat it all! I’m excited to try more of your recipes and tweak them for our dietary restrictions.
Andrea says
glad you could make this pie work for you!
Trista says
My 14 yr old daughter tried twice yesterday to make this following the recipe and the pudding layer was runny both times- are we missing an essential step? Mucho teen drama here
Andrea says
I’m guessing she probably followed the directions on the pudding box instead of the directions in my recipe. The pugging box says to ad TWO cups of milk (which would make the pudding quite thin and runny). My recipe only calls for ONE cup of milk.
Either that, or she might have used Cook and Serve pudding instead of instant pudding.
If it’s neither one of those, then I’m honestly not sure. I’ve made this recipe (and similar pudding pie recipes) many MANY times with very firm pudding.
Sorry!
Trista says
We are thinking we purchased cook and serve by accident! Hanks for the tip! We will try again
Kristen @ Joyfully Thriving says
Great combination! And I agree. That peanut butter layer sounds amazing!
Danielle H. says
So I made the triple chocolate pie for Easter and it was a hit! Will for sure try this one, especially since peanut butter and chocolate is my absolute favorite.
Laura D. says
Andrea, if this pie is even only half as delicious as your cheesecake fudge brownies, which I have made to rave reviews THREE times in the last two weeks, count me in!
Karen says
Oh my word I might just try to eat the computer screen!!! Yummy! Thanks for creating and sharing
Erica Martin says
OMG this looks to delicious, I can feel the pounds piling on right now…:-)
Andrea says
you could always use fat-free pudding and cool whip. Then, it’s just the peanut butter… and butter… and chocolate… and powdered sugar… and nuts… so hardly any fat or calories 🙂
Emily says
I made your pudding pie recipe the other night and my family loved it! I’m with Dave, chocolate and peanut butter are the best. We’ll definitely have to try this one too. I love all your simple recipes!!
Andrea says
yay — glad the other pie was a hit. If they liked that one — they will LOVE this one!
Jen says
This will definitely by a hit in my house! But I think I’ll use a chocolate pie crust and sprinkle Reeses Cups on top! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Andrea says
Yes, I’ve done that too. We didn’t have any Resses on hand so I used chocolate + nuts for a decent combo 🙂
Kimberley says
Looks yummy! My favorite no bake dessert right now is Banana Pudding. It’s super easy and uses those yummy Nilla cookies.