How to make a rich and creamy no bake peanut butter pie with an Oreo cookie crust, cream cheese and Cool Whip. This easy dessert is chilled to perfection and full of peanut butter goodness. Perfect for parties, holidays, or anytime you’re craving a sweet treat!
There’s only one dessert that I’d rate higher than chocolate cream cheese pie, and it’s this no bake peanut butter pie. I may be biased, because I love all things chocolate and peanut butter, but this refrigerator pie is my absolute favorite!
It took a little bit of trial and error, but I love that this recipe has such an ultra-smooth filling and none of the graininess that I’ve tasted in so many other peanut butter pies. Not to mention, it’s super fast to make, and no oven is required. This is a crowd-pleasing dessert that needs to be made ahead; everybody will be begging for your recipe!
Ingredients & Substitutions Notes
- Oreo Cookie Crust – The Oreo crust is pretty easy to make. You’ll need a pack of Oreo cookies, some light brown sugar, salted butter, unsweetened chocolate and a dash of nutmeg (this really brings out the chocolate flavor). If you don’t have the time to make a crust, there’s no shame in using a store bought chocolate cookie crust instead!
- Cream Cheese – Be sure to let you cream cheese set out on the counter for a little while so that it can soften before making the recipe.
- Powdered Sugar – I’ll let you in on a little secret: Always use powdered sugar for a perfectly smooth peanut butter pie filling. I never use granulated sugar, because the larger sugar crystal size will lead to a very grainy filling.
- Peanut Butter – This recipe calls for a creamy peanut butter. You can also use chunky peanut butter if you like to taste a few peanut bits in your pie. Whichever you use, I don’t recommend using natural peanut butter, as the consistency of natural peanut butter can cause your pie filling to separate and become lumpy.
- Cool Whip – I like to make my no bake peanut butter pie with Cool Whip for a little extra “fluff”. If you don’t have any Cool Whip on hand, substitute with about 3 cups of homemade whipped cream instead!
How to Make Easy No Bake Peanut Butter Pie Recipe
Before getting started, get a 9-inch pie plate out and ready to go, but don’t grease it! Then you’ll want to get your cream cheese out so that it can soften while you start on the crust.
How to Make the Oreo Cookie Crust
- Start by removing the cream from about 3 dozen chocolate sandwich cookies. Place each de-creamed Oreo into a gallon-sized zip-loc bag. Crush them up with a rolling pin; you’ll need 1 1/2 cups of Oreo cookie crumbs total.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the chocolate cookie crumbs, light brown sugar, nutmeg, melted butter, and melted unsweetened chocolate, mixing everything together thoroughly.
- Press the mixture into the un-greased 9-inch pie plate that you prepped in the first step. Then cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and chill ’til firm, probably about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Making the No Bake Peanut Butter Pie Filling
- In another large bowl, whisk together the cream cheese and powdered sugar. An electric hand mixer makes this step easier.
- Next, add the peanut butter, salt, and vanilla extract, mixing well.
- Use a rubber spatula to fold the whipped cream into the mixture by hand.
- Finally, spread the peanut butter filling evenly in the chilled crust.
- Sprinkle mini chocolate chips or peanut butter chips on the center top of the pie.
- Last but not least, cover with plastic wrap, and chill the pie ’til the filling sets slightly. This takes at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. Then slice and serve.
How to Serve No Bake Peanut Butter Pie
That’s it! Once properly chilled, your no bake peanut butter pie is ready to slice and serve. Use a sharp knife for the cleanest slices. I like to dip my knife into hot water and then wipe it clean in between each and every slice for near-perfect pie wedges!
Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ’s
This is most often because the cream cheese was too cold. You might have also accidentally used a natural peanut butter instead of a smooth, processed peanut butter. Both can cause the filling to become lumpy. On the other hand, grainy peanut butter pie filling is usually caused by using granulated sugar. This is why I recommend using powdered sugar instead. If your powdered sugar is lumpy out of the bag, you can drop it through a fine sieve or flour sifter before adding to the pie filling.
Yes, you can make this recipe with almond butter instead of peanut butter if you have any peanut allergies. That said, sometimes your chilled pie might turn out a little bit lumpy because of the different consistency in almond butter. It should still taste equally as delicious!
Yes! In fact, no bake peanut butter pie is best made at least 6 hours ahead of when you want to eat it, or preferably overnight. Covered in plastic wrap or stored in an airtight container, it will last in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days.
Yes, this recipe makes a great freezer pie. Once your peanut butter pie is assembled in the pie plate, cover with a layer of plastic wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil. Then transfer to a safe place in the deep freezer for up to 3 months. Just be sure to let it thaw out overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Optional Add-Ins & Variations
- In addition to the mini chocolate chips, some people add more crushed up Oreo cookies or mini Reeses peanut butter cups to the top. Or you can drizzle chocolate syrup, caramel syrup or peanut butter sauce all over the top. I love to eat mine with a big dollop of whipped cream!
- You can use any crust for this recipe. I’m thinking graham cracker crust, pecan nut crust, my mom’s famous shortcut no-roll pie crust, or even just a regular pastry shell.
- After you’ve whipped up your filling and added it to the pie crust, use a butter knife to swirl whipped cream or melted chocolate all over into the filling. Yum!!
More Easy No Bake Desserts
- Chocolate Brownie Trifle
- No Bake Chocolate Delight
- 4-Ingredient Buckeye Balls
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Ritz Cracker Cookies
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats
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No Bake Peanut Butter Pie
Equipment
- Hand Mixer optional
Ingredients
Crust –
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate Oreo cookie crumbs no icing*
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/3 cup salted butter melted
- 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate melted
Filling –
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 8 ounces Cool Whip
- 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
Crust –
- Remove the cream from about 3 dozen chocolate sandwich cookies. Place each de-creamed Oreo into a gallon-sized zip-loc bag, and crush them up with a rolling pin; you'll need 1 1/2 cups of Oreo cookie crumbs total.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the chocolate cookie crumbs, light brown sugar, nutmeg, melted butter, and melted unsweetened chocolate, mixing everything together thoroughly.
- Press the mixture into an un-greased 9-inch pie plate, cover, and chill 'til firm, probably about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Filling –
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cream cheese and powdered sugar.
- Add the peanut butter, salt, and vanilla extract, mixing well.
- Use a rubber spatula to fold the whipped cream into the mixture by hand.
- Spread the peanut butter filling evenly in the chilled crust.
- Sprinkle mini chocolate chips on the center top of the pie.
- Cover and chill the pie 'til the filling sets slightly, about 6 hours, or overnight if possible. Then slice and serve.
Delicious