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This dairy-free Peanut Butter Pie tastes like a chocolate peanut butter cup, so you’d never guess it’s naturally sweetened with maple syrup and doesn’t use chocolate chips. It’s gluten-free and dairy-free, but everyone LOVES this easy dessert!
This pie is inspired by my chocolate peanut butter bars, but with a thicker, creamier peanut butter filling. You might also love my protein peanut butter cups or chocolate peanut butter pumpkins.
“I took a risk and made this for the first time for our Thanksgiving crowd. (That’s how much I trust your recipes, Megan!) Everyone thought it was store-bought – in the best sense of the word – because it was so decadent and beautifully presented. Tastes like peanut butter cup ice cream! So delicious and doesn’t taste like a “healthy” dessert, even though the ingredients are so much better for you than traditional peanut butter pie!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Peanut Butter Pie
There’s no baking required. This no-bake dessert uses an almond flour crust and a quick, blended filling. It will firm up when chilled!
No refined sugar. Each layer is naturally sweetened with maple syrup, so you won’t even need chocolate chips. (And don’t worry, this doesn’t taste like pancake syrup.)
It’s soy-free. Many vegan recipes rely on tofu for creaminess, but this one just uses peanut butter and coconut oil to help things set.
You can make it ahead. If you plan on bringing a dessert to the holidays, this one is perfect! You can freeze it for up to a week, or store it in the fridge for 2 to 3 days before serving.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Peanut Butter. Use the all-natural kind that needs to be stirred when you first open the jar. I prefer salted peanut butter for recipes, but if you need a low-sodium option, you can use unsalted peanut butter, too.
- Coconut Oil. If you don’t want your dessert to taste like coconut (like me!) use refined or expeller pressed coconut oil. It has zero coconut taste! This is not the time to use virgin coconut oil.
- Maple Syrup. This natural sweetener does not give the pie a strong “maple” flavor. Just make sure you’re using pure maple syrup (with that being the only ingredient on the label) and not processed pancake syrup.
- Cacao Powder. I always keep raw cacao powder in my pantry, rather than regular cocoa powder. Cacao is slightly more bitter, so if you use cocoa powder instead, the pie might be a little sweeter… but still tasty!
- Almond Flour. The no-bake crust is made with blanched almond flour to keep it gluten-free. If you have almond meal, with flecks of almond skin mixed in, that should work, too.
How to Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie (Step by Step)
- Lightly grease an 8-inch springform pan with cooking spray, then press a piece of parchment paper into the bottom of the pan. This will guarantee easier removal later.
- In a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of blanched almond flour, 1/2 cup cacao powder, 1/4 cup maple syrup, 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil, and a pinch of salt.
- Use a spatula to mix well, until the crust looks like a thick chocolate cookie dough.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and press it evenly into the bottom. Place this in the freezer to firm up while you work on the next layer.
- In a high-speed blender, combine 1 cup of all-natural peanut butter, 3/4 cup water, 1/2 cup melted coconut oil, 1/2 cup pure maple syrup, and 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt.
- Secure the lid and blend until smooth. It should look very creamy! (Don’t whisk by hand; it’s not the same.) Pour the mixture over the chocolate crust, then place it back in the freezer to set for 3 hours.
- When the pie feels firm to the touch in the center, you can remove it from the freezer. Remove it from the pan by releasing the springform side, or, if you have a regular pan, use the parchment paper to lift it out.
- To prepare the chocolate topping, add 3 tablespoons each of cacao powder, maple syrup, and coconut oil to a bowl. Whisk well until smooth. (Make sure no ingredients are cold; otherwise, it can thicken and be difficult to pour.)
- Drizzle the chocolate topping over the cold peanut butter pie. It should start to firm up quickly, in about 2 to 3 minutes, when it touches the cold surface. Sprinkle chopped peanuts on top before it firms up.
- The pie is ready to slice and serve chilled. Keep it in the fridge for a softer texture, or in the freezer for a firmer texture. It will soften too much if you leave it at room temperature for over an hour; so keep it chilled for the best consistency.
Pro Tip: You can cut this into teeny-tiny slices (as pictured above) because it’s so rich! My family calls these “slivers.” We walk by this pie throughout the day and cut a “sliver” each time, because it’s hard to resist.
Vegan Peanut Butter Pie Recipe FAQs
The only substitute for coconut oil would be something else that completely firms up when chilled, for example, butter. (Which is not vegan.) Coconut oil is responsible for the texture of this pie, so you may get drastically different results with a substitution.
Of course! Almond butter, sunflower seed butter, or cashew butter should work well. Just keep in mind that the flavor will change, depending on which nut or seed butter you use.
Yes, if you prefer a crispy baked option, you can start with a store-bought crust you love or try my oat flour pie crust or almond flour pie crust. (Both are vegan.)
More Dairy-Free Desserts
If you try this vegan peanut butter pie recipe, please leave a comment and ⭐ star rating below to let me know what you think. Thanks for visiting!
Vegan Peanut Butter Pie (No Refined Sugar!)
Ingredients
Chocolate Crust
- 1 ½ cups almond flour
- ¼ cup cacao powder
- ¼ cup maple syrup (at room temperature)
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil (see notes)
- Pinch of salt
Peanut Butter Pie Filling
- 1 cup all-natural peanut butter
- ¾ cup water
- ½ cup melted coconut oil
- ½ cup maple syrup (at room temperature)
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Chocolate Topping
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup (at room temperature)
- 3 tablespoons cacao powder
- 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped peanuts , for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Lightly spray an 8-inch springform pan with oil, then press a piece of parchment paper into the bottom for easier removal. To prepare the crust, combine the almond flour, cacao powder, maple syrup, coconut oil, and salt, and stir well until it sticks together.
- Press the crust evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan, then place it in the freezer to firm up as you prepare the filling.
- Make the Peanut Butter Filling: Add the peanut butter, maple syrup, coconut oil, water, and salt to a blender, and blend until very smooth. Alternatively, use an electric hand mixer to rapidly beat it for about 2 minutes, or until very creamy. (Mixing by hand, even with a whisk, will NOT give you the same creamy results… I tried!)
- Remove the pan from the freezer and pour the peanut butter filling on top of the chocolate crust. Return the pan to the freezer, making sure it's sitting on a flat surface, so the pie will set evenly.
- When the peanut butter filling has set, which can take roughly 3 to 4 hours, prepare the chocolate topping. In a small bowl, combine the coconut oil, cacao powder, and maple syrup. Whisk well until it's very smooth, with a drippy consistency. (If any ingredient is cold, the chocolate might thicken. Set the bowl in a warm place so it has a drippy consistency.)
- Once the peanut butter filling is firm to the touch, use the parchment paper to lift the peanut butter pie out of the pan. Drizzle the chocolate topping over the top, and watch it harden quickly as it rests on the frozen pie. Slice and serve right away, with a few chopped peanuts on top, if you like.
- This peanut butter pie will store well in an airtight container for up to 3 months in the freezer. Serve chilled for the best texture.
Could you give an estimate of how long this pie can be kept just in the fridge?
I think it would last at least 7 days in the fridge. But the texture will be much softer in that case!
Oh my goodness, made this today and just had a slice, and I think I’m in heaven! So delicious! 10 stars ⭐️
Could I use oat flour? I recently found out I have a sensitivity to Almonds ☹️
I bet you could! But you might need to use a little more oil to help it bind together, since oat flour will be more dry compared to almond flour. I’d love to hear if you experiment with it!
Any chance coconut oil can be substituted, we have a coconut allergy. Would Palm shortening work ?
I think that should work, since palm shortening is also solid at room temp. I’d love to hear if you experiment with it!
Hi Megan,
Thank you for sharing with us these beautiful recipes…
Can we use almond flour in this recipe instead of almond meal?
Thank you one more time 🙂
Yes, I think almond flour would work fine for this recipe!
I have made this recipe three times now. One of my son-in-laws is lactose and whey intolerant. He really enjoys when I make this dessert and so does everyone else! It is a little bit more labor intensive to make but totally worth it. This is a nice quality pie.
This was really yummy!! While my chocolate topping hardened on the pie, it didn’t stick to it. The pie was in the freezer overnight so it was frozen a lot longer than 6 hrs. Do you think this could be the reason?
Could you replace the coconut oil with Earth Balance vegan butter? If so, how much? Thank you!
I’ve done this recipe with peanutbutter and homemade roasted cashew butter. Yummy!! We are all peanutbutter lovers in our family but actually prefer the cashew butter pie. The peanutbutter pie is still delicious but the cashew butter wins overall. For those commenting it was too coconutty, just add a little less coconut oil.
Megan, you are so talented:) This is RESTAURANT WORTHY!! I cannot get over this recipe. It is absolutely fantastic. It looks and tastes like something you would drool over at your favorite bakery. My 19 year old daughter is a novice chef, and thoroughly enjoyed making this. She pulsed raw almonds in the blender to get an almond meal consistency. The 8 inch springform pan worked very well. I could also imagine this working well in a square pan cut into small pieces instead of pie shape. Whatever shape it is, I’ll lick the pan. And it is so healthy!