Tessa's Recipe Rundown
Taste: Like a Reese’s peanut butter cup but with more unadulterated chocolate and peanut butter flavor.
Texture: The thick, creamy, luscious pudding paired with the buttery crunch of the graham cracker crust is my favorite part!
Ease: Surprisingly easy, just get ready to spend some time babysitting the pudding on the stove.
Pros: Adding peanut butter to one of my all-time favorite pie recipes made me VERY happy.
Cons: The pie has to chill before being served which is pure torture.
Would I make this again? I’ve made this recipe more times than I can count.
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This Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Pie is going to be the new pie in your go-to dessert rotation!
Chocolate pudding pie has been one of my favorite desserts since childhood. It was the first pie I learned to make when I became interested in baking. While I’ve made many delicious variations, I almost always prefer the classic Chocolate Pudding Pie.
Or, so I thought – until I created this peanut butter version!
I adore this Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Pie so much because it maintains the texture of a classic pudding pie while adding a whole new level of deliciousness. I am such a texture person, so this means everything to me!
Pair this pie with some Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream or a drizzle of Caramel Sauce, for the most decadent Thanksgiving dessert ever.
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Pie
What Kind of Peanut Butter Should I Use?
- Use conventional creamy peanut butter for this recipe, such as Skippy or Jif.
- “Natural” peanut butter could result in a pie filling that will become oily and separated.
- If you only have natural peanut butter, make sure it’s extremely well stirred and smooth, with no oily pockets or dry bits, before using.
What Type of Chocolate for This Pie?
I prefer to use baking bars of semi-sweet chocolate and chop them myself, for the smoothest texture. I don’t recommend using chocolate chips, as they won’t melt as nicely. Feel free to use bittersweet chocolate instead, but note that this will make the pie a little richer and less sweet.
The Cocoa Powder
Because this recipe doesn’t use any leavening agent, you can use either natural (aka unsweetened) cocoa powder or Dutch-processed cocoa powder. Learn more about Natural Cocoa vs. Dutch Process Cocoa Powder here.
Is There a Gelatin Substitute?
The gelatin is a crucial part of this pie and helps it set perfectly. I have not found any substitutions that work as well.
Can I Use Almond Butter Instead?
- We haven’t tested this to verify, but you should be able to replace the peanut butter with the same amount of almond butter.
- This 1:1 swap works perfectly in my Peanut Butter Pie recipe and my Peanut Butter Cookies recipe.
- Decorate the edges of the pudding pie with chopped unsalted almonds.
- Let me know in the comments below if you give this a try!
Can I Make This Pie Dairy-Free?
Yes! I have successfully made this recipe dairy-free by substituting cow’s milk with unsweetened almond milk. The resulting texture isn’t quite as rich or smooth, and the pie started to weep and become soggy more quickly. If using almond milk, serve within 2 days.
Do I Have to Use Graham Crackers? Crust Variations:
I love this pie with a graham cracker crust, but feel free to change it up and use:
- Chocolate Teddy Grahams or chocolate graham crackers (follow the crust ingredients & instructions in this recipe)
- Oreo crust (follow the crust ingredients & instructions in this recipe)
- Biscoff cookies (follow the crust ingredients & instructions in this recipe)
- Or use a single batch of my Best Ever Pie Crust
How to Store Pudding Pie
Once cooled and set, store the Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Pie covered in the fridge for up to three days. We have not tried freezing this pie.
More Pie Recipes You’ll Love:
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Ingredients
For the crust:
- 15 (230 grams) whole graham crackers
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 7 tablespoons (99 grams) unsalted butter, melted
For the chocolate peanut butter pudding:
- 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
- 1/3 cup boiling water
- 2/3 cup (133 grams) sugar
- 1/3 cup (26 grams) cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup (32 grams) cornstarch
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 cups milk (1%, 2% or whole)
- 3 ounces (85 grams) semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 cup (135 grams) creamy peanut butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For topping:
- Chopped unsalted dry-roasted peanuts
Instructions
For the crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the graham crackers and sugar until finely ground. You should have about 1 3/4 cups. Add the butter and pulse until moistened. Use the bottom of a measuring cup, glass, or ramekin to press the crust mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate or springform pan. Bake until fragrant and golden brown, about 12 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.
For the pudding:
- Place the gelatin in a small bowl, add the boiling water, and stir until dissolved. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, whisk the sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually add the milk, whisking until smooth. Set over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil, about 10 minutes.
- Remove from the heat. Add in the peanut butter and chocolate and stir until melted. Stir in the vanilla and reserved gelatin mixture. Pour the pudding into the pie crust. Garnish with the peanuts. Chill the pie in the fridge for at least 3 hours, or preferably overnight, until well chilled and set, before slicing and serving. Store in the fridge, covered, for up to 3 days.
Notes
This post was originally published in 2014 and updated with new photos and additional recipe tips. Photos by Jess Larson.
i am obsessed with this pie and recipe is clear! only change i make is i use 10 graham crackers instead for the crust, but i’m not a huge crust person. thank you for great pie 🙂
So happy you love this recipe! Thanks for taking the time to comment and let us know!
This is a FABULOUS pie!!! Love it!!! I made it for Christmas and it was a hit.
I used 2% milk, regular Hershey 100% cocoa, Ghirardelli semi-sweet mini chips and Smuckers peanut butter and it was the best tasting pie without too much sugar. Thank you Tessa for this go to dessert now!!!
So happy you loved this recipe! Thanks for taking the time to comment 🙂
Do you think subbing the cornstarch for arrowroot or tapioca powder could work? Thanks!
We haven’t tried those, so I can’t say for sure! Please let us know how it goes if you give it a try 🙂
Reeses are more milk chocolate not a big dark chocolate fan. How would you suggest tapping down the dark chocolate flavor
Hi Stella! This pie really tastes like one giant Reeses! If you’re looking for more of a milk chocolate flavor and not darker, you could try using a Natural Cocoa Powder and not Dutch-Process. You can find more details in this article here if you’re interested: Natural Cocoa vs. Dutch Process Cocoa Powder. I hope that helps, please let us know if you give this recipe a try 🙂
Should I use regular creamy peanut butter or the unsweetened peanut butter?
Hi Soujanya! Either should be fine, just make sure there’s not an excess of oil in the peanut butter that you add to the recipe. We used a “natural” peanut butter but one that didn’t require stirring.
Hello, this looks amazing! Do you definitely need the liquid gelatin?
Thank you, Livvy
The gelatin is essential to thickening up the chocolate peanut butter pudding filling 🙂
Hi Tessa,
Your pie looks so delicious. I wanted to know if it is possible to make the Pie without gelatin? Is gelatin necessary?
The gelatin is essential to thickening up the chocolate peanut butter pudding filling. I haven’t tried substituting it with anything else. If you do, please let me know how it goes! 🙂
Becky Rudella — January 24, 2020 at 10:30 am
Hi, Tessa–
I noticed that you usually indicate the type of cocoa powder used in your recipes — natural unsweetened or Dutch process — but it is not specified in your Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Pie recipe. What is your preferred type of cocoa powder for this recipe? I’m thinking that either might work (depending on personal taste preference) due to the fact that leavening is not a concern in this recipe.
Thanks for everything you do!
–Becky
Tessa, I think you would probably answer my question something like this:
Natural Unsweetened and Dutch Process cocoa powders can be used interchangeably IF no baking powder or soda are called for in the recipe . . . with the understanding that Dutch Process cocoa will create a darker product with a more complex flavor; natural unsweetened cocoa powder is less acidic, has more chocolate flavor, and will create a lighter colored product with a fruitier flavor than Dutch process cocoa.
Therefore, because your Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Pie recipe does not require a leavening agent, the type of cocoa powder used is personal preference.
I’ve made notes from various recipes you have discussed, which is what led me to find the answer. However, if you happen to prefer a specific type of cocoa for this recipe, I would love to know.
Thanks again for sharing your baking wisdom!
–Becky