Peanut Butter Frozen Yogurt made with Greek yogurt, natural peanut butter, and sweetened with pure maple syrup or honey. This easy healthier frozen yogurt recipe is quick and simple to whip up at a moment’s notice.
….But, have you tried Peanut Butter Frozen Yogurt??
We all adore the creamy deliciousness of frozen yogurt, but I’ve found the peanut butter edition to be underrepresented.
A true devastation, as it is my all-time favorite flavor!
Story time!
When I was a kid, my mom owned a business in Tahoe City, CA and there was a small coffee shop that had two kinds of frozen yogurt on tap at all times. Because the flavors cycled through, I was always elated when the peanut butter version was available.
Peanut butter frozen yogurt may not sound like your idea of an incredible treat, but let me tell you: for me, it is heaven!
The tangy yogurt paired with the nutty flavor from the peanut butter in addition to plenty of sweetness just makes for a palate-pleasing sweet treat.
As I grew older and began making homemade recipes for frozen yogurt, peanut butter frozen yogurt was at the top of my agenda.
Is this recipe as rich and sweet as peanut butter frozen yogurt that you’d get from a fro yo shop? No. We’re going light on the sweetener without corn syrup for less added sugar, lighter on the fat, and we aren’t including any gums or emulsifiers like guar gum or soy lecithin so the end result is all around lighter.
That said, you can easily add more sweetener or increase the fat content by adding more peanut butter and/or by using a higher fat yogurt.
While the recipe can be made without an ice cream maker, the best results are yielded from using one. Ice cream makers whip air into ice cream bases and frozen yogurt bases, giving them a creamy texture and softness similar to soft serve.
I personally find frozen yogurt is best when it comes straight out of an ice cream maker rather than freezing it and thawing it. Nevertheless, you can easily make this recipe ahead of time, freeze it, and thaw it when you’re ready to enjoy it.
Let’s discuss the basic ingredients for peanut butter frozen yogurt! Each and every one can be found at any grocery store, and you may already have all of them on hand.
Peanut Butter Frozen Yogurt Ingredients:
Greek Yogurt: Two cups of plain yogurt is the base of this easy frozen yogurt recipe. For the best results, I recommend sticking with plain Greek yogurt, but regular yogurt or vanilla yogurt will work in a pinch.
For the creamiest, thickest result, stick with Greek yogurt.
I use nonfat Greek yogurt to keep the calories a little lower, but a higher milkfat yogurt provides a creamier, richer result.
Unsweetened Peanut Butter: The peanut butter portion of the recipe! Pick your favorite kind of peanut butter for this delicious dessert.
I use natural unsweetened creamy peanut butter or natural crunchy peanut butter. Just be sure that the type of peanut butter you use is well-stirred before adding it to the blender.
PB2 (optional): In case you’re new to PB2, it is a dried peanut powder, and is often added to baked goods or smoothies to provide peanut butter flavor and some protein without all the fat.
While the PB2 powder is optional, it brings additional peanut butter flavor to the frozen yogurt without adding a lot of extra fat.
I went this route because I wanted the frozen dessert to taste extra peanut buttery but wanted to keep calories lower if possible.
If you don’t keep PB2 on hand or if you don’t think you’d use it outside of this recipe, omit it altogether, or add an additional 3 to 4 tablespoons of regular peanut butter to the recipe.
Pure Maple Syrup or Honey: Add pure maple syrup or honey to your personal taste! I use about ⅓ cup, but my feeling is that most people will prefer closer to ½ cup.
Why are we using a liquid sweetener instead of cane sugar? Walk with me.
Liquid sweeteners work phenomenally in ice cream recipes and frozen yogurt recipes because in addition to sweetening, they also contribute to the softness and consistency of the healthy dessert.
I like using pure maple syrup because I prefer the flavor over honey, but honey is an amazing natural sweetener if you like to keep things natural.
Pure Vanilla Extract: A splash of pure vanilla extract brings warm flavor to the fro yo, giving it more flavor.
Sea Salt: A pinch of salt enhances all of the flavors, leveling up both the taste of the peanut butter and the sweetness.
Recipe Customizations:
- Make the yogurt mixture taste richer by using whole milk yogurt, 3/4 cup of peanut butter, and add 2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil. The end result will be a silky smooth rich dessert.
- For added peanut butter goodness, chip up 1 to 2 peanut butter cups and mix them into the yogurt mixture. You can also use peanut M&Ms or peanut butter M&Ms.
- Drizzle melted chocolate over this great recipe for a lovely combination of peanut butter and chocolate.
- Mix in 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, mini chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or sugar-free chocolate chips.
- If you’re familiar with making yogurt bark or frozen yogurt bars, this simple recipe is perfect for that!
- Swap out the peanut butter powder (PB2) for protein powder, or omit it altogether.
- Use cashew butter or almond butter instead of peanut butter if you like the flavor.
- After blending the peanut butter base, you can mix 3 to 4 tablespoons of peanut butter into the base for a peanut butter swirl. The peanut butter will need to be a little warm and runny for this.
- Love a chocolate drizzle? Make my dairy-free chocolate ganache. Or, microwave 1 cup of chocolate chips or chocolate pieces in a microwave-safe bowl with 2 tablespoons of coconut oil or unsalted butter for 20-second intervals until
- Make yogurt cups by freezing a layer of peanut butter yogurt in the bottom of cupcake liners in a cupcake tin (or muffin pan) and drizzle with melted chocolate or ganache. Freeze for 2 to 3 hours, until completely set up.
Now that we’ve discussed the simple ingredients for peanut butter frozen yogurt, let’s make it!
How to Make Peanut Butter Frozen Yogurt:
Place the bowl of your ice cream machine in the freezer for 24 hours before beginning the recipe (or follow the instructions from the manufacturer of your ice cream maker).
Add the frozen yogurt ingredients to a high-powered blender and blend on low speed until completely smooth and combined.
Note: if you don’t have a high-powered blender, combine the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well until smooth.
Taste the yogurt mixture for flavor and add a sprinkle of sea salt to your personal taste.
When you’re ready to churn the frozen yogurt, place the frozen bowl of the ice-cream maker into the machine.
Transfer the frozen yogurt base to the bowl of the ice cream maker and turn the machine on.
Churn for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the peanut butter frozen yogurt is nice and thick and the machine begins slowing down due to its thickness. You can eat the frozen yogurt now for soft-serve style consistency or freeze it for later.
Transfer the frozen yogurt to a freezer safe container and freeze for 1 hour, or until completely frozen.
Thaw the frozen yogurt before scooping and serving.
Frozen yogurt keeps for up to 3 months in an airtight container.
I personally prefer frozen yogurt when it is in its soft serve form, right after coming out of the ice cream maker. For this reason, I typically plan to make only what I need (about 2 to 3 servings for 2-3 people) as opposed to making a big batch and freezing it.
You can make peanut butter yogurt bars by freezing the frozen yogurt base in a popsicle mold with popsicle sticks.
How Much Frozen Yogurt Does This Recipe Make?
If you follow the recipe as written in the recipe card, you’ll end up with about 2.5 cups of frozen yogurt.
For me, this recipe makes 3 good sized servings, or 4 small servings. Depending on how much you’d like, you can gauge whether or not you’d like to double, triple, or even halve the recipe.
When broken into 4 portions, each single serving of frozen yogurt contains 350 calories and 22 grams of protein.
Can I Make This Without an Ice Cream Maker?:
The short answer is yes, and the more nuanced answer is the ice cream maker produces a better result.
To make this recipe without an ice cream maker, blend everything in a blender, pour the mixture into a freezer-safe container, and freeze for 3 to 4 hours, or until the yogurt is completely frozen.
If you’re able to stir the fro yo during the freezing process a few times, feel free to do so. Otherwise, the recipe is ready once it has frozen through.
Frozen yogurt takes quite a bit of time to thaw (about 8 to 12 minutes), so be sure to bring the container out of the freezer well before you intend to serve it.
Do note that without an ice cream maker, the texture of frozen yogurt can be somewhat hard or icy.
To help mitigate some of that, you can use a higher fat yogurt (such as whole milk Greek yogurt or full-fat Greek yogurt) to increase the fat content and therefore the softness.
And that’s it! The next time you’re craving homemade frozen yogurt and a peanut butter adventure, whip up this incredibly easy frozen yogurt recipe!
The perfect healthy treat for a hot summer day, or any time of year.
If you enjoy ice cream and frozen yogurt, also try out some of these reader favorites!
More Ice Cream Recipes:
- 3-Ingredient No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream
- Dairy-Free Vanilla Ice Cream
- 3-Ingredient No-Churn Strawberry Ice Cream
- Dairy-Free Chocolate Ice Cream
- Vanilla Bean and Honey Frozen Yogurt
- 4-Ingredient No-Churn Chocolate Ice Cream
- Banana Nice Cream
Healthy frozen yogurt for breakfast!
Peanut Butter Frozen Yogurt
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups plain Greek yogurt
- ½ cup unsweetened creamy peanut butter
- ⅓ to ½ cup pure maple syrup or honey
- ¼ cup PB2 peanut butter powder or protein powder optional*
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- Pinch sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Place the bowl of your ice cream machine in the freezer for 24 hours before beginning the recipe (or follow the instructions from the manufacturer of your ice cream maker).
- Add the frozen yogurt ingredients to a high-powered blender and blend on low speed until completely smooth and combined. Note: if you don’t have a high-powered blender, combine the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well until smooth. Taste the yogurt mixture for flavor and add a sprinkle of sea salt to your personal taste.
- When you’re ready to churn the frozen yogurt, place the frozen bowl of the ice-cream maker into the machine.
- Transfer the frozen yogurt base to the bowl of the ice cream maker and turn the machine on. Churn for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the peanut butter frozen yogurt is nice and thick and the machine begins slowing down due to its thickness. You can eat the frozen yogurt now for soft-serve style consistency or freeze it for later.
- Transfer the frozen yogurt to a freezer safe container and freeze for 1 hour, or until completely frozen.
- Thaw the frozen yogurt before scooping and serving.
- Frozen yogurt keeps for up to 3 months in an airtight container.
Notes
Nutrition
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