Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Frosting

By
Jolinda Hackett
Jolinda Hackett
Jolinda Hackett has written five books about plant-based cooking and has developed hundreds of vegan and vegetarian recipes.
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Updated on 12/2/21
Peanut butter frosting

Peanut butter frosting photo by Sally Crossthwaite/Getty Images

Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 10 mins
Total: 20 mins
Servings: 12 servings
Yield: 1 1/2 cups

If you're looking for a vegan peanut butter frosting recipe (or icing recipe, as some people prefer to call it!) that the kids will love but one that won't ruin their teeth and make them bounce off the walls, try this refined sugar-free peanut butter cake frosting recipe. It's made from nothing more than peanut butter, maple syrup and flour, although one recipe tester suggested thinning it out with a bit of soy milk. Up to you! And yes, maple syrup does contain plenty of natural sugar, but for vegans looking to avoid any kind of refined sugar, this recipe is perfect. 

This peanut butter frosting or icing recipe is both vegetarian and vegan and goes great with a vegan chocolate cake or even a vegan chocolate peanut butter cake. Or, might we suggest you try using this vegan peanut butter frosting to top off these low-calorie and fat-free and reduced sugar chocolate brownies? Yum!

This peanut butter icing recipe is perfect for a vegan birthday cake for the kids or for topping off homemade vegan cupcakes. Or, you might want to also try this sugar-free chocolate frosting recipe.

One person who tested out this peanut butter frosting found it to be a bit too thick, so she added a bit of soymilk to thin it out which worked quite well, so you can always try that to thin out the consistency a bit if you need. 

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter

  • 1/2 cup maple syrup

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Spread the flour onto a baking sheet and bake for 5 to 10 minutes at 350 F. Remove from oven and let cool.

  3. Whisk or blend together all ingredients until smooth and creamy.

  4. If you have an electric stand mixer, this is a good time to use it in order to get all the ingredients perfectly smooth and creamy.

  5. You may also want to consider doubling the recipe. 

Warning

Per Foodsafety.gov: "Flour is typically a raw agricultural product that hasn’t been treated to kill germs. Bacteria are killed when food made with flour is cooked. That’s why you should never taste raw dough or batter." As such, we recommend baking the flour first, before adding it to the other frosting ingredients.

Tips

  • To make this recipe truly sugar-free and refined sugar-free, make sure that the peanut butter you are using has no added sugar. 
  • This refined sugar-free peanut butter frosting will be, for several reasons, a bit heavier and denser than versions made with powdered sugar and maple syrup. The secret to getting it as light and fluffy as possible will be to add some air by "aerating" the mixture by beating it as much as possible; even more than you think it needs.
  • Depending on what you are using it for, you may want to add a bit of liquid—soy milk, as suggested, or just a dash of vanilla—to make it a bit thinner and easier to spread on your cake as needed.

Recipe Variation

  • Need it to be gluten free? Just swap out the regular flour for your favorite gluten-free flour instead. 
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
180 Calories
11g Fat
18g Carbs
5g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories 180
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 11g 14%
Saturated Fat 2g 10%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 104mg 5%
Total Carbohydrate 18g 7%
Dietary Fiber 1g 5%
Total Sugars 10g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 26mg 2%
Iron 1mg 4%
Potassium 161mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)