This healthy peanut butter frosting is easy, extra fast (5 minutes!), made without butter or powdered sugar and super delicious. It makes for the perfect peanut butter frosting for brownies or to generously spread over muffins, pancakes, cakes or cookies! Try it over these vegan banana brownies for a healthy and yummy treat!
I have been making this healthy peanut butter frosting for a while now, so it is about time I share it here, it is so delicious and easy! This is a fast 5-minute vegan peanut butter frosting recipe made using 4 common pantry ingredients and done entirely without butter or powdered sugar.
As a side note, if you are looking for a light and whipped buttercream frosting, this recipe is not the one (check out this vegan dark chocolate frosting for a fluffier textured frosting). This is a wholesome thicker icing to use over cookies, cakes or muffins. Perfect for when you want a sweet treat, but would rather have something healthy and that's actually good for you.
I originally made this peanut butter frosting to go with my black bean brownies. This is the BEST peanut butter frosting to spread over your favorite brownies! Try it over these vegan banana brownies or these vegan chickpea blondies!
Let me know if you give it a try! ❤️
❤️ Why you will love this recipe
- Ultra-fast and easy recipe (no fancy equipment needed)
- Made using only 4 ingredients (all pantry-friendly!)
- Makes for the best peanut butter frosting for brownies!
- Very versatile
- Amazing combination of peanut + maple flavor
- Naturally vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free
🗒 Ingredient notes (+ substitutions)
- Peanut butter: this recipe works better if using natural peanut butter that's sugar added free. You can also make this recipe using almond butter or pumpkin seed butter for a nut-free recipe!
- Maple syrup: adds an amazing sweet flavor to the frosting. I haven't tried it, but I think agave nectar would work well!
- Oat milk: or any plant-based milk you like, such as soy milk or almond milk.
- Vanilla extract: optional, but it adds such a deep flavor, try not to omit it!
⭐️ Full list of ingredients (+ quantities) down below in the recipe card!
🍽 How to make a healthy peanut butter frosting without butter
Step 1: To a medium bowl, add the peanut butter, plant-based milk, maple syrup and vanilla extract.
Step 2: Whisk well until combined and smooth. Adjust consistency with more milk if needed and taste to see if you need to add more maple syrup.
⭐️ Detailed recipe (+ video) down below in the recipe card!
💡 Helpful tips
- The mixture will look clumpy at first as the fat from the peanut butter is slowly mixing with the milk and sweetener. But keep going until it is uniform and smooth, which can take 1-2 minutes of stirring.
- Use a large enough bowl so you can whisk vigorously, this will help create a better texture.
🍴 Serving suggestions
We love to serve this vegan peanut butter frosting recipe in so many ways! I use it most often to spread over baked goods, such as this chocolate chip cookie mug, vegan chocolate chip cookie cake, vegan date scones and chocolate orange cake.
BUT you can aim for a caramel sauce consistency (like this tahini caramel sauce) by adding a little more vegan milk to make a thinner sauce to use as a:
- fruit dipping sauce (my kids go crazy dipping apple slices in),
- oatmeal or overnight oats topping
- pancake peanut sauce (add more milk to make a pourable sauce)
- ice cream topping
❗️ Storage
This recipe makes a little over 1 cup of frosting, so if it makes more than you need, then store it in the fridge for 3-4 days. It will get thicker as it cools down, so let it warm up a bit and add a splash of milk if needed before whisking again.
You can also freeze it for up to 3 months!
🌱 Other sweet dessert sauces you might like
➡️ More vegan peanut butter recipes you might like
I hope you enjoy this healthy peanut butter frosting recipe as much as we do! If you try it, please leave a comment below and rate the recipe to let me know how it was. Your feedback is so helpful!
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Peanut Butter Frosting (Healthy, No Butter, No Powdered Sugar)
Ingredients
- 1 cup smooth peanut butter - unsweetened
- 6 tbsp maple syrup
- 4 tbsp vegan plain milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together all the ingredients until very smooth. This can take a minute or so. Keep whisking until the frosting turns into an almost whipped texture. Taste and adjust the sweetness and texture by adding more maple syrup or vegan milk if necessary. You can easily make a sweet peanut butter sauce by adding more milk (perfect for pancakes)
- Store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Can also be frozen.
- Use over cupcakes, cakes, brownies, or even on morning toast.
Video
Notes
- The mixture will look clumpy at first as the fat from the peanut butter is slowly mixing with the milk and sweetener. But keep going until it is uniform and smooth, which can take 1-2 minutes of stirring.
- Use a large enough bowl so you can whisk vigorously, this will help create a better texture.
- Nutrition: please note that the nutritional information is an estimate per serving provided for informational purposes only (calculated by software) and accuracy is not guaranteed. Consult with your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if you need precise nutrition calculations for health reasons.
Maple syrup isn’t healthy. I don’t see why you would call this healthy frosting. I’m sure it’ll be delicious, though, since it’s still full of sugar.
Made this frosting to go with the Black Bean Brownies I made this morning - a treat for my coworkers on my last week of work. It's easy and delicious - can't wait to take these to work tomorrow!! Thanks Jessica!!
Oh that's great Linda! Thanks for your comment!! 🙂
Delicious! I was looking for an easy, quick peanut butter frosting and this one checks ✔️ all the boxes. I had all of the ingredients on hand. It is wonderful on a slice of Depression Peanut Butter Bread. My husband said this is a new staple item for the refrigerator. Thank you for creating a simple, and delicious recipe.
Hi Jane! OMG, I had to look up "Depression Peanut Butter Bread!", I have never heard of it before...! I'm glad you guys like the frosting, thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
This frosting is amazing. I never would have believed those ingredients would mix so well and be so good. Thank goodness this is back on the blog. I was having a panic attack!
hahahah that's funny! No need for panic attack! 🙂