This 6-ingredient peanut butter ice cream pie combines an Oreo cookie crust, extra creamy peanut butter ice cream filling, swirls of peanut butter, and lots of Reese’s Pieces. It’s the perfect go-to summer dessert recipe because it’s astoundingly easy to make, includes ice cream, and most of the prep is hands-off, as the freezer does the work! 100% guaranteed to be gobbled up, and everyone will request you make it again and again.
Don’t get me wrong. I love serving show-stopping desserts like tiramisu, crème brûlée, and baked Alaska. But there’s part of me (the tired parent side of me, perhaps) that enjoys throwing together a mindless 6-ingredient dessert that pleases everyone. I prep it the day before, let it freeze overnight, and watch as everyone FLOCKS TO IT.
I’ve often made this easy pie for birthday parties, and it takes approximately 500% less effort than a homemade birthday cake. Truly, a dessert that tastes this good and is this easy to make should really be some sort of sugar crime.
Here’s Why Everyone Loves This Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie
- Tastes delicious
- Make-ahead
- Totally no-bake
- Makes everyone happy
- The ingredient list couldn’t be less complicated
- Welcomes substitutions, such as using another flavor ice cream if there’s a peanut allergy
- Simple decoration & garnish
Here’s Exactly What You Need:
- Food processor, or use a rolling pin and zipped-top bag to crush Oreos (it’s how you can crush the Reese’s Pieces, too!)
- Electric mixer (handheld or stand mixer)
- A 9-inch springform pan, the same I recommend for cheesecake and fresh peach cake
- A freezer
- Oreos and melted butter for the crust
- Heavy cream
- Peanut butter ice cream
- Peanut butter
- Reese’s Pieces
- Optional whipped cream for garnish (you already need heavy cream for the filling!)
An Oreo cookie crust is the base of today’s dessert, the same I use for this regular peanut butter pie and peanut butter Butterfinger cheesecake. Combine crushed Oreos (the entire Oreo… cookie AND the filling) and melted butter. Press into your springform pan. No need to bake! A graham cracker crust works too.
The Filling Is Semi-Homemade
I’ve made this peanut butter ice cream pie on repeat each summer since I first published the recipe in 2013. The peanut butter filling combines peanut butter ice cream and unsweetened whipped cream. I used to use frozen whipped topping (Cool Whip) in the filling, but everyone loves it more when I use unsweetened whipped cream.
Did you know that homemade whipped cream can replace Cool Whip in nearly any recipe? I don’t add sugar to it when using it in today’s filling.
It’s easy: you just need heavy cream. Whip it, and then fold it into softened peanut butter ice cream. The combination of the two produces a softer, creamier pie filling than when you use just ice cream. Easier to eat with a fork!
Fold the whipped cream (above) into softened peanut butter ice cream, and then spread half into the cookie crust.
Now we’re getting crazy… melt peanut butter and drizzle over half of the filling, then top with remaining filling. Drizzle with more melted peanut butter and sprinkle with crushed Reese’s Pieces. That’s it, your work is done. Off to the freezer!
Feel free to swap the peanut butter ice cream for another flavor. You can skip the melted peanut butter, or replace with warmed Nutella or even chocolate ganache. Feel free to skip the crushed Reese’s Pieces, or replace with chocolate chips, crushed M&Ms or Oreos, or another favorite ice cream topping.
Folding unsweetened whipped cream (just heavy cream that has been whipped) makes for a lighter, creamier filling that’s easier to slice, serve, and eat. Without it, the peanut butter ice cream is pretty firm.
Place Reese’s Pieces in a zipped-top bag, grab a rolling pin, and bang away! This is how I crush candy canes for peppermint bark, too. Great stress reliever!
Freeze the prepared peanut butter ice cream pie for at least 6 hours, and up to 48 hours. I usually make it the night before I need it.
Before serving, garnish the frozen peanut butter ice cream pie with sweetened whipped cream, more melted peanut butter, and an extra sprinkle of crushed Reese’s Pieces. These finishing touches are optional, but super simple because you need most of the items for the actual recipe, too.
If you need a celebratory cake or birthday cake, try this peanut butter ice cream pie. It’s worlds easier than an actual cake, can be made ahead without sacrificing texture, and is loved just as much (if not more!).
Success Tip: Cutting Into Ice Cream Pie
Let the pie sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before slicing. Use your sharpest knife, and dip it in a glass of hot water before each cut.
And if you’re looking for something a little larger, I also have this 5-layer easy ice cream cake recipe. It takes a little more time to put together because there are a few layers, but the results are always top notch. If you like CAKE with your ice cream, try my ice cream loaf cake instead!
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Easy Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 6 hours, 20 minutes
- Yield: serves 12
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Freezing
- Cuisine: American
Description
This 6-ingredient peanut butter ice cream pie combines a no-bake Oreo cookie crust, extra creamy peanut butter ice cream filling, swirls of peanut butter, and lots of Reese’s Pieces. Make it ahead of time, and feel free to use another flavor ice cream. See recipe Note.
Ingredients
Oreo Cookie Crust
- 22 regular Oreo cookies (not Double-Stuf)
- 5 Tablespoons (71g)Â unsalted butter, melted
Filling
- 1 cup (240ml) cold heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
- 1 quart peanut butter ice cream,* softened
- 1/4 cup (62g) melted creamy peanut butter, plus more for garnish if desired
- 1/3 cup (67g) Reese’s Pieces, crushed, plus more for garnish if desired
- optional: whipped cream for topping
Instructions
- Make the crust: In a food processor or blender/chopper, pulse 22 Oreos (including the cream filling) into a fine crumb. You should have about 2 cups (packed) crumbs, or 250g. Pour crumbs into a large bowl. Add the melted butter and stir to combine. The mixture will be thick and quite wet. Try to smash/break up any large chunks. Pour the mixture into an ungreased 9-inch springform pan (that’s at least 2.5-3 inches deep). With medium pressure using your hand, pat the crumbs down into the bottom and up the sides to make a compact, thick crust.
- Make the filling: Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 3–4 minutes. If you accidentally over-whip the cream, and it looks curdled and heavy, pour in a little bit more cold heavy cream, and fold it in gently by hand with a spatula until it smooths out.
- Fold softened ice cream into the whipped cream. This will take a couple minutes, as the ice cream is much stiffer than the whipped cream.
- Spoon half of the filling into the prepared crust. Drizzle half of the melted peanut butter over the filling. Spread the rest of the filling on top as best you can, and drizzle with remaining melted peanut butter. Sprinkle with crushed Reese’s Pieces. Cover and freeze for at least 6 hours and up to 48 hours.
- Remove from the freezer and feel free to garnish with more melted peanut butter, crushed Reese’s Pieces, and whipped cream. I used Wilton 1M piping tip for the whipped cream in the pictured pie.
- Allow frozen pie to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes to soften slightly before slicing and serving. For neat slices, use your sharpest knife, and dip it in some hot water before each cut.
- Cover and store leftover pie in the freezer for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Food Processor or Blender/Chopper | 9-inch Springform Pan | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand Mixer) | Piping Bag (Disposable or Reusable) and Wilton 1M piping tip (for optional whipped cream topping)
- Can I Use a Graham Cracker Crust? Yes. Feel free to replace the Oreo cookie crust with this graham cracker crust. No need to bake it.
- Ice Cream: Any brand of peanut butter ice cream is fine. I usually use Reese’s brand, which has peanut butter cups inside. You can also use frozen yogurt, or another flavor. Make sure you check the size of the ice cream carton. Most cartons are 1.5 quarts. You only need 1 quart for this recipe.
- What Can I Use Instead of Peanut Butter? Feel free to swap the peanut butter ice cream for another flavor such as chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, cookie dough, etc. You can skip the melted peanut butter, or replace with warmed Nutella or even chocolate ganache (while it’s still warm!). Feel free to skip the crushed Reese’s Pieces, or replace with chocolate chips, crushed M&Ms or Oreos, or another favorite ice cream topping. I find M&Ms bleed their color a bit into the ice cream, so keep that in mind.
What brand of Peanut butter ice cream do you use? Near me I am seeing ones that have chocolate in them too… Thanks
Hi Cheryl, we used Reese’s brand peanut butter ice cream, but you can use any brand.
Can hardly wait to try this recipe. I’m wondering how many inches up the sides of the pan should the crust be? Thank you.
Hi Linda, we use a pan that is 2.5-3 inches deep and the crust goes most of the way up. Enjoy!
I am planning to use a Christmas flavored ice cream. Do you think caramel ice cream topping or hot fudge topping would work for the middle layer instead of warmed peanut butter? I’m wondering about the consistency.
Hi Mimi, that should work well, but yes, the topping will harden in the freezer. It should soften up a bit when you take it out for slicing and serving.
This recipe yielded a very ice-crystally filling, sadly. I worked as quickly as I could, and I know our freezer is not usually problematic in terms of keeping things cold enough so…
Hi Sally! I just made this and it’s sitting in the freezer right now. The ice cream became a bit melted past the point of being just softened. Do you think it will still turn out alright?
Thanks!
Hi Sarah, it should solidify again in the freezer. Hope you enjoy it!
Hi! This looks so great! Can I use a 10 inch springform pan?
Hi Jenny, absolutely. The cake will be thinner. Feel free to use a little more ice cream for extra volume, such as an entire 1.5 quart container of ice cream. No need to add more heavy cream.
Huge hit! So easy, too. Such a crowd pleaser!
This was delicious! Perfect for GF friends as you can use GF oreos. I’d line the bottom of the pan with parchment to make it easier to release.
Can I make this a couple of days in advance? And what’s the best way to cover it in the freezer??
Hi JM! This is a great make-ahead recipe. Cover tightly with plastic, or place in a large air-tight container if you have one.
I feel like you could use parchment paper in an appropriate sized dish and then lift it out when cutting?? Parchment helps a lot of situations:))
That should work just fine! You just want to make sure the pan you’re using is deep enough, at least 2.5-3 inches.
I used parchment paper and it was not a great idea. The paper got stuck bc I didn’t hang over the side enough. Soooooo I had to inspect and carefully remove all traces of paper lol. It was still good though. But I’ll have to take it out of the freezer more than five minutes ahead of time, bc it was really hard to cut and get a fork all the way through! I think maybe my freezer is a set on a colder temperature. Overall, it was my son’s birthday cake pick, and he loved it!
If you do not have a spring form pan can you use a glass pie plate instead? Or, do you have another suggestion?
A springform pan is needed here because of the amount of ice cream, but you could try reducing the filling down. You can try this similar ice cream cake instead; it’s made in a 9×13 inch pan.
So easy! This was great to make a couple days in advance. Decorated with whipped cream and was delicious.