Best Peanut Butter Dessert Sauce

Try this easy peanut butter sauce on ice cream, cheesecake, pound cake, and so much more.

By
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer.
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Updated on 08/31/24
Tested by
Danielle Centoni
Danielle Centoni
Tested by Danielle Centoni

Danielle is a James Beard Award-winning food writer and editor based in Portland, Oregon.

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Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 5 mins
Total: 10 mins
Servings: 6 servings
Yield: 1 1/4 cups

This peanut butter sauce is super easy to make—it requires just four ingredients and takes about five minutes to whip together on the stove. It is a fantastic warm dessert topping when drizzled over ice cream, pound cake, cheesecake, bread pudding, and more. You can even serve it with pancakes, waffles, or biscuits for a decadent twist on an everyday breakfast. And a little spread on a brownie will make any chocolate and peanut butter fan jump with joy.

Peanut butter sauce being poured over a slice of cake

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The 4 Simple Ingredients You Need to Make Outrageously Delicious Peanut Butter Sauce

Here's everything you need for this simple, sensational dessert sauce:

  • Peanut butter — Be sure to choose a creamy, no-stir peanut butter for the smoothest sauce.
  • Heavy whipping cream — Heavy cream gives this sauce a wonderful richness.
  • Corn syrup — The corn syrup in this recipe helps to create a smooth sauce by preventing the sugar from crystallizing, while it helps add moisture and sweetness to the sauce as well. You can substitute dark corn syrup for light; however, the more robust flavor of the dark corn syrup—versus the delicate sweetness of the light corn syrup—will affect the final taste of the sauce.
  • Light brown sugar — This recipe calls for light brown sugar, which has a lighter taste and color because it has less molasses than dark brown sugar. If all you have on hand is dark brown sugar, feel free to substitute it in this recipe if you don't mind its bolder flavor.

Tip for Making Peanut Butter Sauce Recipe

If your peanut butter sauce is too thick to drizzle, simply add water a little bit at a time (no more than a tablespoon at once) and stir to incorporate. Keep adding water until the sauce reaches the consistency you like, keeping in mind that it will likely thicken a bit once you remove it from the heat. Fortunately unlike chocolate sauce, peanut butter sauce won't seize, separate, or get lumpy when you add water.

What You'll Need to Make This Peanut Butter Sauce Recipe
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"Peanut butter lovers will go crazy for this sauce. I used natural creamy peanut butter, and the texture of the sauce was a bit less cohesive looking than if I had used a no-stir variety. Still, the natural peanut butter worked well even if the sauce didn't look as pretty, and it tasted great." —Danielle Centoni

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A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup smooth no-stir peanut butter

  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup

  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

  • Ice cream, pound cake, cheesecake, or another dessert, for serving

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for beanut butter sauce recipe gathered

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  2. Combine 1/2 cup smooth no-stir peanut butter, 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, 2 tablespoons corn syrup, and 1/4 cup light brown sugar in a small saucepan. Heat over low heat, stirring, until smooth and the ingredients are well incorporated—about 4 minutes.

    Ingredients stirred together in a small saucepan

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  3. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar is dissolved and the sauce is smooth. Do not overcook or the sauce will become too thick. Add a bit of water if it is too thick.

    Smooth peanut butter sauce dripping off a spoon into the saucepan

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  4. Remove from the heat and cool slightly before serving. Serve over ice cream, pound cake, cheesecake, or your favorite dessert, and enjoy.

    Peanut butter sauce poured into a swivel-top jar

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How to Store Peanut Butter Sauce

The peanut butter sauce will last for up to two weeks covered well in the refrigerator. Before serving, warm over low heat, adding a tablespoon or so of heavy whipping cream to thin if necessary.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
243 Calories
18g Fat
19g Carbs
5g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 243
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 18g 23%
Saturated Fat 7g 33%
Cholesterol 22mg 7%
Sodium 114mg 5%
Total Carbohydrate 19g 7%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Total Sugars 15g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 0mg 1%
Calcium 32mg 2%
Iron 1mg 3%
Potassium 156mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)