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Rich chocolate and peanut butter ice cream with chocolate and peanut butter chunks mixed throughout is a dream come true for any ice cream lover.
The candy pieces are just the right amount of dark chocolate and peanut butter to mix into the ice cream.
Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream
The first time I made this chocolate ice cream and filled it with peanut butter cups, I stashed it in the freezer for a few days before sharing it with my boys.
I knew without a doubt that they would flip over this ice cream. (Yes, I enjoyed it daily. There just wasn’t the right moment to share it initially. You do believe me, right?)
I’ve been making this ice cream for almost nine years now and this is still one of our favorite ice creams. It tastes just like a smooth, creamy chocolate peanut butter cup!
I don’t know if I’ve ever had as many ice cream related questions from readers as I have this past week. So many people are making Homemade Ice Cream and looking at Ice Cream Makers too.
For more great recipes to try, don’t miss our whole collection of ice cream recipes! Fresh Mint Ice Cream is like no other mint ice cream you’ve tried in the past, and it is one of our current favorites.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream
There aren’t very many ice cream recipes on this website that require cooking the base mixture over the stove, but this one? It is absolutely worth a few minutes of stirring and the lengthy chill time before churning. And when I say it’s worth it? I mean it.
I’d choose this chocolate and peanut butter ice cream combination over anything store-bought!
Just a heads up: As much as I love this ice cream fully loaded with peanut butter cups, I need to caution you that adding too much candy to this ice cream will make it far less creamy and more likely to crumble apart.
It’s absolutely delicious that way too (as evidenced by some of these photos) but it won’t be as pretty or scoopable if it’s fully loaded with chocolate peanut butter chunks.
And for what it’s worth, this ice cream is absolutely lovely without any additional candy mixed in to it.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream Recipe
Start by combining all of the ingredients except the peanut butter and the peanut butter cups in a large saucepan. Whisk to combine and then heat over medium heat, stirring continually, until it comes to a full boil. (If you are impatient like me, increase the heat, but continue stirring non-stop. Do not step away at this point.)
When the mixture begins to foam, remove it from the heat and stir in the peanut butter. Whisk it together until it is fully incorporated. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or up to two days.
Process the mixture according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. When the ice cream is almost finished, stir in the chocolate peanut butter cups, if desired. Transfer the finished ice cream to a freezer-safe container.
If you’re looking for an ice cream recipe with even more crunchy candy pieces, Nutty Bars Ice Cream is a rich peanut butter ice cream loaded to the absolute max with chunks of Little Debbie’s classic Nutty Buddy Wafer Bars.
The most popular question I get is whether it’s possible to make ice cream without a machine. The answer is YES. You can make ice cream without a machine. Find the full directions here!
If you don’t happen to have peanut butter cups in the house, but you do have chocolate and peanut butter, you might want to try your hand at Homemade Reese’s Cups too.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 cups heavy cream
- 1 cups whole milk
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup smooth peanut butter
- 1 cup peanut butter cups, roughly chopped, or 1 cup miniature peanut butter cups (the very small pb cups that come unwrapped in a bag in the baking aisle work great)
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, combine everything except the peanut butter and the peanut butter cups. Whisk to combine and then heat over medium heat, stirring continually, until it comes to a full boil. If you are impatient like me, increase the heat, but continue stirring non-stop. Do not step away at this point.
- When the mixture begins to foam, remove it from the heat and stir in the peanut butter. Whisk it together until it is fully incorporated. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or up to two days.
- Process according to your machine's instructions. When the ice cream is almost finished, stir in the candy pieces and transfer to a freezer-safe container.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
{originally published 7/26/11 – recipe notes and photos updated 2/16/24}
recipe inspired by Jen at My Tiny Oven
Ours came out basically solid from the fridge to the point we couldn’t even churn it in the ice cream maker! Any suggestions?
Hi Matt! Just to clarify, it churned normally and then solidified in the freezer? From your comment, it sounds like you might have then tried churning it again? I typically let the ice cream rest at room temperature for a bit before scooping/serving it, if it’s too firm after freezing. How firm it will freeze after it is transferred to a container, often depends on the freezer temperature settings.
Same here, followed the directions perfectly and was solid from the fridge. Tried adding some more cream and milk then churned but did not come out well and tasted horrible.
Solid? from the fridge? I’m completely stumped. I’ve made this ice cream more times than I could possibly count and that’s never happened. Did you by chance change any of the ingredients?
Wow!!! Just got an ice cream maker and everything we have tried has been really great. Then we tried this one tonight…. This recipe alone was worth the cost of the machine lol. This my favorite ice cream flavor at the ice cream shops and this recipe exceeded my expectations. Followed it to a T and worked like a charm! Churned to nearly firm in about 12 mins. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
I’m so glad you like it, Jill!
Made this for the first time. It’s amazing. Reminds me of Baskin-Robbins Peanut Butter Chocolate ice cream. Which is my favorite flavor. LOVE IT!!! Will definitely make again and again.
I’m so happy to hear that you love the ice cream, Stacey.
I like anything with chocolates, what if I don’t have heavy cream? can I have a nice icecream?
If you have half and half, you can sub the half and half for both the milk and the heavy cream. If you make it only with milk, it won’t be very creamy and will be more crumbly as ice milk.
This. Is. So. Flipping. Good.
I did add a splash of vanilla, and used fewer chocolate chips than specified. Also, I’m not sure when the “foaming” stage arrives; I stirred as the mixture bubbled, and it formed a very thick base, that became *very* thick as it chilled. Every other ice cream I’ve made, I’ve been able to pour the base into the churner, but I had to scoop this out. I also had to stop the churner pretty soon after adding the chocolate chips, because the machine started to rebel against the extra effort. However, the texture of the ice cream, once finished, was beautiful.
Thank you for this delicious recipe; it’s definitely going into the rotation!
That’s awesome, Jane! I’m so glad you like it.
Even the mixture tastes amazing! So excited to let this cool and make the ice cream! Perfect for the 100 temps we’re about to get. ☀️
Enjoy the ice cream, Jen! Summer really is coming.
Just made the mixture and it tastes INCREDIBLE. Using Dutch cocoa and letting it bloom when you boil it brings out that richer chocolate flavor. I’m going to add some peanut butter Rice Krispie bites (made w pb, honey, vanilla, and a dash of cinnamon) and marshmallows! Can’t wait!
I’m so glad you like it, J!
I have not made this recipe yet. The ingredients list specifies peanut butter cups. The instructions refer to chocolate chips and chocolate pieces. Would you please clarify this for me. Thank you.
Hi, Rob! In the recipe card, the recipe calls for either 1 cup of roughly chopped peanut butter cups or 1 cup of chocolate chips. Depending on your preference, you can use either in the recipe. I hope you love the ice cream!
I really wanted to like this recipe. I like the rich flavor but am having the same issue as Matt. I took the ice cream mix from the fridge to put into my ice cream maker and it was very thick before even churning! I tried to use it anyways but it would not churn in the machine because of how thick it was and just became a solid chunk.
Sorry to hear that the ice cream didn’t turn out well for you, Cleo. Did you happen to substitute/omit any ingredients?
I followed the recipe exactly. Unless my ice cream machine is just not made for this kind I’m not sure what to do differently. I’m using a Cuisinart ice cream machine
The ice cream maker shouldn’t make a difference with the recipes, Cleo. If the bowl wasn’t completely frozen (assuming your machine has a frozen bowl) then the ice cream won’t churn properly.
My bowl was in the freezer for 2 days before I made this ice cream, not sure what went wrong
Your ice cream recipes are my go-to for my family. They love mint, vanilla, and cookies and cream. I love this one—but since I’m keto, I switch the sugar with allulose and milk with half and half. I also add 2 Tbs vodka to help it be soft (keto sugars tend to freeze hard as rocks!). Thank you for providing some delicious ice cream recipes so I know what my family and I are eating. Plus, we save money!
I’m so happy to hear that the ice cream recipes have been a win, Amanda!
I quadrupled this recipe and took it to a large gathering with friends today. It was a huge hit. Really the best chocolate peanut butter ice cream I think I have ever had. I read through many of the comments and replies and it helped me make decisions. The mention of chocolate chips in the instructions was a bit confusing, but I saw the question answered.
I followed the recipe exactly, only my cocoa was not Dutch processed. After the foaming and boiling stage I allowed it to cool and put it in the fridge to further cool for an hour. Then I moved it to the freezer. I was concerned about the comments of it getting too stiff to churn. After an hour in the freezer I put it in the the ice cream freezer/churn and processed as normal. It was beautifully smooth and had amazing flavor. I added the chopped peanut butter cups and put it into a gallon size plastic container with a lid and put it into the freezer and left it until about noon the next day. There were 40 people at the party and everyone who tried it raved over it. It will be my go-to recipe for a sure hit from now on.
You will probably get about 15 new people checking out this recipe just from our party today.
I’m glad to hear that the ice cream was such a success, Shelly!
Ingredients do not list chocolate chips or the amount
Whoops! Good catch. There aren’t any chocolate chips in this ice cream. The recipe instructions should’ve said “chocolate peanut butter cups” not “chocolate chips.” I’ve corrected the recipe card.
My daughter came home from college for the holiday break so I asked, “what flavor would you like me to make?” Chocolate Peanut Butter. And this recipe nailed it!
She asked for dark chocolate, so I substituted Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa.
The oil in the peanut butter we use separates from the peanuts and it is often difficult to blend them back together. So, I heated the jar in a saucepan beforehand which allowed me to blend the oil with the peanuts making the peanut butter more “liquidy”, so it easily blended with the milk, cream, and sugar.
Reeses’ Peanut Butter Cups, frozen and then chopped, worked perfectly.
One thing that surprised me was this thickened to ice cream MUCH faster (literally 6 minutes) than all the other recipes I have tried. My guess is that this is a result of the peanut butter.
I’m so glad you love it!
I have made several of your ice cream recipes and they are excellent. But like others who commented, this one was very thick after refrigerating for about 8 hours. It churned quickly and then froze rock solid. Even after letting it sit out for 10 minutes, I could not scoop it. I question the ingredients though….is it really just 1 cup of cream and 1 cup of milk? Usually it is 2 to 1 or at least 1-1/2 cups cream to a cup of milk. It only filled a little over half of my container and was very dense. Sorry to say, I won’t be making this one again.
Hmmmm, I’m not sure what’s happening there. The measurements are correct. That’s the way I make this every time. It is a thick ice cream, as the peanut butter adds to the thickness, you wouldn’t want to add any more cream to it.