This creamy Amish peanut butter pie recipe is filled with small peanut butter crumbles, a creamy layer of homemade vanilla pudding, and topped with homemade whipped cream and more peanut butter! Nested into a traditional pie crust, this old-fashioned pie screams nostalgia.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
This old-fashioned peanut butter pie uses mostly pantry staples that you likely already have on hand. Made with a no-bake filling, this recipe requires oven time solely to bake the pie crust.
Flavor - this is the ultimate pie for a peanut butter lover. It pairs so nicely with the vanilla custard and is packed with lots of little peanut butter bits so you get that flavor combination in every bite! Many peanut butter pie recipes use chocolate, but that's not the case here. There's nothing too overpowering, and it's perfectly balanced.
Texture - there's so many textures to enjoy in this Amish peanut butter pie. From the flaky yet chewy pie crust, to the peanut butter crumbs, to the creamy vanilla pudding and fluffy, airy whipped cream, each bite is perfection.
Nostalgia - in my humble opinion, this is the best version of peanut butter pie. This may be because I grew up eating this Pennsylvania dutch peanut butter pie, and it's a classic in Amish country. Many families in central PA have their own version of this pie, and that's no different here! I will tell you that I completely scrapped the original crust recipe my family used to make with this pie - it just wasn't as good as my all-butter pie crust, so that's what we're using here.
Although this is an oldie but goodie, this may become your new favorite pie to make at your next dinner party. If you'd rather a version with chocolate, try my chocolate peanut butter tart.
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Ingredients
- Pie crust. This recipe uses my all-butter pie crust. You'll need unsalted butter, flour, and salt for the recipe.
- Peanut butter. I use creamy peanut butter in this recipe and prefer Jif brand as I think it has the most prominent peanuty flavor.
- Sugar. Both granulated sugar and powdered sugar are used.
- Dairy. Whole milk is used in the vanilla pudding and heavy whipping cream is used in the topping.
- Eggs.
- Corn starch. This is used to thicken the vanilla custard, and cannot be skipped or substituted.
- Vanilla. If you have vanilla beans on hand, absolutely use them. Otherwise, I suggest vanilla bean paste (this is what I use), or vanilla extract.
See recipe card for full ingredients list and quantities.
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Substitutions and Variations
- Use instant pudding mix in place of homemade vanilla pudding. One small box should be used.
- Use 4 egg yolks in place of the two eggs for an ultra-rich pudding.
- Use cool whip in place of fresh whipped cream. This is how the original recipe was intended, but I love a fresh whipped cream more.
- Use crunchy peanut butter in place of creamy peanut butter for even more texture!
- Add one to two sliced bananas, placing the slices in between the peanut butter crumbles and vanilla pudding.
- Melt ⅓ cup chocolate chips and spread it onto the very bottom of the pie before adding the peanut butter crumbles.
- Use a store-bought pie crust, just be sure to fully bake the crust prior to adding any fillings.
- For a chocolate pie crust, use my chocolate sweet tart crust!
How to Make This Recipe
This recipe is developed in a few steps. First, the vanilla pudding should be made and chilled. Next, the pie crust should be made and chilled. Once the pie dough has rested for at least two hours, it can be rolled out and blind-baked.
Making Homemade Vanilla Pudding
One: Whisk together the sugar and corn starch in a medium bowl.
Two: Add the eggs and whisk until smooth.
Three: Add about a cup of the hot milk mixture while whisking to temper the egg mixture.
Four: Pour the egg mixture into the sauce pan with the remaining milk.
Five: Continually whisk the mixture on medium heat until it starts to bubble and thickens considerably.
Six: Pass the pudding through a fine mesh sieve into another bowl.
Seven: Whisk in one tablespoon of butter at a time, allowing each piece to melt completely before adding the next.
Eight: Add the vanilla and whisk until combined. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the pudding and refrigerate for 4 hours.
While the pudding chills, make the pie crust following my detailed guide and pie crust recipe for all the steps you need to make, roll out, crimp, and bake the crust.
Assembling the Pie
Note: The flour must be heat treated prior to using it to kill any bacteria prior to eating. See the recipe instructions on how to do this.
Nine: Combine the peanut butter and powdered sugar with a fork until crumbles form, then add them to the bottom of the pie shell (baked and cooled).
Ten: Spread the vanilla pudding evenly over the peanut butter crumbles.
Eleven: Make the whipped cream, whipping until stiff peaks form, and swoop it on top of the vanilla pudding.
Twelve: Add the remaining peanut butter crumbles to the top of the pie, then slice and serve.
Hot tip! Melt two tablespoons of peanut butter and drizzle it over the top for extra peanut butter flavor!
Expert Tips
- Make the pudding up to three days in advance and the pie crust one day in advance to help with timing.
- Have all tools needed for the vanilla pudding set up and ready to go prior to starting to make it.
- If you don't have a digital thermometer, allow the custard to cool for about 5-7 minutes, stirring every minute, before adding the butter.
- Using a freshly baked (and cooled) pie crust and eating it the same day will taste best.
- Getting the peanut butter crumbles to come together takes a bit of elbow grease, but just keep pressing along with the tines of your fork.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. While I find that homemade pudding tastes better and is more natural, there is no reason you can't use instant pudding. Simply follow package instructions to make the pudding, and add it to the pie.
Yes. Just be sure to completely blind-bake the crust, as the filling is no-bake so the crust will not get any additional bake time.
This may be because the heat was too high and it scrambled the eggs. Either puree the pudding in a food processor or give it another pass through a fine mesh sieve to remove any additional chunks.
Storage
Store the Amish peanut butter pie uncovered in the fridge for up to three days. Note that the pie crust will begin to get slightly chewy from the filling, and the whipped cream will begin to weep after day two (but will still taste great).
This pie should not be frozen.
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📖Recipe
Amish Peanut Butter Pie
Equipment
- 9" pie plate
- Fine mesh sieve
- Whisk
- Digital kitchen thermometer
Ingredients
- 1 disc all-butter pie crust recipe for the crust
Filling
- ¼ cup cornstarch 25g
- ½ cup granulated sugar 100g
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups whole milk 16 fl oz
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter cut into tablespoon pieces (57g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
Peanut Butter Crumbles
- ½ cup all-purpose flour 60g
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar 180g
- 1 cup peanut butter 270g
Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream 8 fl oz
- ¼ cup powdered sugar 30g
- 2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract
Instructions
- Lightly flour a work surface and rolling pin, then roll out the dough until it's ⅛" thick.1 disc all-butter pie crust
- Note: turn the pastry a quarter turn every few rolls, and dust with additional flour as sticking occurs.
- Add the pie dough to the pie plate, then crimp as desired. Freeze for 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400℉/205℃.
- Remove the dough from the freezer and dock it all over the sides and bottom with a fork.
- Crumble up a piece of parchment paper, then unwrap it and add it to the pie crust. Fill completely with pie weights or dried rice or beans.
- Bake the crust for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and use the parchment paper to remove the weights.
- Return to the oven to bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, until all moisture is gone from the bottom of the pie crust.
Filling
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and sugar, then add the eggs and whisk until smooth. Set aside.¼ cup cornstarch, ½ cup granulated sugar, 2 large eggs
- Prepare a large bowl with a fine mesh strainer – you will need this immediately after your pastry cream comes off the heat.
- Pour the milk and salt into a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and bring it to just under a boil, stirring occasionally so you don’t burn the milk solids on the bottom of the pan.2 cups whole milk, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Once the milk is simmering well, add ⅓ of the milk to the egg mixture and whisk constantly. Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan with the rest of the milk and return to medium high heat.
- Whisking vigorously and constantly, the mixture will begin to thicken and you will see the small milk bubbles start to disappear. Once this has happened, the mixture will quickly thicken and boil. Allow it to boil for about 30 seconds, then remove it from the heat and pass it through the sieve into the bowl. Use the whisk/rubber spatula/wooden spoon to mix the custard around to get it through the sieve.
- Allow the pastry cream to cool to 140℉, then whisk in one tablespoon of butter at a time. Don’t add a new piece until the other has been fully incorporated. Once all butter has been added, add the vanilla and mix to combine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and press the wrap directly on the pastry cream so it doesn’t form a skin. Put the pastry cream in the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours.¼ cup unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
Peanut Butter Crumbles
- Add the flour to a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second increments stirring in between, until the mixture reaches 160℉ on a digital thermometer.½ cup all-purpose flour
- Note: heat treating the flour must be done in order to be safe to eat.
- Pass the flour through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl to remove any hard chunks. Add the powdered sugar and mix with a fork to combine.1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- Add the peanut butter, and mash the ingredients together until it comes together and doughy crumbles form. This takes a bit of elbow grease.1 cup peanut butter
Whipped Cream
- Add the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or use a handheld mixer) and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form.1 cup heavy whipping cream, ¼ cup powdered sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract
Assembly
- Sprinkle ¾ of the peanut butter crumbles into bottom of the crust.
- Pour the vanilla pudding mixture overtop and smooth it to meet the edges.
- Spread a layer of whipped cream over the pudding, then top with the remaining crumbles.
Notes
- Make the pudding up to three days in advance and the pie crust one day in advance to help with timing.
- Have all tools needed for the vanilla pudding set up and ready to go prior to starting to make it.
- If you don't have a digital thermometer, allow the custard to cool for about 5-7 minutes, stirring every minute, before adding the butter.
- Using a freshly baked (and cooled) pie crust and eating it the same day will taste best.
- Getting the peanut butter crumbles to come together takes a bit of elbow grease, but just keep pressing along with the tines of your fork.
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