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Peanut Butter Sauce is perfect as an ice cream topping or on pancakes, waffles, as a dip…or on a spoon. This creamy, thick and delicious dessert sauce has just 4 ingredients and is the perfect sweetened peanut butter flavor!

An open jar of caramel sauce with a spoon inside, caramel dripping down the sides, sits on a white coaster. In the background, a bowl of vanilla ice cream drizzled with caramel sauce is visible.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream Topping is the best sauce ever – perfect for any sundae or just eating with a spoon. It’s like eating liquid peanut butter that’s been sweetened with condensed milk. All I can think about is drizzling this sauce over ice cream along with my thick homemade chocolate sauce so that my ice cream will taste like a peanut butter cup.

I’ve been making this recipe for many years and have added some testing notes below fso that your sauce comes out perfect. If you have dreams of drizzling peanut butter over ice cream or just drinking liquid peanut butter then this is the recipe for you.

A glass measuring cup with condensed milk, a small cup of vanilla, a cup of water, and a measuring cup of peanut butter are labeled on a white surface.

Peanut Butter Sauce for Ice Cream Ingredients

  • Peanut Butter: It’s important to use a shelf-stable (no stir) peanut butter for this. Natural peanut butters will be too oily and grainy for a smooth final product. (You can use Skippy or Jif Naturals as they’re a no-stir, shelf-stable option.)
  • Sweetened Condensed Milk: This is a thickened, reduced milk product with sugar. Make sure to read the can – it is not evaporated milk. There are two kinds of sweetened condensed milk: regular and fat free. Note which type you buy because it makes a difference in how much water you’ll add.
  • Vanilla Extract is for flavor. You could also use vanilla bean paste.
A spoon drizzles caramel sauce over vanilla ice cream in a glass bowl, with a jar of caramel sauce and a spoon resting nearby on a white surface.

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Dorothy’s Testing Notes

  • Because this uses sweetened condensed milk it tastes a lot like peanut butter fudge in liquid form.
  • Fat free vs regular sweetened condensed milk: Fat free is thinner and will require less water. I’ve added a note to the recipe about using regular, that you’ll need to add a bit more water as you go to get it pourable.
  • The sauce thickens when it cools. You store it in the refrigerator, where it will thicken like a soft fudge. Simply reheat to thin and use as a sauce.
4.44 from 81 votes

Peanut Butter Ice Cream Topping Recipe

By: Dorothy Kern
Make your own DIY Peanut Butter Ice Cream Topping at home! Easy, just a few ingredients, and it tastes so good!
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 16 servings
A jar of thick caramel sauce with a spoon inside, caramel dripping down the side, placed on a white surface with a dessert in the background.
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Ingredients

  • ½ cup (154g) sweetened condensed milk
  • ½ cup (157g) creamy peanut butter, (shelf-stable, no stir only)
  • 5 tablespoons water (may need up to ½ cup)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions 

  • Place sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until smooth. Add water and stir until it is incorporated.
  • If the sauce doesn't seem to want to incorporate or seems too thick (if you've used regular, not fat free SCM) add another tablespoon of water at a time until it's a pourable sauce (approximately liquid hot fudge in consistency).
  • Remove from heat then stir in the vanilla.
  • Transfer sauce to a jar to cool. It will thicken as it cools. To make it pourable, just heat it in the microwave for a few seconds, then stir and drizzle or pour over your favorite ice cream. Store covered at room temperature.

Nutrition

Serving: 1tablespoon | Calories: 79kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 49mg | Potassium: 88mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 25IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 0.2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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A stainless steel pot with bubbling, light brown oatmeal mixture sits on a gas stove with black grates. A metal spoon handle rests on the side of the pot.
A stainless steel saucepan with a light brown sauce simmering on a gas stove. The sauce covers the bottom and sides of the pan, and the stovetop grates are visible around it.

How to make Peanut Butter Sauce for Ice Cream

  1. Whisk everything together in a saucepan.
  2. You can see the sauce in this photo is still a little grainy. I needed to add more water.
  3. Once it’s all incorporated the consistency will be like liquid hot fudge.

Uses for peanut butter ice cream topping:

Favorite Ice Cream Toppings

 

 

Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

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4.44 from 81 votes (57 ratings without comment)

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103 Comments

  1. I miss Blockbuster, too!  What a festive, friendly atmosphere there on a Friday night, everyone sharing opinions of movies they had seen.  There are so few romantic comedies these days – our favorite was Honeymoon in Vegas, which came out when we were dating ( and we have seen on TV about a dozen times!).  This PB recipe would be great for an at-home movie night!

    Reply

  2. Wow, this over a brownie and vanilla ice cream would be fantastic.
    Bring you Pretty Woman “tape” with you and you can watch it here! We wouldn’t mind seeing it again.
    xoxo

    Reply

  3. This would never make it to the ice cream in my house! I’d be eating this out of the jar! Addicting 🙂

    Reply

  4. Hi,
    I miss going to Hollywood video too. It was a fun event. And then we would stand in line buying the candy too.

    But Dorothy pretty woman comes on all the time on tv. And don’t u own a copy of ur fav flick?!

    Reply

    1. Sadly I only own the tape! I keep saying I need the DVD but I never got one and we don’t have the VCR anymore!

      Reply

  5. Dorothy – This sauce is pure heaven. I can’t wait to try it. Gosh, I really miss Blockbuster. My DVD collection is pretty much out of control due to my excessive purchasing of movies when Blockbuster went out of business. I used to love going to the movie rental store to pick out one or two to watch over the weekend. It makes me sad that it just doesn’t happen anymore. I’ll ease my pain with all of this sauce!

    Reply