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Hi Bold Bakers!
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE: Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sauce is a sweet and salty, thick and creamy sauce. If you’re a peanut butter fan, you’ll be reaching for it to pour on your favorite ice cream, frozen yogurt, pound cake, fruit, waffles, and pancakes.
This easy homemade version is miles beyond any peanut butter dessert sauce you can buy in the stores, and you’ll want to make extra so it’s always in the fridge. It has a quick prep time, and you probably already have the ingredients on hand, so let’s get started!
Table of Contents
- What is Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sauce?
- Tools You Need
- Key Ingredients and Why
- How to Make Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sauce
- How to Store Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sauce
- FAQs
- Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips
- More Ice Cream Sauce Recipes
What is Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sauce?
- Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sauce is a deliciously sweet topping for ice cream and other desserts and breakfast foods.
- Using peanut butter in sweet recipes gained popularity in the 1920s with the invention of the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.
Tools You Need
- Measuring cups and measuring spoons
- Small saucepan
- Spoon
Key Ingredients and Why
-
Heavy cream
- Heavy cream contributes to the velvety texture of the sauce.
- Its slightly sweet dairy flavor is a balance to peanut butter’s signature rich nutty and slightly salty taste.
- The fat content of the cream gives the sauce stability and makes it less likely that the sauce will split or curdle.
-
Butter
- The silkiness of melted butter gives the sauce a luxurious texture.
- Butter contains naturally occurring agents such as phospholipids and proteins to work as emulsifiers, binding the sauce’s ingredients into a smooth, cohesive mixture.
-
Granulated sugar
- Sugar gives a sweet balance to the saltiness of the butter and peanut butter.
- Dissolved sugar adds a syrupy thickness to the sauce.
- The caramel note of the cooked sugar adds a depth of flavor to the peanut butter sauce.
-
Peanut butter
- The slightly salty, assertive flavor of peanut butter in this sauce is the perfect match for the sweetness of chocolate ice cream (of course!), vanilla, and fruit-flavored ice creams and other desserts.
- To make your sauce extra big and bold, start from scratch! Here’s How to Make Homemade Peanut Butter.
How to Make Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sauce
- Cook the cream, butter, and sugar in a saucepan over low heat until the sugar dissolves.
- Take the saucepan off the heat and stir in vanilla and one cup of the peanut butter.
- Taste the sauce, and add the additional tablespoon of peanut butter if desired.
How to Store Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sauce
- Store the peanut butter topping in the refrigerator for up to three weeks.
- Rewarm in the microwave or a saucepan over low heat.
FAQs
How do I prevent peanut butter ice cream sauce from separating?
- Using room temperature cream and butter will help to combine ingredients better before heating.
- If starting with cold ingredients, make sure to heat the mixture at a low heat.
- Once the sugar has dissolved, heat the mixture at a steady and low heat to avoid separating fat from butter and cream.
- It’s best to add peanut butter after the heat is off. The remaining heat is enough to mix peanut butter well with the rest of the ingredients without separating the possibly-added oil.
How do I fix the sauce if it separates?
- Gently warm the sauce at low heat on the stove or in the microwave at 10-15 second intervals to soften the peanut butter and make it easier to mix.
- Once warmed, whisk or stir vigorously to combine the separated components back together.
- If the sauce is still slightly split, you can try adding a small amount of cream while whisking until the sauce is smooth and well combined.
- Once the sauce is fixed, allow it to cool to room temperature. It should regain its creamy and pourable consistency.
Can I use another nut butter in place of peanut butter?
- Yes, you can substitute almond butter or cashew butter for the peanut butter. And make it at home using my recipe of How to Make Almond Butter.
- Check out my article on Keto Nut Butters: When, Where, And Why You Should Substitute for keto options.
Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips
- Stir the mixture while cooking to prevent the bottom from burning.
- The cream used in this recipe can be table cream or double cream. It does not have to be a heavy whipping cream.
- I don’t recommend using milk to make your sauce because it will not have the same effect and could curdle.
- Make a double recipe and store it in your fridge for months on end. Rewarm and use as needed.
- For an over-the-top sundae, drizzle this peanut butter ice cream topping on Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream along with Homemade Chocolate Syrup and a dollop of whipped cream. Here’s How to Make Whipped Cream.
More Ice Cream Sauce Recipes
- Microwave Salted Caramel Sauce
- Raspberry Sauce
- Butterscotch Sauce
- Gemma’s Signature Salted Caramel Sauce
- Homemade Marshmallow Sauce
- Vegan Caramel Sauce
Try These Recipes!
Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sauce Recipe
Make and indulge in this Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sauce, a decadent, rich, and nutty velvety topping to elevate ice cream or any frozen treat.
Servings: 10 servings
Make and indulge in this Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sauce, a decadent, rich, and nutty velvety topping to elevate ice cream or any frozen treat.
Servings: 10 servings
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (2 fl oz/60 ml) heavy cream
- ¼ cup (2 oz/57 g) butter
- ¼ cup (2 oz/57 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (8 oz/225 g) creamy salted peanut butter, divided
Instructions
- Combine the heavy cream, butter, and granulated sugar in a small saucepan over low heat and warm until the sugar dissolves.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract and 1 cup (8 oz/225 g) of peanut butter. Taste and add a tablespoon more peanut butter if you would like a more pronounced peanut butter flavor.
- Serve drizzled over an ice cream sundae along with hot fudge and whipped cream, if desired.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for months. Gently rewarm in the microwave for 30 seconds or on the stove over low heat to liquefy before using.
Sounds amazing! Do you know if powdered peanut butter would work okay?
Does it make a difference what type of creamy peanut butter you use, for example Laura Scudder versus Skippy?
If you’re dairy intolerant what can you use instead of cream and butter?
Hi Gemma. I can’t wait to try this since my daughter just said the other day that she would like to try my mini-cheesecakes with a peanut butter drizzle over the top. This sound perfect for that. Now… my question is in the recipe you say the cup of peanut butter is divided, but in the directions you said to add the full cup. Where do we use the divided one? Or is that a typo? Thanks!
Hi Gemma! I’d just like to clarify something, please. In both the narrative, and recipe card, you state the peanut butter will last 3 weeks in the fridge, yet in your Pro Chef Tips, you say to make a double batch, and that it will last for MONTHS in the fridge. Why would this be?
And an early Happy 4th of July to you and yours!