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Peanut Butter Cheesecake Recipe (Frozen Dessert)

Frozen Peanut Butter Cheesecake is an easy-to-make peanut butter dessert that’s cool and creamy. This luscious treat is topped with peanut butter crumble and shaved chocolate making it fancy enough for any occasion but simple enough for every day.

Top down view of a piece of frozen peanutbutter dessert on a plate surrounded by the pan of dessert.

There’s nothing more delicious than a cold and creamy Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Dessert when it’s sweltering outside or if you’re a peanut butter lover, anytime!

Why we love Frozen Peanut Butter Cheesecake

I like anything with peanut butter. Even if it’s just a spoon that happens to fall into the jar of peanut butter. It’s genetic. My mother trumps my love of peanut butter by a thousand. I’ve actually given her humongous jars of peanut butter for Christmas (several times) so I could be her favorite daughter.

Besides the fact that I’m a peanut butter lover, I think “National Cheesecake Day” celebration is one I totally qualify for because it’s a dessert and we should all celebrate year-round with desserts. Right?

This is a make-ahead dessert so entertaining couldn’t be any easier than making frozen peanut butter cream cheese dessert recipes, sliding them in the freezer, and then moving on. Plus, it will feed a crowd! I’ll show you how to cut down the size and have one to share or stash in the freezer for when that spoon finally gets out of the peanut butter jar.

Easy Peanut Butter Cheesecake. When I think of cheesecake, I think of putting cheesecake ingredients together and baking them in a water bath. Not this cheesecake. It proves the best cheesecake can be quick and easy to put together and in the variations below I’ll show you how to make it a No-bake Peanut Butter Cheesecake. 

It looks like this is a peanut butter ice cream dessert recipe. It’s not so while it’s refreshing on a warm day it will not melt like ice cream desserts. Serving it is much easier.

Close up square of frozen cheese cake recipe topped with peanut butter crumble and chocolate shavings.

Frozen Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake Ingredients

Peanut Butter Dessert Crust and Crumble

  • Brown sugar – Dark or light variety is fine.
  • Peanut butter – I used the creamy full-fat variety. You could use the crunchy variety. I don’t recommend natural peanut butter in this recipe because the texture tends to be runnier.
  • All-purpose flour – Bleached or unbleached.
  • Unsalted Butter – I used real unsalted butter. There’s salt in the peanut butter so I used unsalted. You could use salted butter since it’s such a small amount.

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Filling Ingredients

  • Cream Cheese – Use “original variety” blocks of cream cheese. For best results use the full-fat cream cheese. You could use reduced-fat but I wouldn’t use fat-free.
  • Peanut butter – Creamy full-fat variety is what I used.
  • Chocolate syrup – This is used for ice cream. It’s optional but recommended.
  • Vanilla extract – Pure or imitation.
  • Powdered sugar – Also known as confectioners sugar.
  • Whipped topping – I buy whipped topping for this recipe. It has stabilizers in it that help it freeze into solid like ice cream freshly whipped cream doesn’t.
An angled view of sliced peanut butter cheesecake topped with crumble and shaved chocolate.

How to make Peanut Butter Cheesecake Recipe

Step 1: Make the Peanut Butter Crust and Crumbled Topping

Put the Crust and Crumble ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Blend until you get a crumble mixture as shown in the photo. Press all but one cup of the topping into the bottom of a prepared baking dish using the bottom of a glass or measuring cup. Bake and cool. The reserved cup is for the topping.

Step 2: Make the Peanut Butter Filling and Assemble

Cream the peanut butter cream cheese filling together using the electric mixer. Fold the whipped topping either on low speed using the electric mixer or by hand using a rubber spatula. Layer the cheesecake filling over the cooled crust.

Sprinkle the top of the cheesecake filling with the reserved peanut butter crumble and then top with chocolate shavings.

Step 3: Freeze

Cover the peanut butter dessert with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and freeze for about 4 hours or overnight.

Tips for a creamy filling:

  • The thing that I can’t give you is something I’ve had to learn often the hard way and that’s patience! With any creamy filling, it’s always important to fold in your whipped toppings and not stir them in. You see, when you use a heavy hand you’re deflating the topping and breaking it down.
  • It’s also important that the cream cheese is at room temperature before you combine it with the creamy peanut butter. If you refrigerate your peanut butter make sure it’s at room temperature as well. It will not hurt to take them out of the refrigerator the night before. If they’re at the same temperature they’ll blend together instead of separate.
Angled view of a slice of frozen peanut butter and cream cheese dessert topped with peanut butter crumbles and shaved chocolate

Variations you can make this Peanut Butter Cheesecake Recipe

  • Make this a Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake (As I did this one) by adding chocolate syrup to the filling and shaved chocolate to the top.
  • Add chopped Reese’s peanut butter cups to the filling for the ultimate peanut butter cheesecake. Make sure they’re not of the nougat variety. Since this peanut butter dessert is frozen it’ll likely break a tooth when you bite into it.
  • If you don’t want to shave chocolate, drizzle the top with chocolate syrup, crushed cookies, chopped chocolate candy, and chopped peanuts.
  • Use any pre-baked crust or graham cracker crust for a no-bake version. Premade graham cracker pie crusts or Oreo crusts work well and freeze great too. This filling could probably make 3 pies! You don’t need to add the crumble to the top. Just sprinkle (or not) with candies, chocolate shavings, or chocolate chips prior to serving.
  • If you don’t need a whole 9×13 dessert, separate it into two dishes. Use what you want now and freeze one for later. You can use a different pan but make sure you can cut frozen servings out of it. Our FREE pan conversion chart might help you get creative.
  • Store cheese cake in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Best way to cut a frozen Peanut Butter Cheesecake:

A lot of the time instructions will advise you to take it out of the freezer and let it sit for 15 minutes before you cut it. O.k., you can but I want my dessert frozen not on the verge of becoming soft. I heat up a sharp knife by running it under hot water and dry it before making my cut. Do this each time you remove the knife from the dessert. It’s convenient to just put the hot water in a glass and dip it too then just dry it with a paper towel.

A few gadgets you may need to make this cheesecake with peanut butter:

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  • 9×13 Baking Dish – I’ve got this one and love it. It comes with a lid that makes taking and refrigerating my treats a lot easier.
  • Silicone Spatulas – This pretty set has a flat side and a curved side to take on your toughest job. I love that they are all one piece and can withstand 500°F! Throw out those old chipped ones and treat yourself!
  • Electric Stand Mixer – I used this mixer for doing almost everything in this recipe. It is my workhorse and I even have the attachments to make pasta and grind meat and nuts with too.

I hope you enjoyed this delicious recipe as much as we do. Drop me a comment below, and don’t forget to give it a star rating. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. Your comments and ratings help others decide if this recipe is for them too.

Close up side view of a cold creamy peanut butter dessert with a crust and topped with crumbles and shaved chocolate.

Frozen Peanut Butter Cheesecake Dessert Recipe

Author: Julie Menghini
Frozen Peanut Butter Cheesecake is an easy to make peanut butter dessert that's cool and creamy. This luscious treat is topped with peanut butter crumble and shaved chocolate
4.91 from 10 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Freeze 4 hours
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword: Frozen Peanut Butter Cheesecake, Peanut Butter Cheesecake
Servings: 15

Ingredients
 
 

Crumb

  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter room temperature
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter softened

Filling

  • 8 oz cream cheese room temperature
  • 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp chocolate syrup optional
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 12 oz frozen whipped topping thawed

Garnish

  • chocolate shavings optional

Instructions
 

Crumb

  • Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Spray the bottom of a 9×13 pan with non-stick cooking spray
  • In a bowl (I used an electric stand mixer) combine the crumb ingredients, brown sugar, peanut butter, flour, and unsalted butter. Mix until crumbly. Reserve one cup from the mixture for the topping and press the remaining onto the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
  • Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Allow the crust to cool completely.

Filling

  • In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, combine the cream cheese, peanut butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, and chocolate syrup if using. Mix on medium-high until fluffy.
  • Fold the whipped topping into the peanut butter mixture. Spread evenly over the cooled crust. Sprinkle the remaining crumble over the top of the peanut butter mixture and then sprinkle with chocolate shavings if desired.
  • Cover and freeze for 4 hours or overnight.

Notes

I have folded up to 16 oz of whipped topping into the filling.  It makes the filling higher and therefore, a larger dish. 

Nutrition

Calories: 322kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 8gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 162mgPotassium: 198mgFiber: 1gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 314IUCalcium: 48mgIron: 1mg

Nutritional Disclaimer

This recipe was calculated using the exact brands and measurements I used to make this recipe. If you are following a strict diet please note changing anything will cause the nutritional info to change. My calculations are intended as a guide only.

Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

As much as we love this creamy peanut butter cheesecake, our No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake Pie and our Cheesecake Cookie Bars are family favorites. If I was visiting my mother, taking her a batch of our Fudgy Peanut Butter Brownies or some Peanut Butter Balls would guarantee that I was her favorite child. How about you? What are your favorite cheesecake recipes?

Pin this amazing Frozen Peanut Butter Dessert!

A serving of a frozen peanut butter cheesecake topped with crumble and chocolate shavings.

This post has been updated to improve the readers experience. No changes were made to the recipe.

Check out all of these other cheesecake recipes!

4.91 from 10 votes (5 ratings without comment)
Recipe Rating




Rose

Saturday 15th of June 2024

Do you have to thaw before cutting no instructions for serving Thank you

Julie Menghini

Sunday 16th of June 2024

No, it's meant to be a frozen dessert so keep it frozen. Thank you!

Carol

Sunday 16th of July 2023

Can you use real whipping cream instead of cool whip? I prefer natural ingredients. Looks yummy!

Julie Menghini

Monday 17th of July 2023

Yes, you can used real whipping cream. Be careful and just fold it in.

Judy Lewis

Monday 12th of June 2023

This recipe was awesome! The entire family can’t quit talking about it!

Julie Menghini

Monday 12th of June 2023

I love this one too! Thank you, Judy!

Tina Westphal

Saturday 2nd of July 2022

I added a step to toast the reserved crumbles on a parchment lined cookie sheet, along with the crust. You should never eat raw flour.

Julie Menghini

Saturday 2nd of July 2022

Thank you for this Tip, Tina! You only help in making me and my readers a better cook.

Sneha Datar

Tuesday 20th of August 2019

I love this cheesecake, looks amazing and delicious!

Julie Menghini

Wednesday 21st of August 2019

Thank you so much, Sneha! Have a lovely day!

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