No Bake Peanut Butter Pie Recipe

This no bake peanut butter pie is a light peanut butter mousse in a chocolate cookie crust. The crust is 24 Oreos and 5 tablespoons of melted butter pressed into a 9 inch pie dish, and the filling is 1 cup creamy peanut butter, 8 oz cream cheese and 1 cup powdered sugar lightened with 1½ cups of whipped heavy cream.

It takes about 25 minutes of work and no oven at all. Then the fridge does the rest: at least 4 hours, or overnight, until it slices into 10 clean wedges. Mini peanut butter cups go around the edge.

What One 9 Inch Pie Takes

• Crust: 24 chocolate sandwich cookies and 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• Filling: 1 cup creamy peanut butter, 8 oz cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Cream: 1½ cups heavy whipping cream, whipped to stiff peaks
• Topping: 12 to 15 mini peanut butter cups, melted chocolate if you like
• Pan: 9 inch pie dish or tart pan
• Time: 25 minutes prep, 4 hours chilling, about 4½ hours total
• Yield: 10 slices

Nothing in the filling is cooked, and there is no gelatin. The pie holds its shape because cream cheese and peanut butter both firm up when cold, and they lock the air in the whipped cream in place. That is also why the chilling time is not optional.

Pressing an Oreo Crust That Slices Clean

Pulse the cookies, filling and all, in a food processor until they are fine crumbs with no big pieces left. Pour in the melted butter and pulse again until it looks like wet sand. Squeeze a handful. If it holds together in your fist, it is ready. If it falls apart, pulse a little longer, because fine crumbs bind better than coarse ones.

Tip the crumbs into the dish and press them over the bottom and up the sides with the flat bottom of a measuring cup. Press hard, especially where the base meets the sides, since that corner is where slices break. Chill the crust for at least 20 minutes while you make the filling.

Using a Peanut Butter Cookie Crust Instead

Peanut butter sandwich cookies such as Nutter Butters make a peanut butter cookie crust that doubles the peanut flavor. They are bigger than Oreos, so go by weight: 24 Oreos weigh roughly 270 g, which is about 19 or 20 Nutter Butters. Use the same 5 tablespoons of butter and the same squeeze test. For a chocolate crust with more chocolate in the pie itself, my chocolate peanut butter pie adds a layer of ganache on top.

Jif, Skippy or Natural Peanut Butter?

Use a regular creamy peanut butter like Jif or Skippy. Natural peanut butter, the kind with oil on top of the jar, makes the filling softer and slightly greasy, and it may never set firm enough to slice. Crunchy peanut butter works if you like bits in the filling, though the mousse will not be as smooth.

Beating the Peanut Butter Base

The cream cheese has to be soft. Leave the block on the counter for about an hour, until a finger presses into it easily. Beat it on its own first for about a minute until smooth, then add the peanut butter. If you add peanut butter to cold cream cheese, little white lumps stay in the filling no matter how long you beat.

Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until the mixture is smooth and thick. Powdered sugar dissolves into the base without grit, which granulated sugar would not do in an uncooked filling.

Stiff Peaks and Gentle Folds

Whip the cold cream on high speed until stiff peaks form. Lift the whisk: the peak should stand straight up, and the cream should hold the whisk marks in the bowl. Watch the last 30 seconds closely. Cream that goes past this point looks grainy, then curdled, and it will not fold in smoothly. A stand mixer gives a little more control here, and a hand mixer is fine for the peanut butter base.

Fold the cream into the peanut butter mixture in three additions. The first one can be stirred in a little more firmly, because the base is heavy and needs loosening. Fold the last two gently with a rubber spatula, cutting down through the middle and turning the bowl, and stop when no white streaks remain. Rushing knocks the air out and gives a dense, fudge-like filling instead of a mousse. The same base, served in glasses, is my peanut butter mousse.

Peanut Butter Cups on Top, and a Mini Version

Spoon the filling into the chilled crust and smooth it with an offset spatula, or make swirls with the back of a spoon. Set the mini peanut butter cups around the edge, then drizzle melted chocolate over the top in a zigzag if you are using it. Cover the pie and refrigerate it.

For no bake mini peanut butter pies, line a muffin tin with paper cups, press a spoonful of buttered crumbs into each, and pipe or spoon in the filling. The thinner layer sets faster, so check after 2 hours. Top each with a halved peanut butter cup.

Setting, Slicing and Storing

Give the pie at least 4 hours in the fridge. Overnight is better, and the pie can be made a full day before you serve it. Serve it cold, because the filling softens quickly in a warm room.

For neat slices, put the set pie in the freezer for 30 to 60 minutes first. Cut with a sharp knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry between each cut. Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. I avoid freezing it for storage, as the whipped cream filling can turn icy and lose its light texture.

This Pie, Amish Peanut Butter Pie or Cheesecake?

All three use peanut butter and cream cheese, but they eat differently. This pie is the lightest: an airy mousse in a crunchy chocolate crust. Amish peanut butter cream pie uses a pastry crust, adds a layer of whipped topping, and finishes with sandy peanut butter crumbs. My peanut butter cheesecake has a denser, richer filling that cuts like cheesecake.

If you want peanut butter and chocolate in cake form for a birthday, the Reese’s peanut butter cake is the one to bake. For a pan of something to cut into squares, try no bake peanut butter bars.

Soft Filling or Crumbly Crust: What Happened

• Filling will not set: the cream was not whipped to stiff peaks, the peanut butter was a natural style, or the pie had less than 4 hours. Chill longer, or freeze for 30 to 60 minutes before serving.
• Filling is dense and heavy: the cream was overwhipped or folded too hard. It still tastes good; fold more gently next time.
• White specks in the filling: the cream cheese was cold. Beat it alone until smooth before the peanut butter goes in.
• Crust crumbles when sliced: the crumbs were coarse or not pressed firmly. Pulse finer and press hard into the corner of the dish.
• Crust is hard to cut: the pie came straight from the freezer after a long stay. Let it sit in the fridge 20 minutes.

Short Answers on No Bake Peanut Butter Pie

Can I use Cool Whip instead of heavy cream?

Yes. One 8 oz tub of thawed whipped topping stands in for the 1½ cups of cream, which whips to about 3 cups. The filling will be a little sweeter and set slightly firmer.

How long does no bake peanut butter pie take to set?

At least 4 hours in the fridge, covered. Overnight gives the firmest, cleanest slices.