Oh my! This peanut butter layered dessert is an absolute peanut butter lover’s dream! It’s got a peanut butter cookie crust, a creamy peanut butter cream cheese layer, and a layer of vanilla pudding, and then it’s topped off with homemade peanut butter whipped cream and crushed peanuts.

Are you drooling yet?! I am!

This easy, creamy, dreamy dessert is perfect for potlucks, birthday parties, or picnics! One thing is for sure everyone is gonna want some more!

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How to Make Peanut Butter Layered Dessert

Peanut butter layered dessert is really simple, but involves multiple easy layers. I will walk you through how to make peanut butter layered dessert layer by layer. If you are looking to save some time, check out the section below on “variations” where I suggest some flavor variations as well as some time-saving shortcuts!

Ready, to make this creamy peanut butter pudding dessert?! Let’s go!!!

Peanut Butter Crust

We will start off the dessert with an easy peanut shortbread cookie-inspired crust. The crust is the only layer of this creamy peanut butter layered dessert that needs to be baked, but if you are looking for a no-bake alternative, check out my variations below.

Start by preheating your oven to 350℉. Then, pulse your salted peanuts in a food processor into tiny pieces. Add the crushed peanuts to a bowl along with the rest of your crust ingredients and stir until they are evenly mixed. After the crust ingredients are mixed, dump the mixture into a 9×13 casserole dish, press it into a crust, and bake for 15 minutes.

Set the crust aside until it is at room temperature. Do not add the other layers on top of the crust while it’s still warm. To cool the crust faster, consider placing it in the fridge.

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese

Add the softened cream cheese and the other ingredients to a mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, blend the ingredients until they are smooth and creamy. Then, spread the peanut butter cream cheese layer onto the cooled peanut butter crust.

Pudding Layer

Using your hand mixer or stand mixer again, add pudding mix and cold milk to a bowl and blend together until the pudding is smooth and creamy. Spread the pudding mixture on top of the cream cheese layer.

Peanut Butter Whipped Cream + Chopped Salted Peanuts

Next, we will make our homemade peanut butter whipped cream (trust me, this is to die for!!!)!

The peanut butter whipped cream is quite simple to make but you absolutely need a whisk attachment on your hand mixer or stand mixer to make this portion. You can use a hand-held whisk too– you will need to whisk for a while to get it to firm up the desired texture. I suggest using an immersion blender with a whisk attachment if you have one. This will make the quickest, easiest whipped cream.

Start by adding the heavy whipping cream, peanut butter, and powdered sugar to a bowl. Whisk at high power until the mixture forms firm peaks.

Layer the whipped cream on top of the pudding layer of the dessert and sprinkle crushed peanuts on top.

Serve It Up

Voila! A delicious peanut dessert has been born!

Before serving, you will want to store your peanut butter layered dessert in the fridge for at least 4 hours. To serve, cut the crust into pieces and scoop out your peanut butter dessert. As with most desserts, the first piece can be quite tricky to remove, but it will get easier.

Don’t leave the dessert out for too long, as the whipped cream can start to get “melty.” Store your leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Enjoy every last bite. 🙂

peanut butter layered dessert cream cheese

Ingredients

salted peanuts

Use salted peanuts for the crust and the peanut topping on this dessert. If you have unsalted peanuts, add a pinch of salt in with the peanuts as you chop them.

flour

The flour is used to form the crust for the dessert.

unsalted butter

Since we are using salted peanuts, use unsalted butter to avoid an overly salty dessert.

creamy peanut butter

You are going to want to use creamy peanut butter for this dessert. I would not suggest crunchy peanut butter or natural peanut butter.

vanilla pudding Mix

For the creamy pudding layer, I like to use vanilla pudding to balance out the peanut-yness of this dessert. But you can use whatever pudding mix you prefer.

cold milk

Cold milk helps to set up the pudding layer and also helps to thin out the cream cheese layer.

heavy cream

Use heavy cream to whip up the BEST homemade whipped cream of your life. I like to use my immersion blender to whip up dreamy whipped cream. And we will add in a dollop of peanut butter to make our whipped cream PEANUT butter whipped cream… UM YUM! Check out my notes on variations for an easy alternative to making your own whipped cream.

powdered sugar

Throughout this dish, I suggest using powdered sugar to sweeten various layers of the dessert including the crust, peanut butter cream cheese layer, and the whipped cream.

Peanut Butter Layered Dessert Variations

Chocolate Peanut Butter Layered Dessert

Swap out the vanilla pudding mix for chocolate and add 1/2 to 1 cup of chopped peanut butter cups to the top of the dessert instead. To make your dessert extra chocolatey consider swapping out the crust for an oreo crust as I mention below.

Make This Dessert No-Bake

Need or want to make this dessert without the use of an oven? Swap the crust for a simple Oreo or nutter butter crust instead. Instead of baking the crust make sure to freeze the crust for 15 to 30 minutes before adding on the first layer of peanut butter cream cheese. The freeze will help the crust to stay together.

Time-Saving Variation (Swap for Heavy Cream):

Don’t have time to make your own homemade whipped cream? No problem just use two tubs of defrosted Cool Whip instead.

How to Store Peanut Butter Layered Dessert

Store the peanut butter layered dessert covered in the fridge for up to 4 days.

In my opinion, this creamy peanut butter dessert is the best the day after it’s made.

Peanut Butter Layered Dessert

This peanut butter layered dessert is an absolute peanut butter lover's dream! This easy, creamy, dreamy dessert is perfect for potlucks, birthday parties, or picnics!

Print Recipe

Prep Time:20

Cook Time:10

Chilling Time:4

Ingredients

Peanut Butter Cookie Crust Layer

1/2 cup salted peanuts
1 cup flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
6 tbsp unsalted butter

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Layer

2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 block cream cheese
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Vanilla Pudding Layer

1 5.1 oz vanilla pudding
2 1/4 cup cold milk

Peanut Butter Whipped Cream

2 2/3 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp peanut butter

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350℉. Get out a 9×13 casserole dish, and set it aside.
In a blender or food processor, add peanuts to the blender and pulse until the peanuts are crushed. Set aside half of the peanuts to top the dessert with later.
Add the chopped peanuts and all of the remaining crust ingredients to a medium bowl and stir until incorporated. Dump the crust mixture into the 9×13 and press down on the mixture to create a crust.
Bake the crust at 350℉ for 10 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven and let it cool completely.
Add all of the ingredients for the peanut butter cream cheese layer to a stand mixer. Beat until soft and creamy. Spread the peanut butter cream cheese layer over the crust. Rinse off the stand mixer bowl for the next layer.
Next, add vanilla pudding mix and cold milk to the stand mixer bowl. Mix on low to medium speed for 2-3 minutes. Spread the pudding layer on top of the peanut butter cream cheese layer. Rinse off the stand mixer bowl for the next layer.
Add the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and creamy peanut butter to the bowl and whip for 3-5 minutes until your whipped cream forms peaks. Scrap the bowl a few times in between the whipping to ensure that all the ingredients are incorporated.
Spread the peanut butter whipped cream layer on top of the pudding layer and sprinkle the remaining chopped peanuts on top of the dessert.
Place covered in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Enjoy!
Keep leftovers stored in the fridge and eat within 3-4 days.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: no-bake frozen dessert, peanut butter cookies, pudding cake

Servings: 12 servings

Peanut Butter Layered Dessert