How to make SUPER creamy Vegan Peanut Butter Frosting

posted by Britt Berlin on Mar 7, 2023 (last updated Sep 26, 2023) 1 comment »

Learn how to make PERFECT creamy & lush vegan peanut butter frosting that doesn’t split and is super smooth! Just 4 ingredients for silky pipe-able & spreadable frosting!

bowl of super creamy vegan peanut butter frosting

So we have an amazing and silky vegan chocolate frosting, classic vegan vanilla buttercream, and of course a creamy and rich vegan cream cheese frosting.

All stars in their own way.

So now we need to level up our frosting game and add a creamy and rich peanut butter frosting to our repertoire. And let me tell you- this frosting is *literally* spoonable.

It’s so creamy, rich, and fluffy, that you won’t even be able to tell that it’s dairy free and vegan. Plus, I’m teaching you all the tricks for how to get a super smooth frosting (read: NOT grainy nor split!).

This vegan peanut butter frosting recipe is excellent on your favorite chocolate cake recipe, or even vanilla too, and works wonderfully when piped onto cupcakes. You’re just going to love it piped or spread onto any of your favorite desserts.

So prep your piping bags, and let’s get started!

Why is my peanut butter frosting grainy? And how to solve that!

If your peanut butter frosting is grainy, this is due to using a not smooth peanut butter. While I recommend using an all natural peanut butter for the ultimate creamy and smooth texture, you’ll need to ensure that the brand you choose is super smooth.

Some peanut butters can be really grainy! But using the right brand (I have recommendations below!) can really help.

Another reason your frosting might be grainy is because of the natural oil separation in natural peanut butter. But giving the peanut butter a good stir before using in your frosting will help prevent this!

If your frosting is looking grainy and split, however, not a problem. You can make a come back from this! You’ll just need to add in increments of 1/2 cup of frosting along with a tablespoon of dairy free milk, allowing it to mix in between each increment until your frosting is creamy and smooth again.

Ingredients for vegan peanut butter frosting:

Vegan butter: The quality and brand of your vegan butter really matters here because it will affect the overall flavor and texture of your frosting. I recommend using Miyoko’s vegan butter or Violife’s vegan butter (Violife is nut free for those who have allergies!). I don’t recommend Earth Balance here (personally I don’t really like the taste!). And I actually recommend salted butter!
Vegan cream cheese: Tofutti, Miyoko’s or Kite Hill are my favorite!
Powdered sugar: Not all powdered sugar is vegan- be sure to use a certified organic brand and certified vegan (like Florida Crystals).
All natural peanut butter: Because we want to control the sweetness and the saltiness of our frosting, I recommend using a super smooth natural peanut butter (instead of using a peanut butter like Skippy’s. While it’s super smooth, it’s also sweetened and has added salt which makes controlling the flavor a bit difficult). My favorite brands are Woodstock, Once Again, and Blue Mountain Organics. I do love Santa Cruz as a spreadable peanut butter, but it’s a bit too grainy for frosting. You want SUPER smooth. Make sure that your peanut butter is unsalted as well! You can even make your own peanut butter if you can get it super creamy!
Dairy-free milk: Using a non-dairy milk that’s creamy helps smooth out the texture even more. Soy milk, almond milk, or oat milk works wonderfully!
Flavor enhancers: I also like to add in vanilla extract and a pinch of sea salt for balance!

vegan peanut butter frosting ingredients

Do I need to use vegan cream cheese too?

If you don’t want this peanut butter frosting to have a bit of a sweet tang to it, no problem! You can replace the cream cheese with an equal amount of vegan butter.

How to make vegan peanut butter frosting with step-by-step photos:

creamed vegan butter and cream cheese — First start by creaming together the vegan butter and cream cheese until smooth. This will take about 2-3 minutes. If the butter is sticking to the walls of the bowl, simply scrape it down, and start mixing again!

creamed peanut butter with butter — First start by creaming together the vegan butter and cream cheese until smooth. This will take about 2-3 minutes. If the butter is sticking to the walls of the bowl, simply scrape it down, and start mixing again!

vegan peanut butter frosting in bowl — Then add in the powdered sugar in increments, along with the dairy free milk and vanilla extract. Keep mixing in increments until you achieve this fluffy texture. You can add in the salt here too!

finished vegan peanut butter frosting — Then add in the powdered sugar in increments, along with the dairy free milk and vanilla extract. Keep mixing in increments until you achieve this fluffy texture. You can add in the salt here too!

Top tips to super fluffy frosting:

Use room temperature butter: This is super crucial for any fluffy vegan buttercream. Room temperature butter is soft, but not too soft. It’s easily creamed with the powdered sugar, and will create that soft and lush silky look and feel to the frosting (much like how you see on Instagram 😉 ).
Use room temperature vegan cream cheese: Same reasons as above!
Integrate each component one at a time: First, we cream the butter and cream cheese together. Then we add the peanut butter and mix. Then we add the powdered sugar and mix. Finally, we add in the dairy free milk and flavor enhancers to help achieve the final product.
Sift your powdered sugar before beginning: Any clumped powdered sugar will just be a nightmare to try to smooth!
Add a tablespoon of cornstarch: Or arrowroot starch! If you’re really finding your frosting is not that fluffy, sometimes a tablespoon of cornstarch can help that.

Can I make this homemade peanut butter frosting in a mixing bowl?

Absolutely! You don’t need to use a stand mixer and whisk attachment to make this frosting. You can simply use an electric hand mixer and large mixing bowl.

Why did my peanut butter frosting separate?

Split buttercream can happen for a few different reasons, but with peanut butter frosting, it’s most likely because you didn’t incorporate the oils into the peanut butter before adding it to the frosting.

Because we’re using natural peanut butter (which gives the best peanut butter flavor!), the oils are going to separate from the peanut butter in the jar.

To solve this, simply stir the peanut butter really well before portioning out the cup of peanut butter needed for the frosting. It’s imperative that you don’t drain the oil, as that’s super key to a lush peanut butter frosting!

But what if you did stir your peanut butter?

Then this separated frosting might have occurred from adding in too much liquid to help the frosting move and/or not enough powdered sugar as well. Be sure that you’re truly using a tablespoon each time to measure the liquid, and not just eye-balling it!

Can I sub in another nut butter?

Definitely! If you want to add a variation to this vegan peanut butter frosting recipe, swap in almond butter or cashew butter for a fun twist.

Frosting applications:

Of course, with frostings, you can pipe them onto cupcakes, spread them onto cakes, or even make frosted cookie bars or brownies!

Here are a few of my favorite recipes to incorporate this vegan peanut butter frosting:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
Spread on top of vegan brownies
Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls
Easy Banana Snack Cake
Piped onto these double chocolate chip cookies

Storage:

Have some leftover frosting? No problem. Spoon and store the peanut butter frosting in an airtight container and in the refrigerator for up to a week. Or, you can freeze the frosting as well.

When you’re ready to use the frosting, allow it to sit on the counter to thaw and come to room temperature again. Then use an electric mixer to fluff up the frosting once more!

Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!

How to make SUPER creamy Vegan Peanut Butter Frosting pinterest pin

If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!